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I am a 70-year-old senior. Winter handicap is an 8. Summer handicap 4-5. I recently shifted to a Taylor Made 580 ladies driver. Last week I missed my first fairway in 52 attempts. So needless to say I am quite fond of the driver. My question is i have never been able to hit fairway woods. Right now I am using a 13 degree hyprid. Should I switch it to a ladies shaft?

Ron

Ron from your description it does not sound like switch from Men's to Women's fairway woods will solve your problem. The problem sounds to me more like a fundamental swing problem.

Generally speaking Women clubs differ from Men by shaft flex, shorter shafts, overall lighter weight (shaft is lighter but club head is slightly heavier in Women'), and shaft/grip colors (pastels). However since any aspect of the club can be customized to fit anyone, the differences are general and don't mean a lot.

How tall are you? How far does your 5-iron go on the fly?

Switching to a Womens shaft (lighter more flexible) may improve your distance but it will not correct a fundamental swing flaw IMO. So if you are not making solid contact, getting the ball in the air, and is fading or hooking strongly indicates a swing flaw.

Don't think you have much of a swing flaw with your handicap and 51 in a row in the fairway. Seems like the overall lighter weight and increased flex is working very well for you. Why not try the hybrid too, you may be on to something!
Cheers,
Bob

one simple way for you to tell us is to borrow a lady's club for 5 mins and try it out.

even if there is so called swing faults as mentioned above (who does not?), some clubs will swing easier and fit better.

Your 13 degree hybid is a good club to use instead of a fairway wood. I am 73 yrs old, and I use either my 13 degree hybrid, or my 15 degree fairway wood (which I hit well if I need very long distance).

regarding swing flaw - not sure what it is - I only draw or fade when I want too - otherwise it is straight - on hitting a 5 iron - depends on what shot i want to hit - i can hit from 175 to 150 - I prefer the 150 5 iron - which is probably a 70% swing - height is 5' 8' - as most seniors, who were good golfers as a junior, we learned to play 'hands golf' that is why there is a various in distance - depending on circumstances i can hit my driver from 195 to 225 carry depending on what i want to do with my hands - when i use the ladies driver if feel like my hands are more into the swing than with a regular driver and shaft - would I have the same 'hand' feeling with a ladies shaft in my 13 degree hybrid?

I am not a novice at golf, having won serveral club championship, and runner-up in the Belgium amateur - last year I shot my age twice

Ron if you are hitting your 5 iron 150 to 170 tells me a Women shaft is just to flexible and you would over power it with standard weighted women club heads.

Just guessing from what you have provided sounds like you need a Senior Flex Shaft, and maybe - 1/2 inch shaft lengths based on your height. The shorter shaft length would explain why you are hitting a womens driver better than a standard mans length.

As a pro instructor and amateur club maker I would encourage you to go get custom fitted.

Ron. Since you are hitting your Ladies flex driver so WELL,. May I recommend you try to have a 5 Wood built up with the same shaft as you have in your driver. My bet is that if you do this, you will start hitting the new 5 Wood with the same shaft as your driver, EVERY bit as well as you're hitting that driver. Can't hurt to try my idea, and it makes a lot of sense to me to be the way to go for you.

Yes and no.

More flex will probably help as your tempo slows down, but what concerns me the most is your loft. 13 degree's of loft for a fairway wood seniors club is WAY too little loft. You need at least 15 degrees.

Let me explain why.

Your primary concern when hitting the ball (especially off the turf) is to get the ball airborn. You no longer have sufficient clubhead speed to spin the ball at a high rate. Loft becomes important then because it will increase the hight the ball goes.

What often happens is that we start to make compensations in our swings in order to get the ball airborn since the club will not do it adequately for us. If the club is too stiffly shafted it only componds the problem since a stiffer shaft does not give as much feedback to the hands and exagerates the response to HELP the ball get up.

More flex and more loft is usually the prescription for older players. Longer shafts is also a good recommendation. Longer shafts help to increase swing speed but allow for slower tempo's.