Anyone consider dumping hybrids from their bag and just playing irons and woods?

[CaymanS]

I'm a little slow on the uptake. I've been hitting fairway woods off the deck well for decades, probably my most consistent club off the deck. Almost any brand and model worked. Meanwhile I've always had a hybrid in my bag and never hit them very well. I just switched to a 3HL, 5HL, 7HL Taylormade M4 combo, but tomorrow is my first day to test them out, so we shall see. I guess my natural swing was more conducive to a sweeping fairway motion and I never quite figured out the sweep vs hitting down of the one hybrid I always carried. Fewer swing types may be a good thing.

[mxskier]

I went 3/5 wood and 3 iron (or 4 iron if I need 4 wedges at the bottom).

 

3 wood is very rarely used off the deck.

5 wood is for longer par 5s or short par 4s where 3 wood is too long but I want some more height to carry something to the fairway.

3/4 iron is for tight par 4s (very rarely a LONG par 3) or for par 5s where there is a premium on accuracy and I have room to either run it up or let it release up rather than having to stop on a dime.

[aenemated]

I tried some hybrids when I came back to playing last year and my ball striking was very not-good. I just couldn't jive with the look of them. Even though I hit them OK, I never felt like I could confidently put them in play. I didn't hang on to them for very long.

 

These days, I'm totally stoked on my 5W and 7W. I'm probably most confident with those two clubs than anything else in my bag. Great off the tee, off the deck in the fairway, great out of thick rough ... hell, I've striped that 7W out of a fairway bunker more than a few times with great success.

[Rheenendal]

I recently took out my 19* hybrid that has been in the bag since 2012 and replaced it with a ZU85 18* 2 iron. Wind plays quite a big factor where I live and I just struggled to flight it down and lately it has been going left a lot. The 2 iron has been great so far and it's so much easier to hit the low chaser and is a much better fairway finder off the tee than the hybrid ever was.

[braincramp52]

Life on the course has been much better since I ditched all fairway woods and longer irons.

[Dudee]

I toggle between a hybrid and long irons depending on the course I am playing. If I know I am going to be seeing a specific yardage more often, I will bring the hybrid. The hybrid just adds a little more consistency. Plus, i feel more confident with it from the tee. If I know that I may need to be fighting shots lower or working them more, then the 3 iron will be in the bag.

[SecondandGoal]

Same as a lot of folks, I've had the hybrids in and out of the bag, and they always end up out. I'd hit them okay, but my misses were more dramatic with the hybrids than with my 5 wood/4 iron, and the good shots weren't any better. Sticking with what works most consistently for me, which is all anyone should care about.

[jplroper]

I haven't had any hybrids in the bag for a long time, using 4+ and 5 fw then irons starting with the 3 iron. Never found one I liked better than my 5 wood.

[xreyuk]

I took hybrid's out the bag ages ago because I lose them too high with too much spin, but I can't launch a 'traditional' 3 iron high enough. So I've ended up Driver, 3W, 20º Srixon Zu65, 4i etc.

[AB1981]

I have been back and forth quite a bit with hybrids, I have an 18 and 21 in the bag right now with Driver/3w and leave out 4 iron. The 21 is cut down to standard 3 iron length. I am conflicted I guess. I think left/right dispersion is better with standard irons or driving irons but hybrids are so versatile. I play it down everywhere on some goat tracks and hybrids are stupid easy to hit from a variety of lies. I probably will ultimately keep the 3 hybrid in the bag and pull the 2 hybrid for an iron just because I am a little more comfortable off the tee with an iron. I hate fairway woods though, I would probably be better off dumping the 3 wood for a lower lofted hybrid.

[KARL M]

No, I went the other way. Use to go 24.5* hybrid, 7 wood, and 4 wood.

Liked my new 26* hybid that goes straighter and the same distance as my old 24.5* hybrid that I added the 22*.

 

I had to take a wood out of the bag and the 7 wood stayed in the bag.

[ChipNRun]

> @agolf1 said:

> Maybe try a higher lofted fairway? Lots of OEMs making clubs in the 21 - 24 degree range now. Here, the setup, look, and feel can be the same as your 3-wood, 5-wood, or whatever.

@jjfcpa ,

Not sure what you have for the rest of your bag, but do you carry a FW? You might be a good candidate for a 5W or higher as your distance club. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have carried **4W + 7W** for eight seasons now. The little extra loft really makes a difference, and the shorter shafts improve control. Similarly, my long-hitting pro has a long shafted 5W for his sole fairway wood.

 

You show the Tour Edge EXS driver in your thumbnail. Do you have other TE clubs? (See my sig area). You might be a good candidate for the TE iron woods, either the High Launch or the CBX models. The iron woods started out as a driving iron variant, but now you can get an entire iron set of them. If you had a 4W or 5W, plus maybe an Ironwood 3i and 4i, this might do the trick for you.

 

I know what you mean about hybrids. I'm getting my CB Pro 4i refitted with a 75-gram SteelFiber hybrid shaft. 4i worked great off the tee but was iffy off fairway... if hybrid shaft improves launch I may drop 4H, or put it on standby.

 

[EddieEdwards]

Years ago i was looking for a shallow faced hybrid with minimal offset. Struggling to find what I was looking for, I ended up with an orlimar 7 wood. I haven't put a hybrid back in the bag.

[LoopySwing13]

Tried many hybrids and a few 5 woods and none could kick the 2-UDI from my 225 slot. Personally, just seems to be more consistent distance and spin wise. If it’s over 230 I will be hitting a 3 wood, so if it’s into a green I just aim for the center.

 

I Try not to get too caught up with “I need a 235 shot that can stop dead into a green..” play what works. I get more use from a 52* than another long club.

[glm]

the last time a hybrid was in my bag it was there about 48 hours.

[Sweden_William]

My set up

 

Driver

3w

5w

3i - pw

54° / 58°

Putter

[jjfcpa]

> @pencilholder said:

> That’s what I did last year. Took out the 17 and 22 degree hybrids. Now go 7 wood to 4 iron. Much happier!

 

That's exactly what I did and just looking for validation!

 

[jjfcpa]

> @JeffreySpicoli said:

> OP, aren’t you a senior that can use the distance?

 

 

Yes, I am a senior golfer and definitely need the distance, but I'm finding that distance isn't everything. When you only pull the hybrid a couple times a round, you just don't get any real confidence playing it so little. I've found that with a 7 wood and 4 iron, it seems to fill in the gaps rather well. Might be a little shorter with the 4 iron, but much more reliable.

[mootrail]

Just the opposite. I played without hybrids and am a confirmed pull hook hybrid hater. I dropped my U45 DI for a GAPR Hi 4 which is oddball Crossover type DI from Taylormade that looks like a mini hybrid. Way more versatile and still a good DI from the tee. I also carry a real oddball, an F8 One Length 5 hybrid instead of my 5 or 6 iron. I'm not a one length player but it's just the best trouble club ever and a decent chipper as well.

[phil6380]

I keep trying to use hybrids. My son hits them amazingly. I just can't seem to get the hang of them. Miss hit after miss hit. When I finally make contact I don't know where it's going to go. I know it's me, not the clubs. Currently I go from 5w to 5i and have a huge gap in the bag. I just bought a U85 4i. Maybe that'll work. If it doesn't I'm just going to get a 7w and be done with it.

[jah7838]

I’m thinking about it. I currently have the F6 baffler set to 16* for my 4 wood. I’ve had the Adams 19* XTD Super Hybrid with various heavier hybrid shafts in it, and the Adams 23* Super 9031 with a s300 in the bag since 2013 or 2014. They are the only clubs still in the bag from that year. My iron setup is 5-g, 54* and 58*.

 

I love the looks of driving irons, but I haven’t found one that I’m comfortable leaving in the bag permanently. I’m currently thinking about the Srixon U85 in both the 3 & 4 spot, but I shot my lowest score of a 74 today with the current set up of hybrids and irons. I might get the U85 just to mess around, but I don’t know if they can knock out the current hybrids.

[tomg1969]

I've switched hybrids more than any other club in my bag and haven't gotten along with any of them for very long, until this season. On a whim I decided to try a Cobra F9 One Length and it has been magic. Then hooks are gone. The heavy hybrid head on a short shaft was the perfect solution for me.

[bamagolf]

I’m back to 4i-U Wedge (for now).

[dcopp7]

Never. There is at least three times per 18 holes that a hybrid does something for me that no other club can. For that reason, I'll always have at least one bagged.

[Bogey2Birdie]

I have ruined many a round hooking a Hybrid OB. I prefer the 'same' sweeping fairway wood swing with a 5w or sometimes a 7w. #shallowdivot

[johnnythunders]

At 67 my swing speed is dropping like a rock so shots are going shorter and shorter that includes irons, hybrids and woods. I’ve always hits woods better than hybrids and hybrids better than irons. I also have problems hitting hybrid high enough anymore. So we doing major bag overhaul and have moved to this working bag

Driver 10.5 45.5

5 wood 18 42.5

7 wood 21 42

9 wood 23 41.5

11 wood 25 41

6 hybrid 39

6 fli-hi 38

7 fli-hi 37.5

8,9,pw,gw and sw

[Johnny_Fairway]

> @mitchliljohn said:

> > @pencilholder said:

> > That’s what I did last year. Took out the 17 and 22 degree hybrids. Now go 7 wood to 4 iron. Much happier!

>

> I did this too, I feel the 7 wood is much easier for me to get out of trouble too and also a reliable shot off the tee and can shape shots when needed

>

 

I use the same setup. 7 wood to 4 iron.

 

I'm sure it's a swing issue, but I hit too many bad hooks with a hybrid.

[lefty1978]

Right now I go driver, 3 wood to 2 iron. I own plenty of hybrids, some make the bag occasionally. I am just more confident and consistent with an iron. My miss with an iron isn't terrible, my miss with a hybrid is usually in the trees.

[Z1ggy16]

Put a 5w in the bag over a 3h. Few observations:

 

1) With roughly the same shaft weight and about 1.75'' extra length, my 5w is going about 10-20 yards longer than the hybrid.

 

2) The hybrid is more accurate.

 

3) The hybrid is easier to hit out of 'suspect' lies like rough.

 

4) The hybrid flies a little bit lower.

 

5) Fairway is easier off the tee but harder to hit off the fairway.

 

6) The hybrid is less forgiving and miss hits, especially low in the face, get punished heavily compared to the fairway.

 

Jury is still out for me because I'm not 100% sure this particular (Rogue) 5w will stay in my bag. It's a little draw biased and I've already got a draw biased swing, so usually those two things don't mix. I tend to prefer neutral to even slightly fade biased heads to offset my typical in to out path with a shut face delivery. I'd much rather see a little bit of a push that ends up in the rough than a big sweeping low spin hook that might run off into hazard or other things. Most likely going to try an M3 5w next, and if I don't like that, I'll just go back to my 818H2. The main reason I switched was to see a little more ball speed and more forgiveness.

[Titleist_PT23]

> @Z1ggy16 said:

> Put a 5w in the bag over a 3h. Few observations:

>

> 1) With roughly the same shaft weight and about 1.75'' extra length, my 5w is going about 10-20 yards longer than the hybrid.

>

> 2) The hybrid is more accurate.

>

> 3) The hybrid is easier to hit out of 'suspect' lies like rough.

>

> 4) The hybrid flies a little bit lower.

>

> 5) Fairway is easier off the tee but harder to hit off the fairway.

>

> 6) The hybrid is less forgiving and miss hits, especially low in the face, get punished heavily compared to the fairway.

>

> Jury is still out for me because I'm not 100% sure this particular (Rogue) 5w will stay in my bag. It's a little draw biased and I've already got a draw biased swing, so usually those two things don't mix. I tend to prefer neutral to even slightly fade biased heads to offset my typical in to out path with a shut face delivery. I'd much rather see a little bit of a push that ends up in the rough than a big sweeping low spin hook that might run off into hazard or other things. Most likely going to try an M3 5w next, and if I don't like that, I'll just go back to my 818H2. The main reason I switched was to see a little more ball speed and more forgiveness.

 

I swapped out a 4H for a 7W, and generally agree with a few slight modifications. I prefer the 7W from the fairway and good lies in the light rough. I do miss the hybrid for a) crappy lies in the rough and b) sidehill lies / quasi recovery shots when a ways off the fairway. For a) I found that i usually wasn't advance the ball much further than taking a 6 iron but I do think there was some safety from the hybrid's head vs the iron. For b) I just don't trust the longer shaft on the fairway wood and the larger clubhead also seems like it is more difficult to get cleanly on the ball at times.

 

Net-Net, I'm kind of indifferent and probably won't switch back until I just want some new clubs to play.