7 Wood or 3 Hybrid? Both around 20-22 Degrees

[rickybooby25]

I'm having trouble choosing one over the other.  I currently have a Titleist 818 H2 21 degree hybrid and I want to experiment with a 7 wood.  Is a hybrid more versatile than a 7 wood or vice versa?  What do you guys think?

[dubbelbogey]

To me, yes, a 3h is more versatile than a similarly lofted 7h. I attribute this mainly it having a shorter shaft and more upright lie and is therefore easier to manipulate in different situations especially deeper rough and variable lies. It's also pretty comfortable club for me to use a hybrid to hit low shots (e.g. recovery shots under branches), though I would expect I could learn to do that with a 7w, given a bit of practice.

 

That said, I have reasonably decent swing speed so I don't struggle with getting a 3h airborne. The 7w, with lower and farther back CG, combined with a bit more speed due to the longer shaft, will likely be easier to hit higher, if that's a concern to you.

 

For clean lies or tee shots, I don't think I'd have a strong preference for one over the other, except maybe if it was really windy.

Edited December 7, 2020 by dubbelbogey

[cardoustie]

there's a lot of threads on this, I'm a big fan of 7w with 4h behind it

[rickybooby25]

18 minutes ago, dubbelbogey said:

To me, yes, a 3h is more versatile than a similarly lofted 7h. I attribute this mainly it having a shorter shaft and more upright lie and is therefore easier to manipulate in different situations especially deeper rough and variable lies. It's also pretty comfortable club for me to use a hybrid to hit low shots (e.g. recovery shots under branches), though I would expect I could learn to do that with a 7w, given a bit of practice.

 

That said, I have reasonably decent swing speed so I don't struggle with getting a 3h airborne. The 7w, with lower and farther back CG, combined with a bit more speed due to the longer shaft, will likely be easier to hit higher, if that's a concern to you.

 

For clean lies or tee shots, I don't think I'd have a strong preference for one over the other, except maybe if it was really windy.

I also have a higher swing speed than average.  I think the argument can be made for a hybrid because of the CG being farther back.  I don't really need height on my shots, I was thinking maybe it is easier to hit a 7w off the turf than a hybrid, but I would be nitpicking between the two.

[rickybooby25]

14 minutes ago, cardoustie said:

there's a lot of threads on this, I'm a big fan of 7w with 4h behind it

Do you find a 7w easy to flight down?  I would think its a little more difficult to do compared to a hybrid.

[MPAndreassi]

I’ve tried and tried hybrids over and over. I can’t find one I like. I put one in the bag then I eventually stop hitting it and sell it. I’m a good long iron player, and hit my fairway woods well so I went the 7 wood route. Shaft and head are both on their way to me. 

[dubbelbogey]

Another way I look at my 3h is that it's the counterpart to my sand wedge at the other end of the bag. I call on it to do all sorts of shots besides a stock shot from the fairway. Both are Swiss Army knives, in their own way. This isn't to say one couldn't do most of these with a 7w, too, but maybe the hybrid leans more in that direction.

[rickybooby25]

2 minutes ago, MPAndreassi said:

I’ve tried and tried hybrids over and over. I can’t find one I like. I put one in the bag then I eventually stop hitting it and sell it. I’m a good long iron player, and hit my fairway woods well so I went the 7 wood route. Shaft and head are both on their way to me. 

It took me forever to find a hybrid I liked.  The one I currently have is set-up so it never goes left (hook).  It works now but I feel like a 7 wood would be easier to not turn over.

 

What head/shaft combo did you go with?

[rickybooby25]

5 minutes ago, dubbelbogey said:

Another way I look at my 3h is that it's the counterpart to my sand wedge at the other end of the bag. I call on it to do all sorts of shots besides a stock shot from the fairway. Both are Swiss Army knives, in their own way. This isn't to say one couldn't do most of these with a 7w, too, but maybe the hybrid leans more in that direction.

Very true!  Great outlook when looking at hybrids.

[MPAndreassi]

14 minutes ago, rickybooby25 said:

It took me forever to find a hybrid I liked.  The one I currently have is set-up so it never goes left (hook).  It works now but I feel like a 7 wood would be easier to not turn over.

 

What head/shaft combo did you go with?

The last hybrid I liked was the 2009 Rescue TP from TaylorMade. My most recent experiment was a 2020 Mizuno CLK. This was one of the better ones being that the lie angle is flatter than just about everyone else and it didn’t have a hard left miss in it. I played it with a Ventus Black 10tx. I think it’s just something about the way the CoG sits in a hybrid that doesn’t work for me. 
 

I decided on a TSi2 with a Ventus Red 9x. Just high, flat and straight with it. It’s standard at 21, and I’ll play it at C1 which is a little less loft and a little flat lie angle. 

[rickybooby25]

1 minute ago, MPAndreassi said:

The last hybrid I liked was the 2009 Rescue TP from TaylorMade. My most recent experiment was a 2020 Mizuno CLK. This was one of the better ones being that the lie angle is flatter than just about everyone else and it didn’t have a hard left miss in it. I played it with a Ventus Black 10tx. I think it’s just something about the way the CoG sits in a hybrid that doesn’t work for me. 
 

I decided on a TSi2 with a Ventus Red 9x. Just high, flat and straight with it. It’s standard at 21, and I’ll play it at C1 which is a little less loft and a little flat lie angle. 

SOLD!

 

My 818 H2 is set at C1 with the fade surefit weight.  I think I would want your setup in a 7 wood.  The shaft I want use in a 7 wood setup is the Kiyoshi Tour Limited 100x

[MPAndreassi]

3 minutes ago, rickybooby25 said:

SOLD!

 

My 818 H2 is set at C1 with the fade surefit weight.  I think I would want your setup in a 7 wood.  The shaft I want use in a 7 wood setup is the Kiyoshi Tour Limited 100x

Ive always hit the Titleist fairways well, but didn’t care for the shape of the TS2. The TSi2 looks really good to my eyes and feels great. 

[rickybooby25]

Just now, MPAndreassi said:

Ive always hit the Titleist fairways well, but didn’t care for the shape of the TS2. The TSi2 looks really good to my eyes and feels great. 

Yeah I was going to say the same thing.  I was looking at the TS2 7 wood and it was ugly af.  I was thinking about getting a 917F2 or the 915F.  I wish I could afford the new TSi, it looks amazing!

[cardoustie]

44 minutes ago, rickybooby25 said:

Do you find a 7w easy to flight down?  I would think its a little more difficult to do compared to a hybrid.

 

No problem for me to hit low draws with a 7w

[caniac6]

3 minutes ago, cardoustie said:

 

No problem for me to hit low draws with a 7w

I have a Callaway Heavenwood, and I can hit it high or low. 

[cardoustie]

On 9/30/2020 at 10:04 AM, cardoustie said:

I've posted a lot in 7W forums over the years, BIG FAN

 

The club I have below is perfect, and it was hard to find with the equipment rush going on with COVID.

 

Anyways, I am a stronger golfer for a 52 year old.  107-109 with driver with max carry at a fitting of 274 last Fall.

Normal driver carry 260-265 in Toronto area in warmer weather

5w bent down to 16.5* carries 235-240 but can run onto a green from 275 out of right lie in the rough

7w carries exactly 225, I have mine turned down one degree to 19.5*

 

Turning down stronger lofts is great, as you know, as the face opens a little and helps with the anti-lefts

 

Other points:

- 7w goes higher than 3h

- 7w is less prone to hook 

- 7w is a longer shaft and is great for guys with bad backs like myself

- 7w is great off the tee on tight par 4's and on long par 3's

- my favorites over the years ...  PINGTiSi tec, Titleist 913f, G25, G400 (current)

- 7w is an even more powerful weapon when you back it up with a 4h as these clubs offer many different shot options ... out of rough, working the ball, chipping, elite punch outs etc

- having adjustable lofts is great as you can tweak them for courses, I know guys that do this for par 3's at larger events

 

As someone said above, 7w is just the 5w I carried for years and it's a club you need

above is what I posted in a different thread on 7 woods

[cardoustie]

Too many guys have given up on 7w's because they tried them years ago when they were 23* ... 9 wood lofts today

 

Most all are around 20* .. same as the old 5w's and why you see so many pro's going 4w or 5w plus a 7w nowadays

Edited December 7, 2020 by cardoustie

[rickybooby25]

1 minute ago, cardoustie said:

above is what I posted in a different thread on 7 woods

Wow great information!  Love all the feedback I'm getting about 7 woods.

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, rickybooby25 said:

I'm having trouble choosing one over the other.  I currently have a Titleist 818 H2 21 degree hybrid and I want to experiment with a 7 wood.  Is a hybrid more versatile than a 7 wood or vice versa?  What do you guys think?

Both are relatively equal to me, except one is a tad longer than the other.  Depending on your skill and SS, the hybrid may have more diversity, but both are going to have limits.  I don't carry either, preferring long irons. 

[golfer55082]

10 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

I don't carry either, preferring long irons. 

You mention long irons. I don’t want to  derail the original  question of OP but both a similar lofted utility iron and a slightly stronger-lofted game improvement long iron cover similar distance and can be as very good options depending on the skill level of the player and style of golf courses. 

[GLF4EVR]

Had a 7 wood at first, then spent years on the hybrids.  I could never rely on them for consistency.  It was often a giant hook machine.  Now a 2 iron works for my needs.  Often wonder where I would be at now if I just stayed with the 7 wood.

[third-times-a-charm]

I just started this little experiment recently. My hybrid is a Mavrik pro 3H and the 7W is an Epic Flash. Both with a Fuji Pro 2.0 shaft, so a fairly high launching shaft to begin with. Theyre equally easy to hit for me and at 40" and 41" respectively. The 7W is a little longer even at a loft of 21deg (mav pro is 20deg) due to the 41" shaft. I have it set at +1deg right now (22deg) due to that and it's been working well. One thing I'll say is the 7w hits moonballs for me. I'm not a low hitter by any means so I'm able to flight my 3H up normally and stop it on greens - but the 7w just goes waaaay up. The upside to the high flight of the 7w is that we have some long Par 3s at my home course and its nice to choke up on a 7w and launch a ball up high.

 

Still experimenting, but for right now the 7W is staying until I play a few rounds with it. I may end up keeping both for certain situations, though.

[TheFlyingWASP]

I absolutely love hitting my 3 & 5 fairways... very comfortable & confident off the deck... so I go 3w, 5w, 3 hybrid, then jump to my irons... I have an average swing speed (Driver ss is about 105 - 108 mph) and though I do fine hitting my 4i, I can not hit a utility iron AT ALL... I've tried them over the years & they're a hard pass... so I personally prefer hitting a fairway wood... but I think a hybrid is the most versatile... you can elevate it like a wood or flight it down like an iron... versatile out of rough, the fairway, or the tee... if you already have a 3 & 5 wood id personally add a hybrid to give yourself some different options, but everyone is different

Edited December 7, 2020 by TheFlyingWASP

[Pepperturbo]

1 minute ago, golfer55082 said:

You mention long irons. I don’t want to  derail the original  question of OP but both a similar lofted utility iron and a slightly stronger-lofted game improvement long iron cover similar distance and can be as very good options depending on the skill level of the player and style of golf courses. 

True.  I didn't offer those up cause the OP focus is on wood/hybrid.

 

My driver is 9.5 sleeve adjusted A4, and 16.5' 4wd sleeve adjusted open 15ish, next is 17' 2i, then 21' 3 iron, and the rest are contemporary lofts, weak by most standards.  I still cover yardages out to 6700yds with my current setup.

[rickybooby25]

11 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

True.  I didn't offer those up cause the OP focus is on wood/hybrid.

 

My driver is 9.5 sleeve adjusted A4, and 16.5' 4wd sleeve adjusted open 15ish, next is 17' 2i, then 21' 3 iron, and the rest are contemporary lofts, weak by most standards.  I still cover yardages out to 6700yds with my current setup.

I've had a 2 utility iron before, I just dont play enough to hit it consistently.  And I was finding out that I can't attack greens from 250 yards out if I were in the rough.

[golfer55082]

19 minutes ago, rickybooby25 said:

And I was finding out that I can't attack greens from 250 yards out if I were in the roug

Attack the green from 250 yards alway AND in the rough?!  That is a VERY tall order.

[rickybooby25]

47 minutes ago, golfer55082 said:

Attack the green from 250 yards alway AND in the rough?!  That is a VERY tall order.

That’s why I started this post! Haha just kidding

[ChipNRun]

Until I redid my long clubs, I worked a "time share" with 3H and 7W.

 

Old specs: 3H at 19* w/ shorter shaft / 7W at 21* w/longer shaft. Off a flat lie, the two had about equal distance.

 

Most of year, I used a 7W. Long flight with slight checkspin to avoid runaway. Blows ball out of the rough, also useful on longish par 3 holes.

 

From Novemberish through March, I used the 3H. The grass in rough was thinner and the winds were higher, so the 3H gave more stable ball flight.

 

Now, see below. In redo the 7W won out. Just too much hassle.

[B.W.]

Another vote for the 7 wood. I’m one of many that have yet to find a hybrid I can hit consistently. I have a 5 wood in my bag set at +1.5 loft now. Not quite a 7 wood obviously, but I find it much easier to work the ball with and strike more consistently than a hybrid. 

[nitram]

I recently spent most of this past summer looking for my replacement for the 4-iron. It boiled down to a 7WD or a 20* hybrid. Besides range time, including a couple sessions with a launch monitor, I played every shot I could possibly encounter in a round hitting each. I then bagged each club for 12 rounds each. At the end of this testing I chose the 7WD and it really wasn't a hard decision. 

 

What I found is for every shot I can hit with the hybrid, I can hit it better with the 7WD with tighter dispersion and consistency. So for me, give me the 7WD.