What made you trade your hybrid for a 5 or 7 wood?

[kjmtthws]

Finishing out the top end of my bag for the season.. Looks like more and more people are using a high lofted wood as opposed to a hybrid.. 

 

I currently carry a 3 wood (15 degrees) and a 3 hybrid (19 degrees) and a 4 iron (srixon ZX utility iron at 23 degrees)

 

Looking to hear from anybody that may have switched out the middle club -- for a 5 or 7 wood -- and why.. Think the wood would travel higher than the hybrid, but the hybrid may be better from a variety of lies (play alot in the south with bermuda grasses).. 

 

What say you?

 

 

[spring70]

I tried to switch, given the recent bias toward 5 and 7 woods, but hybrids are just better for my game, I hate 5/7 woods out of fluffy lies and the shafts are longer and less precise for me.

[aquapig]

I play in Florida and never have any issues hitting my 7 wood out of different lies. It' probably the easiest club in my bag to hit. 

 

To answer your question, I ditched my hybrid for a 7 wood because the 7 wood was far more consistent in distance and accuracy. And for me it was far better of the tee for shorter par 4s or long par 3s. 

 

I dont notice many hybrids (doesn't mean there aren't many) played by tour players as 7 and 5 woods. 

 

At the end of the day, like many choices we have with clubs, it comes down to what is best suited for your game and gives you the most confidence. 

[LowDime]

i have a 5 wood and a 7 wood. I also have a 2 iron 2 hybrid and 4-pw. And depending on conditions i will swap around clubs

[Jwin323]

The simple reason I switched from a 20* hybrid to a 7 wood is that the 7 wood has more predictable and consistent trajectory than the hybrid did. With that said, I find that I can knock down the 7 wood if needed. I was fortunate enough to get ahold of a Mavrik SubZero which has a deeper face which helps with knockdowns. On another note, I have a 23* hybrid that is the same model and shaft as the 20* and I have no such trajectory issues with it.

Edited January 30 by Jwin323

[the_Danimal]

I switched from the 5 wood (19deg) to a 2 Hybrid (18deg) , LOVE IT. Main reason for switching: I can play the hybrid from a larger variety of lies. Downside: I lost some distance from the tee. I'm not too concerned about it since I'm not looking for added distance from the tee with the 5 wood. 

 

When laying up, I like the hybrid's ability to keep me within advantageous spots consistently vs the 5 wood. Even within strict boundaries, I trust it more. The flight and trajectory suit my swing/shot better. My 5 wood would sometimes fly low and roll out too much when I didnt want that. I experience that error a lot less with the hybrid. Less roll out keeps my distances more consistent.

 

I think the smaller head helps me a lot. Something about the smaller profile gets my mental confidence up when addressing the ball. This might have more to do with my swing error on the 5 wood. Either way, i get better consistency with the hybrid

Edited January 30 by the_Danimal

[TeeTime907]

This is a clear choice if you had two hybrids.    I had a 19 and 22 degree hybrid in my bag.  It hit them both pretty well, however, I wanted more height on my 19 degree hybrid.     I ended up getting a 7 wood and put in a low spinning Tour AD shaft. If your using a stock shaft, it would probably really spin on you.      I love the 7 wood off the  tee and definitely more from the fairway. I can also hit it in the light rough.  If the rough is deeper I will hit my 22 degree hybrid.  Its a great combo with a hybrid. If I didn't have hybrid it would be a tough call weather I would use a fairway wood. 

[darkhelmet]

Also playing in the south with a lot of Bermuda rough, I've never found either a hybrid or FW that was all that great with a ball that was sitting down in the rough.

 

Lately I've just found that FW's are easier to hit in most other situations, so I've gone to them over hybrids.  And out of the rough I've resolved to just hit mid or short irons to advance the ball as best as possible while minimizing the chances of a big mistake.

[uglande]

A) To alleviate my left-pull tendency with hybrids.

B) To all but eliminate the risk of fliers. 

C) To hit and hold more greens from 200+ yards. 

[SaVo_]

played a 19 degree G425 hybrid all this past season. It was good out of rough recovery shots and for low shots but for higher ones I wasn't able to land it soft enough into par 5's and some longer par 3's. Like mentioned above me with fliers, I had some low spinners and inconsistent distances at times.  Switched to a 7 wood towards the end of the season for the first time. First shot with it, around 220 into a front pin with a bunker to carry. Had about 10 yards in between. Hit a soft cut that stopped like a pitching wedge next to the pin. Knew then and there I made the right decision and don't plan on going back.

[Kacy]

For me it was the look of a fwy wood that I was more comfortable with. Hit a 3/5 wood 4-6 times per round vs a hybrid maybe once. I found myself to be more confident looking down at a 7 wood and hit it better. 

[Cliffy2020]

Lazy question on my part.  What distance would you get out of a 7-wood at ~100mph(guessing) ?  Driver is ~115mph, 3W is ~105mph. Is it like a 3iron replacement?

[gsrjc]

Same distance. Better dispersion and 20 feet higher ball flight with the 7 wood. 

[Kurtis4K]

Ive found a hybrid to be very useful.  Went from 3 wood, hybrid, 4 iron.  Then moved to 3 wood, 5 wood, 4 iron.  No I've settled in on 3 wood, 5 wood, hybrid and ditched the 4 iron.  Maybe 2023 will be the year of the 7 wood.

[AC in TX]

For me, swing speed. Did not have enough to hit either a 3 wood or a 3 hybrid well so I ditched both last season in favor of a 5 wood, 7 wood. Love it!

[B.Easy]

For me, it was just ease of use with the 7 wood.  I'm around 105ss with it and it just feels like a cheat.  So so easy.  It just makes it fun from a distance that usually causes me more stress.  It's a confidence that actually breeds more confidence in other parts of my bag.  I just wish I would have found it and tried it sooner.  I didn't ditch any other club per say, but any time I'm playing a course it's appropriate for (most), it's in the bag.  About the only place I don't play it is windy links courses.  I don't have the skills to flight it down like a 3 iron consistently near target.

[aussieb]

Personally liked the more compact look of hybrid and with less launch/spin than a traditional 5w.  Went from PXG 0371X 22* hybrid to Cally UW 20* late last year because it combines the best of both fairways and hybrids.  I don't get that toe strike that doesn't spin and can over draw. With rough that's really deep (3"-4"), this thing glides across it more as it goes down for the ball and I don't have the gear back to a 6i-7i and lose that 220+ shot.

 

Looking at possibly adding a TSR2 7w with reduced length shaft if the gapping works as they're so much fun to hit.

[bvanlieu]

I'd like to blame (credit) this web site for all the 7 wood threads 🙂

 

I still game a 4H but the 3H was traded in for the 7w initially due to a few specific holes where I had elevated greens on par 5s, the land angle with the 3H was just not enough to hold it consistently. 

 

[bogey_master]

My hybrid just wasn’t the club I wanted to pull out of the bag. On a 200ish yard shot I just didn’t have confidence in my hybrid. 7 wood I have complete confidence in. Both of them work  if you think you can hit them, but I don’t really like hybrids.

[Albatross Dreamer]

For most people I think it either is just they hit one better then the other, or they get the shot shape they need more from one then the other. In my case, I just tend to hit fairway woods better than hybrids. I do have a hybrid I use as a rescue though since it's great for hitting lower punch shots for me. Would also use it if I'm ever off hardpan or anything. Am tempted to try a UW at some point though.

 

Was looking on the Titleist site and it looks like the TSR1 hybrid has almost more of a UW shape. Anyone else thinking the same thing?

[McMunch]

I got fitted a few years ago and the woods were driver, 5 and a 20 hybrid. I just couldn't hit the hybrid. Maybe one good strike out of 10. For some reason it didn't suit my eye or whatever but it became the white elephant that I carried around and never used. Two friends had 7 woods so I gave it a try and bought one used just to see. I hit it great and now I can land a shot on the green from 200. Never had that shot ever. Big fan.

[dmeeksDC]

3 hours ago, bvanlieu said:

I'd like to blame (credit) this web site for all the 7 wood threads 🙂

 

I still game a 4H but the 3H was traded in for the 7w initially due to a few specific holes where I had elevated greens on par 5s, the land angle with the 3H was just not enough to hold it consistently. 

 

Same switch I made for same reason. Easier to hit the same shot with more height. I have landed many 7 wood shots on greens from 210-215 that had very little rollout. Also, for whatever reason, I am able to aim a 7 wood easier than I can most hybrids.
 

I still carry a hybrid in the 4 iron spot, sometimes pulled for a forgiving 4 iron depending on the course and the weather. But even my 23 degree hybrid (Mavrik Pro) has more of a fairway wood shape than the boxy hybrid look I don’t like. I prefer a 4 iron in wind. But I do hit this hybrid well. Based on advice from a wrxer who is a strong hybrid player, I pulled the stock shaft and went heavier and stiffer (actually a stout iron shaft, the Project X Catalyst 80 6.0) and that has worked well. Swing weight went up to D6 and that thing is a hammer now. Does not go left. 

 

But the 7 wood is always in the bag. They are versatile. I hit it far more often than I do my 4 wood. 

[MelloYello]

Fairways are bigger, more forgiving and have lower/deeper CGs so they are inherently more stable and launch higher. 

[Augie53]

So many shots last summer with my 7 wood, 215+/- out, where I hit beautiful, effortless shots that soared high into the air and landed on the green like a feather and stuck within a few feet of the pitch mark.  It was like placing the ball gently on the green.

 

The 7 wood is not coming out of my bag.  I'll figure out what clubs to put around it to make gapping yardages work but it stays.

[BagofToast]

I had neither in the bag for a while, 3w, but no higher lofted fairways. Never got along with hybrids but always tried them. My gf had always played a 5w but never thought too much of it. An older guy we used to play with came with a new G410 5w one day and had me hit it, was very good. Picked up a SIM 5w and I’ve used one since. 
 

Though I’ve been changing around to find one I really like since the SIM, might buy one back lol. 

[hammergolf]

I was happy with my 3 hybrid, but was at a demo day and thought what the hell, let’s hit a 7wd. After 5 balls I was convinced it was better. Bought one that day. Took it out on the course that weekend. First shot from 190 on a par 3, hit it to 4ft. Next shot, hit it in the rough on a par 5 into a pretty thick lie. Hit the 7wd and it came out like a bullet rolled out around 180yds. Next shot, 205 out on long par 4 hit my 7wd from the fairway to about 15ft. After that round I just realized there were shots that I hit with 7wd that I couldn’t with my 3 hybrid. It’s since become my favorite club in the bag. 

[tocino]

i've had a love/hate relationships with hybrids due to a nasty hook when i don't have my swing going. Got a 7w early last year and I actually have to work to get it to go way left. It goes nice and high and lands soft. I tend to keep fairway clubs for a long time and I don't see this one going anywhere anytime soon

[skujan57]

I'm carrying a 4 hybrid rather than a 7 wood.

[vanzeppelin]

Went from 3H to a 5W and pretty happy with the setup now. For many of the reasons others have mentioned. Hybrids seem to always want to go left way more than any other club, which is a confidence killer. And personally in my use cases, I find 5 wood much easier to play from the fairway and good lies in the rough. If it's a crap lie, I'm clubbing down and laying up anyway, so the hybrid versatility is wasted. Off the tee, I'd also rather hit a fairway wood and have found that I can get a bit extra distance out of it compared to a hybrid.

[sfdoddsy]

For quite a while I had a 4 wood (the much-loved Cobra Baffler with the shorter shaft), a 19 hybrid and a 22 hybrid.

 

Then I did some proper gap testing and found out that whilst I could hit the 4 wood and 3 hybrid further than the 4 hybrid, on course they bunched up because I was more consistent with the 4 hybrid.

 

So I tried a few 5 woods (with longer shaft than the Baffler) and ended up with a Ping G410.

 

It's easier to hit than the 4 wood and 3 hybrid (higher and straighter) and thus consistently longer than both.

 

So I dumped the 4 wood and the 19 hybrid.

 

Now I have a reliable 200-220 club and a reliable 180-190 club.

 

Wish I'd done it years ago.

 

I tried a 7 wood but preferred the 22 hybrid.