5 Iron v. 5 Hybrid Showdown ... It Wasn't Close

[VA_Astra]

Added a new hybrid to the bag this weekend. New irons made my 5h a little short. I added a 4h stealth 2 just like my 3h with the ventus red 75s shaft.

Those two hybrids have been the best I have ever had in my bag. 

Strong 6 to pw and then 48/54/58 in my bag.

Looking forward to dropping a couple numbers off my hc again this year!

[mantan]

My 5h arrived on Friday. It's supposed to rain the next few days , so I won't get a chance to get it to the range until late this week. It'll get some game action on Saturday.

[rthrbgolfing]

I have a Wishon 939 5 iron. It is a combo iron/hybrid with a wider sole to help it go higher. It is just as long and does fly higher. It is an old club bt worth trying if you cn find one

[cg0rd0noo7]

I play (and have played for 2 full seasons) a 5 hybrid instead of a 4 iron. First place I saw this was Nelly Korda and if I could make my game look more like her's is probably a good step. Since making the change it has been one of my favorite clubs/distances in the bag. For me it is a 225-235 club. It is a great fairway finder on short tight courses and a great club for going at par 5s in two. Even players with faster swing speeds could benefit from switching out the 4i for a 5 hybrid in my opinion. 

Current 5 hybrid: Callaway Epic Super Hybrid with a ventus blue 8x hybrid shaft.  

[braincramp52]

On 1/15/2024 at 10:49 AM, caniac6 said:

I replaced my 4i and 5i with hybrids this year. Has anyone compared results of a 3h vs a 7w, and what were the results?

I have a 7 wood and a 3 hybrid. Even though I play them at the same lofts I have a 10-15 yard gap between them.

[caniac6]

36 minutes ago, braincramp52 said:

I have a 7 wood and a 3 hybrid. Even though I play them at the same lofts I have a 10-15 yard gap between them.

Am I right in assuming the 7 wood is longer?

[braincramp52]

46 minutes ago, caniac6 said:

Am I right in assuming the 7 wood is longer?

Yes, the 7 wood is 42" and the 3 hybrid is 40 1/4"

[Drivingrangehero]

I am attempting to re-map out the top of my bag since I dropped the 3&5w for a 16.5° 4w, I picked up a adjustable 21° 7w and an adjustable 23° hybrid. My next club is a 25° 5 iron (Mizuno HMB), but if the Maltby DBM works out better, than I will have a 26° 5i with 4° gaps all the way down to 50° GW, 54° SW and a 58° SW/LW. 
 

I may even pick up a 26° hybrid if the 5 iron isn’t consistent enough for my liking after this thread, but for now I’m still in the testing phase. 🤞 
 

I play my woods shorter than standard, and my Irons a little over (+1/4) 

 

Driver 44.25”

4W at 42”

7W at 41”

4H at 38.75”

5i at. 38.25”

 

 

[Sam217]

I noticed Nelly Korda and Joaquim Niemann have 3 wood, 7 wood, 5 hybrid, 5 iron. This is an interesting prospect to me. Is a 5 hybrid much longer for you guys than a 5 iron? This almost seems like the 7 wood combines your 3 and 4 iron and the 5 hybrid sits between 4 and 5 iron. I've never touched a 7 wood or 5 hybrid personally but interested.

[TNwanabe]

6 minutes ago, Sam217 said:

I noticed Nelly Korda and Joaquim Niemann have 3 wood, 7 wood, 5 hybrid, 5 iron. This is an interesting prospect to me. Is a 5 hybrid much longer for you guys than a 5 iron? This almost seems like the 7 wood combines your 3 and 4 iron and the 5 hybrid sits between 4 and 5 iron. I've never touched a 7 wood or 5 hybrid personally but interested.

7 woods are addicting. 

[jorellanes]

8 minutes ago, TNwanabe said:

7 woods are addicting. 

7 wood with the right shaft is hard to beat.

[Drivingrangehero]

31 minutes ago, Sam217 said:

I noticed Nelly Korda and Joaquim Niemann have 3 wood, 7 wood, 5 hybrid, 5 iron. This is an interesting prospect to me. Is a 5 hybrid much longer for you guys than a 5 iron? This almost seems like the 7 wood combines your 3 and 4 iron and the 5 hybrid sits between 4 and 5 iron. I've never touched a 7 wood or 5 hybrid personally but interested.

Id like to see the length and loft of each club. 

 

I wish that was noted in the WITB of PGA and LPGA tour players 
 

Is the 5h 25-28° and what playing length is it? 

 

What is the 5 iron playing length and loft? 
 

 

[Sam217]

4 minutes ago, Drivingrangehero said:

Id like to see the length and loft of each club. 

 

I wish that was noted in the WITB of PGA and LPGA tour players 
 

Is the 5h 25-28° and what playing length is it? 

 

What is the 5 iron playing length and loft? 
 

 

 

This is Niemann.

[Drivingrangehero]

2 hours ago, Sam217 said:

 

This is Niemann.

I like it shows lofts, but playing length would be nice too. 
 

I'm cutting an inch or two off of hybrids to play them in place of the corresponding iron by loft, then getting a heavier shaft (over 85g) then adding headweight generally. 
 

I’ve always been curious about the playing lengths, lofts and lie angles of pros, especially a guy like Freddy Couples who stands so tall, and a Joaquin Niemann who has insane side bend. 

 

 

 

[HillbillyHoma]

2 hours ago, Drivingrangehero said:

Id like to see the length and loft of each club. 

 

I wish that was noted in the WITB of PGA and LPGA tour players 
 

Is the 5h 25-28° and what playing length is it? 

 

What is the 5 iron playing length and loft? 
 

 

Nelly plays a Ping G425 26° 5 hybrid in the small minus setting so it plays at 25°.

[Obee]

On 1/21/2024 at 5:17 PM, animalgolfs said:

You can either play the shot required or be a single dimensional hybrid player. Your statement is incorrect....hitting knockdowns with my 6h is one of my favorite shots

This is demonstrable. It's not open for debate. 

[Kaitsu68]

This thread reminds me once again why I gave up with hybrids. My miss with irons is always short of green due to playing with muscle backs. With hybrid my miss is left and pin high or even longer. On the courses I play the latter is a much worse miss. As I only play like 25-30 rounds per year and you never see me on the range hitting balls I have my bad and good days with irons. On a bad day I don't try anything fancy with long irons and just stay away from trouble. With hybrids I catch all kind of trouble on a bad day. 

[ChaosTheory]

I go back and forth.  This club slot comes into play a few times a round for me, so it’s important.

 

 I never have a great day with a 5 iron.

Sometimes I have a decent day, which means on or near the greens.  I would take that all the time, obviously.
Some days I just can’t hit it worth a darn, to the point of discouragement.

I can have great days with the hybrid.

Or I can have days with big misses.  It’s that binary.

 

Bah.

 

Logic suggests I could use a hybrid more tuned for consistency than distance and forgiveness.

[DaveGoodrich]

4 hours ago, Snowman9000 said:

I go back and forth.  This club slot comes into play a few times a round for me, so it’s important.

 

 I never have a great day with a 5 iron.

Sometimes I have a decent day, which means on or near the greens.  I would take that all the time, obviously.
Some days I just can’t hit it worth a darn, to the point of discouragement.

I can have great days with the hybrid.

Or I can have days with big misses.  It’s that binary.

 

Bah.

 

Logic suggests I could use a hybrid more tuned for consistency than distance and forgiveness.

 

This is why I, and others, build our hybrids at close to the length and weight of the irons they are replacing. OEM hybrids are too long and too light. So they naturally tend to produce height and distance, but don't help with face/path issues or with making consistent center face contact.  So you tend to get long, high and crooked, which is usually worse than short, low and crooked.   

 

With shorter, heavier hybrids, you get the best of both worlds: easier to elevate and more forgiveness across the face, but without as much risk of the big miss because the club swings like an iron.    

[ARL67]

^^^ the JPX-923 hybrids fit your comments above.

They are shorter in shaft length that a typical hybrid, use iron shafts ( order the same shaft as the irons in your set ) and are the same cost as an individual JPX iron, AND are bendable.  I'm surprised there is not more chatter about these.  I have 20-23-26 in bag #2, however bag #1 has TSR1 hybrids which I play shorter.

Edited January 26 by ARL67

[mantan]

I got the 5h out for a maiden voyage today.  It's been cold (for DFW) and rainy for the last 10 days. More rain was slated to come in mid afternoon, so I was only able to play 9. The plus side is the weather scared everyone away - so I was able to walk 9 in about an hour and half.

 

I got to hit it three times. The range was closed so it's first shot was in game action. The only foursome I saw all day waived me up on a par 4 when they were in the fairway and I was on the tee.  My tee shot left me 165 out playing into the wind. This would have been that in-between zone I hated before.  I flushed 6-iron would likely be short of the green.  A hybrid would be too much club and I'd either choke down...or more likely not commit and hit a janky shot.

 

I hit a solid shot that was pin high a few feet right of the green. And easy chip shot. The next hole was a 170 yard par 3 playing into the same wind. I pulled a shot pin high 15 feet right of the green.  Harder pitch - but still giving myself a chance.

 

The last shot was on #9.  It's slightly uphill. You carry a lake a huge bunker in front of the hole. I had 185 with the wind slightly helping.  I hit it pin high - again pushed a few feet off the green.

 

All 3 of those shots were a stronger/more consistent ball flight than I'd get with my 5-iron. So far, it was absolutely the right call.

 

 

[deejaid]

6 hours ago, DaveGoodrich said:

 

This is why I, and others, build our hybrids at close to the length and weight of the irons they are replacing. OEM hybrids are too long and too light. So they naturally tend to produce height and distance, but don't help with face/path issues or with making consistent center face contact.  So you tend to get long, high and crooked, which is usually worse than short, low and crooked.   

 

With shorter, heavier hybrids, you get the best of both worlds: easier to elevate and more forgiveness across the face, but without as much risk of the big miss because the club swings like an iron.    

 

This is exactly why I am loving my Wishon EQ1-NX hybrids.   They have a lie angle of 63* with a hosel that can be bent 3* up or flat.  This allows them to be built to standard iron lengths and played just like the iron they are replacing, only more forgiving with a hotter face.

 

They are part of the Wishon single length system but can be built to variable length as well due to all the weight ports in the heads.

 

I’ve got the 4 and 5 hybrids in the bag already, with the 6 hybrid on the way.  Totally changed my game with these clubs.

[bellairemi]

I went to the Stealth HDs in the 5,6,7 irons (which actually play as the 4,5,6 in my bag due to the stronger lofts).  Sure they don't look great but I can hit them out of any lie and they are designed to play at iron lengths rather than hybrid ones.  Plus they feel pretty nice for that type of club.  Since I grew up playing Ping Eye 2s (and still do 6-W), the offset does not bother me.

[Drivingrangehero]

13 minutes ago, bellairemi said:

they are designed to play at iron lengths rather than hybrid ones.

This is the way 

 

I find that if I’m going to replace an iron with a hybrid, I’m going to want it to play around the same length, and same loft. 
 

if I’m replacing a 23° 4 iron that I play at 38.75”, I’m going to want to play a hybrid at similar loft, and the same length. 
 

My buddy bought a 3hybrid (Callaway Paradym Super Hybrid) that is 18° and 41”, it’s a great club for him, but it’s not replacing his 3 iron, it replaced his 5w. 

[renobleiii]

20 hours ago, ARL67 said:

^^^ the JPX-923 hybrids fit your comments above.

They are shorter in shaft length that a typical hybrid, use iron shafts ( order the same shaft as the irons in your set ) and are the same cost as an individual JPX iron, AND are bendable.  I'm surprised there is not more chatter about these.  I have 20-23-26 in bag #2, however bag #1 has TSR1 hybrids which I play shorter.

Why can’t these be available in lefty? I would love one of these in 5 iron loft

[ChaosTheory]

3 hours ago, renobleiii said:

Why can’t these be available in lefty? I would love one of these in 5 iron loft

I looked up the 923 hybrids (Fli Hi).  They are not iron lengths.  

[renobleiii]

9 minutes ago, Snowman9000 said:

I looked up the 923 hybrids (Fli Hi).  They are not iron lengths.  

Looks like half an inch longer than my 923 forged. I play 3/4 inch longer, so I would take a little time to figure out how much longer to make the hybrid. But my position still stands. Give me this in lefty. 

[Obee]

On 1/25/2024 at 11:21 PM, Kaitsu68 said:

This thread reminds me once again why I gave up with hybrids. My miss with irons is always short of green due to playing with muscle backs. With hybrid my miss is left and pin high or even longer. On the courses I play the latter is a much worse miss. As I only play like 25-30 rounds per year and you never see me on the range hitting balls I have my bad and good days with irons. On a bad day I don't try anything fancy with long irons and just stay away from trouble. With hybrids I catch all kind of trouble on a bad day. 

That can absolutely happen by I have bound that's it's usually a shaft mismatch rather than it simply being the "hybrid's fault." There are definitely exceptions, though.

[RacineBoxer]

11 hours ago, Obee said:

That can absolutely happen by I have bound that's it's usually a shaft mismatch rather than it simply being the "hybrid's fault." There are definitely exceptions, though.

 

I tend to "miss" with my long irons a little steep/fat/chunky. So naturally, I start over exaggerating the feeling of sweeping them and next thing you know my path is going left and I'm closing down the clubface too- hello long and left! 

[Kaitsu68]

23 hours ago, Obee said:

That can absolutely happen by I have bound that's it's usually a shaft mismatch rather than it simply being the "hybrid's fault." There are definitely exceptions, though.

That is a very possible reason. I haven't tinkered enough with my hybrids. Should maybe have a shaft more like my irons and not like the woods.