fairway woods vs hybrids

[Carlo]

Yesterday during a foursome with 3 American friends (of advanced age), I was lectured by them on the fact that they will never get a hybrid club in their bag as these clubs have been mostly a marketing invention to convince the amateurs players that these are the easiest option for a long iron or fairway wood.

One of them even defined the hybrid as the "gay" of the golf clubs (he said: think about it, it is not a wood it's not an iron) :cheesy:

At my attempt to convince them that these clubs are easier to hit than a long iron, they debated that it was my illusion and that this is the marketing strategy to make peoples more confident to buy hybrids convincing them that they are easy! They insisted on the fact that golf is a traditional game and has always been played with woods and irons and that is the way golf should be played!

 

I did not argue anymore on this, as our back 9 were to start... but I have been wondering the whole day if I had to sell my hybrids and buy high lofted (5 and 7) faiway woods instead...

 

What do you think about this?

[lysaght68]

Carlo,

I think your current bag is worth more than my car :cheesy: . I also think that the FW wood / hybrid debate can only be settled by hitting alot of each to see what works best for you. I've recently found a really consistant 3 wood after about 10 years of Jekyll & Hyde relationships with FW woods, but most hybrids that I've tried are definitely easier to hit well than FW woods and long irons for me.

[Carlo]

Carlo,

I think your current bag is worth more than my car :D . I also think that the FW wood / hybrid debate can only be settled by hitting alot of each to see what works best for you. I've recently found a really consistant 3 wood after about 10 years of Jekyll & Hyde relationships with FW woods, but most hybrids that I've tried are definitely easier to hit well than FW woods and long irons for me.

Yes, regarding my bag, you are perfectly right... (actually that is what is left as a choice after so many purchases) and I could have buy a Mercedes Benz with the monies I have spent in golf equipment :D

But this is what I love as a hobby! Now I am almost set! :D

 

I agree with you also that hybrids are easier and I can get great help with those, but sometimes I can hit those 3 woods sooooo sweet that I always think that I will never get that kind of fly and feel from my hybrids...

 

I have sold few days ago the 2 Tourstage hybrids as I felt them too soft in the shaft and I am sticking with those Rescue Dual for now... I am looking for a 5 wood that I can trust and as I love the Tourstage 3 wood it will probably be my choice in the next few days... :cheesy:

[lysaght68]

Those Tourstage clubs are beautiful, I've never hit or even seen one in person but I'm always drawn to them when I wander over to Tourspecgolf.com or notice them in a forum member's WITB pictures.

[Carlo]

Those Tourstage clubs are beautiful, I've never hit or even seen one in person but I'm always drawn to them when I wander over to Tourspecgolf.com or notice them in a forum member's WITB pictures.

They are great woods (I am also considering a set of forged irons but I have to stop thinking and be strong)... And the stock shaft is one of the best shaft I have ever been able to hit a fairway wood consistantly! However the more flexible shafts are quite soft so I went for a Stiff/Regular flex with them.

5 wood will definitely take a place in the bag this week. :cheesy:

[dac]

i just recently replaced a 7-wood with an equivalent hybrid and the change has really been a welcome one. my 3 and 4-iron yardages aren't consistent for me, so adding the hybrids in my bag have really helped me to keep yardages even. saying that a club is "gay" due to what is considered "traditional" is nonsense. that means your golf partners should still be using persimmon woods. ??? i don't think they are...

[Carlo]

i just recently replaced a 7-wood with an equivalent hybrid and the change has really been a welcome one. my 3 and 4-iron yardages aren't consistent for me, so adding the hybrids in my bag have really helped me to keep yardages even. saying that a club is "gay" due to what is considered "traditional" is nonsense. that means your golf partners should still be using persimmon woods. ??? i don't think they are...

I am also thinking at a 7 wood in replacement of the 19* Hybrid which I feel is a better choice IMO.

 

Anyway that of the club being gay was just a joke to reinforce the fact that they like to use Irons or Woods instead... Old men views!

 

I have been more open to the hybrids and purchased several of them. I am just thinking to avoid having life made easier by technological clubs and spend more time with traditional clubs and improve my swing (which I believe is where I have to concentrate more)... Obviously forgiveness is appreciated at all times, but I want to also improve my game which I feel is more important...

[Golfchicago]

I think you need to keep your hybrid and get rid of your friends!

[Carlo]

I think you need to keep your hybrid and get rid of your friends!

Sure I will keep my hybrids, I like my rescue dual very much!

As for those friends, I beat them on the course all the times!! So probably they will get rid of me very soon! :cheesy:

[Golfchicago]

I think you need to keep your hybrid and get rid of your friends!

Sure I will keep my hybrids, I like my rescue dual very much!

As for those friends, I beat them on the course all the times!! So probably they will get rid of me very soon! :cheesy:

Myabe if they had some hybrids in their bag, they would have a chance of beating you!!!!!!!!!!

[Jacpar]

For my game a hybrid is a better replacement for long irons than fairway woods. My 7 wood hits high and long , is very good from bad lies and does exactly the work that hybrids are supposed to do.

On the other hand I have a 24* Titleist 585 hybrid that is a lot better than my 4 even 5 iron.

I think hybrids were not made to replace FW's at the start but rather to replace long irons. Marketing and different experiences has changed that.

[dcorun]

I wasn't a big hybrid fan until I got the Nickent Ironwood DC. I hit them longer and higher than my 3 or 4 iron and they land very soft. I still use a 3 wood and sometimes a 5 wood but, I'm not giving up my hybrids anytime soon. Your friends should realize that golf evolves like anything else otherwise they would still be using Gutta Percha balls and hickory shafts. :cheesy:

[Evil R1]

I think that the Hybrids / Fairway Woods debate is all personal preference as well as what works for you. I use both and love them for different reasons.

 

I am not very consistent with my 3 Iron so I replaced it with a 3 Hybrid and will probably never put the 3i back in my bag. I have both a 19º 5w and a 17º 2h. I have never been that consistent with a 5 Wood so I have been playing a 2h vs a 5w for a year now. I borrowed my friends Callaway Fusion 5w for 2 rounds and had much nicer shots than I have had with my 2h so that club kicked my 2h out of the bag and haven't used it in over 1.5 months. He also has a Fusion 7 Wood, but I prefer the 3h to the 7w for both tee and fairway shots and espectially out of the rough. We swapped 7w and 3h for a round and in the end he couldn't wait to get his 7w back and I was definately longing for my 3h.

 

Personal Preference.

 

Thanks,

[Dorkman53]

I've gone around and around this argument with myself over the last several years. I've repeatedly tried long irons vs. iron based hybrids vs. lofted metalwoods vs. wood based hybrids. FOR ME (and that's all that matters for me), I do best with a 3 wood vs. any hybrids. The 5 wood can be intererchanged with a wood based hybrid, depending on the trajectory I wish, since the hybrid hits lower than a 5 wood in my hands, with equivalent shafts. I have replaced my 3 and 4 irons with wood based hybrids, since I get much more consistent results with a much tighter dispersion with hybrids vs. long irons, and I find wood based hybrids easier to hit from bad lies than lofted metalwoods.

 

I carry:

10.5 driver

15 degree 3 wood

18 degree 5 wood

20 and 23 degree wood based hybrids

5-PW irons

52 and 58 degree wedges, and putter

 

This mix gives me consistent distance spread through the set, and a bag full of clubs with which I have confidence in every one.

[slicer365]

I will soon be carrying:

 

9* driver

13* fw

16.5* fw

20* hybrid

23* hybrid

[yannechyba]

I play both, depending of the course. The ones that never go out of the bag are my 15 and 18 deg. woods (3 and 5), because they are unbeatable from both the tee and fairway lies. My Sonartec 7 wood is very helpful on most courses when they are not too damp/fluffy. My hybrids are TM rescue Duals (4 & 5), and the 5 sits full time in the bag: it is just too reliable from virtually any condition imaginable, and it is also a great chipper. I do not carry 3,4 or 5 irons.

 

My Rescue Duals are no doubt the most versatile clubs I've ever used, period. I do know how to play with my long irons, but let me tell ya: I simply play a lot better using my hybrids (much better distance, direction control and virtually no fat shots). I honestly feel that by not playing with them now I would just be giving too much advantage on the course. Golf clubs have no gender or sex preference, only players do... :cheesy:

[Carlo]

My tendence is to agree that Hybrids are mostly long irons replacements! In fact I have always understood that average golfers are not consistent with 3 and 4 irons... However 95% of the hybrids in the market are more similar to woods than irons, as I strongly believe that those irons looking hybrids are not real as forgiving as those with wood shapes!! And definitely the latest seem a better option by most golfers.

[Canadian-Lefty]

I'm a big fan of hybrids I too own the Taylor Made Rescue Dual that club helps me quite a bit. I hit it alot more consistent and straighter than my 3wood off the deck on a long par 5.

[sfdoddsy]

It's not just that the hybrid heads are more forgiving than an iron. So is a wood. What makes them so easy to hit is that the shafts are shorter than a wood, usually by a couple of inches.

 

And the shorter the shaft the easier it is to hit.

[VEEMAN1152]

BRAVO!!! very well said and i'll second that

[TheBUNKY]

I think you need to keep your hybrid and get rid of your friends!

 

Bingo......which means "Correct" in American.

 

:drinks:

[Eesh]

I have finally finished tinkering with my bag for a little while now.. I am 100 percent happy with what I have and I would recomend it to anyone.

 

9.5 driver

16.5 degree 4 wood

19 and 22 degree hybrids

5-PW irons

50 and 56 degree wedges

and putter

[dlygrisse]

:drinks: Persimmon? How about Hickory shafts and leather covered balls stuffed with feathers. Anyone who makes statements like that is:

1. an idiot

2. full of themselves

3. a h*** phobe

4. insecure with his own masculinity

5. arrogant

 

Hybrids are great, if you dont beleive me look a Dana Quigleys bag he has like 6 of them.. I bet your buddy cant beat Dana in a match 1 time out of a million.

[Carlo]

Got rid of the guys and kept my hybrids! They were boring anyway, while my hybrids are fun! :drinks:

Anyway I use them as "utilities", as I still prefer (whenever possible) to hit a well struck fairway wood which give me a different and better feeling.

I use hybrids if the course condition require otherwise I try as much as I can to play my round with Irons and Fairway woods!

[m1muiz]

Maybe if they think they are macho enough, tell them to use this set up:

 

driver

irons 0-sw

putter

 

that'll be REALLY macho.. then say "I hit the 1-iron like Daly"..

 

LOL.. Im sticking to hybrids..

 

Mooze