juddphoto

The demise of the fairway wood is not at hand. It seems like it with the rise of the hybrid, but they are two different beasts. The hybrid is easier to hit than long irons, and easier to hit than fairway woods off the deck. But off the tee my money is on the fairway wood every time just because of mass and volume. And the one traction of greater power. I thnk it is going to take a while for everyone to sort out for themselves I carry a Driver and a 3 y,mWood. I sold my 5 wood because I was longer with my 19 degree hybrid. But I am going to pick up another 5 wood. Either a TM RBZ Stage 2 or Callaway X Hot 2 just out. Why? Because they are longer, much longer than their predecessors. So what is the truth herer. If you know how to hit the lower lofted hybrids 17, 19, etc. you will be around 225 to 250. That's the pro level. You have to compress the ball and do it well. Most of us will need a driver, three wood and maybe a really good five wood plus hybrids, two or three. I think the reason for all of these is because most of us do not have the time to practice enough. If yur busy you need to get up and go play your trusted clubs, yeah, the ones that go far and are easy to hit....

I purchased and played my first Ping, G20 31 degree hybrid. I have never played any club that was soooooo accurate and easy to hit. I keep records of my practice and next to the G 20 for the first time ever I was inspired to draw a bullseye. All I can say is give me more!!! Now, to play devils advocate. I was. Hitting into a 10 MPH wind nd the max distance I hit was 130, but avg. 120. But I don't care. I am hitting into the green. The trajectory was high and soft with a beautiful arc with almost no roll upon landing.

I just added a TM 2007 Burner 5 to match with my 3 wood same year and model. The three wood is so good that I have had pros stop me on the range and comment how good the three wood is. I can fade, draw ,or go down the middle around 230 and I am a fairly new golfer. I find the trajectory with the fw better for a nice landing on the green compared to the hybrids when hit with compression for greater distance. . You can land the hybrids softly but have to give up distance by sweeping the ball off the deck instead of hitting down on it. Another factor is shaft length. Hybrids are shorter and intended to replace long irons amongst having a quality of their own. Fairways are for high flight and soft landings covering longer distanc into firmer greens. You can get the distance with the hybrids, it's the landings that pose a dilemma for me.