Hybrid vs Fairway Wood

[Bucks]

I generally make center of face contact with my hybrids/irons/wedges, however as clubs get longer my consistency wanders. My 7 wood is 26*, what can I expect distance wise if I switch it out for a 22* hybrid? Swing speed is probably around 80 or less with these clubs, I use senior flex shafts. Thanks

[TL308]

Your average 7 wood should be about 21 degrees of loft so 26 deg for a 7 wood seems like a lot.  You may pick up a little more distance with a fairway wood compared to your hybrid due to the added shaft length but it could be minimal.  I would hit them both side by side if you have the chance.  

[Bucks]

27 minutes ago, TL308 said:

Your average 7 wood should be about 21 degrees of loft so 26 deg for a 7 wood seems like a lot.  You may pick up a little more distance with a fairway wood compared to your hybrid due to the added shaft length but it could be minimal.  I would hit them both side by side if you have the chance.  

Therein lies my conundrum. Longer shafts, while they are without a doubt longer due to increased ARC length contribute to my off center strikes. Perhaps the real question is how much loft compensates for less shaft length.

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[boogielicious]

My 5 wood is 18 degrees and my 3H is 21. The 5 wood is longer off the tee, 190-200, than the 3H, but the hybrid is higher launching and a bit more versatile. 180-190 for yards,  it I can do partial shots with it.

[TL308]

I used to play a 3 hybrid but I just found it not to be fitting a gap I needed.  I was looking for a 220-225 club and my 18 deg 5 wood does the perfect job.  I prefer a shorter (42") shaft in the 5 wood so you may want to play around with some shorter shaft lengths in the fairway wood options.  Going with a slightly shorter shaft will not cost you any speed.

[Bonvivant]

On 9/24/2021 at 7:14 PM, TL308 said:

Going with a slightly shorter shaft will not cost you any speed.

This is misinformation. The head speed is fairly proportional to club length. There is a reason why Bryson was toying with very long drivers, and it's the same reason that a 7i head speed is less than driver head speed from the same golfer.

You are completely right to be worried about distance loss when going with something shorter, and decreasing loft is a potential answer. The only way to know what your distance will be with a given club is to test it. I will say that with similar strike quality, your guess seems close (26 degree with longer shaft and 22 with shorter should yield similar results), but the only way to know for sure is to try it.

[WUTiger]

On 9/24/2021 at 11:22 AM, TL308 said:

Your average 7 wood should be about 21 degrees of loft so 26 deg for a 7 wood seems like a lot. 

Also, be aware that some golfers hit hybrids better than fairways. And others hit fairways better than hybrids.

Hard to tell from your info. I would suggest a diagnostic fitting with current long clubs. This would show what performance you are actually getting from each club.

[MrFreeze]

During one of my lessons I asked this very question. My instructor, PGA Teaching Pro, said that it is easier to get the 7w through than the same lofted hybrid.

I didn't believe him but after much time / trial it seems, for me, to be true. Everyone has different bio mechanics.

Look at your gaps and your yardage gaps. Find where those are and fill it with the appropriate club. I would look at the more modern 7w from Callaway (my new love in clubs) - for me it is the speed - Taylormade, Ping, etc. and hit it along side your 26* 7w. I will say that you will be surprised by the distance and forgiveness of the newer clubs.
When I did this very thing I put up the Ping (as I was a ping guy) 425 in both the 7w and the 4hy, the same in Taylormade, Titleist, Callaway (loved the super hybrid, but it was way too high a launcher for me), Cobra and Wilson. Then I did a fitting and it came down to the Titleist and the Callaway because of feel and numbers. The Callaway just felt better.

You need to go and try em all, feel the feel and note the distances and I would suggest that you get a pga pro (fitting/teaching) to fit you for the club you are looking at/for.

[Bucks]

1 hour ago, MrFreeze said:

During one of my lessons I asked this very question. My instructor, PGA Teaching Pro, said that it is easier to get the 7w through than the same lofted hybrid.

I didn't believe him but after much time / trial it seems, for me, to be true. Everyone has different bio mechanics.

Look at your gaps and your yardage gaps. Find where those are and fill it with the appropriate club. I would look at the more modern 7w from Callaway (my new love in clubs) - for me it is the speed - Taylormade, Ping, etc. and hit it along side your 26* 7w. I will say that you will be surprised by the distance and forgiveness of the newer clubs.
When I did this very thing I put up the Ping (as I was a ping guy) 425 in both the 7w and the 4hy, the same in Taylormade, Titleist, Callaway (loved the super hybrid, but it was way too high a launcher for me), Cobra and Wilson. Then I did a fitting and it came down to the Titleist and the Callaway because of feel and numbers. The Callaway just felt better.

You need to go and try em all, feel the feel and note the distances and I would suggest that you get a pga pro (fitting/teaching) to fit you for the club you are looking at/for.

Thanks for the thoughtful input. I've decided to stand pat and continue with what I've been using. Experiments with shorter shafted lower lofted hybrids haven't yielded the consistency gains I had hoped for.