Deciding on a 14th club

[flystraight]

Hello,

I've been lurking for awhile and finally decided to sign up today.

I'm in my second golf life right now. Played a lot when I was younger, but it trailed off until I quit entirely about 5 years ago. Been playing again since July.

I bought a used set of Callaway X-20's and have been loving them, but they're only 4i-SW. Right now I'm carrying 13 clubs; in addition to the Callaways I have a driver, 3w, 5w, lob wedge, and putter.

I've been hitting my wedges better and better, and don't really have any gaps there. If anything, 100 yard shots fall between my PW and SW - but I've been able to fill that in with one club or the other, depending on the situation.

So I'm thinking I need to fill a gap between my 4i and 5w. As a general rule, I hit my 4i about 180, and my 5w about 200-210. So I occasionally find myself without the right club on a par 3, or - more rarely - on the second shot on a par 4.

Is buying a 3 iron the right way to fill this gap? And how important is it that it is the same model as the rest of my irons? I don't know if X-20 3 irons even exist, and if they do, finding a single one can't be too easy. Would any Callaway X series do the trick?

Thanks

[Koth]

You could go with a #3 hybrid. Then it won't matter if it's the same as your iron set or not.

[golfro]

agreed with 3 hybrid.

and no, you don't have to match all your brands... it looks silly when you do that.

[Mattplusness]

I have a 3w and 5w in my bag, and my distances are about identical to yours (+5 yards), and I am thinking since I need to fill a gap just like you I might try out swinging some 4 woods and add a 3 iron. Seems like I would hit driver about 250-260, 4w 230-215, and 3I 185-200. I feel that gap of 15 yards is much better, because as this being only my second season, it is highly more probably that I won't hit them as far as I think. That and I hit 3w off the tee/fairway about 10% of the time..

[redsox98]

Dito the hybrid. But just because you can carry 14 clubs doesn't mean you have to.

[MSchott]

Yes on the hybrid club. My 3 and 4 hybrids are way easier to hit than a 5 wood or 3 or 4 iron.

[flystraight]

Thanks for the advice. A couple of my friends have hybrids, I'll give them a try the next time out.

[etlreams]

definately give the hybrid a try. I think you'll find they are very versitile and forgiving.

[newtogolf]

+1 on the hybrid, it bailed me out a few times today.

[Gerald]

I don't agree with the hybrid thing, if you do hit your 4i with confidence, it might well be best to go for the matching 3i, which can certaintly be ordered quite simple.

Mostly the 3h is about as long as a 5W and actually longer than a 3i ....... so if you go for a hybrid, you can probably best look for one that has the same loft as your 4i to have a comparable distance as a 3i would have.

Personally I look to hybrids in another way than just for length or as to fill a certain gap, I use a hybrid from the rough, without the risk of closing a iron because the grass grabs the iron ..... the woodlike head of the hybrid will slide easier through the thick grass, without closing the face.

I personally carry 11 to 12 clubs into the course as my standard set (Putter, LW, PW-3i, 2H and Driver) and depending on the course I kind of chose an extra hybrid (23*) or an extra gap wedge.

[majorchamp]

thinking of getting rid of my 2 iron and reshafting a Titleist Protrajectory 20 degree I found instead.

[BMac0223]

I think what you are looking for is a 52 degree gap wedge. The distance from 5w to 4i is decent, but can easily be worked around. The scoring irons are where the shots are made. A 52 will give you one more solid opportunity for a easy par or birdie from about 110 yards. I've always hated the 3/4 pitching wedge!