New player- Hybrid and Woods

[volkswagen632]

Hi guys. Ive been reading a lot on the forum and have come up with a question that I haven't seen an answer too yet. I'm 20 years old and come from a STRONG baseball background. I've recently started playing and have become stuck. My short game is pretty solid which I'm surprised about. But I'm having trouble with the long game.

My bag consists of:

10.5 degree driver

5 Wood

3-Hybrid

4-pw

56 and 60 wedge

putter

I'm having trouble with my woods and hybrid. I had a 3 wood in my bag but couldn't swing it to save my life. Do you think I should focus more on learning my 5 wood or 3 hybrid. I mean, can I get away with ditching one or the other? Or should I ditch my woods and just focus on my long irons until I learn the game? I'm sort of getting mixed signals from some of the other questions

Thanks again!!!!

[zeg]

I think it depends on where you are: how good are the clubs you're comfortable with? If you didn't have to hit anything farther than your 4I goes, how would you be doing? If the answer is "well" (meaning you'd be happy with incremental improvements), then I'd suggest working on the longer clubs. If you still have a way to go before you're playing "well" with your mid to short irons, I'd get those under control first and just live with a lay-up for things out of range until then.

[WUTiger]

Consider taking a lesson and have the pro check you out on your woods and hybrids. Might be a simple set-up problem that's holding you back. Seems like you're doing OK with irons.. woods require different set-up.

If you haven't been taking lessons, try some. A couple of lessons at the beginning makes all the difference in the world. A pro can take you farther in 15 minutes than a beginner can figure out by hit-and-miss in several weeks.

[volkswagen632]

That's a good idea. I thought maybe I should play for a while and then take lessons to see what I need the most help on. But maybe I should take lessons now so then I can see the correct setup etc. Thanks for the help. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks to the people who have responded already.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by volkswagen632

Hi guys. Ive been reading a lot on the forum and have come up with a question that I haven't seen an answer too yet. I'm 20 years old and come from a STRONG baseball background. I've recently started playing and have become stuck. My short game is pretty solid which I'm surprised about. But I'm having trouble with the long game.

My bag consists of:

10.5 degree driver

5 Wood

3-Hybrid

4-pw

56 and 60 wedge

putter

I'm having trouble with my woods and hybrid. I had a 3 wood in my bag but couldn't swing it to save my life. Do you think I should focus more on learning my 5 wood or 3 hybrid. I mean, can I get away with ditching one or the other? Or should I ditch my woods and just focus on my long irons until I learn the game? I'm sort of getting mixed signals from some of the other questions

Thanks again!!!!

Where do you see yourself going with this game? Playing for fun with friends or maybe joining a league or something?

EDIT: Just deleted a sort of meanding anecdote that wasn't necessarily instructional. Carry on.

[volkswagen632]

I don't see myself playing in leagues anytime soon. All my friends play and I've always been interested in playing but I never could because I was so wrapped up in baseball. So far its been nothing but fun for me. As of right now I'm just playing for fun but I want to improve my scores. I've been shooting around 115...... Although that is not saying much because I haven't played a ton yet. I guess as far as this question goes I'd just like to give my self a good starting point. I don't want to be doing something completely wrong and get myself doing something I shouldn't be. I'm just looking for guidance on what I should have in my bag to start. Lessons are in the near future when school is over for the semester and I get back home.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by volkswagen632

I don't see myself playing in leagues anytime soon. All my friends play and I've always been interested in playing but I never could because I was so wrapped up in baseball. So far its been nothing but fun for me. As of right now I'm just playing for fun but I want to improve my scores. I've been shooting around 115...... Although that is not saying much because I haven't played a ton yet. I guess as far as this question goes I'd just like to give my self a good starting point. I don't want to be doing something completely wrong and get myself doing something I shouldn't be. I'm just looking for guidance on what I should have in my bag to start. Lessons are in the near future when school is over for the semester and I get back home.

Since you have a baseball background, don't be afraid to put a persimmon wood in the bag for practice if nothing else. You know how when you're hitting with wooden bat you need to hit it on button to put one to the fence, and how horrible a ball feels closer to the end of the bat? You know how that same less than perfect contact with high tech bat puts the ball over the fence? That's what hitting a modern driver is like. If you want to learn to hit a golf ball solid every time, take a few steps back and go old school. If you can hit a persimmon 3-wood solidly every time, you can hit that 3-hybrid at the flag.  Speaking of old school 3-woods . . . did you know that Jack Nicklaus used the same 3-wood for his amateur championships and for all 18 of his professional majors - true story.

[Shindig]

What sorts of problems are you having with the clubs?

Also, how consistent are the shafts between them?  You'll have issues with consistency, even with a good swing, if you have a bizarre assortment of flex going around.