Ditch the hybrids for shorter fairway woods?

[LostSquirrel]

I am not much of a fan of the hybrids - I just don't like the feel and I see no advantage to having them in my bag. My distance flattens out after my 5iron, with the hybrids gaining negligible distance. I gave away my old set (with 3 & 4 irons) too soon in the season to tell if there was any increase in yardage with the 3i & 4i. So instead, I end up reaching for the 5W, swinging with less heat.

I noticed that Corba makes a 7W AND 9W. The 9W appears to only be available as the Women's S3 Max. My driver, 3W & 5W are S3 Men's (R flex, -1" at the factory).

A couple questions:

1. Do you suppose it would make sense to replace my 3H & 4H with 7W & 9W? In other words, would this be an "even exchange" in playability, or would I suffer terribly in deeper grass?
2. Aside from the difference in shaft (which I will have Cobra swap to R-flex -1" to match the S3 Men's), is there anything else that would make the club women's-specific?

[rustyredcab]

Quote:

A couple questions:

1. Do you suppose it would make sense to replace my 3H & 4H with 7W & 9W? In other words, would this be an "even exchange" in playability, or would I suffer terribly in deeper grass?
2. Aside from the difference in shaft (which I will have Cobra swap to R-flex -1" to match the S3 Men's), is there anything else that would make the club women's-specific?

1. Not an even exchange but a different exchange. More roll and not as good out of the rough.

2. Often weight and even grip are different on women's clubs.

As I understand it, there is a difference in the intended design between fairway woods and hybrids. Hybrids are designed to go higher and rollout less than fairway woods covering the same distance.

So if you want a long club into a green, in theory your hybrid will land on the green and stop after a shot rollout and your fairway wood will land short and release onto the green. Your results may differ. But that is the design intent.

As for hybrid distances, I find an almost too big gap between my 5-iron and my 4-hybrid. I hit a 4-hybrid much farther than I would hit a 4-iron. Maybe it is your particular hybrid and not the species that leaves you wanting. There seem to be almost as many different styles, sizes and shapes of hybrids as there are putter styles.

I think hybrids are one of the great innovation in golf over the last 15 years.

[WUTiger]

Depends on what you hit best. A 7 wood might be a good replacement.

On FW vs. Hybrid: Hybrids may have quicker stop, but the fairway woods have more bulge and roll. B&R; creates a gearing effect which spins hits toward the toe or heel back toward center.

Also, FWs have longer shafts and will give you better range than a comparable hybrid.

Hybrids get up faster? It all depends on the head design. You'd have to test-hit a particular H and FW and see.