4 wood, 5 wood or Hybrid for long distance attacking the green?

[superfly777]

After my driver my next club is a 15 ° 3 Wood then I've decided to place my 21 ° iron with a 21 ° Titleist 913H . So I have a gap to fill with one club. and need to decide on a 4 wood, 5 wood or another 913H hybrid in possibly 17 ° (can change loft).

My concern with the hybrid is will I be able to plug the gap or will I find myself short.

My concern with the fairway woods is that I had an 18 ° 5 wood and although I easily get it off the group and get distance I thought it went too high and was not very accurate so wouldn't trust it when attacking a green. One factor is that is was a regular flex whereas I now know I need a stiff shaft. Also I generally find that 5 woods are going out of use and those that do have them are at least 50 years old and use them because they have for their entire life. Younger players seem to have dropped them in favour of 18 ° hybrids.

I might just bite the bullet and get fitted with my pro but thought I'd get some opinions to see if I could save myself extra money on top of the cost of the 21 ° 913H and other club.

So does anyone use a 3 wood and 4 wood setup and have an opinion?

Not trying to be ageist but are there any above average distance hitters like myself under the age of say 35 that still use a 5 wood followed by a more lofted hybrid setup, or is everyone only using hybrids?

I need the club to average about 220 yards, so what do people think in terms of accuracy in attacking the green over that distance for woods v hybrids?

[David in FL]

I carry both the 19* and 21* 910 hybrids. I've turned the 21* up .75* in loft and find that those 2 combined fit perfectly between my 5 iron and my 15* 3 wood. I get about 205 out of the 19*, but I'm old and decrepit, not young and strong like you! :-)

[Kmoore715]

i personally would go with another hybrid. i am 30, and i was against hybrids until 2 seasons ago a guy fitted me for a taylormade 21 degree rescue with a steel shaft. it sounds like you are a good repetoire of woods already, maybe consider adding a wedge to your bag if you have room for an extra club

i just think woods are hard to hit off the fairway, my personal opinion is that most of the courses i play are around 6300-6700 yards, so unless you are playing longer courses, or trying to reach par 5's in 2 shots, i dont think adding an extra wood is really going to move the needle.

plus, why spend $250 or so on a club that realistically you are only going to use about 3 times per round

i dont think there's a huge need to bridge the gap between your 3 wood & 21 hybrid. it's only 6 degrees right? you might be over-thinking it

[superfly777]

Thanks both. I'm 25 and definitely need to get back to fitness after a decade away from the game and I've already increased my yardages, and more importantly accuracy, from practice and lessons but hoping to get at least another 10 yards out of the hybrid length clubs by the end of the year, 15 more from the 3 wood.

Good to hear someone has a very similar setup to the one I'm thinking. I think the 21 ° is certain to go in my bag very soon then and that should give me the 195-200 yards I need. I've already tested the 19 ° which was great but it was more like 205-210 yards with a standard swing so I'll ask my pro if he has a demo 17 ° he can lend me. If the extr a half an inch shaft can get me 215 yards then that would be perfect.

Kmoore - I've already got a 4 wedge set up which works perfectly because every shot from 130 yards down to 50 is either a full or three-quarter swing. Though you're probably right that the longer hybrid (or wood as you were saying) would only get used about 3 times a round. The course I'm planning on joining next month is 6630 yards and I definitely think there's good use for a longer hybrid to attack par 5s or a couple of long par 4s.

I've got clubs I can trade in (regular shafts so too whippy for me) so that would cut the cost of one of the clubs in half. I could pick up the 21 ° and then pick up the 17 ° later if I still like the decision after a few months out on the course actually playing.

[superfly777]

David in FL

Just out of interest, do you ever swap out your 21 degree hybrid for an equivalent long iron to keep the flight of the ball down when it's very windy, or do you stick with the hybrid regardless?

[castlerockmo]

I am 27 and never had a hybrid. I do carry a 5W I hit very well around 230. I guess I'm just an old fart! I that thought about putting one in the bag, but if ain't broke why fix it.

[GaijinGolfer]

Id say hybrid.  The shorter shaft makes them easier to control than a FW and the head design makes them more versatile, so theres a variety of shots you could hit with it.

[David in FL]

[URL=http://thesandtrap.com/u/13691/david-in-fl]David in FL[/URL] Just out of interest, do you ever swap out your 21 degree hybrid for an equivalent long iron to keep the flight of the ball down when it's very windy, or do you stick with the hybrid regardless?

Nope. I find that I can flight a hybrid up or down just as easily as an iron. The ball comes off the face of the hybrid hotter than the equivalent iron too, so I tend to swing a little easier in the wind, which is a big key for me.

[Kmoore715]

hey Superfly, i didnt realize that you dont carry a 3 or 4 iron....i see what you are going for now. if you cant hit a 4 iron it might make sense to add another hybrid. i personally prefer to hit a 4 iron from the fairway from 210yds and be short, rather than hit my 21 degree hybrid because i might crush it and be long, or im just flat our less accurate with it. my 4 iron gives me a greater % to be online with the hole, even if im a few yards short, ill take it

[superfly777]

Originally Posted by Kmoore715

hey Superfly, i didnt realize that you dont carry a 3 or 4 iron....i see what you are going for now. if you cant hit a 4 iron it might make sense to add another hybrid. i personally prefer to hit a 4 iron from the fairway from 210yds and be short, rather than hit my 21 degree hybrid because i might crush it and be long, or im just flat our less accurate with it. my 4 iron gives me a greater % to be online with the hole, even if im a few yards short, ill take it

It could be confusing because my iron set is strong. I have a 4-PW but that equates to lofts of 21 °-44 °. Since my 4 iron is 21 ° for most people that would be a 3 iron. I can hit it but more often than not it only gives me an extra 5 yards over my 24 ° iron, so I want to switch it for a hybrid so I can create a 10-15 yard gap.

[DufnerDip]

my 5 wood is my favorite club to hit so theres my 2 cents

[superfly777]

Loads of pros use 5 woods so there's def a market. Had a lesson this morning with my pro and he thought that with my swing speed i prob wouldn't need the 17 and so he has re-lent me the demo 19 degree with phenom shaft and also lent me a demo 21 degree with diamana shaft. He gave me a a wrench as well so I can see if this combo gives me the distances I need, and also I can check with shaft is best. I'll post once I've made a decision.

[superfly777]

I've just got back from the range and it was ultimately an easy decision. I'm going to get the Titleist 913H in both the 21 degree and 19 degree (though will lower the loft of the 19 to the 18.25 degree setting). I'll also order them both in stiff Aldila RIP Phenom 80HYB shafts.

The Diamana was ok but it didn't give me a lot of confidence. It felt like I could make a great swing and still get only 85% of what I wanted out of the shot and end up 15 yards short and wide. Whereas with the Phenom I could definitely feel that the lower torque was giving me much greater distance, control and accuracy. I could also shape it in a way I couldn't predict in the Diamana.

I think my swing has a very rapid acceleration at the start of the downswing so the lower torque Phenom is more suited to me while the Diamana is more designed for people with smooth swings.

I'm sure the Diamana is obviously better for 50% of people but if there's anyone who is thinking of getting something from the Titleist 913 range I'd definitely recommend trying the Phenom shafts before you buy. You never know if it will suit you better too.

Cheers for the help everyone.

[David in FL]

Great choice. Congratulations!

[antnee94]

Up until this year, I always used a 3 wood, 5 wood, and 4 Hybrid. I stuck my 4 iron back in the bag and took out the hybrid. But then I bought a 3 hybrid to replace the 5 wood figuring it would be more useful from various lies for going after greens.

[Na5carr3]

About 2 years ago I was going to Myrtle Beach for a week outing of golf. All I had in my bag was Driver then 3-SW. No hybrids or fairways. Went to local shop and was just looking around at the used stuff and came across a Ping Rapture V2 17.5* 4 Wood. This thing looked like it had never seen the course, so for $65 bucks I picked it up after hitting it a handful of times in the back room. No monitor was available in the room I was in but nevertheless the club felt nice and had a brand new matching headcover. Got to MB and hit it a couple of times on some par 5's with not really good results so went back to my 3 iron. I left it in my bag for about a year and never really messed with it much. All that said, I pulled it back out earlier this year and I have just been ripping this thing off the deck about 225 with unreal accuracy. Now I use it on the tee box on short par 3's and on par 5 approach shots. I would have never thought I would say this is now my favorite club in the bag. I have never had a 3 wood or a hybrid but recently picked up a Adams Super Hybrid SS for that 185 to 195 shot. I love that club too. I haven't used my 3 or 4 iron since the switch. Just swing'em with the tempo of a 7 iron and they just fly.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by superfly777

After my driver my next club is a 15° 3 Wood then I've decided to place my 21° iron with a 21° Titleist 913H. So I have a gap to fill with one club. and need to decide on a 4 wood, 5 wood or another 913H hybrid in possibly 17° (can change loft).

My concern with the hybrid is will I be able to plug the gap or will I find myself short.

My concern with the fairway woods is that I had an 18° 5 wood and although I easily get it off the group and get distance I thought it went too high and was not very accurate so wouldn't trust it when attacking a green. One factor is that is was a regular flex whereas I now know I need a stiff shaft. Also I generally find that 5 woods are going out of use and those that do have them are at least 50 years old and use them because they have for their entire life. Younger players seem to have dropped them in favour of 18° hybrids.

I might just bite the bullet and get fitted with my pro but thought I'd get some opinions to see if I could save myself extra money on top of the cost of the 21° 913H and other club.

So does anyone use a 3 wood and 4 wood setup and have an opinion? ...

If the 5W is your only regular-flex long club, that shaft may be the "accuracy" problem. Was it a Diablo Octane? Plenty of Diablo 5W Stiffs out there. Also, since you're in London, wind may be more of an everyday problem. (Some hybrids deliver lower trajectory than comparable FWs).

5Ws are still being made. One problem we now encounter in many model mixes is low distance difference between adjacent clubs: 3W = 15* / 4W = 17* / 5W = 19* / 7W = 21*. If the shafts are 1/2" different in length, you won't get much distance gap. Basically you would want to carry 3W + 5W, or 4W + 7W.

I carry a RBZ 3W.HL (really it's a 17* 4W, but marketing genies decided to get silly...) and a 21* 7W. Distance separation between the two is 15 yards. I originally had bought a 5W to go with the two, but returned it unhit - no real value added in keeping it.

From a couple years back, the Callaway Razr Hawk offered 3W = 15* / 5W = 18* / 7W = 21*, with 3/4" difference in shaft length. For this model, one might want to carry all three - decent distance gaps - and just skip hybrids.

Back in the 1970s, lots of everyday golfers carried the 3W (about 16*) and 4W (about 19*), plus sometimes a 5W (~22*). About the time metal woods came along, the 4W largely disappeared, and a 5W of 19*-21* appeared.

Decision time: When considering long-club mix, get the specifications sheets . See the actual loft and shaft length differences from club to club. Another nuisance: in some models, 5W and 7W have the same shaft length.

As for now, you may find that a 5W and a 2H both will work for you. Just depends on which "feels better." And, the spec sheets get you close, but hitting the clubs gives you action info.

[superfly777]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

If the 5W is your only regular-flex long club, that shaft may be the "accuracy" problem. Was it a Diablo Octane? Plenty of Diablo 5W Stiffs out there. Also, since you're in London, wind may be more of an everyday problem. (Some hybrids deliver lower trajectory than comparable FWs).

5Ws are still being made. One problem we now encounter in many model mixes: 3W = 15* / 4W = 17* / 5W = 19* / 7W = 21*. If the shafts are 1/2" different in length, you won't get much separation in distance from adjacent clubs. Basically you would want to carry 3W + 5W, or 4W + 7W.

I carry a RBZ 3W.HL (really it's a 17* 4W, but marketing genies decided to get silly...) and a 21* 7W. Distance separation between the two is 15-18 yards. I originally had bought a 5W to go with the two, but returned it unhit - no real value added in keeping it.

From a couple years back, the Callaway Razr Hawk offered 3W = 15* / 5W = 18* / 7W = 21*, with 3/4" difference in shaft length. For this model, one might want to carry all three - decent distance gaps - and just skip hybrids.

Back in the 1970s, lots of everyday golfers carried the 3W (about 16*) and 4W (about 19*), plus sometimes a 5W (~22*). About the time metal woods came along, the 4W largely disappeared, and a 5W of 19*-21* appeared.

Decision time: When considering long-club mix, get the specifications sheets. See the actual loft and shaft length differences from club to club. Another nuisance: in some models, 5W and 7W have the same shaft length.

As for now, you may find that a 5W and a 2H will work for you. Just depends on which "feels better." And, the spec sheets get you close, but hitting the clubs gives you action info.

The 5W was by MD Golf which is an Irish company. I don't think they're well known in the US but they make good clubs that shoot well above their weight in all product comparison tests, particularly with wedges (still got an MD Gap Wedge). Being a regular flex shaft was definitely a big problem but it was also much more difficult to keep on target in the wind.

I could probably have got used to the 5W in stiff shaft and it would have been good in certain circumstances. But in the end I went for a 19 degree (turned to 18.25) Titleist 913H and am very happy with that decision. I use it a number of times a round and I find it much easier to keep it under the wind. I think that would have been difficult even with a shaft suited 5W. I also got a 21 degree Titleist 913H which is half an inch shorter shaft so it fits in nicely above my irons and gives me the correct distance gaps.

I just need to upgrade my 3W now to something a bit more fitted and modern.