As a beginner: 4 iron > 4 hybrid

[Piz]

There is no requirement that you carry a hybrid.  I carry a 22* Cleveland that I have complete confidence in.  It is the only club of its type to earn that distinction.  It fits into my set between the 4 iron and 5 wood.  I have tried many others and found no joy; I can hit a good shot but not consistently enough.  That, I think, is the crux of the issue.  There are plenty of clubs out there that work just fine at the driving range - where you hit shot after shot with the same club and find a groove.  Finding a club that syncs with the weight progression, length, lie, and flex characteristics of your iron set is much more complicated than sequencing letters and numbers.  It is "ironic"...that in order for a club to be easier to hit than an iron...it has to feel just like one.

[jkelley9]

I'm carrying a 4i, 3h (20 deg), and 2h (18 deg).

I love my 4i off the tee the most, but I also like my 2h and 3h off the tee when teed really low.

I like the 2h and 3h combo because I can use either of them for punch shots, fringe putts, rough and rescue shots, and they close some longer distance gaps in the 190-230 yard range when trying to reach a par 5 in 2 out of the rough for instance. My next club up is my 15-deg 3-wood which I don't like to use in the rough. 

Works for me.My hybrids have a nice and light head whereas my longer irons feel kind of heavy and wanky unless I'm on the tee box.

[dave s]

Right around that 4-i or 4-hybrid distance is a club no longer in my bag.  You mentioned a 7-wood in your initial post.  Here's the 'long-iron' clubs around that 4-iron / hybrid range in my bag:

7-wood - around 180 yards

5-hybrid around 165-170

6-iron 155 - 160 yards

I don't carry either a 4-iron or 4-hybrid.  My next longer club beyond the 7-wood is a 5-wood.  Both the 7- and 5-woods are much easier to hit than a 4- or 3-hybrid with much more consistent contact and more predictable results.

For me, it's all about what clubs are easiest to hit and produce predictable results.  3- and 4-hybrids didn't fit that goal. And even with a less-than-traditional setup on the longer side of the bag, it works for me.

dave

[Piz]

I am not a beginner and I have the same difficulty.  I hit each equally well and whichever I leave at home leans silently in the corner mocking my foolishness.  When I picture myself playing out of a fairway bunker-I have the hybrid in my hands.  In the fairway I have the iron.  Until they raise the limit to 15, or I lose the 58, that's  going to be the way it is.

[DrvFrShow]

I also did a test recently, and have finally got my bag figured out. My 4 iron is out. My 4H is out. My 5H is in along with my 5 iron. I also have changed to a 7 wood for a FW.

It's easier for me to get my 5H in the air than my 22 degree 4H. It's easier for me to hit my 7 wood than my 4H. 

I carry 5 wedges so there's no room for a 5W. Not that it would make that much difference....