5 replies to this topic

[odshot68]

There are inherent problems with both clubs for me.  Off the tee on a longer par 3 (220 yards) the hybrid is much better as its easier to control and gives a nice iron flight and is easier to control due to the shorter length.  Its a good shot to hit into the wind off the fairway too.   Downfalls, if I have to hit a high launching 215 yards shot off the fairway into an elevated green where you can't run it on I don't have it because I don't launch it high enough to drop and stop.  The 5 wood is great for higher launching shots but the longer shaft make it slightly more difficult to be as consistent with it.  Into the wind, a 5 wood is worthless IMO.  Don't like the idea of a 5 wood into a longer par 3.  They are completely different clubs.

Edited by odshot68, 20 November 2012 - 07:50 AM.

[gregh729]

I have the same problem.  I have spent more time and money on this slot in my bag than any other.  Unfortunately, i still do not have an answer.

[MelloYello]

I don't consider shaft length an issue if you can trim it a little and fix the problem. I play my SQ 5w short but because of that it's even easier than normal to hit and I can 'step on it' any time I want to to get that yardage back. Tiger's a big guy but still uses shorter fairway metals as well. It's just seems to make them more versatile clubs.

Besides, the premise of a hybrid is really to produce an iron that can deal with coming out of the rough. I think hybrids as strong as 17*/18* are probably more like blade 2-irons in that they're limited. The idea with both of those club types isn't really to hit the ball high and hit gorgeous approach shots like you might see with a 4- or 5-iron. It's more of a driving iron or something you can use to advance the ball up around the green complex if you have a good lie.

lf you don't deal with a lot of penalizing rough where you need long shots, you probably don't need hybrids in general. I for example don't see a lot of deep rough where I play so I have had a hard time ever making hybrids stick in my bag. Generally they have been to hard to control and have been too directional.

Fairway woods launch higher and go straighter in my book so I'm more happy with those.

But when it's windy, I'll be the first to admit you really lose control of the 5w. It can become a joke. The other day for example, I hit a smash draw which I'd normally expect to get about 220 out of and I'll be darned if it didn't balloon and drop from the moon at 185 or so. That's the same distance my chunky 4-iron went, and I hit the 5w perfect!

[odshot68]

This can get tough when trying to put a bag together at the top end.  I think a hybrid is a useful club between 19-21 degrees (high enough, but not too high).

Edited by odshot68, 20 November 2012 - 09:35 AM.

[MelloYello]

odshot68, on 20 November 2012 - 09:35 AM, said:

This can get tough when trying to put a bag together at the top end.  I think a hybrid is a useful club between 19-21 degrees (high enough, but not too high).

I'll agree with that. In that range, which is more of a 3-iron, there's more versatility.


The other problem I've encountered in this:

I carry 3w/5w & 3-P. That means I'm either hitting a fairway metal or an iron.

If I were to also carry a hybrid I'd then have to accomodate not just a new club but also a third type of launch conditions, a third type of shot-shaping ability, a third type of golf swing, etc.

I think hybrids are useful but to a player like me they simply add too much to the bag. There becomes too much to worry about and sometimes that can compound the difficulties of club selection and golf swing which we're trying to make simple out there on the golf course.

So, if hybrids work for you, stick to those. If fairways work for you, stick to those. Combining fairways and hybrids though sometimes doesn't work as ideally as we might wish which is why I believe we see guys like Woods, McIlroy, Westwood and others keeping to what they prefer (woods) and staying away from other options (hybrids, rescues). It's perfectly acceptable for it to be the other way around, you just don't want to have too much going on that your practice can't keep up.

Keep it simple.

Keep it reliable.

Edited by MelloYello, 20 November 2012 - 09:47 AM.

[odshot68]

Mello, the guys you mention hit their low irons so far though, they don't need to hit a 5 wood into a par 3 though.  I only swing a sluggish 105 with the driver.  My 5 iron carries 195 tops off a tee, and there's go 215 +..big difference