Do I go all Hybrid?

[Senseicads]

Ok after a bit of golf club selection advice. Just to preface this I am already having lessons so I am covered on that score.

I am a high handicapper(23) and the top end of my bag is a mess. The current make up has been evolving over time since I started playing a couple of years ago, in a somewhat ramshackle way and goes 5i, 4i, 24*Hybrid (which is old and awful and I bought for £20 on a whim when I first started out), 5w, D.

I hit the 4i so terrible it might as well not be in the bag,
I hit the 5i ok and fairly consistently about 160-165yds,
the hybrid goes the same distance as the 5i, a little bit further if connected well,
and the 5w can be a bit hit and miss, but gets to 185-190 if I connect well but I am not that consistent with it.

So past couple of weekends my pro shop has let me take out a ping g400 4 hybrid demo club, and I am able to hit it much more consistently than the 5w. It gives me so much confidence. I even had a shot that crept up towards 200yds with it. The ping fairway woods not so much, I struggled with the length of the shaft to hit it consistently. I am hitting the 4H about the same distance as my current 5w, 185-190yds according to skytrack.

I then had a bit of a gapping session on a sky track while the pro tried to sell me on the G400. It wasn’t that hard a sell. I am thinking I will replace the 5w with the Ping 4H.
However, this leaves me with some ridiculous distances on my top end clubs.

I would have…

Driver at 220 yds.
Ping 4h at 185-190
4i at God only knows
24*Hybrid at say 160-170
5I at 160-165

It’s just not very balanced. I am thinking of just biting the bullet and buying 3 of these ping g400 hybrids, a 3,4,5. And then removing the pointless 4i, the 5w and the 24* Hybrid from the bag, as this feels it would cover the gap between my 5i and driver nicely.

So I would have,

D, 3H, 4H, 5H, 5i-Pw. 3 wedges and a putter.

One other issue, is that I feel like that if I went out and bought the 3h and the 5h I won’t have tried hitting them beforehand. I am very happy with the way I am hitting the 4h. I’ve tried to get a go on the other two at my local AG’s to no avail, and my pro shop only has the 4h to have a go of as a demo club. Do you think that will matter? Should I just expect a natural 10-15 yds gap between each of the clubs? I would like to have had a go on them before I bought, although I am hoping that the two clubs will be just as easy to hit for me as the 4H? is that naïve?

I even thought of keeping the somewhat unreliable 5w and getting the 3h and the 5h, as the 4h in the g400 goes the same distance as my 5w even if it’s not as consistent.

So after this long rambling post, what do I do? which combination of clubs do I go for? What would you do in my shoes?

 

[Imurg]

I'm going to have 3, maybe 4, hybrids in the bag very soon.
Driver is staying, as is the 3 wood which is usable off the deck but mainly for some tight tee shots.
I'm then going 17°, 21° and 24° with possibly a 27° in there as well.
Use what works reliably and goes the right distance.
If your driver tops out at around 220 then, by your figures, the 3h should come in nicely behind that, as would the 4h and 5h.
Most amateurs struggle to hit a 4 iron much better than their 5 iron and a lot of them are better off without the 5 iron too.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I currently have D, 3W(15) 3H(18) 4H(21) 5H(24) 6H(27) 6-PW.

I have the 4-5 Iron sat in the shed, not needing them at the moment as Hybrids working fine, it’s whatever works best for you.

Went for 3H rather than 5W in same loft as I found the hybrid more consistent in my hands

 

[bobmac]

Are the lessons helping?

 

[Senseicads]

Thanks guys for the responses. I think that's part of my nervousness. I know that I can hit the 4h well. I don't know that I can hit the 3h or the 5h yet as not been able to have a go on them. I am just assuming that they'll be just as easy and confidence filling as the 4h was.

@BobMac. yup lessons are helping. although I need to bed it in more. I've come down from a 28 handicap to a 23 since I started a couple of years ago. Slow progress but progress...I set an ambitious goal of 18 by end of the year, although I've buffered in every comp so far this year. change is hard!

 

[garyinderry]

I have a pile of hybrids and woods in the bag this last 2 years.

Put a 3 iron in the bag this weekend instead of the 4 hybrid and used it to good effect. Except for one shot from the light rough. Simply did not get the club into the back of the ball and came up well short and left. the hybrid is much better at these types of shots.

5 hybrid is staying put even if I have a longer iron in the bag after that. Beats my 5 iron all day every day.

I've even had up to a 7 hybrid in the bag this year. Experiment, try them and see if you like it. Nothing to lose.

 

[bobmac]

Thanks guys for the responses. I think that's part of my nervousness. I know that I can hit the 4h well. I don't know that I can hit the 3h or the 5h yet as not been able to have a go on them. I am just assuming that they'll be just as easy and confidence filling as the 4h was.

@BobMac. yup lessons are helping. although I need to bed it in more. I've come down from a 28 handicap to a 23 since I started a couple of years ago. Slow progress but progress...I set an ambitious goal of 18 by end of the year, although I've buffered in every comp so far this year. change is hard!

Good news.
I wouldn't go filling your bag full of hybrids just yet though.
As you say, change is hard but it's also rewarding.
Have patience and keep practicing, especially the 5 wood

 

[Lord Tyrion]

My brain hurts from reading that. I have driver, 3w, 5w, 26°H, 23°H, 7-PW. My 7i is getting used less and less, the 26°H at 3/4 is proving more reliable and goes a similar distance. Yet to have anyone look in my bag and laugh, no one cares. Put in what works for you, that is all that matters.

There will be some days where the difference between the 3w, 5w and 26°H is negligible but I keep them all in just in case one of them is misbehaving, I just swap to one of the others .

 

[bobmac]

There will be some days where the difference between the 3w, 5w and 26°H is negligible but I keep them all in just in case one of them is misbehaving, I just swap to one of the others .

You need help

 

[Lord Tyrion]

You need help

There is no doubt about that Bob :rofl:. Typo by the way. I meant 23°, not 26. On a good day there is just enough between all 3 to justify them but I could really drop the 3W as I hit the 5W close enough to that club and I am possibly more consistent with it. It looks sexy though so for the moment it stays .

I struggle with shaft length so I wouldn't mind a bit of DeChambeauing and put a 3w head in a 23°H shaft. Maybe something to ponder.

 

[TreeSeeker]

I have a similar gap issue, have 5i for 180, or 3wood for 220. However im likely to miss the green with both of them, so its as well to consider that im just laying up, and if laying up the distance isnt that scary anymore. Have you considered just keeping the gap for a while, and looking for new clubs when you need something to hit much more specific distances / targets?

 

[jim8flog]

My 5 iron got dropped two weeks ago and replaced by a 29 degree hybrid with a plus one inch shaft. Working really well at the moment tons of height and really good drop and stop. Still working out it's maximum distance.

 

[duncan mackie]

Most don't have a gap issue, they have swing issues that mean that they get a huge compression of distance across their longer clubs.

Someone carrying a 5 iron 180 should be easily carrying a 3 wood 220 with the same swing 👍

And that's the root cause of sheds full of 2/3/4 (and 5) irons, hybrids and 3 & 5 woods.

(Sometimes hidden behind all the wedges and putters...)

For most on the progress trail less is more.

Driver, 5w, 4h covers a huge range of potential options but will mean you get to go with the club's often enough to make friends and appreciate their capabilities. When you hit a 4h with a consistent trajectory and strike such that it carries within +/- 5 yds most of the time then consider adding a 3h/5h