Hybrid types vs Fairway Woods

Voyager EMH

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I have never been a fan of hybrids, but I appreciate the practicality and versatility they can offer.
As something to do just what you say - maybe not much more distance, but easier to hit from light rough than a 3-iron, I bought one of these in January. It will be in my bag today.



20d baffler.jpg

But I paid only £14 and collected it from a bloke in Loughborough.
 

jim8flog

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I carried a 7 wood for years mainly for the deep rough and one particular par 3.

When hybrids/rescues were introduced it took me some while but I made the switch because I hit them like irons and I found them easier to hit than a long iron.
The 7 wood still gets the occasional run out because it is such a good club. If I could carry 15 clubs it would probably be what goes in.

If you want to go to the trouble I have an Adams Tite Lies 7 wood head only which needs the old broken shaft removing and a new shaft fitted £8 inc delivery.
 

nickjdavis

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The transition from fairways to irons can be a tricky one to fill...something I've been trying to do to my satisfaction for a couple of years now.

From the traditional 1/3/5 wood set up, I've in recent times been playing an Apex Utility wood at 21 degrees and a Rogue (2018) hybrid at 24 degrees before my 6 iron at 26.5*. The Apex UW replaced a 21* Rogue hybrid which I really struggled with, and I can honestly say it is an excellent club...looking more like one of the old Titleist 975 drivers with its pear shaped head, it is neither fairway wood nor hybrid in profile....but it does go arrow straight with a nice mid height ball flight.

Whilst I've never had an issue with hybrids (I generally like the look of them at address, how they perform out of rough, and I don't have issues like others have had with them being hook machines) in recent years I've struggled to find one that I can hit consistently well....a lot of this I put down to the ever increasing trend towards lighter shafts....its not uncommon to see shafts in the 60g weight class appearing in hybrids....60g was the typical driver shaft weight some 6 or 7 years ago. I've always believed that weight of shaft is as important a consideration as flex, in that the correct weight of shaft will help the golfer into a more natural rhythm during the swing.

The last hybrids I really remember enjoying hitting were the old Callaway Apex's from 2016 (which had an 80g Kuro Kage shaft) and the Ping G400's (with the Ping Tour shaft which was heavier (85g?) than the more standard Alta offering).

I've tried several hybrids, taking advantage of GolfBidder and Callaways own pre-owned scheme's return policies in an effort to find one that is a pleasure to hit and can be hit consistently. Without a great deal of success i must say. I've hit a few down the range, compared them to what I've got in the bag and, yes, whilst they might be a bit better...thats all it is, a bit...its like I've been experiencing a snail like transition to a club that feels really in synch with my swing.

So I recently started searching out for decent condition examples of the old 2016 Apex hybrids and managed to find a decent condition 4 hybrid at 23 degrees. Have had a few range sessions and to be honest....its been a bit of a revelation how much easier it is to hit consistently than the Rogue and the 2021 Apex that I've been experimenting with recently. So much so that I've immediately gone and sourced a 20 degree version of the same club.

Will be interesting to see out on the course how the 20 hybrid compares distance and flight wise to the UW and which fills the gap between the 23 hybrid and 5 wood most effectively.
 
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Newnsy

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For the last 7-8 years I’ve played two various bag sets ups but there has always been 1-3 hybrids that have been the more compact slimmer style as opposed to the more popular mini-wood versions.

I’ve recently changed the top end of my irons around resulting in only 1 space between a 3w (set 16.5* 4w) and 3i.

Predominantly I’m looking for something to slot between the two or even the same length as the 3i but is more forgiving out of first cuts. My gut feeling is a 5w adjusted to more like a 6w or even a 7w and junk the hybrids all together.

Has anyone changed for similar reasons


I recently switched my 2 Iron to the Callaway UW, its a 5 wood but with a hybrid length shaft. is now my favourite club in my bag and I am thinking about switching my 4 iron to a higher lofted one.

It is so easy to hit, not as good as a hybrid out of rough but great out of first cut, and the big thing for me it doesn't look like it aims left, can hit a low running shot with it or the high shot that lands super soft.
 

Oddsocks

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Thanks for all the responses, I think a few however haven’t really read the point of the thread. I already have a great set of hybrids but due to changing the iron set up I was looking for opinions based on experiences of dropping hybrids in favour of a 5/7w.

Right off to buy some stromberg trousers……
 
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