Is 3 degrees enough..?

[Imurg]

No.. not ChasTheHippie's favourite all-Girl trio but loft..
Especially between hybrids/woods.

Prompted by DaveB's thread about a 4 wood + 19 and 22 degree hybrids, I ask the members of the Forum if there would be a significant yardage gap between a 19 and 22 or a 18 and 21 degree hybrid...?
With a graphite shaft as standard these days, a hybrid is, as well as being a rescue club from the bundu, taking the place of many a fairway wood. Distance is the objective for most fairway wood shots - after all, most of us are unlikely to hit a green from 200+ yards on a regular basis - so why only 3 degrees between clubs?

Those 3 degrees equate to about 10-15 yards. Given our skill at not making consistent contact with the sweet spot of the club, it makes me wonder what, if any, difference most have between their clubs at the top end of the bag where 10 yards here or there, in the great scheme of things, doesn't make a lot of odds most of the time.

With irons it's a different kettle of fish - you need a consistent gap between clubs and, generally, I would guess we're more consistent at striking irons than woods so the difference would be apparent.

Any thoughts..?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Interesting thoughts. I have a 5 wood and 3 hybrid which are both 18 degrees. I can get the 5 wood out to 200 yards with ease but the hybrid only goes about 180-185 on a lower flight. I carry both as the 5 wood makes the positional shots on par 5's easier and I need it for a couple of the par 3's The hybrid is versatile out of different lies so if I get into the semi I can still make progress. Both provide options and are necessary for my course

 

[DaveM]

I have to agree with you. I have a 3 and 4 hybrid. As I hit the 4 better than the 3 I found there was even less a gap than that for me. So the pair of them are now out of the bag. Replaced with a 7 wood. Which I find miles easier to hit than either of the hybrids. Plus by gripping down or altering swing length. I can cover more distances. Its ok out of the rough too.

 

[duncan mackie]

Any thoughts..?

completely agree - most higher handicaps carry multiple clubs in the range 4 iron to 3 wood as a comfort element ie they hope the shot they face from the lie they have will match one of these clubs and provide them the confidence to make the shot. confidence being the key.

the reality is that most would do better to either hit a 5 iron (or even 6) each and every time, or maybe a 4H so they make friends with it!

 

[shewy]

funny that,just back from an interesting range session.took my 4i and 3 hybrid with intention of hitting a 4 hybrid to compare.result the 4i blown out of the water but more interesting was the 4h went further than the 3h,got a dilema now at the top end of my bag

 

[One Planer]

I have a 5 wood (18*), a 17* hybrid and a 3 iron (21*) all go different distances ..... Depending how well I'm swinging that day

I found I had distance gap between my 3 iron and 5 wood. 17* fits it just nice :thup:

Edit: I should also add that the 5 wood and hybrid have the same shaft (See Sig) and the 3 iron has a TTDG Steel shaft.

 

[kid2]

I dont carry a 5 wood even though i have room for one...Iv a 3 wood at 15.5 degrees that i can carry 205 mtrs.....
My hybrid is 20 degrees that i hit max about 185mtrs.....Iv a 20 mtr gap but to be honest as Murg has said most will do well to hit a green from that distance on a good day....I prefer to think of them as transportation clubs from point A to B.....If i do hit a green is a bonus if not the at least iv a short chip at worst.....

So iv a 4.5 degree gap which equates to about 20-25 mtrs i think.

 

[Dave B]

Imurg.

A good post, my thinking is as follows but as we all know practice and theory have a habbit of proving us wrong:

My Iron gaps are generally 10 yds apart going from a nine iron to five iron, with the five giving me aproximatetly 170 yds.

A 22 degree hybrid should give me 180-185 yds, 19 degrees 190-200 yds and the 17 degree 4 wood 210-220 yds due to the extra shaft length.

These are the gaps I want to tackle long par three's using a full comited swing rather than a lazy swing with wood, (fatal if you de-accelerate) and I'm more than happy to sacrifice distance for accuracy to bring my scores down.

The other thing is like many mid handicap players with long woods in the bag, the temptation is always there to welly it with a 3 or 5 wood if you duff your tee shot. Anything other than a perfect lie and more often than not you end up in more trouble than you were before you attempted to hit the shot. I'm hoping that having a couple of hybrids in the bag will allow me to make a good recovery shot without getting myself into more trouble

 

[TheJezster]

I use a 4 wood and a hybrid. I do have a 4 iron, but dont often use it really. Infact I dont think I've used it once in my last 3-4 rounds. I dont know how far i can hit it, I suppose I should really try it more to get used to it.

if I have around 180-220/230 yards I use my hybrid, but if I'm on the fairway for around 230+ I'll use the 4 wood. I tend to move my hands up and down the shaft if I want to vary the distance.

 

[Region3]

100% agreed.

I wouldn't see enough of a difference between a 3 wood and 5 wood to make it worthwhile carrying both, so went for a 4 wood.

The gap to my hybrid is about 20yds (carry) but that's on a good hit. A slight miss-hit and the 4 wood will be shorter than the hybrid so I'm not going to worry about having a club to fill the gap.

Another thing which has been mentioned on here before but people tend to forget, is that carry distance isn't just a function of loft. Lower loft doesn't necessarily mean more distance. It's a combination of ball speed, launch angle and spin. Slower swing speeds don't generate enough ball speed and backspin to make lower lofted clubs worthwhile and will actually hit higher lofted clubs further. A part of that may be to do with gaining a bit more control with a slightly shorter shaft.

 

[JustOne]

I carry a 17 degree 5-wood and a 20 degree 5-wood (they both say 5 on the base).... one is 235yd and the other is 210yds, so 3 degrees is 25yds.




The RBZ 19 degree however is about 250.... with a fade

 

[PhilTheFragger]

I had a 18 degree 5 wood which worked very well
Tried a 15.5 degree 3 wood with the same shaft and found that the 3 and the 5 were almost identical ,

I then tried a 20 degree 7 wood with the same shaft and found that easier to hit and about 15 yards shorter than the 3 wood

So I dropped the 5 and now have the 3 and 7 woods
As for hybrids I have a 22 degree cobra hybrid which goes about 10 yards shorter than the 7 wood
And also a 27 degree hybrid which goes about the same as my 6 iron, but is easier to hit from the rough.

So my distances are...

3 wood. 210 yards
7 wood. 195 yards
22 hybrid 180 yards
27 hybrid 160 yards
6 iron. 160 yards
7 iron. 150
Etc

Works for me ( most of the time)

Fragger

 

[Alex1975]

I too agree, I have always carried a 19 & 22 but found that they were too close together. I now have a 19 & 24 and the gap is much more useable.

 

[USER1999]

I have thinned out the top of my bag over the years, as I found a lot of duplication on average hits.
I have ended up with the same set up as region3, as I remember it. Driver, 4w, 21 hybrid, 4i.

This has enabled me to carry loads of wedges.

I am still not convinced I hit my 4i further than my 5i though.