3h or 5w?

[Paul S]

Well, I'm curious as to what people bag that's in the 18-20 degree range. I'm wondering if I should try playing a 5 wood versus my hybrid, but being that the hybrid I just picked up with Christmas gift cards is a highly Covert Tour 18-22, I'm almost considering playing it as a strong 4iron and picking up a 5 wood as well. 

 

Does anyone have any good insight to why they play what they play between the 3 wood and irons?

[revkev]

I have a 19 degree hybrid and a 5 wood that I interchange based upon the course and conditions. The 5 wood is the default club. The hybrid is great on a dry course off the tee and it would no doubt get more play in the summer if I still lived up north.

 

We have two par threes at my league course that require a five wood type shot for me depending upon wind and pin position.

[whiskey golf]

I play a 21 degree Titleist adjusted to 20 degrees. I can't hit fairway woods off the deck so I opted for a hybrid plus I feel more confident that I'll keep it in play due to the smaller head size.

[Shambles]

I carry both.

 

They fly different, roll different and land different. I find the only legitimate alternative to hybrids for me is a long iron and that works, but is more difficult to use reliably. As a matter of fact, I've replaced my 3 and 4 Iron with Hybrids simply because they are really easier to use in more conditions and where an Iron is a must, it is usually smarter to play a mid or short and try to stretch them.

 

 

Shambles

[Paul S]

Shambles, what do you carry in a standard 14 club setup? I'm kind of debating setting the Covert Tour to 21-22 degrees and removing my 4 iron for a 5 wood.

[Lonnie96]

3 hybrid,,I can hit that as far as my driver at times,,and draw it,

 

A cheapo tommy armour $45 hybrid,, best investment ever

 

 

Metal woods/ graphite shafts and hybrids were the biggest advancements in the game,,,IMO.. The ball is also on that list too.

[RookieBlue7]

I carry neither. I bag a 13* 3 wood and a 21* 4 hybrid. Nothing between them. Yeah occasionally it bites me but I'd rather put another wedge in rather than a club I might use once every few rounds.

[kygolfer1980]

I have both.  Alternate between either an Adams LS 18* wood, Adams 18* Idea Pro hybrid, or a 60* wedge.  Depends on the course on which I use but more time than not it's the LS 5 wood.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

I played around on Qbids for a couple of weeks and the only auction I won was for a Rocketballz 5 wood.  Hadn't bagged a 5 wood for decades, but after unexpectedly winning, I gave it a try.  It is my one and only dependable club other than the gap wedge.  Even when I'm playing terrible, I can usually hit good, if not great, shots with this club.  I should use it more.  I use it instead of the 3 wood off the deck and off the tee on two holes.  I have a rocketballz 4 hybrid.  Four wedges and no four iron.

[EJ Mac]

I carry a 17*, 21* and 25* but will take the 21* out for a 19.5* or GW depending on the mood. Love my 17 of the tee on limited driving space holes coupled with the ability to hit a low stinger or high floater. No desire to ever bag a 5 wood again.

[RoverRick]

This past year, I have changed clubs in my bag almost as often as I have my golf shirts. The top and the bottom of the bag are always the areas of interest and change, but I will limit my discussion here to the top of the bag in this thread.

 

This year I am planning on sticking with one set up, as soon as I get it. Just today, I ordered my new (to me) irons and have another new wedge coming,  Perhaps by the end of the week, it will be set. 

 

The plan this year is to have the 4 as my longest iron.  Last year, I carried the Mizuno Fli Hi 2 and 3 irons most of the year, but after careful debate, I found that these are not so great at stopping the ball on the green.  I decided that the hybrid gives me the same distance off the tee but is better on the approach shots to the green.  The key was finding the right hybrid.  It turns out that I had the hybrid for a number of years.  I installed a 909H 19* on a KBS C Taper Lite shaft.  This is a very accurate combination.  Finding a hybrid that did not turn hard left was also a major concern.

 

The next item is the fairway metal.  I have had a host of 3 woods pass through the bag, as well as a couple of 5 woods.  For the most part, a 3 wood is tough to hit consistently off the dirt, and a 5 wood will balloon of the tee pretty easily.  While I might still occasionally add my TaylorMade R11 3 Wood on really long or tight courses where I do not want to hit a driver off the tee.  I have put this on a 44" driver shaft and have it set on 12.5*.  This is my Phrankenwood and I really like this club, but it is a special occasion club. My daily use FM is my oldest club, other than my 1997 vintage putter, in the bag.  It is a Titleist 980F 17* 4 Wood, and I have tried on many occasions to replace this club.  In all honestly, I also have a 12* version that I am tempted to reshaft as my Phrankenwood.  It is every bit as good as the TMag.  This was the same vintage club that Phil originally reshaft and to make the first Phrankenwood in Phoenix last year. The 4 wood I use is still plenty long off the tee, but it is much easier to hit off the deck than the lower lofted clubs.  While this head is from 2002 I have reshafted this club at least once a year.  Currently, it has a Kuro Kage Black.  This is a high launching shaft.  I love the small head on it and it allows me to hit from a multitude of lies.

 

So there you have it for me.  No 5 wood and normally a 4 wood and 19* hybrid.

[Paul S]

I carry neither. I bag a 13* 3 wood and a 21* 4 hybrid. Nothing between them. Yeah occasionally it bites me but I'd rather put another wedge in rather than a club I might use once every few rounds.

This is interesting. The 3 wood I have is a 13* too and it's a really great club. My problem is that since I'm pretty small, I could not get away with the gap between the 13* 3 wood and the 21* hybrid. I need something intermediate. The more I think about it and read the replies here, the more I want to kind of pick up a 5 wood and then set the hybrid to 22* to act as a long 4 iron. 

 

Lot's of interesting responses though!

[BIG STU]

To me it is one of those subjective things about this great game. I personally cannot hit hybrids consistant. I do carry a 21* 7 wood. It is a go to club for me I can hit a variety of shots with it. I have built a club that I am going to try if it ever quits raining here. I was looking through some stuff that I acquired a year or so and found 2 9 wood heads. They are 26* heavy bottom no name brands. I had a used Pro Force 65 gold shaft laying around so I put it together.

[Tom54]

I have a 16* and a 20* hybrid with no fairway woods in my bag. Personally I've always had a harder time hitting fairway woods.

[dru_]

It seems to be a swing thing.  

 

I carried 2 hybrids for a long time without a fairway.  When I hit them alright, I could launch them a mile, but I could never consistently control them.

 

Eventually I added a FW, and that I could hit consistantly.  Since then I've dropped one of my hybrids and I am on the verge of dropping the other and going back to a true 3i instead of a 3h.

 

Technically speaking, the hybrid is supposed to be the easier to hit,  but for my swing, it never was (though I now believe this to be a product of the shafts in place and assumptions based upon a bag fitting done when I was in FAR worse physical condition). 

 

So in the end, I think the answer to your question is, try each, and sort out what works best for you.  There is no cookie cutter bag that works for a majority of golfers.  Each swing, mind and body works different, so we are each, to a certain degree, on our own.  

 

From a distance/flight/launch perspective, the difference between a 5w a 4h and a 3i  probably only vary marginally for a machine, but the confidence in being able to hit any of the given options to a predictable distance and placement is what really matters here.  

 

Given all of that my advice is simply this, try each, and find what works best for you.  If you have the time and funds, have an instructor or a fitter work with you to get it tweaked to how you play. 

 

I know I have a tendency to worry about equipment, and equipment does impact the game, but not as much as the confidence in your ability to swing a given club.  If you know you can pull that stick and hit it at a target with a high rate of success, that is the stick you need to use.

[dcorun]

Cobra Baffler T-Rail+ 17*. Fits well between my 15.5* 3 wood and my 3 iron and is the easiest hybrid to hit I've ever owned. No more pulls to the left like some other hybrids I've had.

[hckymeyer]

I just redid the top of the bag this past season.  I used to bag a 17° 4w and 19° hybrid and that fit my gaps nicely.  Since switching to the Amp Cell irons my 4i distance crept up and I wasn't getting a proper gap between that and the hybrid.

 

So switched to a 14.5° 3w and a 16.5° hybrid.  The distance gapping is better with this setup for me.  There is a little bit larger gap between that hybrid and my 4i now, but I adjust for that by gripping down the hybrid.  A full swing with regular grip is standard, and then a full swing gripped down to the shaft takes just enough off to not need another club before I get to my irons.

[Stoffer]

I have this exact choice to make to fill the last spot in my bag.  I played last year with a gap between my 3-wood (which I really wanted as a mini-driver for less distance off the tee) and my 4-iron. Since I'm still working to get a repeatable swing the gap in distance never bothered me last year.  This year I plan on playing smarter golf which will require understanding of the carry distances and trajectories for all my clubs.  The hybrid is my current plan over the 5-wood but I need to head to where I can swing a few and see what I like.

[mackdaddy]

I switched out my 3 and 5 woods for hybrids.  I switched my 13* RBZ fairway and my 17* RBZ fairway for hybrids purely because I can hit my hybrids better from the rough than the fairway metals.  I hit both well from the fairway.  In fact I hit the woods longer by about 10 yards but from the rough the woods were less consistent.  Nothing feels worse than rolling one out of the rough when you have reachable yardage on a par 5.

[Kor.A.Door]

Right now I have both, x hot 19* 3h, exotics 5w, the hybrid is new, just trying some things out, can get more roll with hybrid, I love the 5 wood, so that will stay. I want to add a 54* wedge so something will have to go in order to do that.

[Dropking]

A very good question with the emergence of the hybrids. I love my X Hot 4 iron and always carry it as it is great from the tee box for short par 4 holes but more importantly it has great penetration into the wind and is ideal for keeping low under branches.

 

I have the RB 5 wood but seldom carry it as I prefer the accuracy of my Adams Super S 17* hybrid. The 5 wood is great if you need a high shot and that is what my bag usually lacks as I hit my X Hot 3 wood fairly low.

[Krismond30]

I went with a Hybrids to replace my fairway woods.  I just never found a FW I could hit consistently, so I pulled them out of the bag a couple years ago and went with a 17* hybrid.  I'm more confident hitting hybrids than fairway woods.  To me hybrids are easier to hit off the turf and rough.  My setup right now is the Ping Anser 17* Hybrid and the Adams a12 19* Hybrid.  

 

 

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

It seems to be a swing thing.  

 

I carried 2 hybrids for a long time without a fairway.  When I hit them alright, I could launch them a mile, but I could never consistently control them.

 

Eventually I added a FW, and that I could hit consistantly.  Since then I've dropped one of my hybrids and I am on the verge of dropping the other and going back to a true 3i instead of a 3h.

 

Technically speaking, the hybrid is supposed to be the easier to hit,  but for my swing, it never was (though I now believe this to be a product of the shafts in place and assumptions based upon a bag fitting done when I was in FAR worse physical condition). 

 

So in the end, I think the answer to your question is, try each, and sort out what works best for you.  There is no cookie cutter bag that works for a majority of golfers.  Each swing, mind and body works different, so we are each, to a certain degree, on our own.  

 

From a distance/flight/launch perspective, the difference between a 5w a 4h and a 3i  probably only vary marginally for a machine, but the confidence in being able to hit any of the given options to a predictable distance and placement is what really matters here.  

 

Given all of that my advice is simply this, try each, and find what works best for you.  If you have the time and funds, have an instructor or a fitter work with you to get it tweaked to how you play. 

 

I know I have a tendency to worry about equipment, and equipment does impact the game, but not as much as the confidence in your ability to swing a given club.  If you know you can pull that stick and hit it at a target with a high rate of success, that is the stick you need to use.

I'm with you.  Based on Friday's round, I'm considering taking out the 4 hybrid and putting back the 4i.  The 4h has destroyed almost all of my recent rounds.  For some reason, I hit dead pulls, push straight right, tops, digs, on about half the shots I take with it.  I can hit it well, but it has the propensity for really bad shots that cost a stroke or more than one stroke.  As noted above, that almost never happens with the 5w.  At least with the 4i, I won't have the disaster shots.  May not hit as many good scoring shots with it, but I can live with being a bit short or 10-15 yds right or left.  I can't really explain it.