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5-Wood vs 3-Hy - Which and Why?

SuperStroke
Five pages and only one answer that mentions wind. I like my 5 wood, but had to closet it for a 19° 4 hybrid. With everyday light onshores of 10-12 mph, it balloons like a wedge into the wind. My hybrid's smaller head, shorter shaft and lower boring flight make it a much better choice from the tee and anywhere else besides the middle of the fairway, wind or no wind.
 
good point, 8mph or less is typical here in my area. Height is not my friend in wind.
 
Acesteve said:
I replaced the 3/5w with a simpler 4w alternative 2 years ago. Then I started to notice I sometimes hit epic shots with my 4h but almost never the 4w. So I went and bought the matching 3h and pulled the 4w.

Recently I did a range session with the 3h vs the 4w hitting off turf. Here is my observation relative to my swing.

1- The 4w is both higher and longer. My 4w has 2 degrees less loft then my 3h and is roughly 2 inches longer
2- I hit some big hooks and big slices with the 4w. 3H is more steady eddy. Not as long but not going to hook me OB. At most with the 3h I might hit a week fade but generally take the right side of the course out of play.
3- I'm trying to learn to let my arms rotate the clubface through impact vs flipping my hands at impact. My take is the hybrid was more friendly to my flipping hands flaw as are my irons.

if I improve my swing, I might be able to add the 4w back to my bag but I'm not going to do it until I get it to a one way miss
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I’ve done similar tests with 5w, 3h and 4h. I bet if I took all shot results and averaged them my 4h would win out distance wise (less duffs with it).
ususlly the 5w and 3h end up with similar distance and the 3h being 2-3” shorter allows more solid contact on avg than a 5w does.
 
3h suits my eye better and is far easier for me to hit. I can hit a 5w decently off the tee but I can hit a hybrid either off the tee or from the deck, so the hybrid is way more versatile
 
I have always been a 5- wood player until I’m toward late last year when I added a 3+ wood to my bag. To get the gapping I went 4 wood. However, I have had much better contact and consistency with my hybrid. I like the shape of my shot more (baby draw) and I can keep it lower when needed. Also, I have found I have more versatility with a hybrid in my bag versus the 4/5 wood. I am not in the fairway enough and like having the hybrid for those more difficult rough shots.
 
Hybrids are my kryptonite - they're nothing but hook machines in my hands. And hitting 3 wood off the deck is something many pros admit to struggling with (see Rickie Fowler). I carry a 5w although it's been put on probation, and have gone back to just hitting 4 iron when I have to. It's dead straight and goes over 200, outside of which I'm not hitting any greens anyway. I've even thought of finding a matching 3.
 
3h might be the best club in my bag right now, that's crazy as I was fairly against hybrids a few months ago.
 
3h was working well for me today. Modest draw. fade and slice not in play. Makes the game easier. Relative to my driver, distance was what one would expect. No more or less but predictable ball flight. Had 2 today out of 3 (as I recall) that were about as good as I can do.
 
Ideally, a 3H will go almost as far as the hybrid although the trajectory will be lower than 5 wd. You would think that 5 wd would automatically get more yardage and I do not know - but some seem to find the distance.

All I know is that I need a low kick shaft with both - high launch, mid spin shaft is what typically works for me. So I'd put that in the equation, and that's why I am usually changing out shafts in both.

My reason for the 3H would be out of the rough performance.
 
Desmond said:
Ideally, a 3H will go almost as far as the hybrid although the trajectory will be lower than 5 wd. You would think that 5 wd would automatically get more yardage and I do not know - but some seem to find the distance.

All I know is that I need a low kick shaft with both - high launch, mid spin shaft is what typically works for me. So I'd put that in the equation, and that's why I am usually changing out shafts in both.

My reason for the 3H would be out of the rough performance.
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To add to your post - the 3H would be a better choice for those players who haven't the skill to control the ball with a fairway wood in windy conditions.
 
I am currently carrying the 5W. My bag is a little funky but there is a rhyme to my reason. I go 4I-4H-5W. I hit the 4H a little further then the 4I and launch it higher. Sometimes I need to get the ball in the air. I like the 4I if I am in trouble and need to keep the ball lower. I like the 5W because I consistently hit the same exact shot every single time and I can not say I have ever had a 3H that was consistent for me.
 
Tomorrow is 5w experiment day. Mavrik with an 8X in it. (y)
 
Its officially 5w experiment day.
 
Desmond said:
My reason for the 3H would be out of the rough performance.
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I agree with this especially early in the season when the rough( including the first cut) is thick and even more so when it it is wet. Been working on the hybrid this year and gaining confidence with it.
 
My 5 wood is getting the distance for me and so far I am sticking with it. Don't use hybrids and took the 3 out. Hit one yesterday off the tee with the 5w that was around 225 which was perfect for the dogleg I was playing. Only other hit with it was off the deck and went about 200 with a tad right of the green and had a chip up to the green. I usually don't hit the 5 off the deck much but thought I would give it a go for fun.
 
I bounce back and forth between a 5w and driving iron. Never had a hybrid in the bag outside of the Morgan Cup. I am finding the driving iron fits my game better as I feel more confident with it off the tee and have better control with it.
 
I had always played a 5w in this spot until December 2019 when I started using a string 4i in that spot. Then in March, I went with a 3h and I have not been getting along with it. I just am not consistent enough with it directionally or distance. I haven’t given up on it entirely, but recently tried a few rounds with the 4i and am straighter with it.

Off the tee, I am better with the iron. Off the fairway, I am better with the hybrid. The good blend for me between the two for tee and fairway was the 5w.

I am trying hard to learn to hit the hybrid off the tee more consistently. I must swing easier!
 
Jman said:
Its officially 5w experiment day.
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Looking forward to your findings today Jman.

I was able to ultimately find my answer to your original question with a fitting. The choice has since been validated on the course, for the most part. For years my setup always included a 5W. But when I came back to golf (in '14) after a 19 year layoff hybrids were the norm so I went that route with my new bag. Unsure what my gaps/needs might be etc... I initially went adjustable, a Bio Cell 2/3 hybrid in lieu of a 5W.

I hit a lot of real nice hybrid shots with that club and the 8 subsequent hybrids that replaced it. Hybrid became the most changed/frustrating slot in bag because, as much as I loved the versatility and how deadly they were from the rough, I would ultimately lose confidence in each one. I was more prone to over draw them than any club in my bag and the shots I needed them most for often had water tight against the left edge. I tested and bought all kinds of 'tech' cures. Hybrids that were deemed fade biased, and/or were designed to open or flatten with the loft sleeve, and/or provided significant MWT. Ultimately though, I got to the point with each where I'd either lay up (or too often drown a ball) when presented those hybrid scoring opportunities.

I finally decided to do it right last summer and booked a session with an excellent local Trackman fitter designed to find 'the right hybrid for me'. He has fit me well, before and since, so had a great idea of what he'd need to have on hand after our pre-session phone interview. He also plays the same courses so was very familiar with the exact approaches that were providing me the most frustration.

The fitting couldn't have gone better. My own clubs were providing exactly what they typically did on the course so he had my own F6 4i, GAPR MID 3, G400 2H, and Epic SZ 3+ FWW pegged on the nose for every metric. We went through several hybrid designs and shaft pairings, and of those, the best option for me was a G410 3H, flat, lofted all the way down, stiff. But then he asked me to hit a few more with my 3+ FWW just to see if I really hit it that well off the deck ... yuppers.

From there he suggested hitting some 5Ws given my better delivery with FWW. From the get go I was getting more consistency in height and carry and those pulls and hooks were mitigated greatly. I was all over the carry/total numbers he was seeking and after trying a few 5W setups I bought the EF 5W currently in my bag, on the spot.

What really sold me was what he did after determining the best hybrid and 5W option for me. He had me visualize two specific shots that had been providing me trouble. Attempt to reach par 5 18th in 2 at my primary course, (Rivercut) and then the tee shot into #17 at Ledgestone. I'm not long so both were from about 210 out. I hit 5 shots with each club into both targets while he compiled the likely result of each using Google Maps. 2 wet balls with the 5W, neither on my primary course, vs 6 wet ones (3 at each) with the best hybrid he could fit me into ... sold!
 
I used to carry a 5 wood and loved hitting it. Then it broke one day during a round. I had some shop credit and they didn't have any 5 woods at the time so I bought the 18* TM hybrid that I have now. It fills the up to 225 yd spot in my bag so I have no reason to replace it.
 
I went long on Ping G400 gear back in January 2019 when the prices dropped. 1w, 3w, 5w, 3h, 4h, 5h...............there was definitely overlap from the 3h to 5w (especially off the turf) and I since I barely used the 5w in the year after, I sold it. I also don't bother hitting fairway woods off the turf 90% of the time and the 3h was getting all that action anyway. Off the tee, I just choke up on the 3w or use the 3h where I'd use the 5w before. Now I have room for another wedge again too!
 
I have a 2008 TM Burner HT 5 wood that is hard to kick out of the bag and that is coming from someone that has learned to love hybrids.
 
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I played with one of the top fitters at club champion last weekend and he mentioned a lot of the Tour guys have a shorter shaft in the 5w for control/accuracy but also it helps flatten the launch closer to a hybrid. Reduces the possibility of ballooning a 5w

Hybrids are terrible for me and I have very little control with them. A lot of it is I dont like the look of it. In one bag I go 3w and 5w, my other bag is 3w and 2iron
I tried the shorter shaft in a 5w and found it very fun to hit with a lower launch
 
I'm a 3-hybrid/19° guy. I like the smaller head size of the hybrid and versatility, including easier shots out of the rough for me. It fills the correct gap between my 22° utility iron and the 3-wood.
 
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