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Seeking some hybrid advice

SuperStroke
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UVaWahoo

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I'm somewhat new to this site so this is my initial venture into equipment discussions because I am equipment illiterate. If this is a repeated topic, please forgive me. For the first time ever, I was fitted before purchasing irons. I just received my new Callaway X-Hot2s. Specifically a 5 iron though pitching wedge and an A wedge. I did not order a 4 iron. My bag currently includes a 3,5 and 7 woods. Unfortunately, I have tried every 3 wood made and have never been able to hit any of them. So I figured I'd lose the 3 wood. Accordingly, I have room for 2 hybids. Being illiterate, I have no idea what exactly hybrids replace. I just assume they can accomodate the gap between my 7 wood and 5 iron. Initially, may I ask if that assumption is correct. If so, how do I know what hybids to actually purchase. Should I look to the numbers on them or the lofts or both. HELP, I really need it, because I don't have a clue.
 
In a general sense your hybrid will replace your long irons and provide something that is easier to hit, more forgiving and higher ball flight (again in a general sense). Choosing them in a technical sense is no different than driver, fw wood or irons. You find something that looks good to you, fits the budget and fills in the gaps needed to link your bag from fairway woods to your irons.
 
Don't worry about numbers or lofts. All that you should care about is yardage gaps.

How far do you hit your 7 wood and how far do you hit your 5 iron? You will want 2 hybrids that evenly divide those gaps into more manageable gaps

For instance:

7 wood : 220 yards
5 iron 180 yards.

You would want to find a hybrid you can hit hit 190-195 and another hybrid that you can hit 205-210.

For a starting point, I would bet the X2hot 4 and 5 hybrid would fill the gaps, after your x2hot 5 iron, but without knowing what your gaps are and how far you hit your 7 wood, it is hard to guess what you need
 
You are correct that the hybrids will fill the gap between the 7 wood and 5 iron. You can get a rough guess what you will need by the numbers on them but a lot of times you will hit a hybrid further than the corresponding iron. Your best bet is to go somewhere and hit a bunch of them to get a feel for what you like and the distance you hit them. I would hate to buy a 3H and 4H hybrid only to have the 3H go as far as your 7wood and have a big gap between the 4H and 5 iron.
 
Nice set of new irons first off. So the hybrids are just that. A hybrid between a wood and an iron. They can replace either based on the gaps you have. Many folks struggle to hit the 3 and 4 irons and the hybrids allow for more forgiveness and the ability to get the ball in the air and land softly. I'm not sure of your distances but getting a 3 and 4 hybrid would likely fit well with your setup. Base the hybrids off of loft mostly but most manufacturers will define each hybrid as an "X" iron replacement. 4 hybrids tend to be in the 22*-24* area and 3 hybrids around 18*-21* give or take a degree. I hear the X2 hot hybrids are pretty awesome and would mesh well with your set I'm sure. Demo days should start cropping up everywhere in April. You should hit them on the range and get a feel for them.

If you've never hit a hybrid before, first big tip: They are designed to take a small divot so don't be afraid to hit down on the ball. This is where they differ from a fairway wood.
 
My suggestion to keep the 3 wood in the bag as driving alternative. I would get rid of the 7 wood because you have the 5 wood which could be hit off the deck. The 7 wood is 21* and you could get Hybrids starting at 18*. I would add a 20* and 23* hybrid to your set up. The two hybrids would be a 3 iron and 4 iron alternatives. i think this setup would give you the proper gapping.

My last piece of advice look at some last years hybrids because you could get some really good deals. There are not epic jumps in technology one year to the next. Look at how Titleist updates there equipment every couple of years.

I have never been a huge fan of the 3 and 4 iron so I play two hybrids. I usual play the hybrids off the deck from 210-240 yards from the green.

Hope this helps
 
jlukes said:
Don't worry about numbers or lofts. All that you should care about is yardage gaps.

How far do you hit your 7 wood and how far do you hit your 5 iron? You will want 2 hybrids that evenly divide those gaps into more manageable gaps

For instance:

7 wood : 220 yards
5 iron 180 yards.

You would want to find a hybrid you can hit hit 190-195 and another hybrid that you can hit 205-210.

For a starting point, I would bet the X2hot 4 and 5 hybrid would fill the gaps, after your x2hot 5 iron, but without knowing what your gaps are and how far you hit your 7 wood, it is hard to guess what you need
Click to expand...

+1 on making sure you understand where you yardage gaps are between your woods and the longest iron you carry. You might even be surprised where the distances you will get from the hybrids out on the market (esp X2Hot) might even knock out the 7 wood or 5 wood out of the bag.

At the end of the day it will all come down to comfort and how you manage your game. Me for instance I do not carry any fairway woods. The distances I am getting from my hydrids & how I manage a course are all I need.

Good luck and look forward to how you set up the top of your bag.
 
Like many have sugessted leave the 3 wood for a driver alternative add a hybrid between 7 and 5 iron you might find that the gap is not that big and you don't need any thing in that space currently leving you room to add a extra wedge
 
7 wood is basically the same as a 3h for me when it comes to distance. Those I've tried at least. Maybe try a few out, because often the number on the hybrid doesn't equal the number of the iron you're trying to gap it with (e.g. you may find a 5h hybrid gaps better with your 5 iron than a 4 hybrid does).
 
Like the others have said it is all about filling yardage gaps. I would also add, consistency of ball flight and contact. Since you have Callaways, their hybrid spacing relative to the irons would be a good place to start. Another option would also be a 9 and 11 wood that Callaway has in the XHots. Loft wise I think these are similar to the 4 and 5 hybrids, but may launch a little higher and give you a better trajectory than the comparable hybrids. Just really boils down to what fits you swing better. You might even be able to combine split the difference in yardage with the 3 and 5 wood by replacing these two clubs with a 4 wood.
 
Like others have said it's the gapping that is the important thing. Whether you fill it with woods, hybrids or hyrons is really up to your personal preference. Try as many as you can and remember it's the consistency of yardage that matters, not the number on the club.

If the gap between your 7W and your 5I is less than 30 yards then I wouldn't fill it with two hybrids or whatever just for the sake of it. I'm not sure how many wedges you have but maybe getting an extra one might be a good option?

Taking out the 3W leaves a big hole between the Driver and the 5W though. Maybe a "strong" 4W is a good option for you? I've always been hopeless with 3W's so got a 16.5 degree 4W (Tour Edge) and hey presto!
 
go find your gaps.

Often a 5w is close to a 2i so I would assume a 7w is around a 3-4 iron.
You might not have a meaningful gap.

People may say I am crazy, but you do not HAVE TO have 14 clubs.
Go to the range and play a few times with these cool new clubs you got. If you have a gap and feel it on the course, you will know it.

On a slightly below average swing, how far can you carry a 5i?
 
You're 5 iron is 23°. A good gap filler between your 7 wood and 5 iron would probably be between 20.5° to 22° hybrid, depends on how you hit hybrids. Right now I'm loving what Adams' has out on the market but the Cleveland 588 hybrid was pleasant as well as the X2 Hot Hybrid that matches your set.
 
Hawk said:
7 wood is basically the same as a 3h for me when it comes to distance. Those I've tried at least. Maybe try a few out, because often the number on the hybrid doesn't equal the number of the iron you're trying to gap it with (e.g. you may find a 5h hybrid gaps better with your 5 iron than a 4 hybrid does).
Click to expand...

I've played multiple 7Ws and they've always been kind of interchangable with the 3H slot. Some 3Hs are longer but with lower trajectory. I've actually had a higher hitting 7W that hit between the 3H and 4H of the exact same line up by the same OEM. It was only 5 yards longer than the 4H, but hit the ball way higher.

There are a lot of hybrids out there. You can find ones that might as well be FWs and you can find ones that are very similar to filled in irons.

The two keys to me are the gaps (as many have mentioned) and the use cases. The gaps are fairly obvious. The best way to figure that out is on a monitor/sim, or at a range where you can see where the balls land and stop.

I don't think that some people properly consider the use cases. A golf club is a tool, and different tools are designed to solve different problems. What problems are you trying to solve, and what inputs sway a decision one way or another.

Are you trying to play out of the rough with these clubs (hybrid), or primarily from the deck? Do you want higher ball flight that lands softly (7W) or a lower, running shot (hybrid)? Are you a player who prefers a shorter shaft (hybrid) or are you fine with a longer one (FW)? Do you like the looks of a larger or smaller head? Are you better with irons or FWs?
 
I recently took replaced my 3 wood with a the Nike covert tour 5 wood and I actually hit it farther that my 3 wood because it gets up in the air better and it easier to hit, so I know play driver, 5 wood, 4 hybrid and then 3-pw. I have a TM rescue 11 hybrid and it goes about 10 yards farther than my 3iron and about 15 shorter than my 5 wood. Just my . 02 that the number on the hybrid doesn't always replace the iron with the same number, you have to go out and hit them and see where they end up. The rescue 11 is very easy to hit and I constantly see them on the marketplace for fairly cheap.


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My experience has been that hybrids are not necessarily direct replacements for long iron by that I mean a 4 hybrid may not give you the distance you would expect from a 4 iron. Hybrids are meant to take clubs out of your bag that are hard to hit and offer replacements for them.

It is as earlier posters have said it is about filling gap from your shortest fairway and longest iron.

I found I hit hybrids much easier than fairway woods and in some cases just as long perhaps forget fairway woods and look at hybrids.

Clubs today are so out of alignment with what I grew up with the lofts are getting stronger and the clubs are getting longer spec wise. Today's PW is yesterdays 9iron. Today's 3wood is yesterday's driver.
 
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