Fairway Wood vs Hybrid

Most people say FW's are longer than hybrids, but hybrids are easier to hit and are more forgiving.

I am considering going with an 18* hybrid rather than a 5 wood and for those that have used both, how much easier to hit and forgiving is the 18* hybrid?

And how much distance do you lose?

Is it worth the tradeoff?

Well, even though they may have a similar loft, the hybrid is going to have a shorter shaft, therefore losing distance, but making it somewhat easier to hit. I have both in my bag, and I find the hybrid to be much more forgiving on mis hits.

For the same loft, I hit the hybrid 10 yards shorter and about half the angular dispersion.

At least from my experience, the majority of hybrids play about 2* shorter than a equally lofted FW. So I am guessing a 18* hybrid would likely play similiar to a 20* FW, or at least in my experience. So that would actually replace my 20* 7w, and not my 17* 5w. Although it also greatly depends on the hybrid and FW's. I have demoed certain hybrids, that play a little longer and may actually play longer than a similar lofted FW. Then again, I have also played FW that play longer and shorter.

For me it is give and take, I don't really find them alot easier to hit and the reason I now have my 5w and 7w back in my bag and sold the 5w replacement hybrid.

I do still have a 18* hybrid that I swap out with my 7w. Usually in the beginning of the year I hit the hybrids better, although towards the end of the year my FW's are more consistent and the reason my 7w is currently in my bag. But the 16* hybrid I owned was actually harder for me to hit than the 5w.

I guess what I am saying is that I don't think I would get a loft in mind when going to demo. Instead find a distance gap you wish to fill, then demo and compare it to the clubs you currently own to either side, or the one you wish to replace. You could end up with anything from a 16* to 19* depending on the type. Like I said, at times I carry my 17* 5W and 18* Hybid, which perfectly fills the yardage gap between my 4i/R and 5w. Actually, I would even say less than 16*, although in my experience it was difficult to find even a 16* hybrid to demo and anything less may be very difficult to demo. Most places I went to that have either a range or launch monitor to demo, don't seem to carry anything below an 18* because they do not easily move. I had to check about 20 places and drive almost 1 1/2 hours to find one.

I'll just second absolutely everything PA Jayhawk said, especially:

- The relative lofts you need to replace a fairway wood - I also swap between a 7w and hybrid, but need a 19* hybrid to replace the 22* wood

- That there comes a point when the loft on the hybrid negates how much easier the short shaft makes it to hit. With me it's the 16* hybrid I have, as I can hit my 19* great but struggle to hit the 16* anywhere but off the tee and on the range mats. If you're going to buy a super-low lofted hybrid then make sure you hit it off grass and not just the mats.

Yep to above. I'm hitting a 16* Nike great off fairway and rough. Going to get a 14* Nickent 4dx IW to replace my 3 wood and reshaft (X-stiff Aldila Proto 85 by You) Nike for my son and he will replace his 5 wood. I may loss a little distance but for me the hybrid is much more consistent and versatile.

I have tried several options in the 4W/5W/7W/17* Hybrid/18* Hybrid/21* Hybrid and have had mixed results in both directions. Once I found a set of fairway woods I liked, I found them easier to hit than the strong lofted hybrids. That may not be the case for everyone nor for every fairway wood and hybrid on the market. The fairway woods I currently carry have a very forgiving sole that I can use just about anywhere; rough, bunker, fairway, and even hardpan. Most of the hybrids I have gone through did not have as forgiving a sole and limited their use on certain lies. The hybrids that I found to work best, for me, have more of a traditional iron head shape to them than a true hybrid and I still carry one of those as a 4 iron replacement.

This segment of the equipment market has been one of the toughest for me to find something that I am really comfortable with. There are a lot of compromises when it comes to equipment designs in this segment, and many of the clubs require near perfect lies in order to work well or are over designed for bad lies that you can not hit as well from good lies. Good luck on your search, hopefully you can work through this faster than I did.:laugh:

I'd stick with the fairway wood. Well, in my case, I don't even have a 5 wood - my 3 wood is 15 degrees and the 3 iron at 20, which isn't bad considering the irons are lengthened and thus a similar length to the 3 wood.

Hybrid, schmybrid. I can't hit one properly even if you lined up all of WBL and Doc's drivers on a table and said if I hit a good shot I'd get all the clubs for free. The 3 wood is just about the only club I can work the ball with, although, I will concede to Doc that even I occasionally rip up a vegetable garden with it... :laugh:

I have for the most part stopped using my FW woods off the fairway, gave up on the hybrids some time ago.

Now I just break out the 4 iron since I know it's going to go straight & I would rather have 2 straight shots in a row which end up on the green over a FW wood or hybrid shot which just goes sideways & pisses me off.

I agree, I hate hybrids and I have tried 10 different ones. I am now using my old 19* TM Retro Raylor with the stock gold Aldila shaft. I hit this thing great and only 15 yds short of my 3 wood. The head is super small, but I make better contact than with any hybrids. I have put the 3 iron back in the bag also. I will not try hybrids again.

I seem to struggle with both but really have not found hybrids to be any easier.

So what's the consensus? I'm replacing the 17.5* 5W I sold with a hybrid. I've been looking in the 17* range but there are several 16* I've seen. I hit the original MidTP very well in a 19* and really liked the VP90 stock shaft. Should I go for that in a 16*? I'd save a crapload over a 17* Nickent or '07 Rescue TP and get a shaft I know I like.

I think it depends what you want it for.

If it's mainly for finding the fairway from the tee on tight or short par 4's, I'd say go with the hybrid. But if it's for hitting from around the course and into greens on par 5's I think the 5w has a distinct advantage.

Hybrids seem to me to be GI clubs that are designed to go straight from a tee. 5W's are probably the most versatile club in the bag and can be used in lot's of situations. They are heaps more workable than any other club including hybrids, they go high and land soft on long shots into greens, and are great at getting the ball out of the rough. On the downside the high degree of workability goes against you on tee shots to tight landing areas, as a 5W will do what your swing tells it to do, which can work against you if you are trying to just hit it straight.

Personally I think the 5W is an essential club to have in the bag, and I would never replace it with a hybrid for most courses I play, especially long courses. Hybrids are designed to be replacements for long irons more than fairway woods. By all means look at getting a hybrid, but if you put one in play maybe look at dropping your longest iron and keeping the 5W in the bag.

I replaced my 3 wood with a TM rescue 14* hybrid and am not going back, I love it that much. I also recently replaced my 3 and 4 irons with Nickent 3DX Ironwoods, love them as well. I wish hybrids were available 20 years ago.