What would you remove from the bag.

[Pa Jayhawk]

I'd probably say drop the 3w based on what you have said. Although I have to ask what the difference in distance is between your 3i and 4i? I'm having a hard time getting my head around the fact that you don't want to drop a 3i because you can better shape shots with the 3i, for which you cannot do with the hybrid. Yet it is obviously not as consistent as the hybrid or you would simply drop the hybrid and use the 3i off the tee on short par 4's and long par3's.

So I guess where I am having a hard time grasping this is because I try and get rid of inconsistent clubs first. If there is only say a 10 yard gap between your 3i and 4i. I assume you can also work the 4i? Is a club that is 10 yards shorter and more consistent, that you can still work, a worse choice than the extra 10 yards only if it is consistent? In other words, if you hit a 3i with a fade or a draw, and it is consistent to maybe within 20 yards from one shot to the next, what are you losing by dropping it and hitting a 4i where you can do the same but have a predictable distance? I'm only guessing that as a sign of the inconsistency, 1/2 of those worked shots with the 3i is the same as had you simply chosen the 4i.

If I could hit a 3i, and had a predictable distance, it is simple that I would dump the hybrid. If the club isn't consistent enough to trust off a long par 3 or short par 4, then it doesn't deserve a spot in my bag. I would rather take a consistent 4i that will do the same, or find a hybrid I could work.

Just my .02 cents, and the reason I no longer carry my 3w. It just was never consistent enough to justify my using it over my 5w with the loss of distance. The reason I in turn went to a 4w. Which may be another option. Find a club in between your 19* and 3w and dump both of them. Seems like you do not likely use your 19* off par 3's or 4's so why not find a median between your 21* and Driver?

Not like you can't still practice with the 3i (training aid) at the range, if that is part of the issue.

 

[fisher]

Yardage wise my 3 iron and 21* hybrid do overlap. I like both clubs. There are things I can do with both of them that I can't do with the other. The 3 iron is much more precise with regards to distance control where the 21* hybrid can go an absolute mile when I catch it pure.

The biggest thing I fear losing by dropping the 3 iron is there are two particular holes on my home course where my miss puts me 150 to 170 yards from the green and blocked by trees. I have developed escape shots for these two holes and have gotten very good at getting it close when most people would be chipping out.

I find that I rarely use my 4 Iron on my home course.

I just added the two hybrids the beginning of last summer. Before that I carried the correct number of clubs. The hybrids are an amazing weapon.

I just can't decide what to take out. There are rounds at my home course when my driver is on that I go a whole round without touching the 21* hybrid, 3, 4 or 5 irons.

My home course is a par 70 that measures 6700 yards and the longest par 3 usually plays 185 downhill. Our longest and most difficult par 4 is 440 yards to an elevated green and I usually play it driver and 7 to P wedge depending on wind.

In my round on Saturday I think I hit one shot from the fairway and two tee shots with the 3 wood.

 

[fisher]

I should also mention that taking the 3 wood out of the bag would pretty much make it impossible to reach our two par 5s in two shots unless they are playing down wind. The two par 5s on my home course are 548 and 549 and both face essentially the same direction relative to the wind. I suppose I could make my decision day to day based on the wind direction.

 

[BigJim13]

After reading all these posts and thinking a little more on your situation, I still come to the conclusion that you should drop either the 50* gap wedge or the 48* PW. I think you mentioned you are a single digit player, so concievably you should be able to hit pretty much the same shots with both of these clubs given the minimal difference in loft. IT also seems that you want the best of both low irons and hybrids-which is not a bad thing-but to keep both the 3i and hybrids, which it seems you want to do-well you will need to cut elsewhere.

I'd say either drop the gap wedge OR Sell the 3 wedges and go down to 2-maybe 52/58* or 53/60*. That's the way I see it anyway.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Yardage wise my 3 iron and 21* hybrid do overlap. I like both clubs. There are things I can do with both of them that I can't do with the other. The 3 iron is much more precise with regards to distance control where the 21* hybrid can go an absolute mile when I catch it pure.

This is another that goes back to consistency in my mind. The fact that "the 21* hybrid can go an absolute mile when I catch it pure" would be a disadvantage in my mind. If I say the same about my 4w or your 3w that may be an advantage, but if I had your bag and wanted a club that would go further, I would be hitting the 19* or the 3w. If I had the 21* hybrid in my hand, and I pured it and it went a mile, it would likely end in a shot I did not want and possibly a penalty. Seems to me if I had to decide between the two clubs I would go with the one that goes a consistent distance and will do what I need. If your 3i will do these, why not dump the 21*? If you are keeping it for the sake that it will go a mile if you pure it, why not just hit the 19*, 3w or even Driver. How is a club that is not the longest club for the given circumstance, whether it be off the fairway or tee, an advantage by going 30 yards longer than you expected??? I can see that as an advantage if you are hitting Driver off the tee, or 3w off the fairway, but anything else it is simply giving you an unexpected result, when in the game of course management, that is a bad thing.

Seems like you have said you like the 3i, it is more precise in distance control, and you can work the club. Why would you use the 21* over the 3i? If it is because it will go alot further on the best shot, then I think you are using the wrong criteria on evaluating the use of the club. If on the the other hand it is because it is more accurate on being straight, and more consistent on staying in play, that would be another story.

BTW, I am in no way questioning anything you are saying. More simply pointing out the keys that I see in what you are saying to maybe provide food for thought.

 

[kdp86]

Ok, revised opinion. Drop the 21* and the 50*. If you can, replace the 56* with a 54*. This is my final answer.

 

[JEFF4i]

Hybrid, at the moment. Never use the stupid thing anyway.

 

[rolltherock]

Lately I have been carrying around too many. Here are clubs in my bag and the typical shots I am hitting with them.


yikes! i hope you have not been playing for $ with 16 clubs.

it all comes down to personal pref., but if you use the 3 iron that much i wouldn't dump it either. i have tried hybrids, but they are nearly impossible to curve the ball compared to a 3 iron....good and bad. i recently traded out my 2i for an older sonartec np-99 15* cut down to 41" which is working out to be more accurate. it's really just personal pref., but i would not rec. taking a club out that you use so much like the 3i.

 

[ualtim]

Interesting bag make up. IMHO, your two hybrids are too close together in loft. Dump them both for a 20* hybrid which will get you down to 15 clubs in the bag.

Your PW and GW are also too close together at 48*/50*. Have one bent to 49* and drop the other one. Your now down to 14 clubs without really creating any large gaps. You keep your 3W and 3iron and get a tad bit more loft on your single hybrid which should eliminate some of your overlap with your 3W.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[fisher]

yikes! i hope you have not been playing for $ with 16 clubs.

Actually I have but the guys I play with don't care.......I lose all my money with the putter and short game. Next season I will be playing in a formal league and some tournaments so then I obviously will need to carry the right number.

 

[Canadriver]

I completely agree with those who have suggested banishing your 3W. There is more to this game than achieving distance (esp. on par 4s) and I believe you've already got that covered in your hybrids.

I took my 5W and my 3W out of my bag and have never regretted it.