Wood vs Hybrid Irons - Which is Best? | Golf Monthly
Dan Parker takes an in-depth look at the key differences between a 21° 7 wood and a 21° hybrid to see which club you should consider utilizing to get the most at the top end of your bag. After going through some of the key stats that differentiate these clubs, Dan then takes you through a few shots out on the course to show the potential benefits and pitfalls of a 7-wood and a hybrid.
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00:00 I have got some fascinating data about whether you should be using one of these, a 7-wood,
00:05 or one of these, a hybrid.
00:07 Or maybe both.
00:08 Let's get started.
00:17 So before we get to hitting a few shots on course and talk about the data, let's talk
00:20 about the characteristics of these two clubs.
00:22 What is the difference between a 7-wood and a hybrid?
00:25 Let's talk about the 7-wood first because that is sort of the main star of the show
00:28 today.
00:29 As you can see with the characteristics of this 7-wood, the head is a lot bigger and
00:33 that means the centre of gravity is deeper and lower compared to a hybrid.
00:37 That means the ball gets up in the air a lot quicker and a lot higher.
00:41 So where this usually comes in is for approaches to greens, if you want more stopping power,
00:45 if you find yourself on a lot of par 3s, 180, 200 yards, depending on how far you hit these
00:49 sort of things, it's really useful for that compared to a hybrid.
00:53 So we'll look at the hybrid now.
00:54 Obviously we know what a hybrid looks like.
00:55 A lot smaller head and that ball flight is a lot lower because that centre of gravity
00:59 is in a much different position.
01:01 Another thing to note about hybrids and whether you want a hybrid or a more lofted wood in
01:05 the bag is that a hybrid tends to have a bit more draw bias on them.
01:09 They'll turn left to right for me as a left-hander, right to left if you're a right-hander, which
01:13 is great for some, but some people want to shake the ball both ways and that's where
01:17 the control of a 7-wood, which is a lot easier to shake in both directions, comes into effect.
01:21 So even though they might have the same stated loft on there and they say they're the same
01:25 number, that dynamic loft at impact is very different and the characteristics are very
01:30 different, which we'll come and talk about in just a second.
01:33 So let's talk about some of that data that I found in my testing.
01:36 I'm going to flash up a table now.
01:38 I've had about two or three range tests comparing these and I picked about 20 shots that I think
01:42 were most representative to get these averages from.
01:45 And we'll talk about the similarities first.
01:47 So you can see the ball speed, very similar, 134 mile an hour to 131.
01:51 So not too much there.
01:52 And that then led to an average carry distance of 208 yards with the 7-wood and 207 with
01:57 the 4-hybrid.
01:58 So very, very similar, which is what I expected actually.
02:00 So I was pretty pleased to see that during my testing.
02:03 But the big difference is, and the benefits that some of you might see from going from
02:06 a 7-wood instead of a hybrid, comes in that peak height.
02:11 You can see the big difference there.
02:12 30.5 yards on average, playing 24 yards on the hybrid.
02:15 So pretty much six yards in the air difference, which is going to give that 7-wood a much
02:20 steeper descent angle and way more stopping power than a hybrid.
02:24 So it was fascinating to see that.
02:25 I really enjoyed hitting it on the range actually.
02:27 You know, hitting a 7-wood, it's going up like a 7-iron, or even a pitching wedge sometimes.
02:31 It was really, really cool.
02:33 And you've not lost that yardage as we've seen.
02:34 They're going the same distance, but that ball flight characteristic was so different.
02:38 We'll see that in a minute on course.
02:40 And that's played out in the spin as well.
02:42 6,000 for the 7-wood, 5.5 for the hybrid.
02:46 I'd expect that the 7-wood will spin the ball a little bit more.
02:50 And then it comes down to that launch angle as well, 12.4 to 10.6.
02:54 That 7-wood is naturally launching a little bit higher, all down to that center of gravity.
02:58 So this is what I expected during my testing.
03:00 I was pretty happy to see these results.
03:01 It's the kind of thing I wanted to see as well.
03:04 Similar lofts going similar distances, but with very, very different ball flight characteristics.
03:09 So with all that data out of the way, let's get onto the course and see how these things
03:12 act in the real world.
03:13 Okay, so on the golf course now, and I found myself in an exact situation where this 7-wood
03:18 versus hybrid debate comes in.
03:20 We're 210 yards away from the green, which is just behind me over here.
03:23 And I'm a little bit downwind, and I want a club with lots of stopping power.
03:28 Now 210 yards away means I'm going to have to hit a wood of some kind, but I don't trust
03:32 that hybrid to hold the green.
03:34 So that's where a club like this, the 7-wood, really comes into play.
03:37 Similar situations if you're on a long par three or approaching a par five of that sort
03:42 of 200, 210-yard distance, a club like this gives you so much stopping power and a lot
03:47 more control.
03:48 So let's see the comparison between the two.
03:49 I'm going to start with the 7-wood because that's the club I would go for if I was in
03:53 this situation.
03:54 Now it's very cold today as well, so if I can hit this 210 yards, I'm very happy with
04:03 myself.
04:05 Okay, not bad there.
04:09 A little bit drawy, but I think it had plenty of height on it to stop somewhere level with
04:13 the pin, but a little bit to the right.
04:15 Now let's compare that with the hybrid and see how much different that's going to be
04:19 because I can imagine it's going to be a lot lower ball flight running into that green
04:23 with a little bit less stopping power.
04:25 Hopefully though, I can get it that distance, about 210.
04:36 Same sort of thing there, a little bit hooky, but you can see from the pro tracer a lot
04:40 lower ball flight from there.
04:41 I can imagine that ball's scuttled on a little bit further.
04:44 Let's head up to the green, see where those balls ended up, and I'll have some final concluding
04:47 thoughts on the 7-wood versus hybrid debate.
04:50 Okay, so up at the green, I think we've got a result here that really shows off the characteristics
04:54 and the benefits of a 7-wood.
04:56 I'm stood here by my hybrid shot, which as we saw, it was a bit toey, it was a bit hooky,
05:01 but because of that and that lower ball flight, we've ended up back right at the green.
05:04 Whereas you can see behind me here, the 7-wood, which was a similar-ish strike, a bit toey,
05:08 definitely turned over, still had that higher ball flight and much more stopping power to
05:13 leave me a much more attractive birdie putt on the green over there.
05:17 So some final thoughts on these, really.
05:19 I love the 7-wood.
05:20 It's been quite enjoyable to use.
05:21 It offers you so much loft at address.
05:23 It goes so high and still so far that I think it could deserve a place in my bag at some
05:29 point.
05:30 It's not great off tee, to be honest with you, because of that spin.
05:33 You don't get much run.
05:34 I'd rather use the hybrid, but it's a really interesting club and one I really think you
05:38 should consider potentially putting in that end of your bag.
05:41 You've seen the data, you've seen how it works on course, make the decision for yourselves.
05:45 Now I'd love to hear from you.
05:47 Have you already got one of these in the bag or are you thinking of putting one in?
05:51 Let me know.
05:52 Let me know your experiences with this club.
05:53 I would love to hear from you.
05:54 But for now, from Prince's Golf Club, thank you very much for joining me.
05:57 I'll see you next time.
05:57 [music]