Fairway Woods vs. Hybrids

[PeterSinIndy]

I've only carried a 3 (15*) and a 5(20*) FW, but lately have been looking for a 9FW (27*) to substitute for a 5 iron. Hybrids come in all those lofts, so why, thinks I, should I continue with my fairway wood thing? Why not just go to hybrids?

My reason would be distance. I think I can get more distance from a FW than from a hybrid. Plus there's the fact that a fairway wood has a bigger head, appearing to this viewer to mean more mass, or at least more forgiveness.

Is the drawback to fairway woods the rough? What I've ben searching ebay for is a Louisville Golf (persimmon) "niblick" which has a sort of deep-V sole. Some others have a deeply curved sole, too, notably the Bobby Jones woods.

So where's the draw-back? At what point do you switch over from woods to hybrids to irons?

Thanks! Play on!
Peter

[EddieC]

I'll give ya one to look at, the Nickent Utility....looks and plays more like a fairway wood but with a shorter shaft. Has a shallowish face so balls setting up in the ruff can be tricky sometimes, but distance seems to be on par with a FW. I hit the Nickent 5FW Utility about 220 off of a tee. Bill (wb4tjh) on here, loves his Louisvilles, I think he's in the market for a 9 as well. Maybe he'll stop by and let ya know how much he likes 'em.

[wb4tjh]

I use the Louisville Golf Niblicks. They have the lowest center of gravity of any club made and a V shaped sole that can dig the ball out of just about any kind of lie. You might check them out at the Louisville Golf website. They come with a 30 day money back guarantee. You can't beat that anywhere. They have some new models for this year. In my opnion, no metal club can do what they can do. I have three sets of metal faiway "woods" too, but the Niblicks are more accurate and versatile than any of the others.

[wb4tjh]

In answer to your question, when to switch to hybrids?...I don't see any use for them myself. My Niblicks with their V sole can dig a ball out of any kind of lie I have encountered, even a ball buried deeply in muck. I don't know of any standard hybrid that can do that. The new Bobby Jones club will probably work pretty well, but it does not have a center of gravity nearly as low as does the Niblick. The lower the center of gravity, the easier the V sole can dig the ball out of the rough. I have the 3,5 and 7 Niblicks, and will probably order a 9 this year. My 7 Niblick is a 24 degree club and is what I usually use in the really bad rough, but even the 3 will do the job in the rough. But everyone has their own opinion, and this is what I have found. To me, most so called hybrids are gimmick clubs anyway, just something else to buy. I just don't see where a hybrid would be any advantage over one of my fairway woods. Recently I hit a 5 wood off the tee and the ball landed in a marshy area in the middle of the fairway, and buried itself. I could only see it when I stood directly over it. I took my 7 Niblick and blasted it out high and long onto the green. I also sprayed myself with mud from head to toe, but that ball came out cleanly and flew straight. When I got back to the clubhouse, the club pro looked at me , laughed, and said I looked like a swamp monster. I just grinned.