Advice on a 7 wood

[guitarman]

I have a chance to pickup a 7 wood for a good price. I have a club now that is exactly the same loft. its a 3 hybrid 21*. I know the 7 wood has a longer shaft but would it be worth it to have a 7 wood in the bag? Would the difference in yardage from the hybrid be enough differences to matter? Basically I'd like to hear some compelling reasons for carrying a 7 wood.

[Fore The Golfer]

Terry,
My opinion, based on experience, is that the 7 wood is being pulled out of most bags, and hybrids are being added.
The compelling reason is just what you stated. The 7 wood has a longer shaft, thus, you are less likely to square the head at impact and hit it on center.
The side spin that you are (more likely) to put on that 7 wood shot, will reduce the total distance that you (should) pick up from the longer shaft.
A longer shaft in the 7 wood should result in a longer shot than the hybrid of equal loft with a shorter shaft.
The question you have to answer is, can you hit the longer shaft as square, and on center as the shorter shaft.
I say if the price is right, give it a try.
If you are interested in some more detailed advice, give me a call.

[guitarman]

Thank you for the response. I think that puts it in a little more perspective for me. And I think you saved me $150. I think at this point in my game that the hybrid is better for me, for the added control. Although my swing has improved I think I'd be more likely to hit off centre with the 7 wood than with the hybrid.

[el tigre]

As Jeff stated, the longer shaft of the 7-wood will provide more distance than a hybrid of the same loft - but also make it a little tougher to hit.

The other thing to consider is launch angle. In my experience, a fairway wood launches a little higher than a hybrid of the same loft (and both are higher than the corresponding long iron). That may be something to consider if you are often using the 7-wood/hybrid for long approach shots.

[rotator]

When I was a beginner golfer, I thought my first 7 wood was the best thing ever. Over the years, so many other golfers have said the same thing. It is considered some, perhaps many of not the greatest golfers to be their favourite club in the bag. It gives them good distance, gets you out of the rough, hits it up in the air, hits it straight. It makes up for swing problems in many ways. So what is there not to like about it. The pros in the early years had them in their bags.

Vijay has a "9 wood", which is a Steelhead "18º bent 7º open to a 7-wood loft" which he has used for a few years. I believe it is that club he used to hit the ball some 261 yards (mind it was the last hole at the Mercedes, downhill, downwind) to the green.

I have lately put a #4 hybrid in the bag and it is solid and accurate, but it may be a while before I remove the 7 wood. I just trust it so much for all the reasons given before, and I find it is effortless to swing and get good results, whereas the long "irons" still require more "hit down" good golfers' action. The #4 hybrid is the longest "iron" I have in the bag.

I think that, particularly for a beginner, the 7 wood is a good club. As the other posters have suggested, it may be a little more difficult to hit because of it's longer shaft, but my opinion is that is a tradeoff, because a beginner has a lot of inconsistent swing problems anyways. He would consistently get higher and longer shots, with good accuracy, with the 7 wood. After all, it's the feelgood satisfaction which makes your enjoyment as a beginner important, so you can continue to improve.

[guitarman]

So basically the X 7 wood (21*) will cost me $150. What I have in the bag below:

X460 Driver
X 3(15*) and 5(18*)
X-18 Irons
X hot 3 hybird (21*)

Will the 7 wood offer me enough versatility to justify the $150 its going to cost me or is their a better option? As far as height goes, the style of swing I have seems to send all my shots pretty high no matter what I'm using.

[GQuizzle]

The 7 wood would replace your hybrid. Do you like your hybrid? Are you getting what you want out of it as far as distance, trajectory and ball flight? If so, leave your set up as is. If you want more distance in that area of your game, then a switch to the wood might be appropriate.

[rotator]

How do you hit your 3 hyb, distance, traj and accuracy now?

I understood you're in your second year of golf. Are you a good player? Do you have a solid swing? Do you play often?

I'm asking, because if you are hitting the 3 hybrid very well, that may be reason not to need the 7 wood. If you are a usual beginner golfer, trouble breaking 100, inconsistent swing etc, the 7 wood may be good to help your game.

I never paid a lot for a 7 wood, and I've owned about 6 of them. It is not the most important club in the bag, so I don't feel the necessity to get a brand new club, nor to have them necessarily match my other clubs. The first one was back in the 60's and was a Golden Ram metal head steel shaft. I've had Ping Zing (7 wood-wood with graphite shaft) and several used ones (including Heavenwood, Mizuno), which I bought used, at Play It Again Sports and Ebay. The present one is a Cobra SZ which I got on Ebay for about $80.

The Ping was a revelation, as I first realized I could hit a 7-wood about 190-200 yards, and now about 175, but very consistent distance and nice height. I think Annika hits hers about 210.

[guitarman]

I hit the hybrid very well and am confident as I've pretty much used a hybrid from day 1. My best club in the fairway is the 3 wood but I have to be really careful as I tend to slice a bit. The hybrid is a bit easier to hit straight and I cna slice/fade around corners easliy if I need to. I think I'll stay with the hybrid setup as that is what I am confortable with. I would also like to add a 4 hybrid to replace my 4 iron as I don't like to hit anything below the 5. In the last 3 or 4 weeks I've just started to hit the irons well. A couple of weeks ago I came to within an inch of a hole in one.
Thanks for the advice and help from everyone.
Just to add, I don't think I could live without my hybrid for chipping to the green. I've sunk a few from off the green with it and almost always get within a few feet of the cup.

[golfhacker]

Used to carry a 3 and 4 hybrid. Found that I could hit 7 and 9 wood more consistently. The woods also gave me longer distance and higher trajectory. So I dumped my hybrids for woods.

[xander.uk]

i swapped my 7 wood to a hybrid...its gone reasonably well the difference for me is this.

my 7 wood was better off the tee (for me) having a slightly larger head and the longer shaft i was able to hit it longer and shape my shot easier than using my hybrid.

also the 7 wood does seem to fly a little higher and therefore stop quicker on the greens.

on the other hand my hybrid is reliable for me off the tee but more difficult to hit a controlled fade/draw (for me personally) as it has a smaller club head ( i think thats partly confidence on my part as its still quite a new thing for me as i had my 7 wood for most of this season).
where my hybrid excells is when the ball runs into the 1st cut (although a 7 wood isnt bad out of there either). i strike the ball consistently better from more difficult lies with my hybrid and get a stronger penetrating flight meaning i can reach greens that were previously out of reach when i missed the fairway.

I also find my hybrid in fact replaces more than 1 club in your bag.
by replacing your 7 wood with a hybrid you would also bereplacing (if you want too) a 4/5 iron as the hybrid would hit the ball a similar distance to those clubs too.

Currently in my bag are a 20* and 23* mizuno fli high clk hybrids. and for me this means i have replaced my 3 and 4 irons and my 7 wood in my bag therefore releasing an extra space that enables me to carry a 60* lob wedge.

i have also replaced my 3 and 5 woods with a 4 wood recently (still experimental but going really well!) the idea being that i can still get good distance off the tee with my 4 wood but also off the fairway as its easier to hit than my 3 wood was off those tight lies!

I think the point every1 is trying to make is that we are all a little different so you need to experiment and find out what suits you best.

for me i find the hybrids better overall but my 7 wood was certainly a great club too!
dont worry too much about what others think as its you thats got to hit them yes advice is always great but carry both clubs in your bag (for practice) and see what performs best for you.