The key to building the perfect set of golf clubs that ideally matches your game is being sure you have the right club at every loft and distance you hit. We all need to carry a driver and most likely a 3 or 4 wood, but that transitional yardage need between your longer woods and your irons is critically important to your game, too.
That begs the question, “would your game benefit more from having a hybrid or a fairway wood to manage those shots that need to carry longer than a long iron, but not quite as far as your 3-wood?”
While so much of the hybrid vs. fairway wood topic comes down to personal preference and comfort, there are some key factors to consider.
A fairway wood is designed to lift the golf ball with launch angle designed into it and a hybrid accomplishes that nice high flight with a high spin rate. You’ll also notice that the fairway wood will typically have a larger head than the hybrid, which helps increase launch angle. A lot of people find hybrids easier to use because you can make a descending blow like you do with your irons and the ball tends to fly high and land quickly with spin.
A player that has a more steep swing might preferred to play a hybrid, while a golfer with a more low, sweeping swing could be more comfortable and consistent in their results with a fairway wood.
A lot of club fitters might you tell you that players with slower swing speeds tend to prefer fairway woods over hybrids because it does require some velocity to create optimal spin with a hybrid. That said, though, testing both on the range is a sure way to tell which model is best for you.
The technology designed into hybrids and fairway woods have both advanced to the degree that many types of golfers might consider both “easy to hit.” Hybrids tend to have shorter shafts, which inspires confidence with a lot of players. Fairway woods are built with the weight in particular parts of the head then paired with cutting edge shaft technology to promote high, pleasing ball flight.
As far as what lofts to choose, try to keep loft gaps of no more than five yards between clubs. If you have an 18 degree fairway wood, a 22 or 23 hybrid of fairway wood would fit nicely in your set.
From the coveted BERES line to the BERES Nx and TourWorld 757 families of elegantly crafted, performance-driven golf clubs, Honma has a brilliant array options with accompanying shafts that can help make this middle-distance part of your long game a strength. Take a look at everything Honma has to offer and we’re confident you will be amazed by the performance of these clubs.
The absolute best way to decide if you like a hybrid or a fairway wood, or a combination of the two, in your set is to demo both outside on the driving range so you can see the ball flight and how the ball reacts when it lands. In most cases, one ball flight or the other is going to make you feel more confident in your game and produce shots that you prefer to see come off of your club face.
The beauty is in the discovery, so hopefully you will find the time to learn your preference in this critical component of your golf set. If you ever need guidance, feel free to reach out to Honma’s in-house experts.
