I have got some fascinating data about whether you should be using one of these, a 7-wood, or one of these, a hybrid, or maybe both. Let's get started
So before we get to hitting a few shots on course and talk about the data, let's talk about the characteristics of these two clubs
What is the difference between a 7-wood and a hybrid? Let's talk about a 7-wood first because that is sort of the main star of the show today
So as you can see with the characteristics of this seven wood the head is a lot bigger and that means the central gravity is deeper and lower compared to a hybrid
And that means the ball gets up in the air a lot quicker and a lot higher
So where it's usually come in is for approaches to greens if you want more stopping power
If you find yourself on a lot of par threes that you know 180 200 yards depending on how far you hit these sort of things
It's really useful for that compared to a hybrid So we'll look at the hybrid now obviously we know what a hybrid looks like a lot smaller head
and that ball flight is a lot lower because that center of gravity is in a much different position
Another thing to note about hybrids and whether you want a hybrid or a more lofted wood in the bag
is that a hybrid tend to have a bit more draw bias on them. They'll turn left to right for me as a left-hander, right to left if you're a right-hander
which is great for some, but some people want to shape the ball both ways and that's where the control of a 7-wood, which is a lot easier to shape in both directions, comes into effect
So even though they might have the same stated loft on there and they say they're the same number
that dynamic loft impact is very different and the characteristics are very different which we come and talk about in just a second so let talk about some of that data that i found in my testing i going to flash up a table now i had about two or three range sessions comparing these and i picked about 20
shots that i think were most representative to get these averages from and we'll talk about the
similarities first so you can see the ball speed very similar 134 mile an hour to 131 so not too
much there and that then led to an average carry distance of 208 yards of the seven wood and
207 with a four hybrid so very very similar which is what I expected actually so I was pretty pleased
to see that during my testing but the big differences and the benefits that some of you
might see from going from seven wood instead of a hybrid comes in that peak height you can see the
big difference there 30.5 yards on average playing 24 yards from the hybrid so pretty much six yards
in the air difference which is going to give that seven wood a much steeper descent angle and way
more stopping power than a hybrid so it's fascinating to see that I really enjoyed hitting
not on the range actually. You know, hitting the seven wood, it's going up like a seven iron
or even a pitching wedge sometimes. It was really, really cool. And you've not lost that yardage as we've seen
They're going the same distance, but that ball flight characteristic was so different
We'll see that in a minute on course. And that's played out in a spin as well
6,000 for the seven wood, five and a half for the, I'd expect that the seven wood
will spin the ball a little bit more. And then it comes down to that launch angle as well
12.4 to 10.6. That seven wood is naturally launching a little bit higher
all down to that centre of gravity. So this is what I expected during my testing I was pretty happy to see these results It the kind of thing I wanted to see as well similar lofts uh going similar distances but with very very different ball flight characteristics so with all that data out of the way let get on to the course and see how these
things act in the real world okay so on the golf course now and i found myself in an exact situation
where this seven wood versus hybrid debate comes in we're 210 yards away from the green which is
just behind me over here and i'm a little bit downwind and i want a club with lots of stopping
power. Now, 210 yards away means I'm going to have to hit a wood of some kind, but I don't trust that
hybrid to hold the green. So that's where a club like this, a seven wood, really comes into play
Similar situations if you're on a long par three or approaching a par five of that sort of 200
210 yard distance, a club like this gives you so much stopping power and a lot more control
So let's see the comparison between the two. I'm going to start with a seven wood because that's the club I would go for if I was in this situation. Now, it's very cold today as well, so if I can hit
this 210 yards. I'm very happy with myself. Okay, not bad there. A little bit drawy, but I think it
had plenty of height on it to stop somewhere level with the pin, but a little bit to the right. Now
let's compare that with the hybrid and see how much different that's going to be, because I can
imagine it's going to be a lot lower ball flight running into that green with a little bit less
stopping power. Hopefully though, I can get it that distance, about 210
Same sort of thing there a little bit hooky but you can see from the Pro Tracer a lot lower ball flight from there I can imagine that ball scuttled on a little bit further So let head
up to the green, see where those balls ended up, and I'll have some final concluding thoughts on
the seven wood versus hybrid debate. Okay, so up at the green, I think we've got a result here that
really shows off the characteristics and the benefits of a seven wood. So I'm stood here by
My hybrid shot, which as we saw, it was a bit toe-y, it was a bit hooky
But because of that and that lower ball flight, we've ended up back right at the green. Whereas you can see behind me here, the 7-wood, which was a similar-ish strike, a bit toe-y, definitely turned over
still had that higher ball flight and much more stopping power to leave me a much more attractive birdie putt on the green over there
So some final thoughts on these, really. I love the 7-wood. It's been quite enjoyable to use
It offers you so much loft at address. it goes so high and still so far that I think it could deserve a place in my bag at some point
it's not great off tee to be honest with you because of that spin you don't get much run
I'd rather use the hybrid but it's a really interesting club and one I really think you
should consider potentially putting in that end of your bag you've seen the data you've seen how
it works on course make the decision for yourselves now I'd love to hear from you have you already got
one of these in the bag or are you thinking of putting one in let me know let me know your
experiences with this club i would love to hear from you but for now from prince's golf club thank
you very much for joining me i'll see you next time