Swap options for my 20° hybrid

[Architect]

I’ve been playing with the idea of swapping out my G25 20° hybrid for when home course conditions do not warrant the use of a hybrid, particularly when the Bermuda fairways are tight and Bermuda rough is relatively short. My hope is that I can find an option that still gives me the 220-yard carry distance, and allows me to control the flight. I know that my hybrid is designed to be an easy club to hit, and I need to spend more time practicing with it, however she can get a little low and hooky on me more than I’d like to admit.

 

This club will be placed between my G25 16.5° 4-wood (+250 yards), and my i25 4-iron bent from 24° to 26° with a KBS Tour 120-gram steel shaft soft-stepped once stiff-flex (205-yards). To stay within the Ping family (nothing against any other brand) I’m considering the following options:

 

1. Rapture DI: loft 18°, bounce 3°

2. i25 3-iron: loft 21°, bounce 4°

3. G25 3-iron: loft 20°, bounce 0°

4. G30 4-iron: loft 21°, bounce 5°

 

My first reaction is to throw out the Rapture as it may not be the right club for this job. I have a good relationship with my i25 4-iron, yet wonder (when considering a hybrid replacement) if the added forgiveness of a G-series iron may be more beneficial for hitting the middle of the green from 220 out. Any thoughts?

[Lexicographer]

G25 3 iron and have it setup 1/4-1/2 inch longer. You might not go back to the hybrid.

[Architect]

[quote name='Lexicographer' timestamp='1412950971' post='10265297']
G25 3 iron and have it setup 1/4-1/2 inch longer. You might not go back to the hybrid.
[/quote]

Your idea of adding length to the shaft is to push the distance up to 220, correct?

[longleft]

My gut reaction says get a matching 3i, but...

I am a bit curious though...you carry a 4w about the same as me, but your 20* degree hybrid and your 4 iron are 1 to 1.5 clubs shorter than my carry distances for the same clubs. I play my irons weak too.

Do you hit the 4i high enough? If you hit it low, then the 3i prob won't work properly.

Have you tried a 23* hybrid in place of the 20? Sometimes the couple degrees of loft make a huge difference. For what it's worth, my rapture v2 23* will carry almost the same as a 20*.

[doublehans]

i'm not too far off your distances and replaced my 21deg hybrid with a g25 3iron and it works better out of everywhere than the hybrid except thick rough and goes hybrid height. that said, i was hitting my hybrid with a low launch 90g shaft pretty high already and hit basically every club pretty high so we may have different sorts of swings. but i've tried other long irons that don't have the height of the g25 3iron and can say it really does look a lot more like a hybrid flight (i use the kbs tour 130 shaft in my 3iron but that's just because i wanted to bring the flight down some and fitter suggested it and lm confirmed the heavier shaft went noticeably lower than the 120, so you should get a little more height if you're using the 120). i prob wouldn't go with the g30 4iron simply because i know sooner or later i would screw up and pull out the "wrong" 4iron if i had two 4 irons in bag even if they were different models......theoretically having two 4irons with different lofts shouldn't matter, but practically i know i'll screw it up. but there's probably nothing wrong with the i25 3iron if you already have i25s and they work for you. not just for ocd reasons of matching clubs, but if you already like those guys it seems like its a safe choice. both the i25 and g25 3irons have lots of forgiveness. the g25 might have more offset to help get it up in the air, but the i25 has a good bit of offset too to help that as well.

[Architect]

[quote name='longleft' timestamp='1412958801' post='10266027']
My gut reaction says get a matching 3i, but...

I am a bit curious though...you carry a 4w about the same as me, but your 20* degree hybrid and your 4 iron are 1 to 1.5 clubs shorter than my carry distances for the same clubs. I play my irons weak too.

Do you hit the 4i high enough? If you hit it low, then the 3i prob won't work properly.

Have you tried a 23* hybrid in place of the 20? Sometimes the couple degrees of loft make a huge difference. For what it's worth, my rapture v2 23* will carry almost the same as a 20*.
[/quote]

205-yards for my 4-iron is with an average swing and decent contact...basically it's the number where I'm safe. When I swing freely, good contact and down the line I can stretch it out to 215. Ball flight is right where it should be as well. A i25 3-iron maybe the way to go, but I have stuck in my head that I'm not THAT good of a ball striker.

I haven't tried a higher lofted hybrid, and am a little leery about picking up another. My misses with the hybrid tend to come from swing plane and attack angle issues.

[Architect]

[quote name='doublehans' timestamp='1412963015' post='10266427']
i'm not too far off your distances and replaced my 21deg hybrid with a g25 3iron and it works better out of everywhere than the hybrid except thick rough and goes hybrid height. that said, i was hitting my hybrid with a low launch 90g shaft pretty high already and hit basically every club pretty high so we may have different sorts of swings. but i've tried other long irons that don't have the height of the g25 3iron and can say it really does look a lot more like a hybrid flight (i use the kbs tour 130 shaft in my 3iron but that's just because i wanted to bring the flight down some and fitter suggested it and lm confirmed the heavier shaft went noticeably lower than the 120, so you should get a little more height if you're using the 120). i prob wouldn't go with the g30 4iron simply because i know sooner or later i would screw up and pull out the "wrong" 4iron if i had two 4 irons in bag even if they were different models......theoretically having two 4irons with different lofts shouldn't matter, but practically i know i'll screw it up. but there's probably nothing wrong with the i25 3iron if you already have i25s and they work for you. not just for ocd reasons of matching clubs, but if you already like those guys it seems like its a safe choice. both the i25 and g25 3irons have lots of forgiveness. the g25 might have more offset to help get it up in the air, but the i25 has a good bit of offset too to help that as well.
[/quote]

The bounce on the G30 seems to be a better in line with my irons than the G25, but you are right....two 4-irons?!?!?!? Yes, there are 5-degrees apart...but two 4-irons? Here comes the OCD...

The i25 3-iron may be the way to go; 21[color=#282828]° loft and 4[/color][color=#282828]° bounce.[/color]

[Lexicographer]

Have you tried the i25 hybrids? Quite a different look than the G25s. And they're going for cheap now.

[longleft]

[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1412968065' post='10266857']
[quote name='longleft' timestamp='1412958801' post='10266027']
My gut reaction says get a matching 3i, but...

I am a bit curious though...you carry a 4w about the same as me, but your 20* degree hybrid and your 4 iron are 1 to 1.5 clubs shorter than my carry distances for the same clubs. I play my irons weak too.

Do you hit the 4i high enough? If you hit it low, then the 3i prob won't work properly.

Have you tried a 23* hybrid in place of the 20? Sometimes the couple degrees of loft make a huge difference. For what it's worth, my rapture v2 23* will carry almost the same as a 20*.
[/quote]

205-yards for my 4-iron is with an average swing and decent contact...basically it's the number where I'm safe. When I swing freely, good contact and down the line I can stretch it out to 215. Ball flight is right where it should be as well. A i25 3-iron maybe the way to go, but I have stuck in my head that I'm not THAT good of a ball striker.

I haven't tried a higher lofted hybrid, and am a little leery about picking up another. My misses with the hybrid tend to come from swing plane and attack angle issues.
[/quote]

I hear you...I ditched the hybrid for a 3i or 7w combo depending on conditions. I got sick of the mediocrity of the hybrid. I also found that I don't really need to hit too many shots in the 220+ range, so having the shorter shafted 3i was a cool option for finding the short grass when the tee shots get narrow.

[Architect]

[quote name='Lexicographer' timestamp='1412971903' post='10267107']
Have you tried the i25 hybrids? Quite a different look than the G25s. And they're going for cheap now.
[/quote]

No hybrids! To answer your question, I have not tried the i25. Selling for $150!?!?!?

Wait...do you really edit dictionaries as your avatar implies?

[Architect]

[quote name='longleft' timestamp='1412972032' post='10267119']
[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1412968065' post='10266857']
[quote name='longleft' timestamp='1412958801' post='10266027']
My gut reaction says get a matching 3i, but...

I am a bit curious though...you carry a 4w about the same as me, but your 20* degree hybrid and your 4 iron are 1 to 1.5 clubs shorter than my carry distances for the same clubs. I play my irons weak too.

Do you hit the 4i high enough? If you hit it low, then the 3i prob won't work properly.

Have you tried a 23* hybrid in place of the 20? Sometimes the couple degrees of loft make a huge difference. For what it's worth, my rapture v2 23* will carry almost the same as a 20*.
[/quote]

205-yards for my 4-iron is with an average swing and decent contact...basically it's the number where I'm safe. When I swing freely, good contact and down the line I can stretch it out to 215. Ball flight is right where it should be as well. A i25 3-iron maybe the way to go, but I have stuck in my head that I'm not THAT good of a ball striker.

I haven't tried a higher lofted hybrid, and am a little leery about picking up another. My misses with the hybrid tend to come from swing plane and attack angle issues.
[/quote]

I hear you...I ditched the hybrid for a 3i or 7w combo depending on conditions. I got sick of the mediocrity of the hybrid. I also found that I don't really need to hit too many shots in the 220+ range, so having the shorter shafted 3i was a cool option for finding the short grass when the tee shots get narrow.
[/quote]

Exactly. I think the 3-iron is the way to go.

[Architect]

Who here plays the i25 3-iron? Any first-hand experiences to share?

[Lexicographer]

[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1412973031' post='10267171']
[quote name='Lexicographer' timestamp='1412971903' post='10267107']
Have you tried the i25 hybrids? Quite a different look than the G25s. And they're going for cheap now.
[/quote]

No hybrids! To answer your question, I have not tried the i25. Selling for $150!?!?!?

Wait...do you really edit dictionaries as your avatar implies?
[/quote]

Patent attorney. The law allows inventors to be their own lexicographer. Essentially, if you invented something new, go ahead and make up a word to define it.

How about an old Rapture V2 3 iron. With a graphite shaft. Moon balls.

[KARL M]

If you like your 4 wood, why not go with a G-25, 21* 7 wood with the exact same shaft that is in your 4 wood.

The longer shaft of a wood, will give you a higher trajectry than a long iron or hybrid.

You might want to bend your 4 iron back to the original loft of 24* or even a touch stronger 23*

[mokedaddy]

I dropped my hybrid for a 3 iron and haven't looked back. My 4 iron distance is right about where yours is.

[Architect]

[quote name='Lexicographer' timestamp='1412977151' post='10267515']
[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1412973031' post='10267171']
[quote name='Lexicographer' timestamp='1412971903' post='10267107']
Have you tried the i25 hybrids? Quite a different look than the G25s. And they're going for cheap now.
[/quote]

No hybrids! To answer your question, I have not tried the i25. Selling for $150!?!?!?

Wait...do you really edit dictionaries as your avatar implies?
[/quote]

Patent attorney. The law allows inventors to be their own lexicographer. Essentially, if you invented something new, go ahead and make up a word to define it.

How about an old Rapture V2 3 iron. With a graphite shaft. Moon balls.
[/quote]

Sounds like an interesting profession!

I never thought about the old Raptures. How will -2 degrees of loft behave?

[Architect]

[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1412978673' post='10267647']
If you like your 4 wood, why not go with a G-25, 21* 7 wood with the exact same shaft that is in your 4 wood.

The longer shaft of a wood, will give you a higher trajectry than a long iron or hybrid.

You might want to bend your 4 iron back to the original loft of 24* or even a touch stronger 23*
[/quote]

I've never tried a 7-wood. How will it be different than a hybrid of an equivalent loft?

My club fitter set the 4-iron to 2-degrees weak and he was spot on. Great ball flight.

[Architect]

[quote name='mokedaddy' timestamp='1413002261' post='10269387']
I dropped my hybrid for a 3 iron and haven't looked back. My 4 iron distance is right about where yours is.
[/quote]

It's good to meet apostates who are pleased with their decision, as I think I'm heading that direction.

[KARL M]

[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1413036957' post='10270279']
[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1412978673' post='10267647']
If you like your 4 wood, why not go with a G-25, 21* 7 wood with the exact same shaft that is in your 4 wood.

The longer shaft of a wood, will give you a higher trajectry than a long iron or hybrid.

You might want to bend your 4 iron back to the original loft of 24* or even a touch stronger 23*
[/quote]

I've never tried a 7-wood. How will it be different than a hybrid of an equivalent loft?

My club fitter set the 4-iron to 2-degrees weak and he was spot on. Great ball flight.
[/quote]

I don't know what engineering principles apply, but based on my experience when I choke down on the grip when hitting any wood, the trajectory is lower. If I'm hitting a driver into the wind, choking down helps to lower ball flight.

I would assume that the same principle would apply that if you took the same lofted head, one with a "hybrid" shaft and one with a longer "wood" shaft, the longer shafted one, would go higher.

My 23* hybrid has a diffrent brand of shaft and is stiffer than my 21* #7 wood, so it isn't a perfect comparison. My 7 wood has a noticably higher ball flight than my hybrid despite having a 2* stronger loft.

My hybrid has a tendency to draw over going straight, and takes some work to fade. The 7 wood goes straight, and is my go to club if I HAVE to hit a fairway off the tee.

I first bought my G20 4 wood and liked it well enough to get the matching driver and 7 wood. Both of these are straighter than the 4 wood. If you like your 4 wood I think you would be quite happy with the matching 7 wood.

If you went with the newer G-30 21* # 7 fairway wood you would gain the ability to adjust the loft + or - 1* giving you a range of 20* to 22*.

This could help you fine tune the gap a little more precisely between your 4 wood and 4 hybrid. Plus you get to do the fine tuning after you have played it to see exactly what your gaps are for real, not just on paper.

my .02
Karl

[Architect]

[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1413040392' post='10270491']
[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1413036957' post='10270279']
[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1412978673' post='10267647']
If you like your 4 wood, why not go with a G-25, 21* 7 wood with the exact same shaft that is in your 4 wood.

The longer shaft of a wood, will give you a higher trajectry than a long iron or hybrid.

You might want to bend your 4 iron back to the original loft of 24* or even a touch stronger 23*
[/quote]

I've never tried a 7-wood. How will it be different than a hybrid of an equivalent loft?

My club fitter set the 4-iron to 2-degrees weak and he was spot on. Great ball flight.
[/quote]

I don't know what engineering principles apply, but based on my experience when I choke down on the grip when hitting any wood, the trajectory is lower. If I'm hitting a driver into the wind, choking down helps to lower ball flight.

I would assume that the same principle would apply that if you took the same lofted head, one with a "hybrid" shaft and one with a longer "wood" shaft, the longer shafted one, would go higher.

My 23* hybrid has a diffrent brand of shaft and is stiffer than my 21* #7 wood, so it isn't a perfect comparison. My 7 wood has a noticably higher ball flight than my hybrid despite having a 2* stronger loft.

My hybrid has a tendency to draw over going straight, and takes some work to fade. The 7 wood goes straight, and is my go to club if I HAVE to hit a fairway off the tee.

I first bought my G20 4 wood and liked it well enough to get the matching driver and 7 wood. Both of these are straighter than the 4 wood. If you like your 4 wood I think you would be quite happy with the matching 7 wood.

If you went with the newer G-30 21* # 7 fairway wood you would gain the ability to adjust the loft + or - 1* giving you a range of 20* to 22*.

This could help you fine tune the gap a little more precisely between your 4 wood and 4 hybrid. Plus you get to do the fine tuning after you have played it to see exactly what your gaps are for real, not just on paper.

my .02
Karl
[/quote]

Much appreciated Karl. You've given me a lot to think about.

[longleft]

[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1413036957' post='10270279']
[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1412978673' post='10267647']
If you like your 4 wood, why not go with a G-25, 21* 7 wood with the exact same shaft that is in your 4 wood.

The longer shaft of a wood, will give you a higher trajectry than a long iron or hybrid.

You might want to bend your 4 iron back to the original loft of 24* or even a touch stronger 23*
[/quote]

I've never tried a 7-wood. How will it be different than a hybrid of an equivalent loft?

My club fitter set the 4-iron to 2-degrees weak and he was spot on. Great ball flight.
[/quote]

I find that the 7 wood vs hybrid comes down to whether you like offset, and clubs that are draw biased.

7 years ago, when I never saw the left side of the golf course and my game was garbage, hybrids were fine. My right tendency was reduced by the hybrid. Today, with a better grip, solid mechanics, and some decent instruction the last thing I want is to release the club through impact and have my shots go long and left.

The on-set of the fairway wood gives me access to the left and right side of the course with the added benefit of long length and the ability to hold a green.

It took me way too long to figure out that a good fw could trump the hype of the hybrid for my swing. Plus, I thought that only slow-swingers played 7 woods. Man, I was wrong.

[Architect]

[quote name='longleft' timestamp='1413058799' post='10271417']
[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1413036957' post='10270279']
[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1412978673' post='10267647']
If you like your 4 wood, why not go with a G-25, 21* 7 wood with the exact same shaft that is in your 4 wood.

The longer shaft of a wood, will give you a higher trajectry than a long iron or hybrid.

You might want to bend your 4 iron back to the original loft of 24* or even a touch stronger 23*
[/quote]

I've never tried a 7-wood. How will it be different than a hybrid of an equivalent loft?

My club fitter set the 4-iron to 2-degrees weak and he was spot on. Great ball flight.
[/quote]

I find that the 7 wood vs hybrid comes down to whether you like offset, and clubs that are draw biased.

7 years ago, when I never saw the left side of the golf course and my game was garbage, hybrids were fine. My right tendency was reduced by the hybrid. Today, with a better grip, solid mechanics, and some decent instruction the last thing I want is to release the club through impact and have my shots go long and left.

The on-set of the fairway wood gives me access to the left and right side of the course with the added benefit of long length and the ability to hold a green.

It took me way too long to figure out that a good fw could trump the hype of the hybrid for my swing. Plus, I thought that only slow-swingers played 7 woods. Man, I was wrong.
[/quote]

I definitely do not need draw-biased clubs. I spent time today on the range working between my hybrid, 4-wood, and driver. Alignment sticks were set up perpendicular, and made sure my setup was correct as I worked through a 90-minute session.

My driver and 4-wood would produce either straight shots to draws. The hybrid when struck well would go right down the line, but it was easy, not to draw, but hook the living s*** out of my misses.

I don't have the flight path in my head to drop and stop a 7-wood, but haven't tried a wood with that much loft either.

[Architect]

I also should mention that my 20-hybrid flight is often not quite what it should be; typically in that 75-foot range.

[KARL M]

Good Morning Architect

You said "I don't have the flight path in my head to drop and stop a 7-wood, but haven't tried a wood with that much loft either."

A 21* 7 wood really isn't that highly lofted.

15-20 years ago most people carried driver, 3 wood and 5 wood. I've still got a couple of those 5 woods in my attic, they have 20* and 21* of loft .

There were even some higher lofted 5 woods at 22*

[Architect]

[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1413199492' post='10277329']
Good Morning Architect

You said "I don't have the flight path in my head to drop and stop a 7-wood, but haven't tried a wood with that much loft either."

A 21* 7 wood really isn't that highly lofted.

15-20 years ago most people carried driver, 3 wood and 5 wood. I've still got a couple of those 5 woods in my attic, they have 20* and 21* of loft .

There were even some higher lofted 5 woods at 22*
[/quote]

I may just have to compare a G25 7-wood to a i25 3-iron. I'd guess that the 3-iron will hold greens better.

[coloradogolf72]

What about getting a hybrid where you can change the loft, in affect opening the club face, which will help with the misses left? Maybe a 23-25* and cranking it down to 22-24*, the added length in graphite shaft of a hybrid will help keep the distances even so a 22-24* hybrid will probably fly a little farther than a stock 3 iron. I used to use an 18* hybrid, then switched to a 5 wood and will probably never go back to a low lofted hybrid. I have a 22* adams hybrid that I love and it fits the gaps better.

[Architect]

[quote name='coloradogolf72' timestamp='1413232720' post='10279921']
What about getting a hybrid where you can change the loft, in affect opening the club face, which will help with the misses left? Maybe a 23-25* and cranking it down to 22-24*, the added length in graphite shaft of a hybrid will help keep the distances even so a 22-24* hybrid will probably fly a little farther than a stock 3 iron. I used to use an 18* hybrid, then switched to a 5 wood and will probably never go back to a low lofted hybrid. I have a 22* adams hybrid that I love and it fits the gaps better.
[/quote]

This makes sense....hmmmm

[KARL M]

[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1413252322' post='10281767']
[quote name='coloradogolf72' timestamp='1413232720' post='10279921']
What about getting a hybrid where you can change the loft, in affect opening the club face, which will help with the misses left? Maybe a 23-25* and cranking it down to 22-24*, the added length in graphite shaft of a hybrid will help keep the distances even so a 22-24* hybrid will probably fly a little farther than a stock 3 iron. I used to use an 18* hybrid, then switched to a 5 wood and will probably never go back to a low lofted hybrid. I have a 22* adams hybrid that I love and it fits the gaps better.
[/quote]

This makes sense....hmmmm
[/quote]

At the present time Ping doesn't make a hybrid that has an adjustment for loft.

Go to a golf shop within driving distance and take your 4 iron and 4 wood with you.

I'm not real confident in launch monitors alone, but you could see what their monitor shows for your clubs, as a base line. Write down carry, height, and dispersion numbers as a refrence.

Then demo the adjustable lofted ping G-30 7 wood preferably with the same shaft as in your 4 wood. Then demo a titelist 913 and or 915, 21* hybrid. Be sure to write down the same stats as above and compare to your base line numbers.

The 21* G-30 7 wood is adjustable from 20-22*. The 21* Titleist 915 has a range of 20.25-22.5*

Cost wise the ping G-30 and 915 would be the same with the 913 only $20 less.

If the G-30 7 wood set at the standard 21*, was an ideal loft, you could demo the nonadjustable G-25 which could work just as well for $ 50 less.

[Architect]

[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1413295959' post='10283811']
[quote name='Architect' timestamp='1413252322' post='10281767']
[quote name='coloradogolf72' timestamp='1413232720' post='10279921']
What about getting a hybrid where you can change the loft, in affect opening the club face, which will help with the misses left? Maybe a 23-25* and cranking it down to 22-24*, the added length in graphite shaft of a hybrid will help keep the distances even so a 22-24* hybrid will probably fly a little farther than a stock 3 iron. I used to use an 18* hybrid, then switched to a 5 wood and will probably never go back to a low lofted hybrid. I have a 22* adams hybrid that I love and it fits the gaps better.
[/quote]

This makes sense....hmmmm
[/quote]

At the present time Ping doesn't make a hybrid that has an adjustment for loft.

Go to a golf shop within driving distance and take your 4 iron and 4 wood with you.

I'm not real confident in launch monitors alone, but you could see what their monitor shows for your clubs, as a base line. Write down carry, height, and dispersion numbers as a refrence.

Then demo the adjustable lofted ping G-30 7 wood preferably with the same shaft as in your 4 wood. Then demo a titelist 913 and or 915, 21* hybrid. Be sure to write down the same stats as above and compare to your base line numbers.

The 21* G-30 7 wood is adjustable from 20-22*. The 21* Titleist 915 has a range of 20.25-22.5*

Cost wise the ping G-30 and 915 would be the same with the 913 only $20 less.

If the G-30 7 wood set at the standard 21*, was an ideal loft, you could demo the nonadjustable G-25 which could work just as well for $ 50 less.
[/quote]

Great advice.

[Marengo]

Another vote for a 21-22 degree wood. I know you are trying to stay with Ping so I am not sure if the G30's is exactly. I recently picked up a TM RBZ stage 2 5HL that is 21*. Fixed hosel and absolutely love it. This replaced my old 22* 7w Firesole. Give a high lofted wood a try and you will be surprised how easy they are to hit. Easy to get up in the air and they go dead straight.