9 wood or 5 hybrid

[wings65]

I was wondering if I should stick with my 5 hybrid 23 degrees or switch it to a 9 wood at 23 degrees. I'm a senior golfer swing speed of 75 mph I have Cleveland UHX Launcher irons myasaki senior flex and the 5 iron is 23 degrees. I have a hybrid that loft but I have heard of players going to the 9 wood. Can someone tell the benefits of each. Thanks for the help. 

Edited April 8, 2024 by wings65
Typos

[RHenderson]

My vote for is for the 9 Wood as Hybrids sit to closed, and are to hooky for me. I'm a much better fairway wood player.  

[Ripken08]

9W=4i/4H not a 5H.

[dsmil]

The 9 wood would typically launch it higher (head design) and with more ball speed due to shaft length. The 9 wood head should be more forgiving but that could be cancelled out if your face contact gets worse due to the shaft length. 
 

I think you’re a prime candidate for a 9 wood at your swing speed. The only concern would be face contact getting worse but you could always try choking up and adding weight if needed.

 

How is your 5 iron working? Could it be worth dropping that and using your existing hybrid and a 7 wood instead?

[hammergolf]

3 hours ago, wings65 said:

I was wondering if I should stick with my 5 hybrid 23 degrees or switch it to a 9 wood at 23 degrees. I'm a senior golfer swing speed of 75 mph I have Cleveland UHX Launcher irons myasaki senior flex and the 5 iron is 23 degrees. I have a hybrid that loft but I have heard of players going to the 9 wood. Can someone tell the benefits of each. Thanks for the help. 

If you’re wanting a wood to go the distance of your 5H, an 11wd would be the comparable club. I recommend lofted woods for ANYBODY who wants to make the game easier and more fun.

[animalgolfs]

4 hours ago, Ripken08 said:

9W=4i/4H not a 5H.

That's not my experience- 9wd will carry a few yards farther (3to5yds)- 5h will rollout total farther.  I carry both ....24* 9wd v 26* 5h - Hit 9wd considerably higher = stops dead 

 

My swingspeed is 92

Edited April 9, 2024 by animalgolfs

[nosedive32]

Whether a hybrid or fairway wood at the same loft will go further is extremely player dependent. 

 

In general I've seen plenty of examples where guys at slower speeds will hit similarly lofted fairway woods and hybrids the same total distance. The hybrid comes out flatter with roll and the fairway wood comes out faster, higher, and carries further with more spin so it lands softer and you end up with the same total distance.

[ksher84]

My 9w (Cobra 25.5º) is more comparable to my 4h (Taylormade 22º) distance wise.  I go back and forth between the two but the current champ is the 9w.  I like that the 4h is shorter and more compact but much more consistent with the 9w.

[ahenderX]

I’m using a Callaway Rogue ladies 9-wood. Love it. Also have the same in a 11-wood. Both launch really high for me. 

[Thrummyfox]

On 4/8/2024 at 10:55 PM, Ripken08 said:

9W=4i/4H not a 5H.

Depends on the loft of the club. I’d agree as my 4h is exactly the same as my 4i at 23* but have seen 22* 5 irons recently!

[bluedot]

For me, the 9W replaced the 5H; my 4H is longer.

 

For sure, the 9W will go significantly higher, regardless of which hybrid it replaces.  I’m not sure that it’s really “easier” to hit, though.  The 9w is probably more useful because of the higher trajectory, including being able to hit it out of fairway bunkers, and it’s better out of the rough.  But I can also hook the 9w off the world to an extent that wasn’t true of the 5H.

[st1800e]

My 23° 9 wood is a club longer than my 26° 5 Hybrid.  

[LBB]

I personally prefer fairway woods as they are easier to hit and launch more consistently.  I also find them easier to manage out of the rough compared to a hybrid.

 

The one area a hybrid has an advantage for me is controlling a lower trajectory.  I can do it to a certain extent with a fairway wood, but I have to really hit it like a stinger.  But once you get into the 5h range, I'm guessing the goal is not to hit low bullets.  A 5h sits just outside of your scoring clubs and I'd think most people would want it to launch high and land soft vs using a 5h off the tee on a short par 4 into the wind.

 

I know people who just can't hit fairway woods at all and prefer hybrids...so YMMV.

[miami1023]

How hard is it to find a lefty 11 wood

[NoTalentLefty]

Here in 2025 I put a 9 wood in my bag. It goes a little farther than my 5H but not as far as my old 4 hybrid. I love it But don’t think it’s as versatile as my 5H. Anyway the 5H is back in the bag this week. Course we are going to it comes in handy for punch shots.

[phil59]

On 10/04/2024 at 22:22, miami1023 said:

Est-il difficile de trouver un bois 11 pour gaucher ?

oui

 

peut-être  PING Gle3  bois 9  28° +ou - 1,5° ; bois femme  le prendre avec un manche homme plus long ( 1/2  ou  inch en plus) et mettre un peu de plomb en dessous de la tête 

[giogolf]

The answer to your question comes when you go through the following:

 

1. What distance and height window are you trying to hit?

2. Which club hits that yardage and height window?

 

Sorry, its kind of a crappy answer, but its true..  If you want generalities then: A wood typically launches higher than a Hybrid, a Hybrid launches higher than a Utility iron and a Utility iron launches higher than a traditional iron.  All of this is proven on a robot.. Since we are all humans, we can just take those generalities and go to you local sim bay and hit a bunch of stuff and figure out what "we" do with different head and shaft combos to hit the window and distance we are looking for.

 

I hate Sims and artificial turf.. So I buy a bunch of stuff, test it on a grass range and then sell the stuff that doesn't work at a loss, like a real WRX'er does, LOL.. Kidding, but not really

 

[azgreg]

I've always considered that 9 woods and 4 hybrids occupy the same slot.