00:00I have got some fascinating data about whether you should be using one of these, a 7-wood,
00:05or one of these, a hybrid.
00:07Or maybe both.
00:08Let's get started.
00:17So before we get to hitting a few shots on course and talk about the data, let's talk
00:20about the characteristics of these two clubs.
00:22What is the difference between a 7-wood and a hybrid?
00:25Let's talk about the 7-wood first because that is sort of the main star of the show
00:28today.
00:29As you can see with the characteristics of this 7-wood, the head is a lot bigger and
00:33that means the centre of gravity is deeper and lower compared to a hybrid.
00:36And that means the ball gets up in the air a lot quicker and a lot higher.
00:41So where these uses come in is for approaches to greens, if you want more stopping power,
00:45if you find yourself on a lot of par 3s, you know, 180, 200 yards, depending on how far
00:49you hit these sort of things.
00:50It's really useful for that compared to a hybrid.
00:53So we'll look at the hybrid now.
00:54Obviously, we know what a hybrid looks like.
00:55It's got a lot smaller head and that ball flight is a lot lower because that centre
00:58of gravity is in a much different position.
01:01Another thing to note about hybrids and whether you want a hybrid or a more lofted wood in
01:05the bag is that a hybrid tends to have a bit more draw bias on them.
01:09They'll turn left to right for me as a left-hander, right to left if you're a right-hander, which
01:13is great for some, but some people want to shake the ball both ways and that's where
01:17the control of a 7-wood, which is a lot easier to shake in both directions, comes into effect.
01:21So even though they might have the same stated loft on there and they say they're the same
01:25number, that dynamic loft at impact is very different and the characteristics are very
01:30different, which we'll come and talk about in just a second.
01:33So let's talk about some of that data that I found in my testing.
01:36I'm going to flash up a table now.
01:38I've had about two or three range tests comparing these and I picked about 20 shots that I think
01:42were most representative to get these averages from.
01:45And we'll talk about the similarities first.
01:47So you can see the ball speed, very similar, 134 mile an hour to 131.
01:51Not too much there.
01:52And that then led to an average carry distance of 208 yards on the 7-wood and 207 with the
01:574-hybrid.
01:58So very, very similar, which is what I expected actually.
02:00So I was pretty pleased to see that during my testing.
02:03But the big difference is, and the benefits that some of you might see from going from
02:077-wood instead of a hybrid, comes in that peak height.
02:11You can see the big difference there, 30.5 yards on average, playing 24 yards on the
02:15hybrid.
02:16So pretty much six yards in the air difference, which is going to give that 7-wood a much
02:20steeper descent angle and way more stopping power than a hybrid.
02:24So it was fascinating to see that.
02:25I really enjoyed hitting it on the range actually.
02:27You know, hitting the 7-wood, it's going up like a 7-iron, or even a pitching wedge sometimes.
02:31It was really, really cool.
02:32And you've not lost that yardage as we've seen.
02:34They're going the same distance, but that ball flight characteristic was so different.
02:38We'll see that in a minute on course.
02:40And that's played out in the spin as well, 6,000 for the 7-wood, 5.5 for the hybrid.
02:46I'd expect that the 7-wood will spin the ball a little bit more.
02:50And then it comes down to that launch angle as well, 12.4 to 10.6.
02:54That 7-wood is naturally launching a little bit higher, all down to that center of gravity.
02:58So this is what I expected during my testing.
03:00I was pretty happy to see these results.
03:01It's the kind of thing I wanted to see as well.
03:04Similar lofts going similar distances, but with very, very different ball flight characteristics.
03:09So with all that data out of the way, let's get onto the course and see how these things
03:12act in the real world.
03:13Okay, so on the golf course now, and I found myself in an exact situation where this 7-wood
03:18versus hybrid debate comes in.
03:20We're 210 yards away from the green, which is just behind me over here.
03:23And I'm a little bit downwind, and I want a club with lots of stopping power.
03:28Now 210 yards away means I'm going to have to hit a wood of some kind, but I don't trust
03:32that hybrid to hold the green.
03:34So that's where a club like this, the 7-wood, really comes into play.
03:37Similar situations if you're on a long par 3 or approaching a par 5, of that sort of
03:42200, 210-yard distance, a club like this gives you so much stopping power and a lot more
03:47control.
03:48So let's see the comparison between the two.
03:49I'm going to start with the 7-wood, because that's the club I would go for if I was in
03:53this situation.
03:54Now, it's very cold today as well, so if I can hit this 210 yards, I'm very happy with
04:03myself.
04:05Okay, not bad there, a little bit drawy, but I think it had plenty of height on it to stop
04:12somewhere level with the pin, but a little bit to the right.
04:15Now let's compare that with the hybrid and see how much different that's going to be,
04:19because I can imagine it's going to be a lot lower ball flight running into that green
04:23with a little bit less stopping power.
04:25Hopefully though, I can get it that distance, about 210.
04:36Same sort of thing there, a little bit hooky, but you can see from the pro tracer, a lot
04:40lower ball flight from there, I can imagine that ball's scuttled on a little bit further.
04:44Okay, so let's head up to the green, see where those balls ended up, and I'll have some final
04:47concluding thoughts on the 7-wood versus hybrid debate.
04:50Okay, so up at the green, I think we've got a result here that really shows off the characteristics
04:54and the benefits of a 7-wood.
04:56So I'm stood here by my hybrid shot, which as we saw, it was a bit toey, it was a bit
05:00hooky, but because of that and that lower ball flight, we've ended up back right at
05:04the green.
05:05Whereas you can see behind me here, the 7-wood, which was a similar-ish strike, a bit toey,
05:08definitely turned over, still had that higher ball flight and much more stopping power to
05:13leave me a much more attractive birdie putt on the green over there.
05:17So some final thoughts on these really, I love the 7-wood, it's been quite enjoyable
05:21to use, it offers you so much loft at address, it goes so high and still so far, that I think
05:26it could deserve a place in my bag at some point.
05:30It's not great off-tees, to be honest with you, because of that spin, you don't get much
05:33run, I'd rather use the hybrid, but it's a really interesting club and one I really think
05:38you should consider potentially putting in that end of your bag.
05:41You've seen the data, you've seen how it works on course, make the decision for yourselves.
05:45Now I'd love to hear from you, have you already got one of these in the bag, or are you thinking
05:49of putting one in?
05:50Let me know, let me know your experiences with this club, I would love to hear from
05:53you.
05:54But for now, from Prince's Golf Club, thank you very much for joining me, I'll see you
05:57next time.
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