00:00I have got some fascinating data about whether you should be using one of these,
00:04a seven-wood, or one of these, a hybrid, or maybe both. Let's get started.
00:17So before we get to hitting a few shots on course and talk about the data,
00:19let's talk about the characteristics of these two clubs. What is the difference between a seven-wood
00:23and a hybrid? Let's talk about the seven-wood first because that is sort of the the main
00:27style of the show today. So as you can see with the characteristics of this seven-wood,
00:31the head is a lot bigger and that means the central gravity is deeper and lower compared
00:36to a hybrid and that means the ball gets up in the air a lot quicker and a lot higher.
00:40So where its uses come in is for approaches to greens, if you want more stopping power,
00:45if you find yourself on a lot of par threes that you know 180-200 yards, depending on how far you
00:49hit these sort of things, it's really useful for that compared to a hybrid. So we'll look at the
00:53hybrid now, obviously we know what a hybrid looks like, a lot smaller head and that ball flight is
00:57a lot lower because that central gravity is in a much different position. Another thing to note
01:02about hybrids and whether you want a hybrid or a lot more lofted wood in the bag is that a hybrid
01:06tend to have a bit more draw bias on them. They'll turn left to right for me as a left-hander,
01:11right to left if you're a right-hander, which is great for some, but some people want to shake the ball
01:16both ways and that's where the control of a seven-wood, which is a lot easier to shape in both directions,
01:20comes into effect. So even though they might have the same stated loft on there and they
01:25say they're the same number, that dynamic loft impact is very different and the characteristics
01:30are very different, which we'll come and talk about in just a second. So let's talk about some of that
01:34data that I've found in my testing. I'm going to flash up a table now. I've had about two or three
01:39range sessions comparing these and I picked about 20 shots that I think were most representative to get
01:44these averages from. And we'll talk about the similarities first. So you can see the ball speed,
01:48very similar 134 mile an hour to 131, so not too much there. And that then led to an average carry
01:54distance of 208 yards of the seven-wood and 207 with a four hybrid. So very, very similar,
01:59which is what I expected actually. So I was pretty pleased to see that during my testing.
02:03But the big differences and the benefits that some of you might see from going from seven-wood
02:08instead of a hybrid comes in that peak height. You can see the big difference there, 30.5 yards on
02:13average playing 24 yards from the hybrid. So pretty much six yards in the air difference,
02:18which is going to give that seven-wood a much steeper descent angle and way more stopping
02:22power than a hybrid. So it was fascinating to see that and I really enjoyed hitting it on the range
02:26actually. Hitting the seven-woods going up like a seven iron or even a pitching wedge sometimes.
02:31It was really, really cool. And you've not lost that yardage as we've seen. They're going the same
02:35distance, but that ball flight characteristic was so different. We'll see that in a minute on course.
02:40And that's played out in the spin as well. 6,000 for the seven-wood, five and a half for the
02:44hybrid. I'd expect that this seven-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. That seven-wood is naturally
02:55launching a little bit higher all down to that center of gravity. So this is what I expected
02:59during my testing. I was pretty happy to see these results. It's the kind of thing I wanted to see as
03:03well. Similar 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 act in the real
03:12world. Okay. So on the golf course now, and I found myself in an exact situation where this seven-wood
03:18versus hybrid debate comes in. We'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. Now, 210 yards away
03:29means I'm going to have to hit a wood of some kind, but I don't trust that hybrid to hold the green.
03:34So that's where a club like this, the seven-wood really comes into play. Similar situations if you're on
03:38a long par three or approaching a par five of that sort of 200, 210 yard distance,
03:44that a club like this gives you so much stopping power and a lot more control. So let's see the
03:48comparison between the two. I'm going to start with the seven-wood because that's the club
03:51I would go for if I was in this situation. Now it's very cold today as well. So if I can
03:56hit this 210 yards, I'm very happy with myself.
04:07Okay, 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. Now let's compare that with the hybrid
04:17and see how much different that's going to be, because I can imagine it's going to be a lot lower
04:20ball flight running into that green with a little bit less stopping power. Hopefully though,
04:26I can get it that distance about 210. Same sort of thing there, a little bit hooky,
04:38but you can see from the Pro Tracer a lot lower ball flight from there. I can imagine that ball's
04:42scuttled on a little bit further. So let's head up to the green, see where those balls ended up and
04:46I'll have some final concluding thoughts on the seven-wood versus hybrid debate. Okay, so up at the
04:51green, I think we've got a result here that really shows off the characteristics and the benefits of a
04:55seven-wood. So I'm stood here by my hybrid shot, which as we saw, it was a bit toe-y, it was a bit
05:00hooky, but because of that and that lower ball flight, we've ended up back right at the green.
05:04Whereas you can see behind me here, the seven-wood, which was a similar-ish strike, a bit toe-y,
05:08definitely turned over, still had that higher ball flight and much more stopping power to leave me
05:14a much more attractive birdie putt on the green over there. So some final thoughts on these really,
05:19I love the seven-wood, it's been quite enjoyable to use, it offers you so much loft at address,
05:23it goes so high and still so far that I think it 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 run,
05:33I'd rather use the hybrid, but it's a really interesting club and one I really think you
05:38should consider potentially putting in that end of your bag. You've seen the data, you've seen how it
05:42works on course, make the decision for yourselves. Now, I'd love to hear from you, have you already got one of
05:47these in the bag, or are you thinking of putting one in? Let me know, let me know your experiences
05:52with this club, I would love to hear from you. But for now, from Prince's Golf Club,
05:55thank you very much for joining me, I'll see you next time.
Comments