5 Wood vs 2 Hybrid [Which To Use?]

In the battle between hybrids and fairway woods in the long iron division, the 5 wood vs 2 hybrid combination are more like cousins than opponents, with each having some specific benefits that can make it difficult to choose between them.

The 5 fairway wood will give a slightly higher ball flight, and more distance, great for hitting from good fairway lies coming in soft when you are hunting greens on the long par 4’s and 5’s, while the 2 hybrid makes getting out of the rough and producing straighter shots consistently easier.

Choosing between the two will depend on whether you hit your fairway woods or hybrids better and where you play more from during your round. Let’s tee both of these clubs up and see which would better suit your game.

5 Fairway Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid – Loft And Distance

 

Since these are both long golf clubs, they provide the same distance needed, whether for a tee shot, where slightly more accuracy is required on tight Par 4’s to increase your fairway hit percentage. And long par 3’s or from the fairway where you need to get it far and land softly.

The 5 fairway wood is the common equivalent to the two iron, and the 2 hybrids often replace the 5 wood for players that find the longer hybrids easier to hit than the fairway woods. So, in essence, the 2 hybrid is the modern version of the two iron.

Both clubs have average lofts of around 18 degrees, so you will get plenty of distance from both, with the 5 wood perhaps being slightly longer by 5 to 10 yards on better-struck shots.

Five wood distance would be around the 190-200 yard mark for an average player, while the 2 hybrid would get to the 180-190 yard mark. Of course, better players and pros hit those clubs much further, but the distance differences relative to ball-striking ability would be the same.

So a good ball striker could get to around 220 yards with a 5 wood and about 210 with the 2 hybrid.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Iron Golf Club – Club head Profile & Use On The Golf Course

 

Then five wood is the chunkier of the two with a more prominent profile, while the hybrid is the sleeker design. Shorter than the three wood or the driver, the five wood is more manageable to hit consistently straight and far, but it doesn’t have the forgiveness of the hybrid.

There may be more hooks and slices played with the five wood than the hybrid as the sweet spot is smaller, but for long approach shots from the fairway or good lies in the semi-rough, the five wood is a great club to hit.

The higher ball flight does bring, the softer landing into play with some rollout, while the hybrid’s lower trajectory would have that much more rollout. Still, it would be consistently straighter as the club offers better forgiveness from off-center hits.

Both can work for tee shots when required, and the hybrid is a better option when playing from the rough as the sleeker, sharper head profile will interact that much better with the ground and cut through the grabby grass easier than the five wood will do.

There is still a consideration for the shaft flex that would impact the shot results with the five wood, so it is essential to use a shaft on your five wood that is congruent with your swing speed.

5 Fairway Woods Vs. 2 Hybrids – Control, Shaping & Accuracy

 

When it comes to the shaping of shots, the five wood is a better option for better players, while the hybrid will deliver more consistently straighter golf ball flights with the possible sacrifice of a bit of yardage.

Because the fairway woods require a more consistent swing, and the hybrids can accommodate steeper, less accurate swing mechanics, better players will probably opt for the five wood over the 2 hybrid for the control options presented.

A mid handicap golfer and the average golfer would do better with the hybrids as they are easier to swing and at this level of skill, shaping and control are not a factor. Not only that, but high handicap players will tend to find themselves in the rough off the tee more often and will find they need a more versatile golf club that much more.

As far as accuracy goes, higher handicap players will potentially have more off-line shots with the five wood than with the 2 hybrid, and this is mainly because they won’t strike the golf ball from the sweet spot consistently.

While this would mainly be due to inconsistent swing mechanics or shaft issues, the fact remains that the hybrid’s design makes it easier for the bogey golfer to execute consistently straighter shots with the hybrid than with the fairway wood.

The five wood is a better option for the mid to lower handicap golfers as they will hit it further, higher, and that much straighter more often. However, we have seen more pros opting for hybrid clubs simply because they have a little extra forgiveness and can be set up to deliver the exact yardages as a fairway wood might.

This makes them that much more appealing, and the quality and design of the 2 hybrids from the top brands provide that balance between optimum performance and forgiveness that is hard to ignore.

The 2 hybrid will be better if you need more consistency from the rough or tough lies. The five wood is your golf club if you tend to hit more fairways so have more tight lies and want higher flight and a soft landing.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid–Performance Based On Handicap

 

When it comes to the longer golf clubs, you tend to see vast differences in performance based on the handicap levels. So, at the lower end, you may find that the 2 hybrid goes further than the five wood, but as this moves to the mid handicap level, the five wood is longer, and at the higher handicap level, the distance between them is virtually the same.

Choosing which golf club to use for your game would greatly depend on your skill and the quality of your swing mechanics, from swing speed to impact accuracy. When looking at a five wood or 2 hybrid, you need to be brutally honest about your ability.

The test data below shows how the various handicap ranges performed using the five wood and 2 hybrid from the tee and on approach.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid : 0- 6 Handicap Performance

 

In the 0-6 handicap range, the 2 hybrid averaged around 203 yards off the tee and almost 187 yards from the approach, while the 5 wood in this category averaged 187 yards off the tee and 175 yards on approach.

For fairways hit off the tee, the 2 hybrid was slightly ahead with 39% FIR vs. the 35% FIR for the 5 wood. For greens in regulation, the 5 wood won out with 16% GIR vs. 14% GIR for the 2 hybrid.

You can see a significant difference in distance between the 5 wood and the 2 hybrid at this level. There are only marginal differences in accuracy, with the hybrid being better off the tee, with the fairway wood winning out on approach.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid: 6-10 Handicap Performance

 

As expected, with this group, we see more similar results in terms of distance off the tee and on approach, with the hybrid achieving only slightly better distance off the tee with 183 yards vs. the 181 yards of the 5 wood.

On approach, the results are similar, with the 5 wood getting 169 yards on approach vs. the 175 of the hybrid.

From an accuracy perspective, the results were even closer for both FIR ( 34% vs. 33%) and GIR (12% vs. 13%), respectively.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid: 11-15 Handicap Performance

 

In this category, we see a shift in the distance achieved from the tee, with the 5 wood winning out at 168 yards vs. the 167 yards of the hybrid. There is also a glaring difference in distance yardage between this group and the one prior, with distances dropping off remarkably off the tee and on approach.

The hybrid was still ahead with 165 yards vs 159 yards from the 5 wood in terms of approach distance.

From an accuracy perspective, the FIR percentage favored the hybrid with 31% against 29% of the 5 wood, but the fairway wood came out first in GIR stats, with 10% vs. 9% of the hybrid.

This trend where GIR is in favor of the fairway wood was seen in the group before this one, indicating that as the handicaps increase, the fairway wood is more accurate to the greens than the hybrid is.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid: 16-20 Handicap Performance

 

For the first time, we see the 5 wood winning on the tee shot distances, and like the group before this, the drop-off in yardages off the tee and on approach increased. The 5 wood achieved 152 yards off the tee vs. the 151 of the hybrid, but the hybrid won one back on the approach distances with 156 yards vs. 151 yards of the 5 wood.

With accuracy, the 5 wood proved better in both classes with 28% FIR vas the 26% of the hybrid and 8.8% GIR vs. the 8.1% of the hybrid. These numbers demonstrate that in this handicap group, players found the 5 wood to be more accurate than the hybrid.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid: 20+ Handicap Performance

 

In this handicap group, the hybrid recovered to win both distance categories with 138 yards off the tee vs. the 136 yards of the fairway wood and 143 yards on approach vs. the 139 of the 5 wood. As with preceding groups, the yardages on both tee and approach shots diminished considerably.

For accuracy in this handicap range, the hybrid won the FIR competition with 28% to 25%, while the FIR Stats were equal at 8%, respectively. Which is pretty important since this category will have the lowest fairway hit percentage.

5 Wood Vs. 2 Hybrid – Which Club Do You Choose

 

Firstly, the results from the various handicap groups are a good indicator as to which golf club you could have in your bag based on your current skill level.

If you play in the scratch to 10 handicap range, then the 2 hybrid would be a better choice, while mid handicap levels seem to indicate that the 5 wood is preferable.

In the higher handicap ranges, the hybrid seems better suited for that type of game, but these are only guidelines for your golf club options.

Most golfers, especially in the mid to high handicap range, find the 2 hybrid far easier to hit than the three iron or four iron, and as they have similar lofts, it may be a better option to take out one or both of those and replace it with a 2 hybrid.

Since most club sets don’t come standard with a three-iron but instead start from 4 iron through to wedge, the 2 hybrid would be a good option if you struggle to hit the four iron or have a slower swing speed.

You can keep the 5 wood in the bag for the fairway shots and have the added benefit of a versatile rescue club available, so if you find yourself off the fairway and need to get some distance, you have a club that will work from the rough.

The increasing popularity of hybrid golf clubs as both wood and iron replacements can make it difficult for players to decide which one to have in their bags. The best way to determine this is to test drive the various options and see what feels and performs better with your swing.

Fortunately, most retailers and club pro shops will allow most golfers to test the golf clubs on the range and even take them out on the golf course to see which works better, so whether you have the 5 wood, 2 hybrid or both in your bag after that, only time will tell.

Conclusion

 

Between the 5 fairway woods and 2 hybrid, you also need to consider which of these golf clubs will bring more excellent value to your game if you choose between the two, as the goal is to hit more fairways and more greens to allow better scoring.

These days you can mix and match golf clubs between brands, lofts, and profiles as much as you like, so if it means you have one brand of 5 wood and another of 2 hybrids, then so be it.