no fairway woods?

I am contemplating replacing my driver and 3 wood. My current driver has 9 degrees of loft, and from what I have heard, I would like to try something with more loft, maybe 10 or 10.5

As for my 3 wood, ever since I got a 19 degree hybrid, I use that more and more off of the tee, and use my 3 wood for those long shots in the fairway, which I never hit well anyway, which is why I got the hybrid to begin with.

I have thought about getting a low lofted hybrid, maybe 16 or 15 degrees, and replacing that with the 3 wood. What do you guys think about that?

I've been thinking the same myself, actually, particularly as my pro shop has a brand of last year's model with grafalloy shafts for £25. I already have the 3&4. Unfortunately there isn't a 5 which is what I'd really like, but the 2 is a 16* and I think the firepower off the deck on longer courses may well be a good idea.

I presume it won't have quite the length the 3W would have, but it's a trade-off I'm prepared to make.

Trouble is, I also need to sort a 60* wedge, and there's a little too much month left at the end of the money...

__________________
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Personal bests 2007;
Best 18: 78 (+12)
Best 9: 37 (+4)
Best Stableford: 45 pts
Best total putts: 28
Best total length sunk putts (ft): 54

Club tourney history this year: Captain's Day - 1st; Club foursomes - 2nd; Dimex Stableford - 2nd; Club Championship - 13/28 gross, joint 5/28 nett; Ferebee Shield - 2nd; Sept Medal 2nd; Autumn Stableford - 1st

I was looking online last night to see what brands have the lowest hybrid lofts, and it looked like Nickent and Callaway had some starting at 13 degrees. If I got a driver that was 10.5, and with my current 3 wood being 13 degrees, I think a hybrid around 15 would be ideal.

As for length, I am not too worried about it, as on tight driving holes I had been using my 19 degree hybrid anyway, the equivalency of a 3 iron distance. Switching out the 3 wood with a hybrid will give me a longer and safer option off the tee, and especially off the fairway. The maximum distance I can get out of the 3 wood off the deck is better than the 19 degree hybrid I have, but the hybrid I hit solid more consistently, the point where I am better off leaving it 20 yds short on a par 5 with the hybrid rather than a wild shot (or a flubbed shot) with the 3 wood.

I think that if you're much more comfortable swinging irons and hybrids than fairway woods, then why not go to a low lofted hybrid?

At one point I was playing 16,19,22,25 in hybrid lofts. Driver-hybrids-irons-wedges.

Please note: If you go with a 15 degree hybrid, you may notice it's shorter than your 13 degree 3 wood. However, it may not be, as you may find the sweetspot on the 15 more often.

My average carry distances are (off the deck, not from the tee box)

13 degree 3 wood = 230
19 degree hybrid = 210

Like you said, I feel infinitely more comfortable swinging the hybrid, and hit it more solidly with less peril. If I can get a 15 degree hybrid, I think the loss in distance will only minimal, and probably over time I will swing with more confidence and may not have a distance loss at all (from the fairway anyway.

For such long distances it is hard to gage how far I am carrying them, especially since I am using this club to land on the green. Maybe a session at a range simulator would be beneficial.