3 iron vs 7 wood vs 3 hybrid

I have uncovered a gap in my clubs - in brief I hit the 4 hybrid about 175 yards from most lies, and my 5 wood 200 yards from the tee (I can't hit it reliably off the fairway).

Having ruled out a 3 iron, I invite your opinions on whether I should plug the gap.  Faced with 190 yards off the tee I presently choke down on the 5 wood.

Secondly, would the gap best be filled by a 7 wood or a 3 hybid?

7 wood I would defo favour and I think if you play parkland courses it's a must have club over a hybrid. I only switch to a hybrid when i play links and I drop my 3 wood over my 7.

I went for a hybrid myself, but I do prefer hitting my woods from the fairway and can use them out of the same level of rough as the hybrid.  I do find the 3 hybrid easier to work though (get a lovely draw with it) and a higher ball flight too, which can come in useful.  With hindsight, I probably would've used a 7 wood more. 

I carry a 19* utitlity wood - it's like a short shafted 5 wood and fits the bill nicely as it's good from the tee, fairway and rough.

 Go with what you're most comfortable with, sounds to me that you've talked yourself into gripping down the shaft....nothing wrong with that.

I love my 3 hybrid for windy conditions but i would be the first to admit that it is not a club to hit and hold greens with.

If you are having high failure rates off the fairway with your fairway woods, Martin, then perhaps it would be wise to not use them and play an iron instead. I cannot for the life of me understand why players take out a fairway wood when they have no possibility of reaching the green, assuming they could button it 100%. This cavalier attitude costs many strokes, all unnecessary.

It depends on the strengths of you game.  I strike my fairways quite well but tend not to be as accurate as I could be with a 4 or 5 iron into the green.  For this reason, it's better for me to take a 3 wood and a pitching wedge from 340 yards than two 5 irons (assuming the same level of touble around the fairway).  

The only time you are likely to e 340 yards from a green is on a par five and it is normal to hit the fairway wood as there is usually the space to do so.The same applies to a short par four of theat distance as the three wood from the tee has a large target to aim at.

My previous post should have been more exlicit when I said that if one cannot reach the green then it should not be used. A lay up would be the sensible approach for any player, no matter what their abilities. All the Pros lay up to a certain distance, you never see them attack the green unless thney are certain they can hit it.

Martin, I seem to chane my mind as to what I put in the bag on a daily basis as woods are not my forte. Currently I have a driver, 3 wood, and a ping G5 19deg hybrid. Next week I might have a different driver, a five wood/7 wood and a three iron. Sometiomes I put in the 1 iron. Depends on how I feel. The driver goes everywhere but the fairway, my 3 wood and 5 wood just don't go far enough and the hybrid is a joke club, I really cannot see what its purpose is, but I keep trying to find out, usually ending up in even more trouble and then need rescuing. My irons are great, I don't have a problem in that department.