Gary Players says don't bother with 5 iron use the 5 hybrid instead

I watched a video clip where GP was saying players use the 5 hybrid instead of the 5 irons. His reasoning was that hybrids gets you out of the rough much better. Well, hybrids are not as popular as they were a few years back. Thanks to the stupid prices and many people finding out there are overrated. In fairness to him the video was a few years old.

I like hybrids. Lots of tour players do too. I agree, the prices for new ones has gotten ridiculous.

It can take awhile to find the right hybrid.

Player is beyond qualified to pontificate as he does.

Follow his advice then report back?

Been playing a 5h for about 7 seasons now and won’t look back. If the hybrids I play had a 6h I’d play it too. After about 160 yds carry, irons poop out on me launch and carry wise.

Depends on launch conditions. I dont hit hybrids as good as irons generally speaking. I play a 5 iron but my 4 is a Srixon U65 with steel shaft.

If the shafts in hybrids were not so long, I think most people would hit them better.

I put a 5H in my bag this season. It's probably my favorite club. I think it cost me 30 bucks.

Part of this is due to the course I play, of course, but I found that I pretty much only needed my 5 iron when I hit a bad tee shot and was in the rough about 180-200 yards from the hole. Or if I was playing a longer par 3. In both of those cases, a hybrid was just plain easier to hit, and MUCH easier to hit out of the rough. It's basically my get out of jail club now.

I like my 5H. For me, it is a lot easier to hit than a 5 iron. As for new hybrid prices, they are a bit high for me. My hybrids are a few years old - Ping I25's.

The line of demarcation in my bag is my 5-iron. I feel pretty confident hitting my 6-iron in any condition. But I don't have the same confidence with my 5-iron unless it's on the tee or a flat lie in the fairway.

My biggest issue with a hybrid is twofold. As many people have said, they have gotten too expensive. They used to be around the price of a specialty wedge. Now they cost as much as a fairway wood. And for me, finding a hybrid is more personal than any other club. I have a G25 4-wood hybrid that's been my money club for years. Last year I decided to get a 3-hybrid. I went through all the latest and greatest and just couldn't hit them well. Then I spent $40 on a used G25 and it was perfect.

People often don’t understand advice and who is being addressed by that advice.

Gary is speaking to most AVERAGE golfers. Most average golfers absolutely, unequivocally, would be better off with a hybrid than a 5 iron in their bag.

If you can hit a 5 iron nice and high and carry it more than 185 yards and can stop it easily on a green, He is not speaking to you. Most AVERAGE golfers do not hit a 5 iron as I just described. They struggle with both direction and elevation and not enough spin. They don’t swing fast enough for a 5 iron in the bag.

This web site has an unusually high number of faster swinging, more accomplished golfers. Certain advice won’t be applicable to them.

Lately, I have been using a 6 hybrid(28) in place of a 5 iron. I think I like it. I used to hit a 5 iron but, got to wear I was inconsistent and it would go nearly the same distance as my 6 iron. The hybrid is better out of the rough and is easier to launch. The downside, for me, is I can get the hooks with hybrid and the distance gaps can be a little off when I nuke one. But, overall I think the 5 iron will stay on the bench.

I came off the 3-4 irons for good his year, sill love the 5 iron, just have to find the right split spot for you.

I switch to hybrid at 4 iron. The 4h replaces the 3 and 4 irons. Love my 5 iron, no way a 5h would be better for me. The iron is much easier to align and control trajectory. Have no problem with it out of most lies. At the 4 iron I start to struggle with launch without a tee, so switch to 4h for the overall versatility. If I find a horrendous lie from 5 iron distance I'll use the 4h and choke up a little.

Rogue X 6 iron is basically a 5 iron/hybrid and so much easier to hit. That's what I am experimenting with.

Thanks Gary I’ll stick to 5i just like you did till you were 65+

Depends on launch conditions. I dont hit hybrids as good as irons generally speaking. I play a 5 iron but my 4 is a Srixon U65 with steel shaft.

 

 

If the shafts in hybrids were not so long, I think most people would hit them better.

They would probably hit them more squarely and with narrower misses, but the downside is that shorter hybrids fly a lot more like the iron you are trying to replace. The longer ones fly higher and stop better.

I switched to a 5 hybrid this past season, and I would say it was a good switch. I intend to go into next season with the same setup. As a mid-handi, 5 iron can still be a pretty demanding club to hit consistently. 5 hybrid was more reliable off the tee and the deck. YMMV.

As an aside, I would whole-heartedly endorse the Big Bertha OS hybrids. Good heads, good stock shaft, and adjustable, which adds a nice dimension. I generally bump mine up a degree, and switch to the draw setting (I don’t find these heavily draw biased, which is nice for a hybrid). Once again, YMMV.

Wise words from Mr Player. My next set will be 6-GW. 17 degree and 22 degree hybrid will do for longer approach shots.

I hook hybrids and I really enjoy hitting my 5i so no.

Easy to say for someone who's 107 tears old.

Easy to say for someone who's 107 tears old.

Been playing a 5h for about 7 seasons now and won’t look back. If the hybrids I play had a 6h I’d play it too. After about 160 yds carry, irons poop out on me launch and carry wise.

My ping g20 31° is indispensable...from 120 to 150... let a guy I was playing with swing it, and he flushed it just short of the green from 188...oh, to be young...

Im 30 in 2 months and just put 5 hybrid in the bag for what its worth.

Depends on launch conditions. I dont hit hybrids as good as irons generally speaking. I play a 5 iron but my 4 is a Srixon U65 with steel shaft.

 

 

If the shafts in hybrids were not so long, I think most people would hit them better.

The 22° fway wood I use is really controllable when I choke down quite a bit. Feels more like an iron swing.

People often don’t understand advice and who is being addressed by that advice.

 

Gary is speaking to most AVERAGE golfers. Most average golfers absolutely, unequivocally, would be better off with a hybrid than a 5 iron in their bag.

 

If you can hit a 5 iron nice and high and carry it more than 185 yards and can stop it easily on a green, He is not speaking to you. Most AVERAGE golfers do not hit a 5 iron as I just described. They struggle with both direction and elevation and not enough spin. They don’t swing fast enough for a 5 iron in the bag.

 

This web site has an unusually high number of faster swinging, more accomplished golfers. Certain advice won’t be applicable to them.

1000 % yes. That and consider his station now. He’d never have said this in 1965 . ( even if he had access to a hybrid )

As an old guy, I've got hybrids through the 6, and recently got a 7 to try. Full on Obee. I can still hit the irons well, but no longer have the ss to get them up in the air.

Agree this is largely swing speed related.

I dropped a 5 iron (26 degrees) for a 5 hybrid a little while ago. I could carry the 5 iron 180 yards, and stop it if I was in the fairway. I just thought the club was very hard to hit from the rough or uneven lies in the fairway. Based on my swing speed, I was probably quite borderline for this club.

FWIW, many LPGA players (probably 95-100 mph, 250-260 average drive) seem to switch around this club as well. A lot have 5 irons still (usually longest iron) but some don't (So Yeon Ryu, above average length. At her best, Lydia Ko also had a 5 hybrid then 6 iron).

Cool, cuz before the Black Knight said, I purchased a 5 hybrid for grins, and love it.

People often don't understand advice and who is being addressed by that advice.

 

Gary is speaking to most AVERAGE golfers. Most average golfers absolutely, unequivocally, would be better off with a hybrid than a 5 iron in their bag.

 

If you can hit a 5 iron nice and high and carry it more than 185 yards and can stop it easily on a green, He is not speaking to you. Most AVERAGE golfers do not hit a 5 iron as I just described. They struggle with both direction and elevation and not enough spin. They don't swing fast enough for a 5 iron in the bag.

 

This web site has an unusually high number of faster swinging, more accomplished golfers. Certain advice won't be applicable to them.

 

1000 % yes. That and consider his station now. He'd never have said this in 1965 . ( even if he had access to a hybrid )

I will say this and it is strictly MHO and not etched in stone or anything--- If a lot of folks that have problems elevating 4 and 5 irons would take those clubs and go to a graphite or light steel soft tipped shaft they could elevate and hit the ball with longer irons. Doing this especially with GI irons with a low CG will elevate the ball a lot. For a while I built a lot of Infiniti Assure 4 and 5 irons for some of the seniors around here with A flex 80 gram and lighter graphite shafts. That Infiniti is a component GI iron with a huge CB and huge flange. On some of them I did not tip the shaft either. I am not saying shaft all your clubs that way just the long irons. At 61 I am still hitting long irons but the catch is i am hitting soft tipped senior flex steel shafts in 2 sets and 85 gram graphite in the other set. Just food for thought

I will say this and it is strictly MHO and not etched in stone or anything--- If a lot of folks that have problems elevating 4 and 5 irons would take those clubs and go to a graphite or light steel soft tipped shaft they could elevate and hit the ball with longer irons. Doing this especially with GI irons with a low CG will elevate the ball a lot. For a while I built a lot of Infiniti Assure 4 and 5 irons for some of the seniors around here with A flex 80 gram and lighter graphite shafts. That Infiniti is a component GI iron with a huge CB and huge flange. On some of them I did not tip the shaft either. I am not saying shaft all your clubs that way just the long irons. At 61 I am still hitting long irons but the catch is i am hitting soft tipped senior flex steel shafts in 2 sets and 85 gram graphite in the other set. Just food for thought

Interesting thought/observation.

I was hitting a Ping G25 with a CFS R-flex shaft (apx 100 grams, pretty soft), but the results were still hit or miss.

Most likely, I just suck (haven't found an equipment fix for that flaw yet...)