Reason not to play multiple hybrids?

[garyt]

64, 12 hdcp. I now play 4-5-6 hybrids and I'm thinking of adding a 7. But like someone else said I like using my 7 iron for punches, etc.  I hit more greens with my hybrids than irons but don't stick the occasional one as close. Doesn't matter much with the 4-5-6 as i'm just happy to be on the green from that distance but with the 7 I'm looking to be a little closer

[LeoLeo99]

We had Gintys down to the 15 wood back in the day.  I hit hybrids all over the course and can't control them.  Prefer irons and fairway woods.  

[NRJyzr]

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Edited June 8, 2021 by NRJyzr

[NRJyzr]

On 6/7/2021 at 9:40 PM, jetandollie said:

Now that companies (Ping, PXG, Mizuno, Titleist) are making hybrids up to 28-34* with several shaft options is there a reason that the majority of us should not be playing them to as high a loft as we can find? 

 

All of the review videos and numbers always show that they go higher, land at a steeper decent angle and are significantly more forgiving and consistent than irons. 

 

I get that the main point of rebuttal is too high of a ball flight and playing in a windy location, but over the course of 60-80 rounds per year (1500-2000 long/midiron shots) will the shots saved from the forgiveness and higher launch/steeper decent not outweigh the iron mishits or shots lost in the wind? 

 

Will we get to the point with the way tech in clubs is progressing that the norm will be hybrids to the 6 or 7 iron in most bags? 

 

Depends on how you define "majority."  🙂

 

Personally, they wouldn't work for me, even at my ever-advancing age.  There comes a point where too high is really bad, all of the time.  I reached that point playing Eye2+, and saw hints of it trying to hit a Ping G20 8 iron, I can't imagine how bad it would be for my game, trying to use something designed to go higher yet.

 

If you want comparative data for some context...  a few years ago, I was hitting my 29* Mizuno MS-11 at 19* launch, with over 7000 rpm.  The aforementioned Eye2+ was higher than that (don't remember the numbers), though with lower spin.  It just doesn't add up for me, as you get too far into the bag coming from the top.

 

I rather doubt I'm alone in the universe.  <shrug>

 

I *do* use a hybrid as my first non-iron.  For what little that's worth.  LOL

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by NRJyzr

[animalgolfs]

I bag 7wd & 9wd....tried to go 5h , 6h-- while I enjoyed hitting these clubs immensely- I reverted back to my irons for consistency in wind. Also believe I'm better with irons at those lofts presently.  

 

I might go 5ut/driving iron type at 27* upcoming-- if I can find one that produces results 

[larryd3]

I've been using hybrids for a couple years now replacing 3 and 4 iron.  Recently I replaced my 5 iron with a 6 hybrid and at this point not looking back.  Sub 70 hybrids are great and priced really well.  I'm hitting more greens and enjoying the game more now than before hitting longer irons.  

[ChipNRun]

1 hour ago, LeoLeo99 said:

We had Gintys down to the 15 wood back in the day.  I hit hybrids all over the course and can't control them.  Prefer irons and fairway woods.  

 

Don't forget about high-lofted fairways as substitutes for longer irons.

 

Back in the 1990s, Callaway and Ping expanded their fairway woods into the once-boutique Ginty and trouble club zone. High-lofted FWs went up to 9W and 13W.

 

High lofts went into pro bags. I saw this at the 2004 U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive CC in St. Louis. From glancing into player bags, it seemed nearly half the field carried 3-5-7 woods.

 

The next couple of years marked the big surge in hybrids. Golf marketing launched a new mantra: Long irons and fairways bad, hybrids good.

 

My first experience with a hybrid was a small-shop brand called Magique. It was a 3H, which played oddly. Great out of the light rough, but off the tee or fairway it went... wherever. It was a matter of finding the right hybrid.

 

But, circa 2011, golfdom had a "not so fast' moment. Certain manufacturers reinserted high-loft fairways into the mix. Not everyone loved hybrids.

 

In general, some players do better with high-lofted fairways, others with hybrids, still others - really strong players who battle hooks - with long irons or utility irons.

 

Now, the golf manufacturers are retweaking hybrids with different internal head designs, and a variety of shafts. So, it's a matter of finding the hybrid for your game, not a hybrid whatever.

[MaineMariner]

I have an old Cleveland Mashie 5 hybrid that's 26 degrees. It's far and away the easiest club to hit in my bag. I can hit it out of the rough, off the tee on a long par 5, and obviously from the fairway.

 

We have a par 3 that plays about 180 that I use it on allll the time. I can hit it 180-190 and get the ball to stop on a dime. It comes in super high with a crazy steep decent angle and just STICKS on the green. It's tremendously fun to hit.

 

I should add that I'm in my 30s and with a driver SS around 105ish, so I'm not an old fart. It's just so easy to rip.

Edited June 8, 2021 by MaineMariner

[nostatic]

14 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

 

In general, some players do better with high-lofted fairways, others with hybrids, still others - really strong players who battle hooks - with long irons or utility irons.

 

Now, the golf manufacturers are retweaking hybrids with different internal head designs, and a variety of shafts. So, it's a matter of finding the hybrid for your game, not a hybrid whatever.

 

my 7W is 22.5*, my 3H is 19*, and I have a ZX4 4i that is 21* (and have had 4H and 5H that I've tested in the past). As you note, there are a number of choices at that end of the bag, and I'm finding that being able to swap in and out can help. For instance we often have windy conditions, and in that case the 4i (which is a wide body and en-route to hybrid size) can be better to keep the flight low. Other times I might want as high a flight as possible, so the 7W goes in. The 3H stays in the bag all the time as I can use it almost everywhere.

 

Plenty of options to find something that works for the individual.

Edited June 8, 2021 by nostatic

[rp4golf]

5 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

 

Don't forget about high-lofted fairways as substitutes for longer irons.

 

Back in the 1990s, Callaway and Ping expanded their fairway woods into the once-boutique Ginty and trouble club zone. High-lofted FWs went up to 9W and 13W.

 

High lofts went into pro bags. I saw this at the 2004 U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive CC in St. Louis. From glancing into player bags, it seemed nearly half the field carried 3-5-7 woods.

 

The next couple of years marked the big surge in hybrids. Golf marketing launched a new mantra: Long irons and fairways bad, hybrids good.

 

My first experience with a hybrid was a small-shop brand called Magique. It was a 3H, which played oddly. Great out of the light rough, but off the tee or fairway it went... wherever. It was a matter of finding the right hybrid.

 

But, circa 2011, golfdom had a "not so fast' moment. Certain manufacturers reinserted high-loft fairways into the mix. Not everyone loved hybrids.

 

In general, some players do better with high-lofted fairways, others with hybrids, still others - really strong players who battle hooks - with long irons or utility irons.

 

Now, the golf manufacturers are retweaking hybrids with different internal head designs, and a variety of shafts. So, it's a matter of finding the hybrid for your game, not a hybrid whatever.

I think you can trace hybrids' popularity to Todd Hamilton winning the British Open in 2004, with a Sonartec hybrid in his bag - and used it a lot in getting around windy Royal Troon. I'm not going to say Sonartec was the first one, but I don't remember seeing one until then, and even with Hamilton being a TaylorMade player, the great TM didn't yet have one on the market.
That basically changed overnight, as all the major manufacturers released hybrids within the next year, and seemingly everyone had at least one in their bag.

Sure, there have always been high-lofted fairway woods out there, but they had a terrible reputation and anything above a 5-wood was regarded as a "grandma/grandpa club." Hell, I can still remember catching grief from my buddies back in the early 90s for the TM system2 midsize 7-wood I was carrying (we had a 4-iron length uphill par-3 on my home course, and I was tired of hitting shots that would run through the green). ... Personally, I remember Lee Trevino having a persimmon 6-wood in his bag back during his heyday.

I also think part of it is the "loft-wars" in which irons, and now fairway woods, have been assigned stronger and stronger lofts. 5-woods are more like 4-woods I played as a young person, and 7-woods have been assigned the lofts that used to be reserved for 5-woods.
And frankly had it not been for more and more tour players opting for 5-woods and now 7-woods (and a sprinkling of 9-woods) instead of long irons and hybrids, I don't if their popularity would have returned. At the same time, manufacturers, surely due to their never-ending research into making a better driver, have repositioned weight and increased MOI to make them perform better and make them easier to hit for all golfers.
Upside is,  it's gotten rid of the senior citizen-only stigma of high-lofted fairway woods.
And yeah, I have a 7-wood back in my bag.

[NRJyzr]

30 minutes ago, rp4golf said:

I think you can trace hybrids' popularity to Todd Hamilton winning the British Open in 2004, with a Sonartec hybrid in his bag - and used it a lot in getting around windy Royal Troon. I'm not going to say Sonartec was the first one, but I don't remember seeing one until then, and even with Hamilton being a TaylorMade player, the great TM didn't yet have one on the market.

 

TaylorMade had a Rescue club at some point prior to that, which is likely the ancestor of the modern hybrid.  Including that Sonartec.  It had the very lovely burnt orange color scheme that TM was using at the time.  🙂

 

Better players jumping on board might have been started by Hamilton's win with the Sonartec, but they were around prior.

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by NRJyzr

[kleydejong]

2 hcp with about 106mph driver clubhead speed. I have long played hybrids at 18* and 21*. I am currently playing another at 24*. Irons start at 26*.

 

I have found I like playing the heads a touch heavier and the length a touch shorter. Helps produce some more center strikes.

 

 

[kiwihacker]

Not wanting to turn this into a loft jacking thread but talking about what irons you should replace with hybrids is a bit hard when a modern 5 iron is 21°, a 24° 6 iron and a 27° 7 iron.

 

Those are my 3, 4 and 5 iron. I jumped on the hybrid bandwagon early on and have never looked back. I started with a 22° Cleveland Halo that replaced my 21° 3 iron and I added a 25° Halo to replace my 4 iron. I then added a 19° Halo to take the place in the bag that used to be occupied by a 5 wood. 

 

I later switched to 18°, 20.5° and 23° hybrids.  I'm absolutely sold on hybrids but I'm really not sure I need a hybrid to replace my 27°-31° irons. I hit those irons sweetly and doubt I would bet better results with hybrids in that loft range. The 23° is supposed to be a 4 iron replacement but the problem is I hit that hybrid much further than the equivalent 24° 4 iron it's supposed to replace. So I end up bagging both. 😁

 

I guess I could try a 26° hybrid to fill that distance gap as the 24° 4 iron is an inconsistent club for me but I still think I would prefer to start my iron set at a 27° 5/6/7 for the remainder of the iron set. 

[gdb99]

Dana Quigley won a lot of money on the Sr. PGA Tour with lots of head covers. His first iron was a #7.

[nosedive32]

Messed around with a 7 wood and 5 and 6 hybrids for a bit this year. What I discovered was I might get more height, spin, and steeper land angles as well as better front to back dispersion on mishits my left to right dispersion as well as distance control on solid strikes is much better playing my 5 and 6 iron and a utility.

[ChipNRun]

4 hours ago, rp4golf said:

I think you can trace hybrids' popularity to Todd Hamilton winning the British Open in 2004, with a Sonartec hybrid in his bag - and used it a lot in getting around windy Royal Troon.

 Sonartec and Nickent gobbled up a lot of hybrid market share in the early going, but failed to survived the general 2008 Recession. Nickent came back briefly as a Golf Galaxy, but then did the final fadeout.

 

The last few years, we faced the choice between traditional (yes, we're there already!) and iron-replacement hybrids. Traditionals have shaft lengths and lofts between fairways and long irons, while IRs are designed to mix directly with a company's iron set(s), and correspond closely to lower numbered irons on loft and shaft length.

 

Now, some fitters suggest trimming back traditionals to the shaft length of long irons for better control. Ian and Matt from Ontario talk about this on their TXG YouTubes.

[extrastiff]

17 hours ago, Clubhoe said:

Workability. Will continue for as long as I'm able to hit them. Will go to utilities next, then hybrids after that.

This has been debunked in many YouTube videos. 

[Luke'sdad]

Interesting you don't see many LPGA players hesitating to put multiple hybrids & high lofted clubs in their bags? Seems to work just fine for them, and dare I say few if any of us here could come close to duplicating their tour success.

[aiyyer]

13 hours ago, EvanS_ToroMower said:

I replaced my 3 and 4 irons with 21° and 24° Adams DHy’s and I’ve been loving them this year. Clubs are a little older but the give me a lot more confidence when standing over the ball. They are not near as big as hybrids but not quite as small as my long irons. I play Adams MB2 irons so they definitely help at the top end of my bag. 

Great setup. Loved the aesthetics of the MB2s.

[Clubhoe]

2 hours ago, extrastiff said:

This has been debunked in many YouTube videos. 

Maybe so, but many people feel they have more control with an iron over a hybrid. And with that confidence brings action.

 

I've noticed with a lot of those you tube videos, they are very contradictory. One coach will say one thing and another will contradict it with the opposite. 

 

 

 

On 12/18/2020 at 8:47 AM, marmaduk said:

 

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Clubhoe

[Justsomeguy]

Novel idea against playing all hybrids - you can argue you only need one of that shape and brunt for gnarly punch outs or tough lies where you just need to be able to get the bat on the ball. It's analogous to golfing antiquity when each club had a function of its own rather than being degrees of the same function.

Mashie, niblick, jigger, spoon... Whichever one had the "utility" appeal is probably the idea that inspired.

You only need one club to bang on the tree root, or something like that.

For me it's a 3h, although I just added a 4h I got cheap. I'm bunched up in that slot w a 5w, 3h and strong 4h, but Iike all 3!

 

[ChipNRun]

14 hours ago, Luke&#x27;sdad said:

Interesting you don't see many LPGA players hesitating to put multiple hybrids & high lofted clubs in their bags? Seems to work just fine for them, and dare I say few if any of us here could come close to duplicating their tour success.

 

If you want clues on how to use hybrids, walk 18 with a group of women pros.

 

Back in 2017, I got to caddy in a Symetra Tour event (LPGA developmental). My player had several shots a round with her 3H and 4H. In one round, she hit her 3H into a 200-yard par 3 for a birdie, into an uphill green from 175 yards out, and a couple of times off the tee on tight holes.

 

After the round I asked her, "How far do you actually hit your 3H?"

 

She replied, "As far as I need to..." 

[PhilsFanDrew]

The best thing I did last year was ditch my 5 iron for a 5 hybrid.  I only ever really hit my 5 iron well off the tee on longer Par 3s.  I've always had issues hitting it out of the bottom when trying to hit my 5 iron from the fairway in fear that I would dig in too much and hit it heavy.  With the hybrid even if I slightly hit ground first it interacts easier with the ground and still gives me a good chance to hit out of the middle.  I rarely attribute equipment like clubs to be gamechangers but this really was for my game.  In an ideal world I'd have more time to get my strikes worked out using lower lofted irons but I just don't right now so in the interim this is a viable solution that has allowed me to be more consistent.  

[Old Tom Morris]

On 6/8/2021 at 2:54 PM, NRJyzr said:

 

TaylorMade had a Rescue club at some point prior to that, which is likely the ancestor of the modern hybrid.  Including that Sonartec.  It had the very lovely burnt orange color scheme that TM was using at the time.  🙂

 

Better players jumping on board might have been started by Hamilton's win with the Sonartec, but they were around prior.

 

I think the first hybrid ever was the old TaylorMade Raylor back in the late 80s early 90s. Although it was never marketed that way.  Lower trajectory than a fairway wood. Available in 16* and 19*, but a little more versatile than a one or two iron.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Old Tom Morris
Adding picture

[JungleJimbo]

42 minutes ago, Old Tom Morris said:

I think the first hybrid ever was the old TaylorMade Raylor back in the late 80s early 90s. Although it was never marketed that way.  Lower trajectory than a fairway wood. Available in 16* and 19*, but a little more versatile than a one or two iron.

I still have my "Retro Raylor" 16* and 19* (circa late 90's?? not sure)

... yes looks even smaller head vs some modern large-headed hybrids?
 

 

[Tzoid]

I carry a 20 and 23 degree Hybrid.  I have a 7 wood on order from Ping and that may kick the 20 degree out of the bag.  Hybrids are so much easier to hit than

3 & 4 irons. 

[extrastiff]

On 6/8/2021 at 11:07 PM, Clubhoe said:

Maybe so, but many people feel they have more control with an iron over a hybrid. And with that confidence brings action.

 

I've noticed with a lot of those you tube videos, they are very contradictory. One coach will say one thing and another will contradict it with the opposite. 

 

 

 

 

The “many people” ....hybrids typically have longer shafts. So yes, if they do not take that easily quantifiable factor into account, I can see why one would think that. 
 

can u please link a video with two “coaches” stating contradictory theories on hybrid vs iron “workability.”  I doubt they are referring to any factors apart from shaft length. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by extrastiff

[Clubhoe]

40 minutes ago, extrastiff said:

The “many people” ....hybrids typically have longer shafts. So yes, if they do not take that easily quantifiable factor into account, I can see why one would think that. 
 

can u please link a video with two “coaches” stating contradictory theories on hybrid vs iron “workability.”  I doubt they are referring to any factors apart from shaft length. 

As I said, its probably true that irons and hybrids are equally workable.

But how many golfers would have to be convinced of that? Most.

Simply because a club that has less volume, we instinctively believe it has more workability.

And we usually have better results with what we have greater confidence in.

 

My reference to youtube videos is a general opinion of their credibility, due to so many contradictions in golf tips.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Clubhoe

[cardoustie]

4h and 5h and 6 ut guy here

 

I hit shots with these clubs I cannot hit with their equivalent irons

 

I’ve never once stood over a 205 yard approach shot and said to myself “I wish I had my 5 iron here instead of my 5 hybrid”

 

High draws with hybrids are easy, as are shots out of the rough

 

The trick is you need to find the right head for your action and then be a patient tinkerer to find the shaft that “brings the tour magic sauce”

[NayaBKL]

For the longest, I considered people using hybrid as slackers who didn't want to hone their iron skills.

 

Then one day, I hurt my wrist playing foosball while drunk and just couldn't hit the 3 iron like I used to any more. Took it out and got a TM 2011 Rescue TP Hybrid which I had it till 2 days ago. 

 

Then I took a leave of absence from golf and came back after 3 years and same thing happened to the 4 iron. Just didn't have the same confidence I had before. Got a G410 4 hybrid to replace the 4 iron and OMG, what an easy club to hit. Ended up switching my trusty 10 year old 3 hybrid with the same Ping G410 few days ago. 

 

I guess if you can still hit your long irons without any hesitation, then there's no reason for you to use the hybrids, but if you find yourself doubting yourself when hitting the long irons, then give hybrid a try and you may become a believer like myself.