Reason not to play multiple hybrids?

[cleverprimate24]

I'm very seriously considering swapping out my 5i for a 5 hybrid. 

 

To many times I'll play my 4 hybrid when it's actually too long for the shot, just because I'm so much more confident that the shot will be flush. 

[95124hacker]

3W was always too much of a risk-reward club for me. Happy with my dual hybrid, zero FW setup right now. More consistent, less stress.

[blam89]

Im experimenting with a 3/4 wood now but may eventually move back to dual 3 and 4 hybrids. I seem to have a lot more confidence with a shorter shaft. 

[nostatic]

7 hours ago, ChipNRun said:

Saw a TXG segment from Ian and Matt on hybrids. Matt was blown away by how accurately the 3H and 4H flew, and how smooth they felt.

 

One suggestion: Take standard hybrids and trim back to "iron replacement" shaft length for better control.

When he hit the Cobra RadSpeed hybrid, you could have used a small towel to cover the divots. It was crazy how tight the dispersion.

 

Then again, I don’t have Matty’s swing, don’t hit lefty, and am not Canadian. So I’m 0 for 3 🙃

Edited June 13, 2021 by nostatic

[drumdude96]

11 hours ago, indianagolf2 said:

Accuracy better irons, this the scoring clubs of 6 thru pw irons in my opinion. Easier to work the ball irons 

Yoda, is that you?

[JungleJimbo]

14 minutes ago, drumdude96 said:

Yoda, is that you?

More hybrids for happier Golf...

Try you must! 🤖

 

[Old E]

Well I dont know where the myth came from that you cant flight down hybrids. But its not true. When I turned 51 I pulled the 2,3,4,5 irons all out of the bag and replaced them with a 2,4 and 5 hybrid and added a gap wedge. Three months before I turned 53 I passed the PGA of America Player Ability Test.  I was the oldest participant by 26 years. The tour average from 200 yards is 42 feet. So for a scratch golfer to a 15 handicap your goal should just be to hit the green from 200 yards. With todays hybrids you can hit the same shots you hit with low irons just with more consistency. As the course get longer and longer. An 200 to 240 yard par 3 seem to be standard on championship golf courses you guys better rethink this hybrid issue. Because old guys like me love taking money off you traditionalist.

[sfdoddsy]

I’d suggest those considering this do what I did.

 

I did a couple of sessions at one of those driving ranges with a launch monitors in the bays (Toptracer in my case) to work out how long I actually hit my long irons. And how consistently.

 

What I discovered (annoyingly) was that whilst I hit well-struck 4 & 5 irons considerably further than my 6 iron, when including less well-struck shots they averaged (off the deck) pretty much the same.

 

Replacing them with correctly lofted hybrids has made a considerable distance in consistency.

 

I now have clubs that average 170 (my 6 iron), 180 (my 5 hybrid), 190 (my 4 hybrid) and 200 (my 3 hybrid) and 215 (my 4 wood).

 

As a result, even though at age 60 I am probably 30 yards shorter than I used to be in my ‘prime’  my handicap is lower than it has ever been.

 

 

[Tdsjfb]

I've always loved hybrids. The Adams Pros were terrific. I retired the Adams and purchased the G425 (4) Hybrid - looking for a 175-180 yard replacement club. The problem is, the G425s fly too damn far. But so straight and versatile! Unless I take my foot off the gas, the G425 (4) is flying 185-190. (So now I'm looking to purchase a 5 Hybrid).

 

One other footnote is that I'm getting so much distance from my G425 5 Wood, it's rendering the G425 3 wood obsolete (it might get benched).

[kthomas]

I flirt with hybrids, played much better with them back when I wasn't playing as much golf. Now that I'm playing a lot more golf, I actually hit more 4 iron better then my hybrids.

 

I have a 3H and a 5H, and I'm simply not consistent with them. I really want to get along with them, as they fly beautifully when I connect well with them, and I want to have enough faith in my 3H to have a fairway finder for narrow and short par 4's. Currently the 4 iron is in that role, and doing it well, but at times I wouldn't mind a little more length then ~200 yards.

 

I believe part of my problem with the hybrids is that the shafts are too soft and too long. I just pulled the trigger on a stiff flex Tensei Blue hybrid shaft, which I will be putting in the 3H. Also going to cut the shaft down to ~4H length. 

 

If this doesn't work, I may consider a driving iron. 

[kstrong84]

Interesting idea.  Currently, I'm using a 17* and 20* hybrid these days with no fairway woods and irons 4-P....I like it.  

 

Couldn't drop the 4i for a 23* hybrid however as I have a high ball flight and I also prefer a 4i for my tree trouble shots.

[kstrong84]

On 6/10/2021 at 6:06 PM, ChipNRun said:

First-gen Raylors were more of a trouble-club/fairway wood.

 

2010 Raylors were more of a hybrid. Boat hull sole great for splitting rough and getting ball out. One challenge: keeping clubhead level at address, don't rock back on heel or let toe dip - sends shot offline. And, occasional low-face hit would be bullet that flew the green at worst time.

 

Used Raylor 3 (19*) in place of 5W for a couple of seasons, almost picked up R4.

 

These Raylors came with 65-gram REAX shaft, a slightly heavier one might have worked better for me at the time.

 

You can still find 2nd-gen Raylors here and there for about $45. If it looks interesting, give it a try!

 

My old man (a 40 year club pro) has one of these and he loves it.  He's always getting out if precarious situations with it.

[kstrong84]

On 6/8/2021 at 11:39 AM, 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.  

 

Try one with a steel shaft!

[kstrong84]

On 6/8/2021 at 2:30 PM, 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.
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.

 

Dude, I used to rock one if that TM system2 7 wood back in middle school!  I loved the configuration of the rails on that thing....never found anything with rails quite like them.

[kstrong84]

On 6/8/2021 at 4:28 PM, kleydejong said:

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.

 

 

 

What's the distance gap you get between hybrids?

[kstrong84]

Hybrids are tricky clubs to fit.  Finding the proper head shape is step #1, then finding the proper shaft is even harder.

 

I never found success with hybrids until I put a steel shaft in them.

 

Currently rocking the Nippon GOST in mine and it's fantastic.

[karstens_ghost]

On 6/8/2021 at 2:40 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? 

 

Poor dispersion, assuming you can play an iron.

 

Hybrids at the top are a tool, and they have uses that are often specific. For me, I have two. One is a traditional 20º replacement for a 3-iron, and one is a 3-wood replacement because I do much better with it. If you ask me, why not change out your 4-6 iron with a hybrid, I'll tell you no because I can properly gap the irons, and irons are somewhat better in dispersion for almost everyone.

 

If you cannot gap your irons, you should be playing hybrids. If you're that person, descent angle is your friend - and you can't get it from slowly swung long irons. Over the course of 60-80 rounds, when things start becoming "normalised", you would then ask whether hybrids are better. And the answer is no, assuming a swing speed where an iron is playable.

[Jifmoli]

No reason not to have lots of hybrids, except cost maybe. You see some players with 9 woods etc so why not a 7 hybrud or more.

 

Personally would love to have 2, 4 , and 6 hybrids so my first iron would be the 6i. Or 3, 5 , 7 hybrids with irons starting at 7. Don't need close gapping for longer clubs.

 

Currently have 3 and 5 hybrid, then 5i to pw etc

[Thats two thus far Shooter]

I would rather focus on learning to hit multiple shots with a single hybrid. I have a Sim Max 3 Hybrid and I use that thing from off the tee, low into the wind, standard swing 230, full torqued for 240yds out of the fairway, choked up and high launch at 200yds where I dont feel comfortable with a 4,5 iron... the list goes on. 

[PhilsFanDrew]

 I just picked up a set of a Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo irons.  They are pretty fugly looking but my goodness they are easy to hit.  The 5, 6, 7 are definitely more hybrids than irons. I just don't get to play/practice as much as I used to a couple years ago so these help my misses tremendously and allow me to post respectable scores. 

[hardcaliber]

For those who play hybrid as direct iron replacements (such as what the JPX fli-hi is advertised as), do you  play same shaft in the iron replacement as in your irons or do you play a 80-90 gram graphite like a "traditional" hybrid?

 

For example, if you replace your 5 iron, do you use the same shaft as your 6 iron, 7 iron, etc? 110-130 gram steel?

 

I'm thinking about building a combo set with 6-P a small workable CB and then 4-5 irons as direct long iron replacement hybrids.  Once I get to the 5 iron slot, I'm really just looking for high and straight.

 

 
  

[Nels55]

4 hours ago, hardcaliber said:

For those who play hybrid as direct iron replacements (such as what the JPX fli-hi is advertised as), do you  play same shaft in the iron replacement as in your irons or do you play a 80-90 gram graphite like a "traditional" hybrid?

 

For example, if you replace your 5 iron, do you use the same shaft as your 6 iron, 7 iron, etc? 110-130 gram steel?

 

I'm thinking about building a combo set with 6-P a small workable CB and then 4-5 irons as direct long iron replacement hybrids.  Once I get to the 5 iron slot, I'm really just looking for high and straight.

 

 
  

I have steelfiber i110 S flex shafts in my irons.  I re-shafted my 3, 4 and 5 hybrid clubs with Aerotech HLS Graphite Hybrid Shafts which are 100 grams so they are 10 grams lighter then the iron shafts.  I am happy with the setup.  I can tell you that based on the testing I did the stock shafts in the hybrids did not work very well for me.  Dispersion was not very good and they tended to hook a lot. 

 

My gapping seems pretty good between the 6 iron and 5 hybrid.  I sort of tuned the length of the hybrids by building them a bit long and then trimming the length slowly until the performance seemed good to me.  The 5 hybrid is 39.5" and 24 degrees loft while my six iron is 38.5" and 26 degree loft.  I have ordered a 6 hybrid from Callaway preowned and I will shaft it up with a steelfiber shaft when it gets here.  I am not sure if I will put it in the bag or not as I do like the six iron and I hit it pretty well most of the time.  LOL it is always fun to mess around trying different clubs.  Not always conducive to scoring well though...

[sfdoddsy]

I have S-Taper stiff in my irons. In my hybrids I have an 85S in the 5, a 75S in the 4, and a 70S in the 3.

 

 

[canth]

On 6/12/2021 at 11:40 PM, PJE said:

Well,multiple hybrids look lame and take up space in one’s bag. 
That said, I usually play two , sometimes, three. 
 

Haha, I second this. I however also bag 2, but to distract from the ugliness of all them headcovers I also put headcovers on all my irons. But that is a totally different discussion 😉

[COL_B]

On 6/14/2021 at 9:49 AM, Thats two thus far Shooter said:

I would rather focus on learning to hit multiple shots with a single hybrid. I have a Sim Max 3 Hybrid and I use that thing from off the tee, low into the wind, standard swing 230, full torqued for 240yds out of the fairway, choked up and high launch at 200yds where I dont feel comfortable with a 4,5 iron... the list goes on. 

 

I can hit all of those shots with a hybrid as well.

 

I just generally don't know which result I am going to get until the ball leaves the clubface.

 

Which is why I don't play them.

 

I hit a 3 Iron on the screws 3 of 5 times, with +/- 10 yard distance dispersion from 220, and 20 yards laterally. 1 of those "misses" will be a low thin fade that is playable, and close to my distance if there is no intervening ditch. The 5th will be fat and short, advancing the ball 150-170 - in play if there is nothing in the way.

 

I hit a hybrid well probably 2 of 5 times, +/- 20 yard dispersion, with a playable low thin in play, and a long block, or a long hard hook -- both WAY out of play.

Edited June 15, 2021 by COL_B

[azgreg]

8 hours ago, hardcaliber said:

For those who play hybrid as direct iron replacements (such as what the JPX fli-hi is advertised as), do you  play same shaft in the iron replacement as in your irons or do you play a 80-90 gram graphite like a "traditional" hybrid?

 

For example, if you replace your 5 iron, do you use the same shaft as your 6 iron, 7 iron, etc? 110-130 gram steel?

 

I'm thinking about building a combo set with 6-P a small workable CB and then 4-5 irons as direct long iron replacement hybrids.  Once I get to the 5 iron slot, I'm really just looking for high and straight.

 

 
  

I build my hybrids with the same shaft and length as the iron they're replacing.

 

[NRJyzr]

8 hours ago, hardcaliber said:

For those who play hybrid as direct iron replacements (such as what the JPX fli-hi is advertised as), do you  play same shaft in the iron replacement as in your irons or do you play a 80-90 gram graphite like a "traditional" hybrid?

 

For example, if you replace your 5 iron, do you use the same shaft as your 6 iron, 7 iron, etc? 110-130 gram steel?

 

 

I use my 2h as a 2 iron replacement.  I assembled an adapter with an NV105 iron shaft, and another with DGS400.  They were a bit longer than iron length, but short of normal hybrid lengths, as I remember.

 

[kleydejong]

On 6/13/2021 at 5:18 PM, kstrong84 said:

 

What's the distance gap you get between hybrids?

 

18* is 225, 21* is 200, 24* is 185. 

[shanx]

I just bought a Titleist 909H 24* Hybrid to replace my 4 and 5 irons. My 4 Iron was a Fli Hi, 5 iron has a jacked loft. I have been playing two Titleist 909Hs (18 and 21 degrees) for a few seasons (got them on Craigslist real cheap). I rarely hit the 4 and 5 irons on the course, and when I did, the results were always disappointing, I found myself grabbing the 21* Hybrid for shots 190 to 210 yds, so I decided to pull the 4 and 5 irons and try a 24* in its place.

 

I'll play on Saturday with the new setup...

[scruffynick]

Just commented on another thread about all hybrids.... That's what I've got. My irons got so bad that I was just hitting my 3-4 hybrids all the time, even from 150 yards. Love hitting my woods and hybrids, so I thought stuff it I'm getting a whole set of the babies. I'm enjoying my golf now more than I've done in years, get called rotten but in truth I don't care. Had some cracking scores with them and I can use them til I'm 6 feet under.