Have you replaced irons with hybrids?

[birdiemachine]

4 and 5 Sim DHY. Plays like an iron, just easier to hit. Have issues with traditional hybrids. 

[NoTalentLefty]

3 thru 5 hybrids currently. Had replaced the 6 iron with a 6 hybrid until about a month ago but found a six iron that I could hit.

[596]

I'm a mid to high single cap.  I've replaced my 4,5,6,and 7 irons with hybrids.  Sometimes, though I carry a 7 wood instead of the 4 hybrid.  I'm 66 years old, and have two titanium hips.  The hybrids launch higher, easier and longer then the same loft iron.  I can hit them straight or with a nice draw.  They are kind of tough to fade for me.  They are easy hit from the tee, the fairway or the rough.

 

The longest club in my bag is the 7 iron that I use basically for punch out shots and chips.  The hybrids tend to go too high for a low low punch.  So I use the 7 iron.  The change to hybrids has made the mid to long game fun.   As soon as I learn to hit a low low punch with a 4 hybrid the 7 iron comes out of the bag and is replaced with a 60* wedge.

[achappy]

I’ve never been able to find a hybrid I was comfortable  with until I got the ‘19 Apex 3&4 hybrids and built them to .5” longer with Aldila NV 105 shafts. 
 

I’ve hit shots with them that I know I couldn’t have with an iron. And where they really shine is out of the rough.  Perfect example. Played yesterday and I had 201 severely uphill to a tucked pin. Was blocked by some trees and in light rough. Hit a high cut 3H to 4 feet. No idea where it actually landed as the pin was back in the shade. No way I could’ve hit a 3 iron that high and far out of the rough. 

Edited October 23, 2021 by achappy

[playit]

Do you hybrid players find that your aim is as good as you had with irons?

 

I also had a question about punching out with low runner shots and someone above said he found that impossible (edit: with a hybrid) and that is what I feared. I am going to try a 2 iron/hybrid; I see that TaylorMade makes a couple. Could use it for those punches but also for long shots and also tee shots. I used to have a Ping Eye2 1-iron and I am disappointed that it disappeared over the years, I have no idea how I lost that club, I sure liked it.

Edited October 23, 2021 by playit

[596]

54 minutes ago, playit said:

Do you hybrid players find that your aim is as good as you had with irons?

 

I also had a question about punching out with low runner shots and someone above said he found that impossible (edit: with a hybrid) and that is what I feared. I am going to try a 2 iron/hybrid; I see that TaylorMade makes a couple. Could use it for those punches but also for long shots and also tee shots. I used to have a Ping Eye2 1-iron and I am disappointed that it disappeared over the years, I have no idea how I lost that club, I sure liked it.

My hybrids are much more accurate then my same loft irons.  I can't see where if you replaced the irons with a hybrid to make them easier to use that you'd lose accuracy.  That's one of the reasons you replaced the irons with a hybrid in the first place.  If you replace irons with hybrids it's because you weren't hitting the irons well.  It doesn't make sense to me that you'd lose accuracy over something you weren't hitting well in the first place.  

[bomberman]

Playing longer courses this year (~7000ish yards) I found I had a lot of shots in the 3/4 iron distance with all carry. I could hit the 4 iron 210 carry but not super consistently and would get the thin hit some of the time. I went with the 4 hybrid it is just easier, get a really high and non-ballooning flight. I don't see myself taking out the 4 hybrid unless I join a club where an iron or driving iron makes more sense.

 

I could see the same thing happening to my 5 iron but currently I hit the 5 pretty good still.

[kwcsports]

I play a 3 and 5 hybrid then irons. More consistent, longer, more accurate, what more could I ask for. 

[R5Two]

I replaced a 3i with a Sim Max 3H. Initially it was a 220 yard club. I since have put a KBS Proto in it and Holy cow. Ball flight is much lower (I am an extremely high ball hitter), but still holds greens from 200+. 

 

I ended up replacing my 3i and 5w with that club. Hit it 220-230 off the deck, and off the tee probably get an additional 10-15 yards depending on how soft things are. 

 

Easier to work the ball - not in my opinion but I have a bigger more forgiving hybrid. 

 

Out of the rough - yeah buddy, original sim max hybrids have a firm face and it comes out of the rough hot!

 

Higher ball flight - all day even with the shaft to limit such things

 

It's a little bit longer than an iron shaft so aim you have to get used to and you have to hit down on the ball like an iron to be the most successful. The biggest reason it is in the bag is versatility, and I can mishit the crap out of the ball and it comes off like I nailed it. I was never a fan of hybrids until the original SIM max came out. Now it is a staple in my bag. 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by R5Two

[CDLgolf]

I have a 3, 4 & 5 hybrid. My irons start at 6. For me the hybrids are easier to hit in all conditions and for all shots.

[Hoyoymac]

Over the last two years I have overhauled my bag and club makeup to improve my gapping, gain launch and carry, improve shot shape and trajectory, address shaft needs as a result of swing speed gains and to replace clubs that I had lost confidence in.

 

Most of the early changes were between driver and my mid irons and resulted in adding a couple of hybrids to the bag.  All of the clubs that I replaced had a few things in common. They had a lower trajectory than desired and they tended to draw or hook more than I liked.  Hybrids in the past tended to also hook on me but I finally found a couple that work for me.

 

My 4 wood, Titleist TMB 4iron and Titleist AP3 5 & 6 irons with KBS Tour V 110g Stiff shafts came out of the bag.

 

The 6 iron was replaced with a Tour Edge XCG7 28 degree hybrid.  This hybrid hits the ball very high, generally straight or with slightly right bias, and with a lot of spin and is perfect to hold greens on longish par 3s.  It is my 165-175 yard club, it goes about the same total distance as my previous 6 iron but is now mostly carry and on a much higher trajectory.

 

The 5 iron was first replaced by a Titleist 818 H1 25 degree hybrid and then it was replaced by a Tour Edge C721 5 hybrid with the KBS TGI 80g stiff shaft.  This club has a more penetrating flight and produces a slight draw compared to the Titleist which had a tendency to hook more.  It is my 185-195 yard club.

 

I added a Tour Edge XCG7 21 degree 7 wood to replace my 4 iron and it has become a very dependable friend from the fairway.  It is my 200-210 yard club.  I swap it out with a new Tour Edge EXS 220 4 utility iron when conditions are windy or firm.  The 4 utility is great off of the tee as a fairway finder for short or tight holes and excellent to use for punch shots under low hanging trees..

 

The next club I changed was my Tour Edge EX 10 16.5 degree 4 wood, it was replaced by a Taylormade SIM Titanium 19 degree 5 wood that is lofted down to 17.5 with the stock 75 gram Diamana Limited Stiff shaft.  It is a useful club off of the tee and produces a low to mid trajectory, very low spin and generally a draw that goes 220-230 yards.  I definitely preferred the look, feel and sound of my previous Tour Edge 4 wood but the shaft was too light and it hooked too much.

 

In the last few weeks I have been switching the remaining irons to a set of Corey Paul Functional Art cavity back irons with KBS $-Taper 120g stiff shafts.  They are producing a much straighter trajectory and are 4 degrees weaker lofted which has helped my gapping.  My 7 iron in the old set had pretty much the same loft as my new 6 iron.  I am dropping the AP3 48 degree gap wedge and strengthening my Corey Paul wedges a little bit to fill the gap.

 

Really confident with the new set-up and ready to reset my goals for 2022 to get down to scratch.  This year been bouncing between 3-5 as a result of moving back a set of tees.

[jmkorting]

I have replaced my 4, 5, 6, and tinkering w/ my 7 iron w/ hybrids.  I have tried multiple different hybrids over the past few years.  I am not a great ball striker so hybrids help in that regards.  Some have been replaced just for simple fact I wanted something new.  Others cause I didn't get alone w/ them.  I like the idea of a hybrid but playing at the iron its replacing length.  Which makes it hard to do as swing weight will get thrown off when cutting your hybrid shaft down to the direct iron replacement length.  Not to mention the shaft will just play and feel differently.  At least that is what I have experienced.

I have come to find that the Mizuno JPX 921 Fli Hi hybrids fill this desire of mine.  They are not built or meant to be distance hybrids.  They are meant to be direct iron replacements and gap with your irons.  I have found this to be correct.  I also have found that them being .355 tip diameter I am able to install steel or graphite shafts and tinker around w/ different shafts at a more reasonable price.  With the 4 and 5 hybrids I have found a utility shaft to work awesome.  Currently using the Ventus Blue HB utility shafts in those.  Then my fitted iron shaft in the 6 and 7.  The 7 hybrid (29*) is currently not in the bag as my Srixon U85 6 iron is.  But I will tinker w/ the 7 hybrid this off season.  

What I have also found great about these hybrids is they are just fantastic out of the rough.  Especially thick wet rough.  Which is what I am dealing with currently here in Michigan.  Add in they are reasonably priced and to me they are a winner and worth trying.

[byoshio82]

It all depends on what the course is going to require. I have a Driving Iron (2 iron 19*), 3 Hybrid (20*) and 4 iron that all get used depending on course and how I am hitting the ball that day. 

[Pepperturbo]

If properly setup, Hybrid replacements are easy to hit straight and high.  But for many users, not as easy to shape shots, and depending on the user, perhaps problematic distance control.   Then there's this: immense satisfaction that comes from this '3-4' index executing long iron shots.

 

I live by example.  Yesterday, I faced a 212yr Par 3 with a weird kidney shaped green tilting back to front, pin in back.  It had a large deep left side bunker on the inside of kidney.  Due to breeze, it was easier to hit a nice 3i draw, turning it off the left bunker, so it ended up 5' left of the bunker, but pin high, then using LW baby pitch to 4' made the putt for par.  My playing partner (11 index) used hybrid and attempted the same shot... only his ball flew further, on the same line as mine, leaving him a blind shot into the green that runs downhill, so his ball ended on front of green and took a bogie.   Close to finishing, we faced a 360yd par 4 with water all the way down the left and surrounding the green, OB down the right side.  Using 2i, I hit a pur-dee straight 230yd shot down the middle.  My partner, using hybrid duck hooked one next to the fence, dropped, and then punched into the green side bunker, then...

 

It's for shots like mine, this ole man won't change long irons.  Having said that, there's NOTHING wrong with switching to hybrids as long as you know precisely why you are looking at the change, and realize it's limitations.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[tobiasjd]

I think if you phrased the question, have you replaced your set long irons with something more forgiving, you might include a lot more people.  A lot of people play combo sets or hollow body long irons but perhaps not the wood style hybrid. 
 

I hit my 5 iron really well.  Never really been able to hit a set 3 iron worth a darn.  Sim max is a really good 3 iron replacement.  It will work a little left or right, but I can release it pretty hard and still feel confident.  It’s not crazy high launching for me either, but certainly higher launching than a set 3 would be. 
 

4 iron I could go either way.  I’m waiting for an i210 to try in that spot.  I really like those irons in general. 

[ChipNRun]

On 10/22/2021 at 6:20 AM, ShortGolfer said:

I replaced my hybrids with a Mavrik Max 4 iron!  I have a very good idea where the ball will go when I swing it.

 

MAX 4i in short supply. Some are blending MAX 4i and 5i with Mav Pro 6 iron on up. You picked a popular club!

[kleydejong]

I love hybrids and am actively looking to replace more irons with them.  This past year I played hybrids at 18*, 21*, 24*, and 28*.  My driver clubhead speed is about 100 mph, so these hybrids cover about 175 to 230 for me.  Gaining some consistency to hit greens from yardages is huge for my scoring average.

 

Finding the right model is big.  I have really enjoyed the Callaway Epic Flash hybrids, but a few other models just did not work as well for me. 

 

Second, I really like to play my hybrids a little shorter and heavier - especially as the loft goes up.  I experimented with an old TaylorMade M1 hybrid at 24* where I installed a 37.5" 110g steel shaft, added a LOT of lead powder + epoxy into the screw track to get the swingweight right, and set the lie angle 1* upright.  My strike pattern was very consistent.  I don't mind the 70g long graphite shaft in the 18*, but with the others I want consistency. 

[scruffynick]

All my irons are hybrids, got the shanks couldn't get rid... desperate times after a number of lessons. Can't shank these at all, just impossible and now I'm enjoying the game again. Only iron I have in the bag is a sw, and that's for bunkers and chipping....anything over 50 yards I use a knockdown hybrid wedge. They're the old Cleveland hibore and all knackered up (now polished) but I love them and boy they've saved my golf

[sheppy335]

I replaced my 3-5 irons with Hybrids, 2 GAPR'S and 1 UDI. I love them and the performance they give me. 

[shaolingolfer]

Just put a Apex 21 6 hybrid (27) in play this week, so so easy to hit.

Also gaming King Tec 3 (19) and King Tec 5 (23) hybrids.