Older Hybrids

[DaveGoodrich]

2 hours ago, gator022 said:

@DaveGoodrich do you find them to be a 1 for 1 replacement of the iron they are replacing? Or close at least?

I built mine at essentially at the same length as the irons they replace, and with shafts just slightly lighter than my irons (95g vs. 105g) Loft for loft, they are a little longer than those irons, but that's a good thing, as it maintains good yardage gaps down into the 3-iron spot for me. 

[4rite]

RBZ Black....winner

[cwolfson]

Adams pro black

[jedc]

Always going to recommend the older Adams in whatever shape suits your eye. 

[CDLgolf]

Ping g25 is an oldie but goodie.

[GHIN n Juice]

TM GAPR.  Long, adjustable, hi, mid and low versions, and they can be found relatively cheap.

[Ca3l]

I used to play all the Nike stuff since it was dirt cheap lightly used the year after release. The drivers and fairways were just ok imo, but their hybrids and forged irons were excellent. I still have the Vapor Flex hybrid which is their adjustable, better player hybrid. It’s just awesome. Sounds amazing and is incredibly reliable. Truly one of the best clubs I’ve ever owned.

 

As others have mentioned, Adams also made some great stuff back in the day. I carried the idea pro black 9031 for a long while, but I hooked it sometimes and eventually got scared of it. The Idea super hybrid (silver crown w slots) was sooo hot off the face, amazing tee club but hooked that one a lot (I think the face was a bit closed iirc?) and didn’t like how hot it was for hitting into greens. I actually still own and sometimes use the original DHy hybrids. Those have a slim profile and play more like an iron. Reliable yardages, not hot. I prefer my regular irons most of the time but they’re nice for forgiveness if you’re not swinging well and you could prob find used 21, 24, and 27 floating around pretty cheaply.

[bekgolf]

Cleveland XLS Hibore.

[Jifmoli]

I get along with just about any hybrid. Played a steel shafted 4h from a $300 new full set plus bag Ram sets deals (the irons were horrrible) and after a short time was hitting it great. Anyway, these are my current hybrids:

Ignore the recent Srixon but the 2017 m1 is great and the Nickent must be a legend by now 🙂

[6th hole fox]

What if we roll back by 20 years? Sonartec Md hybrid was one of the very first ones, and Todd Hamilton used them all around the links, including chip shots, and won The Open. I still have the 2H and 4H from that brand. Anyone who has used those? Modern hybrids create more spin, I'd say.

[JungleJimbo]

12 minutes ago, 6th hole fox said:

What if we roll back by 20 years? Sonartec Md hybrid was one of the very first ones, and Todd Hamilton used them all around the links, including chip shots, and won The Open. I still have the 2H and 4H from that brand. Anyone who has used those? Modern hybrids create more spin, I'd say.

"+1" on the sonartec (and Adams suggestions).  But i believe the newer hybrids (and especially lower-spin golf balls) are lower spin (rather than higher spin)

 

... i.e. the lower spin = one of the enabling factors for longer distance?

 

FWIW ...  i believe a lot of us find comfort w.r.t. older hybrids because the higher spin = more ability to control flight/ shape the shot?

(Isn't Tiger Woods = also a proponent of higher-spin golf balls / golf clubs? i.e. it's what we became accustomed to using, when learning to play golf ... )

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by JungleJimbo

[Unplayablelies]

Im still using ping G20’s. 50-100 bucks on eBay

[Fuscinator]

You can still get one of these for about $35. 

[aypeeone]

My oldest club in the bag is a ping anser 3 hybrid. I can’t seem to find anything better and it just works for me. 

[alittleoverpar]

3 hours ago, Jifmoli said:

I get along with just about any hybrid. Played a steel shafted 4h from a $300 new full set plus bag Ram sets deals (the irons were horrrible) and after a short time was hitting it great. Anyway, these are my current hybrids:

Ignore the recent Srixon but the 2017 m1 is great and the Nickent must be a legend by now 🙂

I had one of those Nickent Ironwoods years ago.  It was a really nice club!  I had completely forgotten about it.

[dab36]

Tour Edge Exotic with the channel/angled/V sole. Don't even know what it is called, I have used if for probably 10 years.  It is like hitting with Iron Byron arm.  

[alittleoverpar]

On 8/24/2022 at 4:15 AM, 6th hole fox said:

What if we roll back by 20 years? Sonartec Md hybrid was one of the very first ones, and Todd Hamilton used them all around the links, including chip shots, and won The Open. I still have the 2H and 4H from that brand. Anyone who has used those? Modern hybrids create more spin, I'd say.

I still have an old Sonartec MD 2H.  It's not nearly as forgiving as the newer hybrids.  In fact, I would rather hit my 2 iron than this particular hybrid and I'm a Sonartec fan.  I have a couple of the HB-001 hybrids that I don't really use very often, but based on performance they could easily be in my bag.  

[ShortSticks]

On 8/24/2022 at 5:57 AM, Unplayablelies said:

Im still using ping G20’s. 50-100 bucks on eBay

Same here. I play the PING G20 3,4 and 5 (shafted with the best hybrid shaft ever IMO - Matrix Altus). They just work and are really forgiving without going left. 

[akronswitness]

On 8/22/2022 at 11:18 AM, Lord Helmet said:

Gosh if you could find them, ping g25 hybrids were stellar.  Another ole one, the Cleveland hibore (the head looked like a soup ladle) but those things rocked.  I had steel driver shafts in them lol and they flew.  The good ole days.

 

I still play my Big Bertha 3w from like 2002 and it has a steel shaft. Its so stiff and the high pitched *ping* sound the clubface makes when you hit a ball is soooo....old school? I cant hit it worth crap anymore and the club head is so tiny compared to todays 3w's. Thats another reason why I needed something that could sort of replace my 4i-3W. Seems like a 3H is the right club to do the trick.

 

I just need something I can swing for 200-240 and thats where (I think) I can get from this 3H so I can stop screwing around with my long irons AND 20 year old 3w. 2 birds one stone.

Edited August 25, 2022 by akronswitness

[dasparks]

Just get an older Adams hybrid. Can be had decently cheap and really solid

Edited October 5, 2022 by dasparks

[fixurpitch]

I have an original Cobra DWS 19° that has been kicked out of the bag at least a dozen times for the latest “new shiny”. But it always comes sliding back after the honeymoon is over. It always goes a known distance. Never nukes the occasional ball 20yds too far. Goes the distance of a modern 4 iron with the height of a 7 iron. That head cover is tired and dingy though.  

[jdotmill]

Got a Nike Vapor Fly for 86 bucks on eBay the other day. If you don’t mind blue then it’s an awesome club and it sits more open to my eye than most hybrids so I don’t have the problem with a duck hook like I have in the past. Just as hot off the face as the newer hybrids too

[Longballjock]

On 8/25/2022 at 8:28 PM, ShortSticks said:

Same here. I play the PING G20 3,4 and 5 (shafted with the best hybrid shaft ever IMO - Matrix Altus). They just work and are really forgiving without going left. 

Yeh me to, keep going back to the g20. There is just something about it.

[dasparks]

There's a lot of solid ones out there. Almost harder to go wrong than right IMO. Adams made a lot of really great ones - really liked the super hybrid and original Idea from like 08/09.  I still really like my Ping Anser and it's what's in my bag at the moment. Owned a Nickent 3DX and 4DX and a Mashie guardrail+ awhile back and both were pretty good. Tended to hook the Mashie more than the others but I think part of that was the super light 59g shaft. Would've loved to have tried it with a heavier shaft before I got rid of it. My buddy recently picked up a Cleveland 4h for like $40 in great shape and was piping it 210-220. Pretty sure it was the Hi-Bore model.

Best of luck with your search!

Edited October 5, 2022 by dasparks

[mister2cool]

Most of the posts here seem to be from 20 yr olds... 🤣 I mean M1 and Nike Vapor Fly as "OLD"?

 

This thing was money! Notice that 2 hybrid was 19 and 1 was 17. I don't use them anymore but can't make myself get rid of them. Still kicking myself getting rid of Hogan Apex 99 irons. 

Edited October 6, 2022 by mister2cool

[JungleJimbo]

14 minutes ago, mister2cool said:

Most of the posts here seem to be from 20 yr olds... 🤣 I mean M1 and Nike Vapor Fly as "OLD"?

 

This thing was money! Notice that 2 hybrid was 19 and 1 was 17. I don't use them anymore but can't make myself get rid of them. Still kicking myself getting rid of Hogan Apex 99 irons. 

Does the Taylormade Retro Raylor qualify as a hybrid? Whilst marketed as a fairway… Its head = smaller than many hybrids. 
 

[gator022]

Reviving this thread....

 

If you're looking for pure gapping and not all out distance, what is one losing by using 10-15 year old hybrids?  Maybe a little forgiveness?  I would think the older hybrids spin more compared to some newer models.  What else am I missing?

[guty17]

On 8/18/2022 at 9:21 AM, grm24 said:

TM JetSpeed hybrids/rescue. Seriously. The TM JetSpeed line of clubs never really caught on being positioned between the RBZ/RBZ2 lines. However they were very good clubs. Especially at the price point you can find them at these days.

 

The hybrids were hot and forgiving. I played a JetSpeed 19 degree 3H for some time. I found it better for me than the Ping Anser line of hybrids that were tremendous. 

 I agree. I won longest drive on tournament with that 3h last year. Hard for me to hit from fw tho. 

[Pearson10M]

Cobra F9.  Can be had brand new for about $100.

[gator022]

23 hours ago, Pearson10M said:

Cobra F9.  Can be had brand new for about $100.

Where?