Has anyone "Webb Simpsoned" their shortest hybrid?

[J_Tizzle]

So I've struggled my a** off with a driving iron and a normal 4h, so I started looking at various WITB and found Webb Simpson, who plays a 5h with a steel shaft.  So my question is, has anyone else tried this vs a driving iron and what have you been using?

 

I'm thinking of trying to find a SIM2 Rescue 22*, as its a smaller head, and putting either a GOST or a Project Xu and play it around the 4i length and super upright.  So essentially a 4h set up as close to a 4i as I can.  

 

I'm looking for a jack of all trades club, so something I can hit highish off a fairway lie into a par 4/5 or off a tee into a par 3 or a position club.  I love the driving iron off a par 3/4 tee, but its terrible for me off the ground (very low, unholdable), but I also dislike the 4h off the tee for the most part and off the tee into long par 3s.  So I'm basically trying to Frankenstein together a Cinderella.

[azgreg]

I play the same shafts in my hybrids that I play in my irons since I consider hybrids iron replacements.

 

[Eeecc]

My irons are S300 shafts, my driving iron is SC300 and my 4 wood is also S300. Surprisingly my 3h is graphite stiff.

 

guess my bag is old school. But they just seem to work 

[J_Tizzle]

1 hour ago, azgreg said:

I play the same shafts in my hybrids that I play in my irons since I consider hybrids iron replacements.

 

 

Do you do anything special with the hybrid to get the lie angle closer to the iron its replacing?  Is the steel shaft longer, if so how much?  

 

My thought is that I can get the SIM2 4h, play it max upright which is about 1* flat of a stock 4i, so then play the shaft a hair longer than a stock 4i.

[Tree Levino]

I tried it and didn’t love it. Have you tried a 7w? A chunkier 4i replacement like a Srixon ZX utility in the 24 ish loft spot and a 21 degree 7w could give you a nice combo. Fwiw the apex UW is also an incredible club. Steel gains you nothing in a hybrid IMO. 

[azgreg]

37 minutes ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

Do you do anything special with the hybrid to get the lie angle closer to the iron its replacing?  Is the steel shaft longer, if so how much?  

 

My thought is that I can get the SIM2 4h, play it max upright which is about 1* flat of a stock 4i, so then play the shaft a hair longer than a stock 4i.

I build them to the same loft, lie, and length as the irons they are replacing.

 

[J_Tizzle]

1 hour ago, Tree Levino said:

I tried it and didn’t love it. Have you tried a 7w? A chunkier 4i replacement like a Srixon ZX utility in the 24 ish loft spot and a 21 degree 7w could give you a nice combo. Fwiw the apex UW is also an incredible club. Steel gains you nothing in a hybrid IMO. 

 

I have not tried a 7w, but if I can figure this out I'll be putting a 5w in the bag (D/3w/5w/4h/strong 6i).  The idea is that even with the driving irons (I've tried the various Pings as well as the ZU85s) that I still just lose any advantages with it off the ground, they become strictly tee clubs for me.

 

I tried the UW 21* and boy it was NOT a good fit for me, but seems to be for about everyone else!

 

And I'm not necessarily going to go steel, but at least a real heavy graphite shaft, maybe a Steelfiber 110 and I have some NV105 hybrid shafts sitting around I'd probably stick in it first.  Either way, I guess my idea is to get it to play like an iron, but have the forgiveness and launch of a hybrid, if I set the length and lies more close to an iron vs a hybrid.

[J_Tizzle]

36 minutes ago, azgreg said:

I build them to the same loft, lie, and length as the irons they are replacing.

 

 

What hybrid(s) are you playing?  I've mostly been looking at the SIM2 and the Titleist that I can set fairly upright without a lot of change to the loft.

[third-times-a-charm]

Tried steel in a modern hybrid once. Worst decision ever.

[J_Tizzle]

10 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Tried steel in a modern hybrid once. Worst decision ever.

 

Care to expand?  Did you play it at normal hybrid length?  Length of the iron it's supposed to replace?  Hybrid specific steel shaft or a lighter steel shaft, or a steel shaft that matched your irons?

[third-times-a-charm]

5 minutes ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

Care to expand?  Did you play it at normal hybrid length?  Length of the iron it's supposed to replace?  Hybrid specific steel shaft or a lighter steel shaft, or a steel shaft that matched your irons?

I believe it was a 4h with a 4i iron shaft. Played short by about an inch. Matching set shaft which I believe was a modus 105 or 120 at the time.

[Bigjim1022]

4 hours ago, azgreg said:

I play the same shafts in my hybrids that I play in my irons since I consider hybrids iron replacements.

 

Same!  And my most consistent “go-to” club that has been in my bag now 10 years is an Adams Pro 23° with a steel shaft.  It’s just money and isn’t going anywhere until the face caves in. 

[azgreg]

1 hour ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

What hybrid(s) are you playing?  I've mostly been looking at the SIM2 and the Titleist that I can set fairly upright without a lot of change to the loft.

I play Nickent 3DX and TM Rescue Mids.

Edited February 2, 2023 by azgreg

[llewol007]

just heavier feeling weight. 

[Tree Levino]

8 hours ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

I have not tried a 7w, but if I can figure this out I'll be putting a 5w in the bag (D/3w/5w/4h/strong 6i).  The idea is that even with the driving irons (I've tried the various Pings as well as the ZU85s) that I still just lose any advantages with it off the ground, they become strictly tee clubs for me.

 

I tried the UW 21* and boy it was NOT a good fit for me, but seems to be for about everyone else!

 

And I'm not necessarily going to go steel, but at least a real heavy graphite shaft, maybe a Steelfiber 110 and I have some NV105 hybrid shafts sitting around I'd probably stick in it first.  Either way, I guess my idea is to get it to play like an iron, but have the forgiveness and launch of a hybrid, if I set the length and lies more close to an iron vs a hybrid.

Oh! Yeah I’m 100x in 4h and 90x in 3h. Feels great. 

[Drivingrangehero]

Before I picked up a 18* 5W and a 22* 7W I played  20* and 23* Adams Super 9031 Proto hybrids with Modus 105s steel shafts. it was a great combo, straightest and most consistent distance I’ve had in a hybrid, but I like the versatility of the fairway woods better. 

[J_Tizzle]

1 hour ago, Drivingrangehero said:

Before I picked up a 18* 5W and a 22* 7W I played  20* and 23* Adams Super 9031 Proto hybrids with Modus 105s steel shafts. it was a great combo, straightest and most consistent distance I’ve had in a hybrid, but I like the versatility of the fairway woods better. 

 

I do have a 9031 sitting in my garage somewhere and a Modus 105...

[NRJyzr]

I prefer playing hybrids with iron shafts, but I haven't tried going to iron lengths with them, which is somewhat ironic, since I like to play them shorter than the so-called standard.

 

I only use one hybrid, in the classic 90s 2 iron slot.

 

I've used DGS and NV105 iron shafts.  Also picked up an RIP Alpha 105 that's I've used off and on.

 

When I was still playing steel in irons, the DGS was amazing.  I used to hit the absolute hell out of that thing.  The added weight synced well with my swing/game, likely a healthy part of why I heavily reduced the lefts I had with the club with the 80g shaft that came with it.

 

Count me a big fan of the concept

 

[Gohigh]

As long as you can increase the head weight, playing shorter steel shafts in mid iron replacement hybrid works okay. It does feel a bit harsh, but does offer bit more consistency than a 5 iron if you struggle (like me) with striking 5 iron consistently.

 

It does fly a bit lower with bit less spin, so if you play courses with firm fast greens, it does struggle to hold greens.

[Drivingrangehero]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I prefer playing hybrids with iron shafts, but I haven't tried going to iron lengths with them, which is somewhat ironic, since I like to play them shorter than the so-called standard.

 

I played my at 1/2 over standard iron length 23* was 1/2 over a standard 4i and the 20* was 1/2 over  standard 3i playing length. 
 

They were iron replacements for me, so I wanted a consistent flight and distance. I wasn’t looking for the longest I could get it out there. 

[trying2scratch]

1 hour ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

I do have a 9031 sitting in my garage somewhere and a Modus 105...

 

Do it!!!  What loft do u have?

 

I'm still rocking the old proto Super Pro's in the 18/20 and 23 spots.  But thinking of moving to steel in the 23.  

 

 

[RSLP]

J-Tizzle,

 

I blended my 3-4-5 Hybrids into my iron sets with the same shafts; however,  I used some shafts I pulled for my experiment so I have R Flex in the 3-4-5 Hybrids and S Flex in the 6-GW.  The Hybrids blend in at the corresponding iron length.  My lofts blended in perfect, and I did not pay any attention to the Hybrid lie angles. 

 

Why:  I tried this experiment because I heard Lou Stagner (golf Statistician) talk about how poorly folks do hitting greens with irons 180+ yards.  

 

Results:  My launch monitor (SC300) into a net data has been good.  3 or 4 real driving range trips, the results have been good.  Couple 9 hole sessions, and the results have been good.  

 

I recommend you experiment, and see how you like it.

 

[Lemonde]

I will let you know how my Mizuno hybrid experiment goes.  I have the Modus Pro 115x in the JPX FliHi 20 degrees.  Will be on the LM next Tuesday evening. 

[Hawkeye77]

Never shanked a hybrid.

[DYOS4]

I bought a Titleist 5H for $25 as a, why not, lets see what happens. It's been in the bag for a year. Good progression from my 5 iron and into the 5 wood. Haven't had to mess with it yet. Haven't even regripped it. 

[bnperrone]

I built a hybrid to be a 4-iron clone. I’ve posted specifics probably a dozen times, so maybe look through my history and check out the threads I posted it in for some more thoughts. 
 

Long story short I love it. It’s the same distance at the same loft since the rest is the same and the 818h2 allows all the necessary weight and lie adjustments to get it where I want it. 
 

FWIW I have a GOST and a TS3 19* head that would make a pretty good “driving hybrid” candidate, but it didn’t work out quite right for me. I just haven’t made a sale ad.

[bnperrone]

On 2/1/2023 at 10:44 PM, third-times-a-charm said:

I believe it was a 4h with a 4i iron shaft. Played short by about an inch. Matching set shaft which I believe was a modus 105 or 120 at the time.

Did you match head weight including the adapter and therefore get the identical swing weight and total weight as the 4-iron?

[ode]

On 2/1/2023 at 8:07 PM, azgreg said:

I build them to the same loft, lie, and length as the irons they are replacing.

 

This👆, if you are going to try it.  Don't assume the hybrid will follow an iron progression in terms of head weight and lie.  They are often lighter (at times much lighter) than the iron they are replacing.

[tips09]

On 2/1/2023 at 5:34 PM, Tree Levino said:

I tried it and didn’t love it. Have you tried a 7w? A chunkier 4i replacement like a Srixon ZX utility in the 24 ish loft spot and a 21 degree 7w could give you a nice combo. Fwiw the apex UW is also an incredible club. Steel gains you nothing in a hybrid IMO. 

I’m in the same boat… actually going this route once I can actually find a 7 wood. Tried the steel in the hybrid method and it just didn’t work for me. I think from the mental side of it if you feel as though a hybrid is an iron replacement the steel shaft might work.  

Edited February 3, 2023 by tips09

[Spinozist]

I had a steel shaft (Rifle Flighted) with one of those tiny adams hybrid heads for a time. It worked great. The only reason I eventually changed the shaft was because I put in steelfibers in my irons so it didn't make sense to keep the one shaft steel (it also didn't match up weight-wise anymore, or feel, etc.).