Excellent point about the relationship to handicap and the need for hybrids. I happen to hit the ball fairly well with five iron on up, but like you I lose strokes on the short game due to lack of available practice time and facilities. That may be because my hybrids are rather old. They are Sonartec MD hybrids, probably the first company to popularize the hybrid. It still gives a penetrating ball flight, but it is much easier to hit than a three or four iron. Absolutely agree with the sentiment here.
I play off an 18 handicap with an average swing speed of — according to my most recent lesson with Flightscope. I lose it all in penalties usually OB from slicing my driver and the short game. I replaced all irons with Cobra hybrids. I have noticed very good results as Im not long off the tee. Have to play the percentages. Its a long iron replacement so it fits right in to replace that iron…same length. Its not longer like a normal hybrid. Mine fits right into my G25 irons set. So you can customize them.
It is soooooo much easier to hit than a typical 4 iron. I can hit a 3 wood yards, I pee standing up, and I play a hybrid. Personally, whenever I suck at my long irons, I suck at hybrids; and when I smoke my hybrid, I smoke my long irons. The main benefit for me is that for the same hybrid club that replaced an iron, I can swing easier knowing that it will fly just as far. Unfortunately I feel like my missing with hybrids are worse than my irons. I suspect by the time I am able to rock a long iron, my hybrid will become steady too.
At least I hope so. Personally I enjoy my hybrid more for the saves I can pull off with it over just a long iron replacement. Around the green, in the sand, in the woods — you name it — I find so many creative uses for a hybrid. I may even pull a wedge to keep my 3i and use my hybrid mainly for emergency recovery situations.
There should be an asterisk next to this article, applies to a few. I think one point you left out Tom is the very low spin rates of the new golf balls. Back then I not only carried a 3 iron but also a 2. The higher spin of the ball 15 years ago allowed it to climb easier off that low launch angle you get with long irons. About 3 years ago I realized the carry difference between my 3 and 4 iron was only about 7 to 8 yards so I replaced the 3 iron with a 22 degree adams hybrid.
Now my gaping is much better. For me, nothing like hitting my Miura MB 3 iron…butter soft. Once I no longer hit Miura 3 iron perfectly I put on skirt rather than hit pickle on stick looking hybrid.
Totally agree with your recommendation of switching long irons for hybrids. I myself picked up a hybrid to fill in the gap between my 3 wood and 3 iron. My 3 hybrid hits about and my 3 iron is right at Best thing to happen to golf in a very long time!!! Tried again over the last month and my Mizuno MP-H4 2-iron continues to win out. But, Tom, I fully understand your position and encourage others to go the hybrid route. I have a full set of H4s right now.
Yes, I would say they are a cross of a hybrid and an iron. Say one part fairway metal and two parts iron if a hybrid is only one part of each. Very forgiving due to their large cavity, but steel shaft, shorter shaft, and minimal offset really benefit those with some higher swing speeds that are looking for forgivenes. Pretty much like mizuno does with their split sets. I had 2 hybrids in my bag 21 and 25 degree and recently starting this season put my 4 iron back in the bag over the 25 hybrid.
I play to about a 9 handicap, but I was rewarded with several excellent 4i shots into the wind in the first several rounds this year that the hybrid is too unpredictable in handling. I found that distance control with hybrids in general is harder than with a iron too, even in calm condidtions.
That said, the 21 hybrid is one of my favorite clubs to hit. Arbitrary rules are meant to be broken arbitrarily. Ping i20 hybrid is still one of my favourites — even compared to my new h. Had this one for over 8 years in the bag — those still sell well on ebay. What about replacing your short Fairway woods with hybrids? You still see lots of folks with FWs but think they would have less work swinging a Hybrid. Have a 3 wood and 5 hybrid. Feel like I used to hit the hybrid better but lately been money with the wood.
For the record, I pee sitting down. Easier than remembering to constantly adjust the toilet seat. I also play hybrids instead of long irons. I am quite consistent with long irons — consistently short, consistently bad.
With hybrids I am inconsistent: occasionally bad, usually pretty good, once in a while brilliant. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.
The first three balls I hit were the best 3-iron shots I had ever hit, and all in a row. Maybe one out of three actual 3-iron shots would have flow like that, and I did that with the hybrid every time. Instant convert. All you have to do is swing the club and stay out of its way. Tom, great article as usual, but I have a question. What loft is a long iron for you? Thats too funny.
Eventually they will have to stop strengthening club lofts right? Its kind of insulting that golf companies think they can pull a fast one on consumers with their whole disappearing loft shenanigans. And just to remember the objective of the game is to score the lowest possible in accordance with the rules, it is totally independent if you pee stand up or seated. One I hit pretty good but still had my usual problems with it — chunking it.
I think the highest shot was 10 feet and many were not more than 5 feet. Granted my 4 iron is about feet but the 5 is about Driver is close to I think he missed the point by recommending only hybrids and not higher lofted woods.
Not everyone can hit a hybrid where they could hit a fairway wood and others would definitely hit a hybrid easier than a fairway wood. It most assuredly is not a one set of hybrids fits all situation.
So very true! I have seen the results of this with a playing partner. He asked me for some advice as a recent golf convert. Since he had played for about 2 years he saw little improvement. I told him ditch your 3 — 6 irons and use hybrids. That summer he dropped from a HCP28 to 16!
He is now a HCP 12 an his highest iron is a 6. What many fail to take into consideration is for one the lofts have gone wacky. Note that what you is being sold as a 5 iron now is probably a 4 or even a 3 iron not to long ago.
Some serious number crunching revealed the differences between long iron and hybrid performance in the hands of a handicap club golfer and ultimately spelt out how many hybrids might be too many.
Lofts of some irons have been cranked down, so shots go further, but in reality you're hitting a club more. So it's no wonder golfers have more difficulty launching long irons than hybrids from the deck. The iron shaft is 2in shorter, which meant a drop of 3mph of head speed compared to the hybrid, which obviously has a huge impact on how far shots carry.
Look at the data closely and you'll see the iron launching 1. Naturally, the iron flew lower, which means a shallower descent into the greens, making it more difficult to hold shots on the dancefloor as well. Golf's a mental game, and the idea of standing further from the ball and knowing a decent swing is the only option if I'm to get anywhere close to my target immediately piled the pressure on.
If you're confident hitting a 4-iron from the turf we don't want to change your thinking. Thank your lucky stars you've been blessed with enough club speed and a decent swing to hit one of modern golf's most unforgiving clubs But for me these numbers make a great case for hybrids.
Ball speed is 5mph faster; shots launched and flew higher, so will stop faster; and the hybrid carried shots 18 yards further.
What I did realise, though, is how closely a 3 and 4 hybrid are matched at my slower swing speed. With just three yards of carry difference between them, both can't have a place in my bag. The lofts of the 5 hybrid and iron are much the same, but again there's a 2in difference in shaft length, so considerable difference in performance should be expected.
The numbers don't lie, and a jump of 5mph in ball speed switching to the hybrid equalled a yard increase in carry distance, which is great as long as gapping between neighbouring clubs is good.
Whereas launching a 4-iron off the fairway felt like hard work, it wasn't quite the same with the 5. Many golfers will no doubt associate with this. Absolutely I'd like to feel more confident with a 5-iron in my hands, and if I'm honest it's one club in my bag I would consider swapping out for a better-performing hybrid.
While all these new club designs and technology advancements have been a fantastic development for the amateur player, more options have inevitably led to more decisions needing to be made around which clubs to carry in your bag. The simple answer is of course that this is a matter of personal preference and each individual will find their own combination by experimenting. That is undoubtedly true but it always helps to have some useful guidelines to help you make the decision around hybrid numbers in your bag.
Much easier to hit than a long iron, much more forgiving and much easier out the rough. A great way to boost your bag is to carry one or two more hybrids. Indeed today many 6-irons are close to 38 inches long on average with 31 degrees of loft meaning they too frequently come close to the point where most golfers will struggle for consistency.
It makes it harder for them to get the ball into the air because lower lofts require higher club head speeds to get the ball up in the air. Less club head speed is less of a problem for hybrids when it comes to getting the ball airborne because their increased thickness and centre of gravity further back from the clubface assists getting the ball up in the air on a higher trajectory than a long iron of the same loft.
And hitting it higher not only gives us a better chance of clearing any trouble on our way to the green but also a better chance of staying on the green when we get it there.
Given how important club head speed therefore is Dennis Clark recommends golfers measure their club head speed with their driver as the starting point for their hybrid experimentation:. Not everyone is able to get their driver club head speed measured however so Dennis also gives some distance guidelines based on how far you hit a 7-iron:.
We have talked before on Golfing Focus about offering guidelines based on you handicap — e. The club head speed and distance guidelines above therefore should be much more specific to your individual game and as a result give you a better starting point for where you can start experimenting with hybrid irons. Now that you have a starting point for where to begin your experimentation with hybrid irons there are some key points which you should bear in mind before deciding which ones are right for you.
Loft and distance gaps. Golf club manufacturers have done their best to make things easy when it comes to replacing your irons with hybrids by giving them the same loft and number as their comparable irons.
But that does NOT mean if you are thinking of replacing your 3 and 4-irons you should simply switch them out for a 3 and 4-hybrid. A big distance gap between your last hybrid and where you irons start is a particular thing to look out for and avoid. Fairway Woods and Driving Irons. The question which then invariably arises is what about fairway woods and hybrids of similar loft?
Which ones should I carry? Should you carry a 5-wood or 3-hybrid for example? Distance gaping is again the key thing to look out for here and then the choice simply comes down to which club gives you the results you want.
Do you want a club which you are going to use as an alternative to your driver off the tee or is it going to be focused on approach shots in which case the higher trajectory of the hybrid may suit better? If you play a lot of your golf in the wind also a driving iron may be a better alternative to an extra wood or hybrid.
Or if your course contains a lot of areas of thick rough you might consider switching out more irons for hybrids to help you get through the tough grass better. Wide body vs. Narrow body hybrids are targeted at better players with typically faster club head speeds and are set up with a more neutral bias to make it less likely the ball will go left. The reduced spin the narrow heads produce also allows better golfers to hit the ball lower which can be very helpful in windy conditions.
Their design is also more closely matched to standard irons and as a result they are less forgiving than their wide body counterparts. The wide body versions are by comparison better suited to golfers with slow to medium club head speeds.
Designed based on the same principles as more lofted fairway woods the wider club head launches the ball higher and makes it spin more to help maximise carry distance. Often combined with lighter graphite shafts wide body hybrids are a good choice for a lot of recreational golfers who are looking for the easiest and longest option available.
One thing to look out for however when it comes to the wide body versions is that they are typically biased towards producing a draw. So considering your general standard of play and what type of trajectory you are ideally looking for is another key point when making your final decision.
Golf is very much a confidence game and players can often find confidence simply by the way one club looks compared to another. Whether a hybrid gives you more confidence when compared to a comparable iron or fairway wood is therefore a crucial component of any decision and one you should not ignore.
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