How many Hybrids?

I currently have one hybrid in the bag which replaces my three iron but was wondering if more hybrids is the way to go. I am not coming at this from a position of poor long iron play or frustration, but from the idea that even a good long iron player might be more consistent with hybrids instead of conventional irons.


So firstly, how many hybrids do you have in the bag and what lofts are they? Also what irons have you replaced. I would also be interested in your reasons for putting hybrids in the bag.

Secondly, does anyone know of any studies carried out which compare the performance of long irons and hybrids? If it is true that hybrids produce more consistently accurate shots and lower scores I see no reason not to use them.

1 Hybrid Mac, a 16 deg, goes about 225-235, but most importantly is easy to play a perfect draw with, Great for finding fairways and leaving a good distance into a short par 4.
I don't have it replacing any club as such as I still have a 3 wood at 15 deg (250-260 yards) and a 3 iron (205-215) in the bag.

I have seen no studies, but hybrids to me, certainly seem easier to hit than long irons, although I am going through a purple patch with my 3 and 4 irons right now.

It seems like hybrids have been around long enough for data to exist which should conclusively answer the question of whether to use hybrids or long irons.

I suppose people feel that dumping the long irons in place of hybrids means you are not a real player, but if the numbers back them up I would have no hesitation in switching clubs.

After all, we only need to look at the clubs used 100 or so years ago to see that all sorts of hybrid looking clubs were used. Which really refutes any argument that hybrids are not in keeping with the ways of the game.

My hybrid is the oldest club in my bag Mac, must go back to about 2005 at least.
Many pro's routinely ditch a three iron in favour of a hybrid, but judging by the retarded determination that club golfers wield the driver with regardless of the consequences to maintain the machosim of hitting driver even when it's the wrong choice, I can't see all that many dumping their manly long irons in big numbers.

Two hybrids in my bag 23 deg and 20 deg replacing 3 and 4 iron. My experience has been much more consistency with ball-striking and better accuracy. Easier to hit, great out of the semi-rough and fantastic out of fairway bunkers.

Blue

I am interested to hear about hitting hybrids out of fairway bunkers. It is not something that I have tried.

What changes do you make to set up to hit the shot?

I'd imagine it would depend on the size and depth of the bunker Mac, not something you'd use out of a Links fairway bunker.

Super

Obviously you usually have to hit wedge out a links fairway bunker, but assuming you can get something longer to clear the lip I would be curious how the hybrid performs.

Same as anything Mac, how you play the shot, rather than the club.

A timely thread Mac. I've just (within the last 2 weeks) acquired 4 (yes, 4) hybrids and dumped my 2-, 3-, 4-irons and also my 3-wood.
What happened was I had ~£150 credit in our Pro's shop so just on the spur of the moment, I went and asked what hybrids they had in. Typically, I've a) never got on with hybrids (too many duck hooks) and b) never liked the look of any of them at address. The Pro had a 19° Titleist 910H in stock (Diamana Kai'li "made for" 80g stiff) and suggested I took it for a test drive.

So, having had it taped up, I took it out one evening and hit 4 balls off each tee for 6 holes and anywhere off the fairway as and where I could. I've always been a good iron player but, seriously, they ought to ban the 910H. I've honestly never hit a club where there was genuinely such a performance advantage and I'm normally a huge skeptic re. OEM claims re. their latest kit. The 19° I was hitting was going maybe 210-220 easily and I could shape it as a draw (my natural shape) or a nice, consistent fade at will. Shaft was surprisingly good - tight but great feel for me. I think I (slightly) mishit a single shot out of, maybe, 36 shots. Bought it on the spot after returning to the shop and now have it tuned down to 18.25°.
Since got the 24° and 21° (each tuned down 0.75°) via eBay for really good prices and have a 17° on the way to replace my 3-wood (probably not quite as long but I'll take the distance loss for the ease of hitting and consistency).

Will definitely keep my long irons but only to hit on the practice ground instead of the hybrids and may role the 2-iron out on the course if there's some reason to want low, drilled tee shots or something somewhere.
These 910H look a bit wood-like but not too bad; pretty sharp. Great sound on contact and surprisingly good trajectory - could even manufacture some low fizzers although not on the same scale as I can do with the equivalent long iron.

Can't speak for other brands, but these Titleist 910H hybrids are the dogs bits. The golf macho boys can go hang if they think it's not real golf...I'll happily enjoy the beers they're going to need to be buying me.

Good thread Mac, I used to carry 3 ping G10 Hybrids at any one time (I actually have 4 - 15, 18, 21 & 24 Deg). My longest iron then was a 5 iron. Back then I couldn't hit a decent 3 wood reliably either so never carried 1 for a while. Since my swing changes and the move from the G10 irons to the i20 irons 2 years ago I now only typically carry 1 hybrid (the 18 deg). I've now found a reliable 3 wood and also have a 4 iron in the bag. The 18 deg fills the gap nicely between the 3 wood and the 4 iron distance wise. I think it is a useful club to have in the bag for longer shots out the rough, reasonable rough not the knee high stuff i.e. its easier to hit a hybrid out of the 1st/2nd cut than a 4 or 5 iron. I have occasionally though of putting the 24 deg back in for certain courses/conditions but reluctant to sacrifice any of my 3 wedges (52,56,60 deg) as they are scoring clubs.

Jas

So, are you getting better accuracy from you irons compared with the hybrids?

Very interesting topic .. and I find it good that hybrids are getting such a good write up .. I always had the feeling for the first few years they existed that they were considered an old man's club or a bit of a cop out for hackers but I like to see that good players are adopting them too

I couldn't get on with them for a year or two - tried borrowing one and couldn't get the feel for it at all - but like Navy I had a bit of credit on my pro shot account and thought I'd try one again - a 21 degree Titleist . .and it made a huge difference to my game .. also picked up a 5 iron hybrid (not sure what loft that is) ... I've not got totally confident with that one yet but still use it maybe once in a round for some shots that don't fit any other club :-P .. still unsure how far I can hit it consistently yet

I have a 19 deg Taylor made and a 21 deg Ping G5 and had both for a number of years. The Ping is great, always been confident and consistent with it. Carries about 210yds. The Taylor Made has been less of a favourite. It was very close to exiting my bag about this time last year as lost confidence with it due to propensity for big hooks of the snap/duck variety. Still in there though as I now use it frequently for around the greens as found it to be a very effective shot for me and massively helped my scrambling. Also grew in confidence again for its primary use and carries 225ish.

Anyone else a fan of the hybrid for short game?

I also still carry a 3 iron as find it better from the tee than my longer hybrid (and for low recovery shots from the trees!)

A few people have mentioned duck hooks with hybrids, which was actually my initial experience with hybrids a number of years ago. I wonder if this was a set up issue as you should play a hybrid like a long iron and not like a fairway wood?

Davie

If hybrids work better than long irons I am happy for some of the opposition to struggle on with long irons while I play with man old man/hackers clubs.

I replaced my 3 iron with a 21 degree hybrid about a year ago, and I'm still not sure about it. It's undoubtedly easier to hit than the 3 iron, and goes further, but I'm not at all sure it's more accurate. It's less easy to be sure you're addressing the ball squarely, and if I don't positively try to play my usual draw it can easily fade instead.

McLaren wrote:Jas

So, are you getting better accuracy from you irons compared with the hybrids?

On balance probably yes Mac which I'd put down to a couple of things
1.The hybrid goes further so obviously the average dispersion increases.
2. I get a nice low penetrating flight from my 4 iron so less affected in a breeze the the typically higher flight of a hybrid, that being said I can have days when I nail shot after shot with the hybrid and chunk my 4 iron all over the place.

I don't find the 910Hs have any issues with alignment - very easy to be confident over where you're aiming. The 19° I've at least hit a reasonable amount over the last few weeks is supremely accurate. Ridiculously so. Played Worksop twice (Society day) last week and hit the 19° off the tee on maybe all but the par 3s and 2 or 3 other holes all day. Round in about +4 in the morning and +1 in the afternoon although it helped that the putter was pretty hot on the day. Fantastic club.

Navy,

Interesting to hear you have gone for the old 910H and not the newer 913.

I have the same 19 deg 910H but with the Diamana Ilima stiff shaft. Got it about a year ago when the 913 came out and the prices dropped. It replaced a 16 degree TM rescue mid that had been in the bag since 2004. These clubs don't replace irons... they are more like 5 wood replacements but with a lower trajectory.

I also have a 22 degree TM rescue mid which I rotate with my 3 iron. I prefer the 3 iron in summer and if playing links.

Initially only went for 910 as it was cheaper. Not a lot of difference (to my eye) for 913. Having got the 19° which seemed so good, went for the 910s throughout.

I've got a Sonartec MD 3 iron replacement. I don't carry it very often these days because I've got an extra wedge in the bag. I also had a Sonartec 1 iron replacement for a while too, but sold it to someone offering silly money.

They are pretty good clubs, easy to hit. They didn't give me much that I couldn't get from my 5 wood though so not normally in the bag. I do carry the 3 iron replacement on links courses because it gives me a penetrating flight, good for hitting into the wind.

Reading what's been written above, most people seem to hit hybrids higher than the clubs they replace. Seems I'm pretty unusual...

i carry a 21degree TM burner. i dont carry a 3i so i guess it replaces that.
pros: better out of rough. good for flat bunkers( i use it for second shot to a par 5 regularly).it goes alot higher than my 3iron would and lands alot softer.
cons. distance control isnt great with it and it leaves me a big gap between it and my 4iron.

Two hybrids - a 19 degree which really is a replacement for a 2 or 3 iron and 5 wood, and a 23 degree which replaces my 4 iron, although I can go down the grip with it and hit it anywhere from 4 iron to 6 iron distance. I can also hit it high or low which I could never manage with a 4 iron.

I don't know of any studies, nor would I pay them much heed - I'm really only interested in what works for me, and I switched to hybrids because I couldn't hit long irons consistently at all. Or sometimes just at all.

do you have a hickory shaft on your hybrid Mac? just to uphold the history of the game etc etc.

Sonartec - there's a name i've not heard in a while. They used to be one of the leaders in terms of hybrid/rescues clubs. I didn't even realise they were still going

MustPuttBetter wrote:Sonartec - there's a name i've not heard in a while. They used to be one of the leaders in terms of hybrid/rescues clubs. I didn't even realise they were still going

They probably aren't still going. I bought those two clubs about six years ago and they weren't new then.

Apparently closed down in 2011, George. Still longer than i thought they were going for!

McLaren wrote:Blue

I am interested to hear about hitting hybrids out of fairway bunkers

 
Mac I should have said good out of fairway bunkers on flat Essex courses, built on land previously used only for farming!

Fair enough blue. Although many modern courses have long flat fairway bunkers with little or no lip, so the shot could be useful sometimes.

Mac, 18 degree and 23 degree hybrids. Rarely use any iron above the 5 ... (occasionally the 4 iron for punch out shouts that I need to keep low. Really happy with the ping hybrids.