One for the golfers … hybrids

I've never found a hybrid I was comfortable putting in the bag as my gamer. I know all the blah blah blah about why we need them and how they need to be positioned and hit, but it just never really worked with me.

One thing that always jumped out at me is how much longer is the shaft in a 3h than in the 3i it supposedly is replacing (4i, 5i, 2i, whatever). And the damn things are always graphite, by default.

I have a several-year-old Adams 3h sitting around, and I had a KBS steel shaft put in it at a length in keeping with the standard progression of my irons, so it is .5" longer than the shaft in my 4i, rather than the inch and often more that is "standard" in a 3h. To me, it looks better (the steel) and more importantly it is easier for me to play it like an iron, which is how a hybrid should be hit. Even if it is only psychological, it's working. I probably hit it farther than I would the 3i, owning to the launch conditions of the head, but I don't mind. The traj is great yet I can still get it to settle.

A few times I've asked OEMs why they do that, why they put such a different shaft (and length) in a hybrid than the iron it is supposedly replacing, and I don't know that I've yet received a reply that really makes sense. Maybe I'm just dense.

 

I read an article about Arnold Palmer, who even at his advanced age expressed "the unbridled joy of watching the flight of a pure 3 iron". That IS a wonderful feeling. I just wonder if a hybrid would feel the same.

 

I seriously doubt Arnie still carries long irons, but I'll ask next time I talk to him 'cause it would be something (shocking) to learn that if true.

I'm guessing he's talking in a nostalgic sense, because there is something guttural about a long iron struck on the screws. I play Pings as my gamers and am kicking the tires on some loverly Miura blades, true blades. Not my game but damn they do feel (actually, it is sound, not feel that we mostly are sensing on a shot pured with a forging) beautiful when nutted.

I will say a steel-shafted hybrid has a tactile sensation totally unlike graphite.

 

Sure it's a fantastic feeling. That's because it only happens one in ten times!

 

I got rid of my 3 & 4 irons and have a few hybrids. They are just so much easier for me to hit.

 

3 and 4 irons - gone 3 years ago, replaced with hybrids.

My 3 hybrid is graphite shaft and 4 hybrid is KBS Steel shaft.

I find more consistency with the 4 hybrid - not as many 'flyers' out of the rough, and distance control more precise. I found that once in awhile, my 3 hybrid explodes some insane distance - sometimes a 20 yard increase.

What is interesting is Ken's hybrid thought about shaft length from 3 iron to hybrid - basically not stepped progression from PW - 5 iron. Probably reason why distance is so valued for hybrids.

I am a big fan of the hybrids from thick rough lies - fantastic, however, jury is still out for the 205 yarder from the middle of fairway - not any improvement for my game (mind you my 2 handicap is definitely not from fairway shots - short game is my forte - but from 160 - 215 - horrible!!)

 

Been playing since I was 5, I'm 26 now. Played 4 years college golf and play to a +1.2 handicap. I used to swear I'd never play a hybrid regardless. Well my sophomore year of college I broke my 5 wood on the range before a practice round at nationals, my coach offered me his Cobra Baffler 2H 18 degree to try out as a replacement and I loved it. Was much easier to hit than my 5 wood and went just as far, carry 240 and could stop on a dime or I could choke down and get 225 out if it making it easy to drop a 3 iron and add another wedge bc I hit 4 iron 215 so it filled the 3 iron gap.

I now have a Taylor Made RBZ hybrid and the face is a little hotter so I have the 21 degree and have about the same numbers as the 18 degree Baffler back in 2007.

I will agree there is nothing better than a flushed long iron but the versatility of behind able to hit a club anywhere from 225 to 240 and add an extra wedge is well worth it in my book.

 

What Miura blades? I've heard great things about all three the MB-001, the Tournament Blades and the Series 57 "Baby Blades". I personally have an older set of Titleist 735s that I can't give up although I may give the MB Forged a shot this spring/summer.

 

I am almost 35yrs old and play to 5 handicap. I play Callaway forged 3-PW. I play a Titleist 13.5 degree 3wood and a 17degree hybrid. I can honestly say that I prefer the 3 iron over the hybrid. Maybe its the west Texas wind and I can keep the 3iron lower. I still hit the 3iron 230 so the only time I hit the hybrid is maybe on a tee ball.

 

I have NEVER been able to hit a hybrid well, and do not carry one.

There is something about a fairway wood that just doesn't work with my swing, though. I remember when those Orlimar trimetal clubs were all the rage. I played a lot back then and was an 8 or 9 handicap at the time, but I could not hit the thing off the ground. Literally hacked away on the range and could not hit a single solid shot with it.

 

Various thoughts/replies:

On the Miura ... MB-001. And I will say, while my Pings aren't as jarring on mishits, they fall off just about the same as the Miura when I do. And Miura long has said you don't have to be a stick to play a forging -- I agree -- though the blade is a different animal.

There's a reason most typical players hit 3w farther than driver: better launch and better contact, and a lot of that is the shorter shaft. Anyone can "legally" swing a 48" driver but only a few folks will find the center of the club face enough to benefit from the higher speed. Just a simple fact of physics.

On not being able to "hit" a hybrid: A hybrid is an iron replacement not a fairway wood, so it needs to be hit like an iron. Don't get it too far forward -- which I say is one problem of that longer-than-replaced-iron graphite shaft -- and you really can't sweep it or pick it off, you gotta get down after it at least a bit, like an iron. I think the industry has done a bad job helping average folks make the switch because of all the asinine obsession with LONG, LONGER, LONGEST. If you're replacing a club that is supposed to go 170 yards, for instance, you don't need something that goes 190.

 

Yeah I've been playing forged irons since sophomore year of high school but didn't make the switch to blades until later in my career my junior year of college. You cannot beat the feel and control of a blade if you can indeed find the sweet spot which isn't easy for every one.

I think you make an excellent point for the average golfer and the hybrid. I think part of that is the average golfers obsession with distance from seeing what these tour guys do with a golf ball which is unfortunate. Length is a very useful asset but from playing years of competitive golf at a fairly high level, I have seen plenty for average and even shorter hitters that were very good players because they were deadly accurate and knew how to stick to their game plan.

I wish there was a way we (as a golf community) to get this point across to average golfers to help improve their game and continue to grow the game by making it more fun for everyone. I think the tee it forward program is a step in the right direction but it's hard to make work when every golf course is basically 7,000 plus these days and everyone wants to play "tour" length courses instead of whats fit to their game. But maybe this is better suited for a whole new thread haha.

 

Yeah, we should have a whole new forum about why the average golfer does not need to "see the whole course" and shoot 120 playing those 7000+ yard courses from the very back...and take 6 hours to do it

 

3 is about the magic number for me. I don't like hybrids for the most part, so all the way down to 4 iron , I hit the irons consistently and haven't even seriously considered a switch.

But I do play a 3 hybrid (an older taylor made rescue). Its ok. I hit it far, but am very wild with it, mainly because the swing that feels natural holding that club results in a sharp draw. That can come in handy now and again, but the end result is I don't attempt it that often.

If I hit it more consistently, I would probably use it off the tee a lot.

 

I have an essay in the next -- not the one released last week -- issue of GolfTips Magazine in which I address some of these pace and related problems confronting the game that the USGA seems to be giving lip service.

I have a blast testing stuff and getting fitted and all that crap; golf is my obsession, I guess. And I've written loads about it. I'm recently coming around to a bit new orientation on all this, and while club fitting, gapping and the like still are important to even Joe Average, the industry is still giving short shrift to the bottom end of the bag. As rightly pointed out above, the distance fixation is a sham.

Most players will get more out of a good putter fitting than irons, I believe that. They also need to spend some time with the guys at Hopkins Golf, Vokey or Cleveland and figure out the wedge situation. First thing, lose the 60 degree immediately. And in most cases, blank/across the board, get more bounce and some sole relief.

 

ken,
On another note, I was listening to public radio the other day and the topic was on golf - how fires have been started by titanium clubs striking rocks. Apparently, this may constitute a public health hazard.

 

I'd love to check out your article. Where can I go about finding a copy of it or the magazine?

Also I agree, club fitting and tinkering and testing is fantastic. I think fitting in general would go along way for most average golfers not just the better player. Straight off the rack won't work for most. Especially a driver, most average golfers have no business playing a driver with any loft lower than 10.5 and maybe more like 12 but since the guys on your play 8-10.5 degree the average player must do so as well instead of being properly to maximize launch angle and spin rates. Putter fitting is important too because an improperly soled putter can send putts missing all over. In general, a good fitting through the bag would go much further for most average players than a new set of clubs.

 

I'm a "casino" golfer with a mid-20s handicap...
But, on a Par3, I'll hit my 3h off the deck and get a solid 200 out of it.
Par4/5/6, I'll grab my driver and bomb the shit outta it.
Previously, I had a callaway 3w and when I got this new hybrid, it was so much smoother.

 

Tim, as a high handicapper you shouldn't be anywhere near 200-yard par 3s. Move forward and you'll get so much more out of the game and everyone behind you will be grateful. And as Trevino once said, why would you not tee up the ball every one of the 18 times a round they let you?

 

According to Ping, something like 60 percent of players are "standard" iron players. So … yep!!

GolfTips is sold nationally but if you can't hunt one down I'll send you a pdf if I can get my hands on one or at minimum the weblink.