Hybrid Club - Advice

colin2503

Hello all,
i am in the market for a new hybrid/rescue club (and also a three wood) and would like some advice as to what i should be looking for. I currently use a set of ping rapture irons (4 iron is the lowest i have). has anyone used the same club in hybrid version. also what loft should i get? i'm told 20 degrees is the same as a four iron so i should be looking at 18 degrees. the only other advice given to me was that i should get the new cobra baffler,

all help gratefully accepted.

thanks

ShriekingSheet

Hi Colin,

I use the Ping G10 hybrid. I carry up to a 3 iron and the 18 degree Hybrid actually acts as a 2 iron. It nicely splits the yardage gap between my 3 iron and 3 wood. I would say a 20 degree would be more suitable as you carry up to 4 iron.

By all accounts the G10 is very popular. It's the only one I've ever had and I find it great. It's a little bigger than the likes of the Titleist or TM ones and I would say it may be slightly more geared toward higher handicap golfers. Certainly usable by any level of player to be honest.
Pay attention to what shaft you get. There's three stock shafts it comes with (no extra cost). One is a black one (Grafalloy ProLaunch) suitable for better players who hit it high, it gives a boring flight. A yellow one (V2), which is suitable for players of all levels - an all round good shaft which will hit it a bit higher than the ProLaunch. And finally the Ping shaft whitch is orange. Not bad but the other two are better IMO.

I also really like the Titleist hybrid. There's a new one out but both it and the last model are great to hit. Smaller, neater head than the Ping. I would suggest geared toward better golfers but only slightly.

I'm sure others will have feedback on other makes/models but they're the two I've hit and liked.


As for a 3 wood we've discussed this on the board before and a couple of us agree that two clubs are head and shoulders above the rest. The Taylormade Burner (TP version? I'm not sure but you'll know the one) and the Ping G10 which I use myself.

Since I've gotten the Ping I've had lots of people comment on how nice it looks. Very tidy look to it and really simple in it's design. Nice off the deck and tee. Again, the three options of shaft. Slight bias toward the lower half of the handicap spectrum.
The Taylormade one is a savage club altogether. Seems to go miles and like the Ping, looks the biz behind the ball. It has a bigger and deeper head than the Ping so will suit higher as well as lower h'cap players.

If they're a bit out of your price range, there's a Mizuno 3 wood I saw last summer called the F-something. F-10 or F-12 possibly?. Looked really nice also but didn't get to hit it.

There's lots of good hybrids out there but for me, those two 3 woods are the best around.

DonkeyPokerTour

Here's the advise I was given, check your distance between your highest lofted club and your lowest lofted iron so say a 5 wood and a 4 iron. Hit 10 balls with each and take the average. If for arguments sake you hit your 4 iron 160 and your 5 wood 170 then there is no need for a hybrid. On the other hand if you hit your 4 iron 160 and your 5 wood 200 you need something to bridge the gap. Its a this point you should look at hybrids or a 7wood.

A lot of people assume that if your 4 iron is 20degrees then you should get an 18degree hybrid. This in many cases can be incorrect. A hybrid will hit the ball further than an iron with the same loft. And what your looking for is a club that will bridge the gap between your 5 wood and your 4 iron, so in the above example you want a club that you hit approx ~180. I play with 3 people regularly who are low handicappers (8, 6 and 2), they all have hybrids with the same loft as their iron.

The best advise I can give you is to go to a range/you local pro shop where you can try out one or more hybrids before buying.

PhilipMarlowe

I used to carry the 18* rapture and it was much closer to a 3 wood than I imagined it was going to be. Also, the lower lofted hybrids will be more difficult to hit, especially out of semi-rough.
I changed mine to a taylor made 22* which is much easier to hit and for me carries the ball 10 yards longer than my 3 iron so it bridges the gap between the longest iron and my 3 wood.
I do have a custom shaft in it too....

My 3 wood is the above mentioned Taylor Made TP 3 wood which is a fantastic club. My friend who is also a 4 handicapper also has the non-TP version and he loves it too. The TP has a smaller, shallower face and will look more open which is exactly what I was looking for.

You really need to try out clubs yourself and see what suits your eye. If you don't like the look of it you won't have the confidence to hit it well.

The advice above about knowing your distances is very good too... I know how far I carry my 3 iron and 3 wood when I hit my average shot so it was easy to get the hybrid to slot into the gap (though if it was slightly stronger it would be more in the middle).
Plus, for me, it's a great club to lay up on a par 5 because it's so easy to hit a good distance even out a moderate lie which is why I dropped my 5 wood for a hybrid originally.

stockdam

I bought a 21 deg Taylormade R5 Hybrid and I will use it instead of my 3 iron or 4 iron.

I don't play enough to be able to hit my 3 iron the way I used to and have so far found the hybrid to be much easier plus I can fade or draw it easier.

1stuey1

i am personally a very hard hitter but i rarley touch the 3/4 iron. i can hit the hybrid 230 -250 no problem the only time i get the 3 or 4 out is if i feel my lie is not suitable for the hybrid and iv no problems scoring wise not using the 3-4 iron. depends on the person