are you sure you need a hybrid ?

[Topline]

For about the past 10 years, depending on the course,  I rotated in and out of the bag either a 20* - 22* hybrid or a 21* 3-iron. For the past 6 months I switched to carrying the 3-iron exclusively, so the hybrid was never within the bag.

From my swing , flat terrain- sea level- no wind, the 3-iron carries 190-195 , medium trajectory, lots of bounce and roll.

I've found my 3-iron shot to be useful for narrow par 4 tee boxes, 2nd shot par 5 lay-ups, and (if there is room to land short and bounce-roll to the middle of the green), 210-220 par 3 tee box shots.

My 5 fairway metal is more versatile than the 3-iron. With the 20*  5 wood, if I open the face a touch, and grip down a bit at address, I can strike high trajectory shots from the fairway to carry 190 to 200, and from the rough the trajectory is a bit lower, with more bounce and roll, depending on the how bad the lie in the rough carry can be in the 180-190 range.From the tee box, good level fairway lie, or sitting up within the rough, my stock 5-wood is high trajectory with carry of about 210-215. So, the modern 5-wood is versatile.

When hybrids were first introduced, about 20 years ago, it was at a time when 3-irons were built with little forgiveness.The modern 3-iron is weighted to promote a higher trajectory, and provide much more overall forgiveness, than the 3-irons of yesteryear.

.My own experience is that while I do like the high trajectory-soft landings I can get from 19*-24* hybrids, I find them a bit less consistently accurate than an irons set's 3 or 4 iron. Also, the relatively lower trajectory of a long iron can often times be a useful shot when playing from tee boxes, par 5 second shot lay ups,  or to open from greens that allow for some bounce and roll.

Some players , for their own reasons, prefer to play hybrids more so than irons, and that's great. I know a guy who often shoots par or lower and the longest iron in his bag is an 8-iron. If he could find an 8-iron loft hybrid he liked he would probably buy it.

But if a player enjoys swinging his irons, he might want to consider giving the 3 and 4 iron that come with his iron set a try, instead of automatically thinking long irons should be replaced with hybrids.

[tehuti]

Funny that you would bring this up. My irons came with no 3 or 4 iron so I just used my 3 and 4 hybrids. Unfortunately I just can't hit the 4 hybrid with any consistency. So I just got the 4 iron that matches my set. First time hitting it on the range was yesterday. But I'm confident I'll have better luck with it than I do with the hybrid.

 

 

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[revkev]

This is exactly what the pro at your course or a fitter is for.

 

I'm sure that I have the best chance to play good golf with a hybrid or two and that I would be making the game more difficult if I were to carry a traditional iron over a 6. In fact my 6 and 7 are almost in the Super GI category.

 

Most tour players carry a hybrid and the longest traditional iron in their bag is a 4 iron. That's not exclusive but it is a majority. It's an overwhelming majority on the LPGA and Champions Tour which is far more relevant for us.

 

I agree that everyone should carefully consider their equipment. Like everything the more knowledge you have the better informed you will be to make the proper choices for your game.

 

I like doing that with the help of a pro because I've made too many costly mistakes on my own and/or by following the advice of others.

 

 

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[GolfJunkie302]

I currently have up through a 4i. I gamed a hybrid for a while, but I recently got a driving iron. It goes dead straight every time and it is super predictable. So... hybrid is out. Seems like a lot of people are making the switch to DIs now.

 

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[null]

Play what works for you, makes you happy, and helps you enjoy the game the most.

[tehuti]

I currently have up through a 4i. I gamed a hybrid for a while, but I recently got a driving iron. It goes dead straight every time and it is super predictable. So... hybrid is out. Seems like a lot of people are making the switch to DIs now.

 

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I have no 5w and I replaced my 3 hybrid with an ironwood, which actually works much better for me. If the new 4 iron works out the hybrids will go away.

 

 

 

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[BIG STU]

Well here I am the odd man out again (older members expect any different from me?). I actually carry and hit long irons as in 3 4 and 5 and sometimes a 2 iron. Now I do carry a 22* hybrid as a rescue club so to speak. I use it some because I can draw mine and control it. For me it is useful out of fairway bunkers and hardpan in the rough (or woods). I can also hit a soft high cut with mine. It also does well for me out of thick rough because I do not have the SS any more to hit a blade 4 iron in that stuff. For me mine is really a versatile utility rescue club. Of course back in the day and I was even carrying and hitting a 1 iron I carried an old Northwestern Laminate 6 wood which was roughly 22*. I do not worry about distance gaps that much I keep a club for what I can do with it. In fact I roughly hit my blade 5 iron further than I do the hybrid off a good fairway lie. Even the bottom end of my bag is out of the norm for mainstream as in like a 48* PW 56* SW and 60* LW

[downlowkey]

I currently play a 4-PW set of blades. Two months ago, the 3 iron was replaced with a 21* Adams Super Proto DHY that is soooo easy to hit high and straight. The perfectly struck shots with the DHY likely won't end up inside the leather but the overall dispersion (no total clankers) is way tighter. I can also simply turn the 4 iron down a few degrees when the situation calls for a stinger trajectory. My true hybrid is a 17* Nickent 3DX and from questionable lies where 200+ yards is required, the hybrid is a no brainer. Facing the same scenario with a 3 iron in my hands... not so much. Last Summer I played 9 holes using only my hybrid (putting included) and shot a legit (+4)... point being, in my (scratch) hands, a hybrid is much more versatile than a 3 iron.

[Pharm Boy]

I just purchased a new set of irons and went 5-AW. I do game a hybrid 20* and find it so easy to hit. I recently purchased a 5 wood and also find it to help my specific setup. I think there was a thread about a month ago asking if people even still carried a 5W. That intrigued me, and I have used it plenty since adding it to the bag.

Again, I think it depends on the player.

 

 

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[HardcoreLooper]

I gave up on long irons 15 years ago, pulling out the 3 and 4 irons (Hogan Apex Plus) and replacing them with hybrids. When I got my Mizunos, I stopped at 5 iron, at the recommendation of my fitter.

 

For the Cobra Connect Challenge, my fitter convinced me to go with the 4 iron instead of a second hybrid. It really is pretty easy to hit, and I love it off the tee. It's a very low flight, however, so I do wonder how it will do on long approach shots.

[Miboy62]

I have Pw-6I and carry a 5/3 hybrid for that 2d cut plus.

I also use the 3 hybrid to punch out under trees, I can punch & roll.

Last year I had a 2 iron in the bag, but had a hard time finding a use for it.

[null]

There's also plenty of hybrids out there today that are workable. I can hit a knockdown shot with my 21 degree hybrid no problem because it's designed to be more like an iron than a wood.

 

The great part about equipment today is there is something for everyone

[fozcycle]

I am trying the opposite. I have gamed a 4 & 5 iron for many years, but with my new set, I am trying the 5 Hybrid and 6-LW....my first couple rounds, the 5 Hybrid has a hook trajectory. But changing to an open setup, the 5 Hybrid straightens out and provides a nice addition to my arsenal. I miss the 4iron, but like the addition of a LW(58*) my short game gets a new weapon.

 

 

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[g-off]

callaway divine nine 24*

[ole gray]

I love my 3 & 4 hybrids and for years carried a 2 hybrid.  Recently I picked up a Callaway Steelhead 4+ 16 degree fairway wood.   It's the best fairway wood I have ever owned, bar none!   Super easy to elevate off the turf and accurate off the tee.    I gave up long irons years ago as my swing speed says nope, not for me.. 

[russtopherb]

I can successfully hook any hybrid off the face of the planet in nearly any situation, so no, I don't really need a hybrid 

[mbrodeur86]

Funny, I got rid of my fairway woods for hybrids. I use a 2 and a 3 hybrid 16* and 19* and my 16 is much easier to hit and control. Very long too. To each his own I guess

 

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[BIG STU]

I currently play a 4-PW set of blades. Two months ago, the 3 iron was replaced with a 21* Adams Super Proto DHY that is soooo easy to hit high and straight. The perfectly struck shots with the DHY likely won't end up inside the leather but the overall dispersion (no total clankers) is way tighter. I can also simply turn the 4 iron down a few degrees when the situation calls for a stinger trajectory. My true hybrid is a 17* Nickent 3DX and from questionable lies where 200+ yards is required, the hybrid is a no brainer. Facing the same scenario with a 3 iron in my hands... not so much. Last Summer I played 9 holes using only my hybrid (putting included) and shot a legit (+4)... point being, in my (scratch) hands, a hybrid is much more versatile than a 3 iron.

You are sorta in the ball park of how my long irons are set up. I can do the knuckle over thing to hit a stinger hook. But my 3 and 4 irons are a little harder tipped to get the stinger trajectory without adjustment. Thus the 4 hybrid. When I talk about tuning my personal clubs that is what I am talking about. That is why on face value my bag set up seems quirky. Even my wedges are a little quirky. My PW is hard tipped for a little lower trajectory. With that club I can open up some and hit it higher. Really if I want to hit a high floater I will open up the 9 iron which is a little softer tipped and hit a floater. 

[BIG STU]

I can successfully hook any hybrid off the face of the planet in nearly any situation, so no, I don't really need a hybrid 

Trust me I can build you one or tune you one you will not hook---- Yeah a stock off the shelf hybrid I can hook off the planet. Took me a while of experimenting to get one where I can hit it without hooking

[PlaidJacket]

Below is my dusty collection of hybrids. So yeah... I've tried them off and on through the years but with only limited success. The only one I can say I had success with is the old TM Rescue 3 19*. The only real use it had for me was at my home course playing off the tee on a par 5 with sharp dogleg left. This club  was a dependable hooker or perhaps a hard draw. 

The clubs in the picture are from left to right:

 

TM - Rescue 3 19*

Nickent - 4 23* 3DX IW

Cobra -  4H  22* Baffler Rail H

Wishon - 3 21* 775 HS

 

 

 

 

[chisag]

... Hybrids are a like a ball sitting just off the green in the fairway. If it is at all possible to putt the ball, you should use a putter. More advanced players will want to chip as it can be more accurate if you have the skill to pull off the shot. But for most, a putter is the best option. Same thing with a hybrid. They are more forgiving, launch higher are more versatile from a myriad of lies and by and large longer than comparable irons. 

... Like Stu, I have a 21.5* hybrid I rotate in and out of my bag (in more often than out) because of it's versatility. But I will use my 19* P790 3 iron with a hybrid shaft much more often off the tee and from the fairway. I am just more accurate with a P790 long iron than a hybrid. But when my ball is sitting down in the light rough a hybrid is by far my best option and I use it occasionally around the green for chipping. 

[BIG STU]

... Hybrids are a like a ball sitting just off the green in the fairway. If it is at all possible to putt the ball, you should use a putter. More advanced players will want to chip as it can be more accurate if you have the skill to pull off the shot. But for most, a putter is the best option. Same thing with a hybrid. They are more forgiving, launch higher are more versatile from a myriad of lies and by and large longer than comparable irons. 

 

... Like Stu, I have a 21.5* hybrid I rotate in and out of my bag (in more often than out) because of it's versatility. But I will use my 19* P790 3 iron with a hybrid shaft much more often off the tee and from the fairway. I am just more accurate with a P790 long iron than a hybrid. But when my ball is sitting down in the light rough a hybrid is by far my best option and I use it occasionally around the green for chipping. 

Now that P790 3 iron with a Hybrid shaft sounds interesting. Like you I use a lofted down 3 iron off a tee on a tight hole or on certain courses carry one of my many 2 irons. I have tried the hybrid chipping thing on and off and the face seems too hot for me. I tend to do my bump and runs with a 7 iron or in some situations a belly 56* wedge. But anytime I can get that putter in my hand I am going to do it.

[BIG STU]

callaway divine nine 24*

That is also a great option. I have an older one I picked up off of one of the scrap piles at work with a ladie's shaft. I have not gotten around to selecting a shaft and reshafting it. I also have a old TM V-Steel 9 wood (24*) that i carried for a while. The only issue I see is that they are not as versatile from all lies as some hybrids are 

[BIG STU]

Below is my dusty collection of hybrids. So yeah... I've tried them off and on through the years but with only limited success. The only one I can say I had success with is the old TM Rescue 3 19*. The only real use it had for me was at my home course playing off the tee on a par 5 with sharp dogleg left. This club  was a dependable hooker or perhaps a hard draw. 

The clubs in the picture are from left to right:

 

TM - Rescue 3 19*

Nickent - 4 23* 3DX IW

Cobra -  4H  22* Baffler Rail H

Wishon - 3 21* 775 HS

 

 

20180610_081420.jpg

I have several of those old TM Rescue hybrids in 19 and 24 'Rescued" off the scrap piles at work

That Cobra looks good does not have a lot of offset

That Wishon is a nice club but is hook city for me trust me. I messed with them a lot when my friend was a Wishon dealer. You can not put enough lead tape in the toe to prevent me from hooking that off the planet

[chisag]

Now that P790 3 iron with a Hybrid shaft sounds interesting. Like you I use a lofted down 3 iron off a tee on a tight hole or on certain courses carry one of my many 2 irons. I have tried the hybrid chipping thing on and off and the face seems too hot for me. I tend to do my bump and runs with a 7 iron or in some situations a belly 56* wedge. But anytime I can get that putter in my hand I am going to do it.

 

 

... Due to the crazy lofts on current clubs, especially distance irons, my P790 3 iron really is a 2 iron at 19*. And the P790 UDi 2 iron selling like crazy really is a 1 iron at 17*. And it isn't very often I use a hybrid off the green, usually for a downhill shot I need to just get on the green thru the uneven terrain or when the pin is just on the green and I need to get it over iffy fairway grass as it tends to skip initially then roll. 

[BIG STU]

... Due to the crazy lofts on current clubs, especially distance irons, my P790 3 iron really is a 2 iron at 19*. And the P790 UDi 2 iron selling like crazy really is a 1 iron at 17*. And it isn't very often I use a hybrid off the green, usually for a downhill shot I need to just get on the green thru the uneven terrain or when the pin is just on the green and I need to get it over iffy fairway grass as it tends to skip initially then roll. 

Most of my blade 3 irons I have bent to 19* Most of my 2 irons are bent to 17*. Those VIPs in my signature the 3 iron is at 20* but then again I know how to deloft

[ksgolfer141]

I use my Cobra Baffler 21 degree hybrid a lot. A course I play a lot I use it off the tee on 4 or 5 different holes. Back when I had a 3 iron I definitely trusted the hybrid more then my 3. I just recently bought a new iron set and it's only 4 iron through PW. Trying to decide how to finish off the longer clubs in my bag. Currently have a 15 degree Titleist 3 wood from about 10 years ago or more and then the Cobra hybrid which is also about 10 years old or more.

 

The 2 iron or driving iron just looks so awesome when you see a better player hit one but at my current handicap level (13.9) I'm not sure it's for me. Will probably get another 3 or 5 wood and then another hybrid. I really need to fix my wedge setup. My PW is a 46 and then next wedge is a 54 then 60. Just too big of gap between 54 and 46. Between 100 yds and 130 is tough.

[BIG STU]

You would've luved one of these while we were still making them.

 

I will keep that in mind when looking through the scrap bins and piles at work you never know what will turn up.

[RoverRick]

Am I sure I need a hybrid? Absolutely. And you probably do too. Since most of the Tour Pros have them and even Tiger has one, then you probably should also.

 

Now wait a minute. Tiger does have one. Although this goes to the definition of what is a hybrid.

 

There were originally two types of hybrids. One base on a fairway wood (metal) and one based on an iron. One of the fist iron based hybrids that I used was the Mizuno MP-FLI Hi, maybe 12 years ago. This club is still in my bag although it has had many shafts in it. There are plenty of other club makers who have these also, Ping calls theirs Crossovers and TM calls theirs UDI. But it's the same principle. A higher speed steel face and a hollow body that creates more ball speed.

 

This technology started out in the long irons, but many have the complete set based on that now. The MP H4 and MP H5 are the ones I'm the most familiar with, but that's because I am obviously a Mizuno fan.

 

I also have SLDR 3H and 4H, but like many of you I have to guard against the pull more with these. Yes, because they are longer shafts and a "wood" like design the go farther, but, honestly, I am a bit afraid of them and am leaning more towards going back to the FLI HI's.

 

I have both in the bag to take to the range tomorrow and will probably have at least the 4 in the bag this weekend if not both the 3 and the 4.

 

I sometimes carry the MP FLI HI 2 but currently don't have plans to do so right now. I have to either replace a wedge or the 3 wood.

 

I also have the 3 and 4 irons from the set and there is no comparison between a true 3 iron and an iron hybrid, FLI HI, Crossover, UDI or what ever you want to call it.

[chisag]

Now that P790 3 iron with a Hybrid shaft sounds interesting. Like you I use a lofted down 3 iron off a tee on a tight hole or on certain courses carry one of my many 2 irons. I have tried the hybrid chipping thing on and off and the face seems too hot for me. I tend to do my bump and runs with a 7 iron or in some situations a belly 56* wedge. But anytime I can get that putter in my hand I am going to do it.

 

 

... I was thinking about this yesterday when I had a ball just off the green and rolled it to a tap in, but I realized I do not chip with a hybrid, I putt with one. I have never chipped using a hybrid, i just choke up and take a normal putting stroke and obviously use my putter grip. The advantage is if the area you are putting over is a little spotty, the hybrid will initially elevate the ball over most of the irregular surface and then start rolling on the green. I know some do chip with a hybrid, I just never have.