jlukes' 2021 Hybrid Fitting

[jlukes 13,564]

The oldest club in my bag is my beloved Titleist 818 H2 21*.  I have it playing 20* and flat with a Tour AD DI 85x shaft. 

This hybrid doesn't go left for me.  I can hit it high and hit it low.  I can even fade it!  So of course why not see if I could replace it!

I went to my usual Golf Galaxy in Oxford Valley PA this morning with the idea that I was going to try the new Titleist hybrids to see if there was a more optimal fit.  I worked with Ben, and he was awesome. Unfortunately they didn't have any X flex hybrid shafts in their fitting cart, but that didn't matter as I wanted to try the heads in my AD DI shaft anyway.

The last I had checked on a launch monitor (sometime early last year) my H2 carried about 225-230, but I wanted to see if we could get the number closer to a more consistent 230.  To give a little better gapping.

After I got in some warmup swings with my current setup we started off with the natural fit - the TSi3 20* head.  For some reason I just couldn't find the middle of the face.  Everything was low on the face and was spinning up over 4k.  When I did hit it higher on the face it was out towards the toe.  We moved the weight to the toe which helped a bit, but I still couldn't strike the ball well.  Carry was sitting at 215-220 with around 4000 spin.  We tried the flat setting and it really didn't improve things.  We were both scratching our heads, but we figured we would try the 18* head to see what would happen.

The 18* head was an absolute beast.  Too much so.  I was finding the center of the face with a nice draft and it was carrying 235.  We put the weight in the toe and all of a sudden I was carrying it almost 240!  That sounds great, but that is not the number I want to hit with my hybrid.  If I went into the fitting without knowing exactly what I wanted, I would have walked out with the 18* TSi3 hybrid in a heartbeat.  It was spinning around 3200-3400 and it was long.  But I didn't want long.  I wanted 230.  I wanted something that spun around 3500.  

We went back to my setup, the 818 H2 at 20* in the flat setting and it was autopilot.  228-231 yards, 3400-3600 spin.  I hit the high fade and the stock baby draw.

What more could you ask for.

Just for fun we tried a few others.

Ping G425 was awful for me.  Set up entirely too closed and I could not hit it.  It looks brutal at address and gave me no confidence.

TaylorMade Sim2 19.5* -  Head looked more similar to the H2, sat nice.  Carried it about 225, but the spin was way up - sitting around 3900-4200.  Was not a fan of the feel at impact of this one.

Went back to my setup for 3 last shots - 230 yard carry baby draw, 224 yard carry high fade, 231 yard carry baby draw.

Ben said "When it fits, it fits"

Really enjoyed working with Ben as he clearly knew what worked and what didnt and he didn't try to push me into anything that wasn't performing as well.

I am sorry this might not have been the ending most were hoping for, but I wanted to share this hybrid fitting experience because hybrid fittings should not be about maxing out yardage - they should be like an iron fitting: hitting yardages, covering gaps, and hitting the different shapes you need.

I am more than happy to keep my 818 H2 in the bag for at least another season.

 

 

[StrokerAce 11,148]

29 minutes ago, jlukes said:

The oldest club in my bag is my beloved Titleist 818 H2 21*.  I have it playing 20* and flat with a Tour AD DI 85x shaft. 

This hybrid doesn't go left for me.  I can hit it high and hit it low.  I can even fade it!  So of course why not see if I could replace it!

I went to my usual Golf Galaxy in Oxford Valley PA this morning with the idea that I was going to try the new Titleist hybrids to see if there was a more optimal fit.  I worked with Ben, and he was awesome. Unfortunately they didn't have any X flex hybrid shafts in their fitting cart, but that didn't matter as I wanted to try the heads in my AD DI shaft anyway.

The last I had checked on a launch monitor (sometime early last year) my H2 carried about 225-230, but I wanted to see if we could get the number closer to a more consistent 230.  To give a little better gapping.

After I got in some warmup swings with my current setup we started off with the natural fit - the TSi3 20* head.  For some reason I just couldn't find the middle of the face.  Everything was low on the face and was spinning up over 4k.  When I did hit it higher on the face it was out towards the toe.  We moved the weight to the toe which helped a bit, but I still couldn't strike the ball well.  Carry was sitting at 215-220 with around 4000 spin.  We tried the flat setting and it really didn't improve things.  We were both scratching our heads, but we figured we would try the 18* head to see what would happen.

The 18* head was an absolute beast.  Too much so.  I was finding the center of the face with a nice draft and it was carrying 235.  We put the weight in the toe and all of a sudden I was carrying it almost 240!  That sounds great, but that is not the number I want to hit with my hybrid.  If I went into the fitting without knowing exactly what I wanted, I would have walked out with the 18* TSi3 hybrid in a heartbeat.  It was spinning around 3200-3400 and it was long.  But I didn't want long.  I wanted 230.  I wanted something that spun around 3500.  

We went back to my setup, the 818 H2 at 20* in the flat setting and it was autopilot.  228-231 yards, 3400-3600 spin.  I hit the high fade and the stock baby draw.

What more could you ask for.

Just for fun we tried a few others.

Ping G425 was awful for me.  Set up entirely too closed and I could not hit it.  It looks brutal at address and gave me no confidence.

TaylorMade Sim2 19.5* -  Head looked more similar to the H2, sat nice.  Carried it about 225, but the spin was way up - sitting around 3900-4200.  Was not a fan of the feel at impact of this one.

Went back to my setup for 3 last shots - 230 yard carry baby draw, 224 yard carry high fade, 231 yard carry baby draw.

Ben said "When it fits, it fits"

Really enjoyed working with Ben as he clearly knew what worked and what didnt and he didn't try to push me into anything that wasn't performing as well.

I am sorry this might not have been the ending most were hoping for, but I wanted to share this hybrid fitting experience because hybrid fittings should not be about maxing out yardage - they should be like an iron fitting: hitting yardages, covering gaps, and hitting the different shapes you need.

I am more than happy to keep my 818 H2 in the bag for at least another season.

 

 

that's a sweet shaft! 

sounds like you have a great combo there. 

[hartrick11 567]

Nice to get a confirmation that what you have is working. I have the 818 H2 at 19 and am really getting along with it as well but like you it is the oldest club in my bag and I am restless.

Was the TSi2 too large and/or left-prone to consider?

[Nolan220 736]

50 minutes ago, jlukes said:

The oldest club in my bag is my beloved Titleist 818 H2 21*.  I have it playing 20* and flat with a Tour AD DI 85x shaft. 

This hybrid doesn't go left for me.  I can hit it high and hit it low.  I can even fade it!  So of course why not see if I could replace it!

I went to my usual Golf Galaxy in Oxford Valley PA this morning with the idea that I was going to try the new Titleist hybrids to see if there was a more optimal fit.  I worked with Ben, and he was awesome. Unfortunately they didn't have any X flex hybrid shafts in their fitting cart, but that didn't matter as I wanted to try the heads in my AD DI shaft anyway.

The last I had checked on a launch monitor (sometime early last year) my H2 carried about 225-230, but I wanted to see if we could get the number closer to a more consistent 230.  To give a little better gapping.

After I got in some warmup swings with my current setup we started off with the natural fit - the TSi3 20* head.  For some reason I just couldn't find the middle of the face.  Everything was low on the face and was spinning up over 4k.  When I did hit it higher on the face it was out towards the toe.  We moved the weight to the toe which helped a bit, but I still couldn't strike the ball well.  Carry was sitting at 215-220 with around 4000 spin.  We tried the flat setting and it really didn't improve things.  We were both scratching our heads, but we figured we would try the 18* head to see what would happen.

The 18* head was an absolute beast.  Too much so.  I was finding the center of the face with a nice draft and it was carrying 235.  We put the weight in the toe and all of a sudden I was carrying it almost 240!  That sounds great, but that is not the number I want to hit with my hybrid.  If I went into the fitting without knowing exactly what I wanted, I would have walked out with the 18* TSi3 hybrid in a heartbeat.  It was spinning around 3200-3400 and it was long.  But I didn't want long.  I wanted 230.  I wanted something that spun around 3500.  

We went back to my setup, the 818 H2 at 20* in the flat setting and it was autopilot.  228-231 yards, 3400-3600 spin.  I hit the high fade and the stock baby draw.

What more could you ask for.

Just for fun we tried a few others.

Ping G425 was awful for me.  Set up entirely too closed and I could not hit it.  It looks brutal at address and gave me no confidence.

TaylorMade Sim2 19.5* -  Head looked more similar to the H2, sat nice.  Carried it about 225, but the spin was way up - sitting around 3900-4200.  Was not a fan of the feel at impact of this one.

Went back to my setup for 3 last shots - 230 yard carry baby draw, 224 yard carry high fade, 231 yard carry baby draw.

Ben said "When it fits, it fits"

Really enjoyed working with Ben as he clearly knew what worked and what didnt and he didn't try to push me into anything that wasn't performing as well.

I am sorry this might not have been the ending most were hoping for, but I wanted to share this hybrid fitting experience because hybrid fittings should not be about maxing out yardage - they should be like an iron fitting: hitting yardages, covering gaps, and hitting the different shapes you need.

I am more than happy to keep my 818 H2 in the bag for at least another season.

 

 

Same thing with my taylormade rescue it just fits the best and I can play different shots with it .. I feel like it is losing distance so I been working in the Ben hogan that I tested for MGS .. but I just keep coming back to the TM..

[Lacassem 10,099]

1 hour ago, jlukes said:

The oldest club in my bag is my beloved Titleist 818 H2 21*.  I have it playing 20* and flat with a Tour AD DI 85x shaft. 

This hybrid doesn't go left for me.  I can hit it high and hit it low.  I can even fade it!  So of course why not see if I could replace it!

I went to my usual Golf Galaxy in Oxford Valley PA this morning with the idea that I was going to try the new Titleist hybrids to see if there was a more optimal fit.  I worked with Ben, and he was awesome. Unfortunately they didn't have any X flex hybrid shafts in their fitting cart, but that didn't matter as I wanted to try the heads in my AD DI shaft anyway.

The last I had checked on a launch monitor (sometime early last year) my H2 carried about 225-230, but I wanted to see if we could get the number closer to a more consistent 230.  To give a little better gapping.

After I got in some warmup swings with my current setup we started off with the natural fit - the TSi3 20* head.  For some reason I just couldn't find the middle of the face.  Everything was low on the face and was spinning up over 4k.  When I did hit it higher on the face it was out towards the toe.  We moved the weight to the toe which helped a bit, but I still couldn't strike the ball well.  Carry was sitting at 215-220 with around 4000 spin.  We tried the flat setting and it really didn't improve things.  We were both scratching our heads, but we figured we would try the 18* head to see what would happen.

The 18* head was an absolute beast.  Too much so.  I was finding the center of the face with a nice draft and it was carrying 235.  We put the weight in the toe and all of a sudden I was carrying it almost 240!  That sounds great, but that is not the number I want to hit with my hybrid.  If I went into the fitting without knowing exactly what I wanted, I would have walked out with the 18* TSi3 hybrid in a heartbeat.  It was spinning around 3200-3400 and it was long.  But I didn't want long.  I wanted 230.  I wanted something that spun around 3500.  

We went back to my setup, the 818 H2 at 20* in the flat setting and it was autopilot.  228-231 yards, 3400-3600 spin.  I hit the high fade and the stock baby draw.

What more could you ask for.

Just for fun we tried a few others.

Ping G425 was awful for me.  Set up entirely too closed and I could not hit it.  It looks brutal at address and gave me no confidence.

TaylorMade Sim2 19.5* -  Head looked more similar to the H2, sat nice.  Carried it about 225, but the spin was way up - sitting around 3900-4200.  Was not a fan of the feel at impact of this one.

Went back to my setup for 3 last shots - 230 yard carry baby draw, 224 yard carry high fade, 231 yard carry baby draw.

Ben said "When it fits, it fits"

Really enjoyed working with Ben as he clearly knew what worked and what didnt and he didn't try to push me into anything that wasn't performing as well.

I am sorry this might not have been the ending most were hoping for, but I wanted to share this hybrid fitting experience because hybrid fittings should not be about maxing out yardage - they should be like an iron fitting: hitting yardages, covering gaps, and hitting the different shapes you need.

I am more than happy to keep my 818 H2 in the bag for at least another season.

 

 

"If it aint broke dont fix it". Glad you got confirmation on everything.

[rbsiedsc 1,929]

looks like a sweet setup. @Sub70 offers that shaft now. Makes me wonder if i could talk them and if that setup would help me gain a little more yardage out as my 3H is close in yardage to my 4i.