Funny how hybrids are boon or bust....

[BlackGumbo]

Gaming 4 and 5 Adams A12 hybrids.

 

The 4 works pretty darn good. Often enough, real good. While the 5 seems impossible to get a decent straight shot!! the only time I have ever hit it straight were a few range balls...

 

really drives me crazy.

Both are identical models and flex. May just have to put the 5-iron back in the bag...lol.

[fozcycle]

I have the #3 & #4 Nike VR Pro Hybrids......#3 185 yds & # 4 170 yds......

 

 

I also use them on long putts when I am off the green only a couple feet and have a long putt......Holed one out recently for Birdie on a Par 3!

 

The 3H is also my goto club when trying to get out from under a tree.

 

Very dependable.

[Mr_Theoo]

I have benched my hybrid because I cant hit it well enough to depend on.

[BlackGumbo]

maybe its a swing weight thing. #4 good. and 6-iron just fine. just one of those things I guess. will have to spend some good range time with it.

[fozcycle]

Just remember to swing them like an iron, not a fairway wood.

[Hula Rock]

..... What Fozcycle said you have to hit em like an iron and not a fairway wood. My Adams 23 degree A-12 pro is MONEY if I need 220 yards and to land soft.

[revkev]

From personal experience the more lofted hybrids take a bit of getting used to but once you do they are awesome - easy to hit high - if you play in windy conditions, particularly dry and windy conditions they aren't always the best club choice.

 

As Foz said you have to remember they are irons - you hit the 5 hybrid like its a 7 iron.

 

Good luck

[BlackGumbo]

yes on hitting like an Iron even use the same "thought" when hitting a 3w off the grass.

if nothing else, it helps the mental aspect.

 

What happens with the #5 hybrid is an ugly, ugly slice. unlike anything else. even the occasional #4 hybrid or Iron slice is nowhere near as severe,not even close.

makes me really wonder if there could be something wrong with the shaft or??

[BIG STU]

I have been experimenting with the hybrids for a couple of years now. I have not seriously put one into play until recently. It is a older TM rescue. We did jack around with the adjuster some today when practicing. I like hitting the cut shot anyhow. I did notice that when I put it on UN (upright neutral) that I hit a terrible hook that I could not control. Needless to say I put it back on just plain neutral.I cant seem to hit it low enough from any position to get it under the trees like Foz does. I carry a old Dynacraft forged blade 5 iron for that. My other go to long fairway club is the 7 wood. I can hit a variety of shots with it from a high soft 180 cut to a bullet screamer that will go 190 or so depending on the hardness of the fairway. I am kinda learning the hybrid still so to speak

[BIG STU]

I have the #3 & #4 Nike VR Pro Hybrids......#3 185 yds & # 4 170 yds......

 

 

I also use them on long putts when I am off the green only a couple feet and have a long putt......Holed one out recently for Birdie on a Par 3!

 

The 3H is also my goto club when trying to get out from under a tree.

 

Very dependable.

Foz what are the degrees on those two hybrids you have? I know my rescue is marked 22 and they say it is a 4 hybrid. there is only one degree difference in it compaired to my 7 wood but the hybrid has a softer shaft and for that reason I don't hit it as far as the 7 wood but distance wise it fits the gap I was looking for. I have a couple of other hybrids one is a PRG it is marked 5 and is 24* and an Old Loco marked 5 at 25*. The Loco hits further than the TM or the PRG but it is because it has a Harrison Striper shaft. I hit the Loco good but it does not fulfill my distance and shot needs. I can hit a high cut with the TM and stop it the Loco is hot and there is only one way to hit it and that is full bore and I am trying to get away from that full bore swing

[wbealsd]

I just started experimenting with hybrids this year (of course prior to that I was playing Cleveland HB3s, so in a sense EVERYTHING was a hybrid - lol).

 

I'm finding an old Cleveland 21* 3 Hybrid works well for me as a replacement for my 5 wood off the fairway and MUCH more reliable than anything else in consistently getting out of thick rough.

[Sluggo42]

I hit a ping i20 hybrid, 20* instead of a 3 iron. It's a nice 200 yard club that will turn either way, and also lands softly. I'll hit that anyday over a 3 iron because I can hit it pretty regularly. Can't say that about a 3 iron...

[whiskey golf]

I currently game a Titleist 910 21 degree hybrid as a 3 iron replacement. I went off it for a bit and started using a 2 iron and thought it was a good choice but it's only because it worked good on my home course because of the hard conditions but once I used it on softer conditions it wasn't good, not a lot of carry. So I went back to the hybrid and I think it'll work out better although it's not as accurate as the 2 iron which is unfortunate.

[MattF]

I just benched my custom made Acer XF hybrids (KBS Hybrid shafts) and bagged my older Cobra DWS & TWS bafflers. We'll see how they go because I'm just not feeling the Acers right now.

[BlackGumbo]

Had good results with the 5hybrid this morning at the range.

really just amounted too standing to far away - and some kind of cross between a iron and driver swing plane, lol.

 

went back to basics at addressing the ball...

Aha! club head was 2 to 3 inches away when the club was lowered to the ground.

fixed that, kept good eye-focus/head down, easy backswing and result was some decent to very decent hits.

 

funny, how hard that I had to work at this with the 5 than the 4. OTOH, maybe I was just lucky with the 4.

[ZenGolfer]

For me, hybrids were always bust. I recently decided to switch back to long irons and have been happy with it.

I still dont hit my 4-iron as high as Id like to but its usually a very straight shot that is reliable as long as I dont have to fly the ball over an obstacle.

With hybrids, I really never knew where the ball was going to go.

[BlackGumbo]

Regular flex here.

 

In the past, have played with "building" drivers and 3w, etc. Sometimes with stiff shafts. Not an Ego thing, lol. Just messing around.

 

My irons are Regular flex steel and seem to work very well, when I do my part, and I get "proper" distances.

 

today I pulled off a low and long shot with the 5Hy needed it low to clear branches and it went much further than I expected.

But, this morning I went to the Range and got a 15 minute 'demo lesson" from the pro, which helped in the how-to aspect.

[Shambles]

Hybrids were a horror for me and it took a while to make them useful to my game. I always considered them woods and found them too heavy and short of shaft. However a couple of years of messing with them and comparing them to alternatives, mostly long irons and fairways, found a place in my bag for them at the cost of my long irons and threatening my fairways.

 

They are simply so much easier to use than the long irons in so many more situations, and serve some fairway situations better than the fairway. Overall, I'd say they have their uses and I just have to make up for the changes by making my mid irons work more.

 

 

Shambles

[rickkimbrell]

I have carried a 3 hybrid for about 5 years. I used to carry a 1-iron, 2-iron, 3-iron and so on and loved to hit them all, including the 1-iron. But, as I have gotten older and it seems like the rough at courses I play has gotten deeper, I started adding more wedges and dropping longer irons. Then I added the 3hybrid dropping the 3-iron. I played a Lynx 3hybrid for the past 3 years and loved it. Only reason I switched this year to the TM RBZ (I play RBZ driver and 3wood) was because I am playing everything else TM except my putter and that Lynx. I liked the RBZ 3H so well that I dropped the 4-iron and added the RBZ 4H. Now I'm debating on doing the same with the 5. The TM RBZ is so easy to hit and I can hit the ball much higher. Today, I was faced with a shot from the rough with a tree in my way that normally would have required me to try to hit a cut (which I do not do well) around the tree, over a ditch and onto the green. I took out the 4H, opened my stance a little and the club just a slight bit and flew it pretty much dead over the tree to the center of the green. A shot that last year...no way that I could have done that.

My only regret, I am going to start looking like the old guys I used to make fun of who had all the wood covers in their bags. Oh well, I AM OLD now.

[jb57]

I got to play my first round with new custom fit PING G25 irons 5-U. I'm getting used to them, but what a difference! I purchased Taylormade ATV wedges, and those are proving to be quite nice as well. My wife booked me a round at Avila Beach Golf Resort. Deer all over, and a pretty challenging course for a higher handicapper like me. There were some tight passages, and some BIG water you had to drive over. A little intimidating, as the tourists love to stand and watch you give it a whack, hoping your ball plunks into the water! I made it over, but must admit, I lost a couple of balls first.

 

Now on the subject of hybrids, I picked up, almost like new, PING G15-17*, G20-20*, and G20-23* hybrids to go with my new irons. I checked the serial numbers and they are the real deal. Demos, exactly my fit! I had to work with them at the range a couple of times, but I couldn't be more happy with these hybrids. Yep, I know, they look like a swollen toe, but they work! In fact, I've found my new "favorite" club. It's the G15-17* 2H. I don't carry any woods at all, just my driver, irons, wedges, putter, and the three hybrids.

 

The G15-17* is a champ! I can use it to tee off on tight fairways, or narrow, tree lined tee boxes. I can hit it about 230+ yards on a good strike, which is fine for me. I used it many times during the round to get me to the green on the second shot. It was nice! I was a little worried about it, but once I got it dialed in, I really started to trust it. The part I really love about the G15, and the G20's for that matter, is that with the shape being more like an iron, I go for knock down shots with confidence. Where with a traditional, wood type hybrid, I might not. They play great off of tight lies, glide well through rough, even play from a good lie in the sand.

 

I found myself under some trees, low hanging branches, with about 210 yards to go, and told my partner "watch this shot"... I leaned the shaft forward, had the ball back in my stance and let it fly. The ball sailed under the branches, took a slight fade and landed about 20 feet off the green! LOL It was probably a little luck, but I went for it like I knew what I was doing. He was like "dang, nice shot"!

 

If you can stand the "look" and haven't tried the G15-G20 PING hybrids, you can pick them up cheap right now. Give 'em a chance, you might like them.

[BIG STU]

I have carried a 3 hybrid for about 5 years. I used to carry a 1-iron, 2-iron, 3-iron and so on and loved to hit them all, including the 1-iron. But, as I have gotten older and it seems like the rough at courses I play has gotten deeper, I started adding more wedges and dropping longer irons. Then I added the 3hybrid dropping the 3-iron. I played a Lynx 3hybrid for the past 3 years and loved it. Only reason I switched this year to the TM RBZ (I play RBZ driver and 3wood) was because I am playing everything else TM except my putter and that Lynx. I liked the RBZ 3H so well that I dropped the 4-iron and added the RBZ 4H. Now I'm debating on doing the same with the 5. The TM RBZ is so easy to hit and I can hit the ball much higher. Today, I was faced with a shot from the rough with a tree in my way that normally would have required me to try to hit a cut (which I do not do well) around the tree, over a ditch and onto the green. I took out the 4H, opened my stance a little and the club just a slight bit and flew it pretty much dead over the tree to the center of the green. A shot that last year...no way that I could have done that.

My only regret, I am going to start looking like the old guys I used to make fun of who had all the wood covers in their bags. Oh well, I AM OLD now.

That's a fact Jack I am the same way I was carrying a 1 Iron up to a few weeks ago myself. I can still hit it but not as consistant. I have been carrying a 7 wood on and off for 3 years or so now and I love it. The 5 hybrid I am still trying to get the feel for. I am probably going to go down to my friends shop today and get a Infiniti 5 iron head to match my set and try that The 7 wood is definetly in the bag for good because I can hit a variety of shots with it and have all the confidence in the world with it. The taylor 22* shaft cracked where it was buggered up and I am thinking about putting a S300 steel in it because it is my standard iron shaft depending on if I can drill the adaptor out. I am like you getting older but thank the good Lord everyday when I wake up on "the right side of the dirt"