Boccieri Heavy Hybrid Review

In an industry that seems to be moving towards lightweight equipment, Boccieri Golf is a non-conformist. By introducing the Heavy Putter and Heavy Wedge, they made it known that they believed a little extra heft was a good thing. 2011 has brought growth for Boccieri in the form of an expanded line of equipment. One of the items they released is called the Heavy Hybrid. This club was available at the 2011 THP Demo Day and over 50 golfers had a chance to hit it and give their thoughts about it. You can read them here. It seemed like every time I walked down the range, I was talking to somebody else that was pleasantly surprised by Boccieri’s offerings. Due to a busy schedule at Demo Day, I wasn’t able to swing the Heavy hybrid, so I was quite intrigued when I saw it arrive at my house for a review. I hate to say it, but I’m picky when it comes to hybrids, especially since I always seem to have one in my hand. How did the Heavy hold up to this hybrid snob’s expectations? Take a moment to read on and see if I shared the feelings of our forum members.

Technical Info from Boccieri Golf
• Designed to be a substitute for the long irons in the Heavy Iron set. Increased head mass in conjunction with a 50 gram backweight and a finished length of 40 inches keep the Heavy Hybrid in concert with the Heavy Irons for improved control. We have selected the Aldila NVS Hybrid 85 gram shaft to stay within the correct shaft profile to maintain a consistent feel throughout the set.

• All Boccieri Golf clubs are designed with one specific criteria – to improve a golfer’s consistency. The design of the Control Series golf clubs incorporates an increased head weight to maximize force at impact and an exclusive backweight system installed in the grip end of the shaft to raise the balance point for increased club head speed. These perfectly balanced golf clubs improve body mechanics resulting in greater distance and control.

Unboxing
The first thing that greeted my eyes upon opening the box from Boccieri Golf was the very bright green butt-end of the grip. The rest of the grip was black and this sort of set the stage for the color scheme of the Heavy Hybrid. The Aldila NVS shaft is black with bright green design and the top of the club head uses the same shade as an alignment aid. In all honesty, I just didn’t love the green and black at first. Looking back, I think it due to the simple fact that it’s different than everything I’m used to seeing in golf equipment. There isn’t a lot of green out there, but as I write this today I can say that I’ve warmed up to it quite a bit. The sole of the Heavy has a very simple design that is a bit forgettable, but not unattractive. The club head itself is on the smaller side and there isn’t much offset. It sets up nicely to the ball and is really attractive to my eye at address. In all, I’d say the Heavy is pretty average in the looks department. The styling isn’t great, but the shape of the head and lack of offset is something that I liked quite a bit. As a side note, I wish the Heavy line of clubs came with better headcovers. They are of the zipper variety and just don’t do these clubs any justice. That’s a small nit to pick, but it’s something I thought about almost every time I pulled the hybrid out of my bag.

If you’re wondering about the weight of the Heavy hybrid, I must say that it’s not really something I thought about much after the initial unboxing. At first, it did seem a bit heavier in hand than other clubs, especially towards the grip, but it really just wasn’t that apparent after I took some swings. I don’t doubt that there are some folks who would notice it more than me, but I didn’t think about the weight one time while playing it on the course. The technology in these hybrids is pretty interesting, but the one thing I’m most interested in is how a club works.

The last aesthetic piece of information I’ll share is regarding the sound or feel of the Heavy Hybrid. First off, the sound at impact was quite pleasing to my ear. It bordered in-between a metallic ‘ting’ and a deeper crack and was something I was pretty fond of. Well struck shots felt solid off the face and there was some feedback in the hands on poor shots. Nothing harsh, but I was able to get an idea of where I was missing when I did.

Performance
I’ve put the Heavy Hybrid through the ringer in the last few weeks. As mentioned earlier, I always seem to have a hybrid in my hand, so during the testing process I made sure that it was the Heavy Hybrid if at all possible. I look for hybrids to be a mix between a long iron replacement, a fairway finding club off the tee, and the club I use to get out of trouble. I also want a predictable ball flight that gets up in the air enough to allow me to hold a green.

The Heavy reacted in a way that I’ve come to require from my hybrids. The club I tested came in 20° loft and the ball flight was medium-high for the most part, though it did border on high occasionally. This is typical for me from this loft and the Heavy fit right in. I was able to shoot for a green and hold it, though I did get a small amount of roll out from where the ball landed. Distance wise, the Heavy was not the longest hybrid I’ve tested, but it wasn’t far off. It fit fine in the gap I used it for in my bag, which was previously held by a similarly lofted club.

My typical ball flight is a fade with longer clubs, though I can throw a straight ball into the mix as well. The Heavy hybrid performed both shots well, and equally important, didn’t really want to go left on me. I was able to pull a few shots, but there was no hooking to speak of. I found it extremely predictable and was able to set myself up to hit targets with a very reasonable degree of accuracy. The first few range sessions actually left me very surprised. I was hitting the ball with much more accuracy than I expected and seemed to hit the center of the club face more often than normal. Was that a product of the back-weighting? That’s tough to say, but it happened and I liked it a lot.

As for versatility, the Heavy hybrid definitely has it. I used it off the tee and from the fairway, but it seems that I hit it most often from the rough. My ball flight dropped a bit from the thick stuff, but I was able to extract the ball quite easily. One shot that I really grew fond of during this review was punching out of the trees. Not to say I like hitting from the trees, but it is a fact of life in my world. I was able to keep the ball very low if I wanted to or hit it a bit higher if I wasn’t in a horrible spot. I exclusively used a lower lofted iron for this task in the past, but the Heavy’s ability to control height earned it the right to be my punching club of choice going forward.

Summary
Pleasantly surprised. That’s the phrase I heard over and over from our 2011 Demo Day attendees and it was the prevailing thought I had after spending time with the Heavy Hybrid. I was pleased with the consistency and versatility from this club and think it could easily find a spot in my bag. It’s more that worth giving a try if you have the chance. Different can be good, and in this case, it is. Check out Boccieri Golf’s website if you’d like some detailed information on the technology behind their products. Results are all that matter and they made a believer out of me. If you’re interested in giving one of thees a swing, fine e-tailers like Blind9 Golf can help you out. Thanks for reading today and I wish you the best of luck on the course this year.

Ryan H.

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Ryan Hawk
Editor and writer Ryan Hawk lives in northwestern Illinois with his fiance and son. He's been a writer for The Hackers Paradise for two years and has been involved with a number of THP events.
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