Yonex EZONE Hybrid - Forum Testing Review

[mdbuschsr]

Heck I can't wait til my next round with jefrazie... Hint, hint... Perhaps I'll get to swing the Yonex a time or two, and forget to put it back in his bag :confused2:

 

[Kmac]

Heck I can't wait til my next round with jefrazie... Hint, hint... Perhaps I'll get to swing the Yonex a time or two, and forget to put it back in his bag :confused2:

haha a Team Hackers supporter would never do such a thing :angel:

 

[Chunkylover77]

Man this club wants to be my dirty little secret. And I love the headcover.

I have been lusting after this bad boy since the outing.

 

[Kmac]

I have been lusting after this bad boy since the outing.

We may have to form a support group my friend. If you buy it I'll buy it too. lol

 

[Chunkylover77]

We may have to form a support group my friend. If you buy it I'll buy it too. lol

Hmmm. This club has switched to full ponder mode

 

[TRyan]

I like hearing all the positive stuff about this club it's on my list to try for sure


Tap tap taparoo

 

[royalwulff]

These are some really great reviews! I hope that the PGA superstore has them in stock, I will be there Friday.

 

[Bullfrog]

Sorry I'm behind guys, I didn't receive the club till yesterday. I got to do a little testing tonight before leagues at the range at my home course. After I warmed up with my driver for a few swings. I grabbed my 5 iron (because that's the club I figured it would be close to) and the hybrid. I hit my 5 iron a couple times first and as a lot of them do they flew nice about 175 yards. Then I took a few practice swings with the Yonex hybrid. I have to correct what I said earlier, it is a little heavier than I first implied. On comparison with my R11 Rescue 4 the Yonex weighs more. The heads are about the same size however the Yonex's face extends a little over the top of the crown. IMO it will definitely help with sky marks plus I think it adds to the sleek look of the club. When I swing the Rescue 4 it seems as if it's kind of bottom heavy (those who have it know what I mean, I guess). But when I swung the Yonex, the weight of it seemed constant through out the club, I mean it wasn't like I was swinging a shovel or anything (I hope that makes sense). It's also about an inch shorter than the Rescue 11. I hit my Rescue 4 about 205-210. I know the Yonex 5 hybrid isn't meant to replace this club. But it is close in size and I wanted to mention that.

On the first "Going to hit a ball" swing I hit the ball with a really nice flight. Almost like I actually just hit an iron. And it flew out about 185 and straight. Which surprized me. With my driver and Fairway's they always seem to go a little one way or the other, never dead straight. I proceded to line up and hit another ball which I topped. The third ball was just like the first one, about 185 out and dead straight. No fade no draw no nothing but a nice high smooth ball flight that again went about the same spot as the other one. Both within the general vicinity of the flag I was aiming at about the same distance. I hit a few more and they were the same as the first and third shot. All within about a 20 yard circle. This is when I start to think, this is about the distance of my 4 iron. I went to my bag returned the 5 iron. And grabbed my 4 iron. I hit a couple with my 4 iron and sure enough. They went about the same distance as the Yonex 5 hybrid. BUT I didn't hit my 4 iron as near my target as I did with the Yonex. The few balls that I did hit with my 4, one went left of the target, the other went right of the target and the third was toward the target. And roughly the same distance as the 5 hybrid. I picked up the Yonex again to hit more balls after the 4 iron to see if it would still be the same. Swing after swing the ball went in the direction I was aiming and great flight everytime. In the mix of it, I did hit a few of them "FAT". When I did, the ball still had a really nice flight and still had some distance. It lost about 30-40 yards but would definitely still be able to play your next shot. Unless of course, a pond edge is 20 yards from the flag

I really like the Golf Pride grip on it. It looks excellent and feels great! Definitely easy to hold on to. I have to say I didn't have any issues at all with hooking or slicing it. I only hit about 20 balls with it. So I don't want to jump to conclusions and say this won't happen. We will see as time goes on. I don't know if you guys are trying to kill it when this happens or what. But I was just taking nice even flow swings at the ball. I was nervous using it at first since it wasn't a club that I chose, and I got picked to test. So that was in my head at first (I want to do this test justice!). JB asked where everyone was placing the ball in their stance, I placed the ball about 2-3 balls in front of the center of my stance. I didn't try hitting it off of a tee, but I will get that the next session.

My first trial run at the range went surprizingly good!:dance: I was surprized at the difference in the way the "WEIGHT" felt during the swing compared to the Resuce 4. I was also really surprized at the distance of the Yonex 5 hybrid. Does it seem right that this club would be roughly the same distance as my 4 iron? I will get pictures up tomorrow of the Yonex next to the Rescue 4 so you guys can see what I mean size wise. Plus some pictures of the face after hitting about 20 balls with it. I did clean the grass marks off and I don't seem to remember any "MAR" marks yet. But you guys will see tomorrow. DEFINITELY MORE TO COME...

 

[Hawk]

Nice update, BF! How was the height of the Yonex comparing to the iron shots?

 

[Bullfrog]

They were both pretty high. The Yonex has a nice high flight for me, like I'm actually hitting an iron but with more control. I wasn't trying to work the ball or anything. Heck, I don't know how to work it yet... :curl-lip:Now granted I only hit about 20 balls and this could be beginners luck. But it felt too nice to be beginners luck. I will get a chance to hit it again tomorrow. I work 12 hrs today so won't get the chance today. I will try tho.

If you guys have any other questions. Just let me know. Or if you want me to try a certain shot or something along those lines.

 

[Tmex]

Thanks for the update Bullfrog. I loved the ballflight on the range and hopefully that translates into soft landings on the greens for ya!

 

[Hanks]

can you try some bump and run shots with the Yonex?

They were both pretty high. The Yonex has a nice high flight for me, like I'm actually hitting an iron but with more control. I wasn't trying to work the ball or anything. Heck, I don't know how to work it yet... :curl-lip:Now granted I only hit about 20 balls and this could be beginners luck. But it felt too nice to be beginners luck. I will get a chance to hit it again tomorrow. I work 12 hrs today so won't get the chance today. I will try tho.

If you guys have any other questions. Just let me know. Or if you want me to try a certain shot or something along those lines.

 

[jt2929]

I'm liking the ballflight so far as well. I'll be playing some softer greens this weekend so we will see if I can get some shots to stick. Headed to the range now, full report when I get back!

 

[Bullfrog]

For Sure! I sometimes use my R11 Rescue 4 for bump and runs. That would be a great comparison for the R11 Rescue 4 against this club, in a bump and run situation. As soon as I can get back out I will definitely try it and show my findings. You guys have me contemplating stopping at the range when I get off work at 8... I LOVE GOLF!




THANKS THP AND YONEX FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST THE 5 HYBRID!!

 

[Tadashi70]

Nice BF, you may be taking out the four iron....sounds like this is going to find a good spot in your bag. Keep em coming...

 

[thedue]

They were both pretty high. The Yonex has a nice high flight for me, like I'm actually hitting an iron but with more control. I wasn't trying to work the ball or anything. Heck, I don't know how to work it yet... :curl-lip:Now granted I only hit about 20 balls and this could be beginners luck. But it felt too nice to be beginners luck. I will get a chance to hit it again tomorrow. I work 12 hrs today so won't get the chance today. I will try tho.

If you guys have any other questions. Just let me know. Or if you want me to try a certain shot or something along those lines.

Great job BF, loving these reviews so far. Nothing beats straight most of the time, but occassionally I get in trouble where I need to work the ball a little and knowing how can be an asset. Our resident pro Andy made a video for THP that might help.

http://thehackersparadise.com/?p=1767

Getting back to the Yonex, I'll be really interested in what you think of this out of the rough and off the thin grass as well. Good luck out there.

 

[jefrazie]

Yesterday was work league night and I grabbed the Yonex. I got there a bit early so I could warm up and tried to focus on hitting the Yonex quite a bit. If you haven't read my first post, I seemed to have a big problem hooking this club. So, I grabbed it and headed off to the range to hit a bucket before the round started. I took a few practice swings and made note of how much I was closing the face to prevent myself from hooking it. I felt a bit smoother yesterday and wasn't trying to kill the ball like I was the first time I hit it. I placed the ball just forward of middle and made a fairly easy swing.

Well, first ball I grab I hit perfectly straight. I noticed that again the ball flight was pretty low (maybe 15ft at most) and landed around the 200 yard marker (rolled to around 220). 2nd ball mimics the first one, lands less than 5 feet away from the first. This was a continuing trend for the next 6-7 balls that I hit. Confused as to why I was hitting it so low when I normally hit my hybrids quite high, I started to mess with ball placement. I moved it back to the center, low and straight. Moved it to my left big toe, hook left and low. Finally I moved it back almost to my right big toe and BOOM! First shot I hit was beautiful and high, lands and rolls by the 250 marker. Thinking it was a fluke, I hit it in the same position again.....BOOM! It lands and bounces once into the 250 marker. Now that's what I was expecting to see with this club! I hit about 3-4 more balls (I was running out) and they all looked like photocopied shots of the first, perfectly straight and right down the middle. Not noticing what time it was, I was almost late for my tee time so I rushed over to the 10th tee.

Summary of round shots:

Hole 10:
Tee off with Yonex, layup area around 260. I crush one off the tee perfectly straight, lands 5 yards from the water right in the perfect layup spot.

Hole 11:
Short 290 yard uphill par 4, tee off with Yonex. Crush it straight down the middle again, lands with about 50 yards left to the hole.

Hole 12:
Par 3

Hole 13:
Long par 5. Pushed my drive right just barely into the woods. Punch out with a 7I and left with 220 to the hole. Pull the Yonex and take an easy swing. Lands to the right of the green on the slope and rolls onto the green.

Hole 14:
Driver/iron

Hole 15:
Short 270 yard par 4, tee off with Yonex. I took an easy swing here since there were about 17 bunkers ahead of me. Laid up around 210.

Hole 16:
409 yard par 4. Wind behind me and absolutely crush my drive with a friendly bounce off a mound that rolls forever. GPS measured 47 yards left to hole. (Had to mention this one )

Hole 17:
Par 3

Hole 18:
Driver/iron

So, my impression of this club has changed quite a bit. After my short range session, I was able to iron out the hooks that I was having the first time I played with it. More to come soon!!!

 

[jt2929]

Back from a nice little range session. I'm finding that tempo is VERY important for me with this club. I started out great, hitting the first 10 or so shots very nicely. they all went fairly straight with a slight fade and about 240 yards. I then decided to really get after it and swing hard to see what would happen. The result was some huge slices that ended up between 220-225 yards. I then dialed it down, but a little too much. Swinging too easy caused my hooks to come back. Finally found the happy medium and began hitting it great again. My ballflight was pretty high, so I decided to hit some knockdown shots by placing the ball a little further back in my stance. The EZONE performed these shots with ease and went dead straight, no little fades like my high shots. I teed a few up and began to slice again. Moving the ball forward in my stance by about an inch cured this, which I find odd. Why can I hit it perfectly from the grass with the ball in the middle of my stance, but have to move it up when I tee the ball up? Anyway, for me a fairway wood type sweeping swing is what works best from the tee and a more iron-like swing from every other lie. I'm really starting to love this club and my confidence grows each time I use it. I am still in love with the headcover and have had no issues with the velcro numbers staying attached through normal play and transporting clubs around. I plan to use this around the green for some chip shots/bump and run type shots this weekend if I can on the course. If not, I'll hit the practice green and do it.

 

[Bullfrog]

Okay, I said I would post some pictures of the Yonex 5 hybrid 25* next to the Taylormade R11 Rescue 4 21*. After it taking almost an hour to load to photobucket (which is crap), I finally got it done. So without further ado here are the pictures comparing just the size of the heads of the clubs.

Here is the sole's of both clubs, they are almost exactly the same size. You have to look close to see the white edge of the R11 Rescue 4.

[/IMG]

In this picture the Rescue 11 looks a little bigger but it's not. It's just the white being more contrast against the grass.

[/IMG]

You can definitely tell there is some degrees difference in the face!

Now here is a picture of the Yonex 5 hybrid 25* after 1 range session of about 20 balls.

[/IMG]

Alot more reviewing to come....

 

[jefrazie]

Okay, I said I would post some pictures of the Yonex 5 hybrid 25* next to the Taylormade R11 Rescue 4 21*. After it taking almost an hour to load to photobucket (which is crap), I finally got it done. So without further ado here are the pictures comparing just the size of the heads of the clubs.

Here is the sole's of both clubs, they are almost exactly the same size. You have to look close to see the white edge of the R11 Rescue 4.

[/IMG]

In this picture the Rescue 11 looks a little bigger but it's not. It's just the white being more contrast against the grass.

[/IMG]

You can definitely tell there is some degrees difference in the face!

Now here is a picture of the Yonex 5 hybrid 25* after 1 range session of about 20 balls.

[/IMG]

Alot more reviewing to come....

I use imgur to upload pics. Its very quick, give it a try.

Nice pics comparing the two. I wasn't home last night, I'll try and post a few comparing the Yonex to the Mashie and the Sasquatch tonight.

 

[TRyan]

Jefrazie,

Glad to see you doing so well with the yonex. That bomb of a drive was a nice addition too.. I would have included it in my review as well


Tap tap taparoo

 

[One-T]

OK THPers. I received my Yonex EZONE Hybrid, 19 degree stiff in the mail this past weekend. Since receiving it I have hit about 50 balls with it at the range and played 36 holes with it in the bag. My initial thoughts are below the pics.

Background information: I firmly believe that in order for a review to be effective, readers must be given candid information so that you may know how my experience with the club could be biased, specific to my swing, etc etc. I have had a hybrid in the bag for about 6+ years. For a significant portion of that time I have played Adams hybrids. With hybrids, I prefer a mid to high ball flight and a club that is versatile in various situations.

Looks: A- I really like the looks of this club. The head is compact enough to appear that it can be used in various situations, yet big enough to make you feel you have the freedom (and corresponding forgiveness) to put some umpff behind it on a par 5. The head has an appearance to it that makes me feel it will perform best off the tee and in the fairway (see below for actual performance). I like the red shaft and how it pops with color. While I like the top part of the head cover, I am not a big fan of the sleeve section (hence the A-). I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the silver section extending onto the crown, but after playing with it, I grew to like it and, actually, think it may encourage good swing characteristics.

Feel in Hand. B+ The club feels fairly light in hand, yet the shaft feels stable enough to provide some confidence at setup. The grip is fairly standard rubber grip, which is a personal thing, but not my favorite. The club is a bit shorter than I am used to and, due to the lightness, encourages me to be a tad late in my release. This was simply something that I needed to get used to through the first range session. After about 20 balls I got the hang of it, but I was still thinking about it when I was at setup. I have a feeling that when I update this in future sessions, I will be more than comfortable with the shorter shaft and lightness.

Sound. A+. I love the sound of this club. You know it when you connect, and it is beautiful.

Feel at Impact: A Same as above. Feels great when you hit it in the center of the club face.

Performance on Tee: A+. On the course I used this off the tee on 4 holes and hit several shots on the tee at the range. I loved its performance on the tee. Nice mid to high ball flight (and could hit stinger if wanted). Great distance and was going pretty much where I wanted it. It was very predictable and that is exactly what I want on the tee.

Performance on Fairway: A. Thought it performed well on the short grass. I took two approaches with my swing from the fairway: 1) iron swing and 2) FW swing. The fairway wood swing saw good and predictable results. The shot shape was desirable, but I couldn't get the ball quite as high as I would typically like. The iron type swing provided a much higher ball flight for me, but due to the steeper swing and bit less release, I had a slight fade with this swing. Not necessarily a bad thing, because it was getting great distance and holding the green.

Performance in Rough. B. On the first cut it performed similar to the fairway performance above. In the thick rough I got best results when the ball was laying in the middle of the grass (neither laying on top or imbedded in the rough). In those situations I was able to easily hack it out with good ball flight and distance. If the ball was low in the grass, I had much difficulty getting the ball to carry far, but I got significant roll out. If sitting high on the grass, I was hitting quite high on the face and not getting as much distance. This may be due more to me being unfamiliar with the club at this point.

Specialty shots: A+. I used this from a weird spot about 20 feet of the green on very short cut grass leading up to the green. I used it for a "hybrid chip" and rolled it to about 4 feet from the pin. I tried it again and rolled it to about 5 feet from the pin. I also tried the same shot with a putter, wedge and 7 iron. The hybrid definitely got me the closest to the pin.

Third party interest: A-. At the range and course, numerous people asked me about the club. Some wanted to know more about Yonex. Others specifically mentioned Monty, Ryo, etc. Was pretty fun and interesting to hear people's thoughts on the company.

Wow bro, you brought it with your review...keep up the good work. I absolutely loved this hybrid, glad your getting to try this out.

**I workabilitied that post using Tapatalk**

 

[pattyblind9golf]

Been reading the reviews, but not commenting. Great job everyone. The mister and I read the thread independently and discuss it in our down time. You guys really are being thorough. I really like how all of you have a distinct style of practicing with the club and of writing the reviews. Each review has been really interesting and it's clear that you are all taking the testing seriously - so big thanks to you all.

My only complaint is that I read these in Tapatalk and I wish I could see your profiles and sigs to see what handicap you play to and what clubs you normally play. I'll have to do that when I get to a regular computer. I'm just too lazy to get to the desktop!

Thx again gents. Keep it up!

 

[Bullfrog]

I said I was going to try and stop at the range on the way home. Well, unfortunately I'm dead tired after working 12 hours today. So I won't be able to stop tonight, sorry. I will definitely hit it some more tomorrow and get some more info up. Sorry again.

 

[TRyan]

I said I was going to try and stop at the range on the way home. Well, unfortunately I'm dead tired after working 12 hours today. So I won't be able to stop tonight, sorry. I will definitely hit it some more tomorrow and get some more info up. Sorry again.

I don't blame you! 12 hours is a long day of work


Tap tap taparoo