What's the deal with hybrids?

I gave up on hybrids a couple years ago. I haven't even picked one up to try in the last two seasons. I want that to change as I need something between my 3deep and 4 iron but it may also replace my 4 iron.

I hooked every hybrid I tried to game. Swing flaw or not, I'm not going to torture myself trying to make it work when I can keep a 4 iron in play a lot easier
 
I freaking love hybrids haha couldn't imagine not having at least 2
 
I think hybrids are great. I had always stuck to my fairway wood but finally tried a hybrid and loved it. I don't want to play fairway woods anymore. I make so much more consistent contact with the hybrid. My hybrids are truly my favorite clubs in the bag.
 
I have played a 4H for several years. Some great shots , some not so great. Borrowed a buddies 3H and that has been really consistent for me over the summer & fall. He will not be getting it back it until I replace it with a new purchase that I hit just as well.

Hybrids work for my game.
 
I gave up on hybrids a couple years ago. I haven't even picked one up to try in the last two seasons. I want that to change as I need something between my 3deep and 4 iron but it may also replace my 4 iron.

I hooked every hybrid I tried to game. Swing flaw or not, I'm not going to torture myself trying to make it work when I can keep a 4 iron in play a lot easier

Just get one with an adjustable loft sleeve and open up the face on it.
 
Just get one with an adjustable loft sleeve and open up the face on it.
While I plan to try some out and get fit, opening the face isn't always a great choice IMO. Other things change as well by doing this.
 
I want to love them and need what they do, but I gave the XR and APEX a solid try and just cannot play either of them. Very odd and it is swing related for sure, but just no good for me. That being said I hit the Bridgestone J15 that JB had in the demo bag in Savannah like a champ on the range, but for some reason never bought one.
 
I didn't start golfing until 2014. At that point there was a plethora of hybrids to choose from in the demo bays. After hitting a few I was hooked. Easy to hit, distance, and they inspired confidence. I've never tried to hit anything below a 4 iron, mostly because I couldn't hit a 4 iron and reading how difficult it was for hacks like me to hit long irons. I currently bag a 4 and 5 hybrid and am looking at adding a 6H. They are by far my go to club when I need distance and accuracy. I also use then for low running shots when trees make it so I can't get an iron up in the air. My game would suffer greatly without hybrids.
 
I want to love them and need what they do, but I gave the XR and APEX a solid try and just cannot play either of them. Very odd and it is swing related for sure, but just no good for me. That being said I hit the Bridgestone J15 that JB had in the demo bag in Savannah like a champ on the range, but for some reason never bought one.

i have an all-stock j15 3h you can try for awhile (it's in my signature right now). it's not quite doing what i was hoping, and am finding i miss the franken-a-wedge i had to pull.
 
My only thought is that they're a "disposable" line of equipment. You don't need a hybrid in your bag. And with companies like Callaway routinely offering up to a 9W in fairways, you can easily find a fairway club to match your gaps up to your irons. Me personally, I hit hybrids better than I do fairway woods so I'm firmly in the hybrid camp.

No ur in the "Fybrid" camp
 
Thanks for the offer, I have a new Divine 9 on the way and will see how that fits in the bag.

i have an all-stock j15 3h you can try for awhile (it's in my signature right now). it's not quite doing what i was hoping, and am finding i miss the franken-a-wedge i had to pull.
 
So I've noticed over my time on THP that hybrids are for some reason somewhat of an interesting case in the golf equipment world. I understand why there are certain types of irons, or certain drivers, even wedges that some may not like...but I've never seen another complete style/line of equipment been so polarizing. "Hate" is a term used a lot when it comes to hybrids, and not just certain brands or types of hybrids, it's used for hybrids in general. If someone tries a new iron out and "hates" it...they don't dismiss irons all together and say they hate irons, they understand they just don't like those irons. With as many options there are out there, we've all come across that. But what's with hybrids? Is it one or two bad experiences and they are written off all together? Is it trial after trial of bad results that causes this hate? Hybrids are no longer the new kid in town, so why has the stigma stuck around?

So what say you, THP? What seems to be the deal with hybrids that causes this polarity that we don't see with other golf equipment?


I've never found a hybrid that I could hit as straight or control the trajectory as I can with "driving irons" or my XR Pro 3 or 4 iron. I'm guessing it's the bulge and roll that makes the hybrids harder to control for me.


Hybrids can be very easy to hit high and soft and more forgiving than a long iron, but so is my XR Pro 4 wood.
 
Hybrids are so established now that I doubt if they inspire the debate that they did when that first TaylorMade Firesole Rescue orange-painted hybrid set (15, 18, 21, 24º) hit the market. Those first ones were made of titanium like drivers, by the way. For a while, I toyed with Cleveland Halos and Wedgewood Golds but it didn't stick.

I prefer conventional fairway metals and play a lot of them. Most of mine are vintage.

TaylorMade Pittsburgh Persimmons.
Titleist PTs
Callaway Warbirds.

Just prior to abandoning the golf business, Spalding made some real sweet hitting Top Flite fairways that never really caught on. They soon hit the street at dirt cheap prices. Then some people bought them and loved them, but Spalding--with its great history as an American golf equipment manufacturer--was on its way out.
 
That part of the bag is the most options available. So, folks will gravitate towards their comfort zone: FW's, Hybrids, Long Irons.
No other part of the bag has that versatility available. The "haters" are just making noise to make noise and probably are not a fan of change, and probably had a negative viewpoint before they even hit the club. And, as we all know, positive thinking is probably the most important aspect of hitting a golf ball well.
 
While I plan to try some out and get fit, opening the face isn't always a great choice IMO. Other things change as well by doing this.
For someone who hooks the ball if all things stay equal, opening face will launch a touch lower, little more spin with a push draw. I have been known to be wrong all the time so I could be.
 
As a somewhat new golfer I love the hybrids I couldn't hit 4 and 5 irons for the life of me now my Ping G30 Hybrids are my favorite clubs to hit. It was like night and day when I made the switch.
 
I want to love hybrids. The tech, design and logic is there, but I bag one and it's the least liked option I have. I have owned several hybrids over the years and have never loved any of them. I'm fine hitting 4 iron but really need a 3 iron alternative to fill that yardage. Perhaps a fitting and more range time are in order.
 
While I plan to try some out and get fit, opening the face isn't always a great choice IMO. Other things change as well by doing this.

I used to have that issue on a regular basis. There are some hybrids out there, however, that seem to combat it incredibly well.

The first real game changer for me was the Bridgestone J40. I'm not sure I've ever had as hard of a time going left with a hybrid as I did with that club. It was great.
 
I know a lot of people I see that struggle with them have issues with pulls or hooks. Most of these were caused by lie angle. A few people bent theirs flatter and saw night and day difference, and others cut them shorter to get better results. It's really all about fit and making a good swing.
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Yep, I'd be willing to bet that fitting is the most common reason for hooking hybrids. My irons are 2°-3° flat due to my monkey arms and I was able to negate most hooking tendencies by adjusting my 18° open a bit. Unfortunately the 15° is fixed. I've asked the guys at Golfsmith/Golf Galaxy to bend them but no way Jose & I'm not sending them back to the OEM for that.
 
Can't really say. I've had great success with hybrids and will never carry long irons ever again.
 
I love my hybrids and carry 3,4 & 5 hybrids (the 5 is "stolen" from my son...might need to get my own in the spring). My 4 hybrid (Cobra Baffler T-rail) is my favourite, I can do quite a lot of different shots/shapes with that one when needed. Great from tee, deck and semi ruff
 
I understand how hybrids have replaced the #s 1-4 and sometimes 5 irons in most bags, but higher loft fairway woods have always been around to do the same job.

What I would like to hear from a successful hybrid user is why the hybrid became preferable to the high loft fairway wood?

Beginners have trouble with fairway woods because of the bulge and roll. Instinctively, they try to pick up the ball when all they can really do is drive it forward. The ball flattens on the angled face of the club and springs into the air by making itself round again. With flat-faced, sharp-edged irons, they can pick up the ball a little bit until they learn to hit it properly, so they're less frightened of the iron.

The hybrids have bulge and roll like the woods (Wedgewood hybrids don't). The heads are lighter than iron heads and heavier than wood heads, so the shaft lengths are somewhere in the middle. It's obviously a successful formula for many--indeed, most these days--players.

Again, I understand why they're easier than long irons because long irons are hard to elevate, take on more sidespin because of their lower loft, and don't have the gear effect to bring the ball back on line. But why are they preferable to #s 4-9 woods?

I'm sure there's a valid reason--perhaps a few. They've never been really explained to me.
 
Most current hybrids have a CG further back than that of fairway woods in relation to their thin faces, allowing for higher ball flight and more forgiveness.

Then add the mental aspect that people assume they swing them more like an iron and you have a r exile for success.
 
I was in the "hate" corner for a few years because they all hooked on me a lot more due to swing faults than the clubs themselves. Then along came one that I took a chance on that was designed to play more like a long iron than a small headed fairway wood. It was likely more due to me finally realizing to hit the hybrid more like a long iron than fairway wood, but the hybrid "hate" stigma has now left my golf game.
 
I don't play them but I'm glad that the choice is available.

I just wish that the OEMs hadn't stopped making higher loft fairway woods in their non-maximum GI models. I'm sure it was just a matter of market demand, but I'm glad that I held onto my older models.
 
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