Wood vs Hybrid? Noob question

Jswafford

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Hey guys, I am extremely new to golf and I have just started to get my swing down. The bad thing is I can not hit my drivers. It is to the point that I leave the drivers in my car and just take my irons to the course. I had a buddy tell me that I need to get a hybrid to help with my lack of hitting ability. He said that they basically take the place of the 3i, 4i and 5i. But my concern is the length. Is a #3 hybrid the same as a 3 wood in terms of length? If that's the case I don't want to waste my money. But if hybrids work just like an irons and i can hit out of the ruff then I will consider one.
 
3 hybrid will be shorter in length than a 3 wood. They are typically meant to be long iron replacements that allow added distance and forgiveness over traditional long irons.
 
Thanks!! Thats what I needed to know^^^^
 
3 hybrid will be shorter in length than a 3 wood. They are typically meant to be long iron replacements that allow added distance and forgiveness over traditional long irons.

Yep, a 3 hybrid would be shorter in shaft length and more loft. You could go with a 2 hybrid which is more in line loft wise with a 3 wood but still a shorter shaft which should mean easier to hit for many. Another good option is a 4 wood. Slightly more loft than a 3 wood and a shorter shaft.

Or, you can do as I have a play at 3 wood at a 41.75 inch shaft length (1.75" shorter than standard). This works great for me. I also play a 44 inch driver vs. most which are sold at 46 inches today.
 
<---Noob

Noob to noob, hybrids are awesome! They really inspire confidence and can go a long way. I have a 25 degree hybrid and a 22 degree hybrid in my bag and love them.
 
All of my clubs are hand downs from my wife's grandfather. So I am just hitting what was in the bag. Going shorter may be a good alternative.
 
Or, you can do as I have a play at 3 wood at a 41.75 inch shaft length (1.75" shorter than standard). This works great for me. I also play a 44 inch driver vs. most which are sold at 46 inches today.


I totally agree with this. I'm 6'2", but the shorter lengths help me maintain a better swing with confidence. Straighter is greater, I'll gladly give up distance to be playing from the fairway and not a drop.
 
The Cobra hybrids are all very adjustable in loft. I currently bag one set at 16 that would be not as far as a 3W but I do hit it more consistently. Don't give up learning how to hit the long clubs. I never used to bag a driver, went with a 3W off the tee. Finally my instructor told me to start using it. I feel more comfortable with a driver in my hand now than just about any other club.
 
All of my clubs are hand downs from my wife's grandfather. So I am just hitting what was in the bag. Going shorter may be a good alternative.

I can't say for sure, but I would venture to say that those clubs will make it much harder to learn the game than the current clubs that are much more forgiving. How old are the clubs?
 
The Cobra hybrids are all very adjustable in loft. I currently bag one set at 16 that would be not as far as a 3W but I do hit it more consistently. Don't give up learning how to hit the long clubs. I never used to bag a driver, went with a 3W off the tee. Finally my instructor told me to start using it. I feel more comfortable with a driver in my hand now than just about any other club.

I am just starting as well. I have considered leaving my driver out for now, but I have gotten the same advice about keeping at it and learning to use it. It's been slightly frustrating but I'm working on it. :)

I do think I will look in to some hybrids though. I have a 3h from my old set, but it could use an update and maybe a 4h to go with it.
 
I have a Aeroburner 4 hybrid which is as long as my 5 wood was. Ive since taken the 5 wood out as I am also more consistent with the hybrid. If you are looking for easy to launch hybrids I throughly recommend trying the Aeroburners.
 
Actually, you need both. In terms of length of club and distance, it's driver, fairway wood, hybrid, irons, wedges, then putter.

You can ease into the longer clubs by getting hybrids, then woods, and then hopefully driver.
 
I assume they are at the most ten years old. They are custom made. They are TM-IV Strong steel heads on Graman graphite shafts. I found them on golfsticks.tripod.com/index-c2-temp.html.
 
I have a Aeroburner 4 hybrid which is as long as my 5 wood was. Ive since taken the 5 wood out as I am also more consistent with the hybrid. If you are looking for easy to launch hybrids I throughly recommend trying the Aeroburners.

I have been looking into the Aeroburner hybrids and irons along with the Cobra Fly-z
 
Not sure how far along you are so please don't tak this the wrong way. The cobra fly z xl are max game improvement clubs and offer more forgiveness then the regular fly z. The xl are meant for higher handicappers. The regular fly z are still awesome clubs and I like them a lot. They are forgiving but not like the xl. You can't go wrong with either. For me I really benefitted from max game improvement type clubs for a while. It helped me build confidence and enjoy the game as my swing came together.


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Not sure how far along you are so please don't tak this the wrong way. The cobra fly z xl are max game improvement clubs and offer more forgiveness then the regular fly z. The xl are meant for higher handicappers. The regular fly z are still awesome clubs and I like them a lot. They are forgiving but not like the xl. You can't go wrong with either. For me I really benefitted from max game improvement type clubs for a while. It helped me build confidence and enjoy the game as my swing came together.


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I agree. I went from a hand me down set of "normal" irons and wedges to a GI set of Cobras. The confidence has kept me interested.
 
Not sure how far along you are so please don't tak this the wrong way. The cobra fly z xl are max game improvement clubs and offer more forgiveness then the regular fly z. The xl are meant for higher handicappers. The regular fly z are still awesome clubs and I like them a lot. They are forgiving but not like the xl. You can't go wrong with either. For me I really benefitted from max game improvement type clubs for a while. It helped me build confidence and enjoy the game as my swing came together.


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I will start looking at the Xl's. Do you know what the difference is between the two? I am defiantly in the market for a set of SGI clubs for sure.
 
I will start looking at the Xl's. Do you know what the difference is between the two? I am defiantly in the market for a set of SGI clubs for sure.
Cobra also has a set called the Baffler XL, I think they may be even more geared toward GI than the Fly Z XLs.
 
I will start looking at the Xl's. Do you know what the difference is between the two? I am defiantly in the market for a set of SGI clubs for sure.

Thier are a lot of guys on here that are MUCH smarter then me with this stuff. I picked the game back up in the spring and am still finding my way a little bit. I think the biggest difference is in offset and size of the club head. I think the XL's are a little easier to get higher trajectory shots. Their is more technology type stuff in it, but I am not a 100% sure on all that.

Fwiw, I have found the fly z clubs I have pretty easy to hit for me and I am a mid 20 handicapper.
 
I hit the Cobra Bafflers, Fly Zs and Fly Z XLs and I hit the Fly Zs the best. I found them weighted the best and felt best on mis hits. I played them for the first time on a course this weekend and really liked them. All of them are considered SGI or GI.

I eventually bought the clubs on E-Bay. I got Cobra Fly Z 7i-9i, PW and GW set for a killer deal and then bought the 4-5h and 3-4h separately. Total was about $500 for all that. I run my 3-4h at 22 degrees and the 4-5h at 25 degrees.
 
I will start looking at the Xl's. Do you know what the difference is between the two? I am defiantly in the market for a set of SGI clubs for sure.

The XLs are closed cavity backs and are a little more offset than the Fly Zs. They launch super high, so if you have a hard time getting the ball in the air, they will likely give you a much easier time with it. The big difference between the Fly Z XL and Fly Z Hybrids are that the Fly Zs are adjustable loft wise. As I said, I personally hit all of them and the Fly Zs just felt better to me. I suggest finding somewhere that will let you try them all. The Golf Galaxy by me had all three sets and I spent about 90 minutes swinging all of them.

Also, I read a lot about SGI vs GI and everywhere I read said to not get hung up on the categories. Every set of GIs can be considered SGI and visa versa, so go and hit 'em! There is no industry standard on the nomenclature.
 
The XLs are closed cavity backs and are a little more offset than the Fly Zs. They launch super high, so if you have a hard time getting the ball in the air, they will likely give you a much easier time with it. The big difference between the Fly Z XL and Fly Z Hybrids are that the Fly Zs are adjustable loft wise. As I said, I personally hit all of them and the Fly Zs just felt better to me. I suggest finding somewhere that will let you try them all. The Golf Galaxy by me had all three sets and I spent about 90 minutes swinging all of them.

Also, I read a lot about SGI vs GI and everywhere I read said to not get hung up on the categories. Every set of GIs can be considered SGI and visa versa, so go and hit 'em! There is no industry standard on the nomenclature.


Everywhere I read they say that the XL's are fantastic. The one thing that does discourage me is they call it a seniors. Should I be buying a club made for a 70 year old man? I also live in an area that does not have a pro-shop that allows me to test out a club. We have a Dicks about an hour away. The closest proshop is an hour 1/2 and they are not the best in customer service. Its very intimidating if you are new to the sport.
 
Everywhere I read they say that the XL's are fantastic. The one thing that does discourage me is they call it a seniors. Should I be buying a club made for a 70 year old man? I also live in an area that does not have a pro-shop that allows me to test out a club. We have a Dicks about an hour away. The closest proshop is an hour 1/2 and they are not the best in customer service. Its very intimidating if you are new to the sport.

I wouldn't worry about what others say about who the club is for. If it helps your game and you enjoy them, who cares? That being said, I would call the Dick's store and see if they have the Bafflers and the Fly Zs to try. I know that Dick's does not carry the XLs in the store at all near me. If the store has those two clubs, I would make a trip and try them. I was dead set on the XLs until I tried them and compared them to the other two. The other thing to consider is that the Bafflers are really great clubs, but they are two seasons ago. You might be able to get them at a great price, and they are still great clubs.

Also, E-Bay is your friend. I couldn't believe the deal I got on the exact clubs I wanted. I also just got a virtually brand new putter for what I would consider peanuts vs what it is brand new, also on E-Bay.
 
I wouldn't worry about what others say about who the club is for. If it helps your game and you enjoy them, who cares? That being said, I would call the Dick's store and see if they have the Bafflers and the Fly Zs to try. I know that Dick's does not carry the XLs in the store at all near me. If the store has those two clubs, I would make a trip and try them. I was dead set on the XLs until I tried them and compared them to the other two. The other thing to consider is that the Bafflers are really great clubs, but they are two seasons ago. You might be able to get them at a great price, and they are still great clubs.

Also, E-Bay is your friend. I couldn't believe the deal I got on the exact clubs I wanted. I also just got a virtually brand new putter for what I would consider peanuts vs what it is brand new, also on E-Bay.

I am seeing alot of good deals on Ebay. Did you try the Aeroburners?
 
I am seeing alot of good deals on Ebay. Did you try the Aeroburners?

I did. I liked the Driver a lot, but not the hybrids or the irons. I'm lucky in that I have a Golfsmith, a Golf Galaxy and three Dick's around me, so I got to try out a lot of clubs before making up my mind. I also tried the Speedblades, some of the GI Callaways and the Wilson D200 and didn't like either of them either.
 
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