Hybrids--get no respect

"Real golfers don't use hybrids." I haven't heard anyone actually say this, but I've heard enough comments that conveyed the sentiment that the speaker wouldn't be caught dead using a hybrid.

I have two of them, a 3h with 22* of loft (wouldn't that loft really be more like a 4?) and a 5h with 27* of loft. I use them both a lot, and find that I can hit long and straight with them. The 5h has enough loft on it, and enough weight in the head, that I can blast balls out of the rough and still get decent distance. The 3h gives me great distance on the fairway, and off the tee I hit it about as far as a 3W, for some reason, and very straight. The golf instructor at my lesson asked to try the 3h. He bombed it 270 off the mat, and said "That's about as well as I can hit a golf ball." And this is a $20 club from Walmart.

Anyway, why do hybrids remain at best controversial?

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

I think better players like the feel of an iron and usually don't have much trouble hitting irons, therefore don't feel the need to change to something that does exactly the same job.

However for a higher h/capper who isn't confident hitting 2/3/4 irons on the fairway then they are a great help.

Personally they just look a bit clumsy to my eye and I feel more confident with an iron, even a driving iron is fine for me.

All in all Todd it's about getting the ball in the hole how you do it is up to you not matter how good or bad your swing looks or what clubs you use.

But I do agree the is a little stigmar attached to hybrids, unjustifyed in my opinion.

Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

I thought Monty uses a hybrid? I think he fits into the category of "real golfer" quite well

Yes, I gather hybrids are quietly finding their way into the bags of some of the pros. It makes me wonder whether it will end up rather like the 460cc driver heads, which took a while to be accepted in the upper echelons of players.

When pros are converting to hybrids, I figure they'll get respect soon enough.

As any player - hybrids are easier to hit out of the rough.

I notice you carry three hybrids. Can I ask what the lofts are on those clubs?

My experience hitting from the rough has been, my 5h works better than my 3h, at 27* and 22* respectively. But I don't know enough about shotmaking to know whether I *should* be able to hit out of the rough with the 3h, with that loft.

3,4,5 @ 19, 22, and 26 degrees, respectively. They all hit well out of the rough.

So the 3h that I have, at 22*, is really a 4. I'm thinking of getting something with 19* of loft, if I can handle a club like that.

I'm just watching the Jeld-Wen seniors' tournament and they mentioned that Allen Doyle carries 2 hybrids, a 24* and a 27*.

I guess it is like using a cavity back, to using blades. You could say only real golfers use blades. But this isn't the case. If you need to help of a hybrid use one. Who cares what others think. I use deep cavity backs. They help me hit the ball as good as any single figure player.

I remember Spalding trying to market a set of irons that were almost identical to current hybrids, that was over thirty years ago. They were very well reviewed but didnt catch on. John Jacobs,the renowned English coach tried to introduce anti slice woods also without success.I can only suppose we were much more in to tradition back then. How times have changed, just look at the weird putter designs.

For that matter, the pros didn't switch from persimmon woods to titanium overnight; there was some resistance. I remember watching golf on tv as a kid and thinking the sound made when a titanium club struck the ball wasn't nearly as cool as the sound of a "real" wood.

I started this thread not because I personally care what anyone thinks if I use hybrids. I don't. I'm just curious about why they are not yet considered fully cool.

I bought my 22* hybrid a few months back, and at first couldn't hit with it at all. I had a similarly lofted "utility" 5 wood and couldn't hit with that either, at least not off the fairway. I still have trouble with that fairway wood, but for some reason the hybrid suddenly clicked. I could hit off the fairway with it at least 50% of the time, which is better than I could do with long irons, and about equal to my success rate with short irons.

When I get a good clean shot with the 22* hybrid, it goes 180 yards or better. My 27* hybrid goes 170. Seems odd to me that they'd be so close.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

They might be so close because they may actually spec out to 23 and 26 degrees.

Just because it's stamped on the bottom, doesn't mean that's what it actually is.

This is interesting. My set comes with a M4 so I don't have a 3i nor 4i. At my current level, I'm definitely more comfortable hitting with the irons than the woods. And for this reason, I am contemplating adding a 3i or possibly even a 2i to my bag.

Correct me if I'm wrong. Are the hybrids also known as rescue woods (or is that a different thing altogether?). Given my current comfort with the irons (of course the lowest I've been using is my 5i), I think I would prefer to pull out a 2i than a hybrid, except if I'm deep in the rough, in which case I think the "rescue" purpose of the club might convince me otherwise?

I don't know what an M4 is, but I believe there is a difference between a hybrid and a "rescue" or "utility" wood. But I have the feeling that the two are gradually converging. The hybrid is lofted according to the scale used for irons, and the shaft length corresponds to what the iron would have (not that shaft lengths are all that standarized). The club head of a hybrid tends to have a heavier feel and is more compact than that of the utility wood, but I think that's something that's changing.

I have a 21* utility 5 wood and a 22* hybrid 3 iron. They feel quite different, and I can't do much of anything with the wood, but I can hit with the hybrid iron reasonably well.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller