I want to add a hybrid to my bag, which one?

[cnl390]

I am going to add a hybrid to my bag, the problem is I have just re-taken up the game and know just about nothing about them.

The only thing I am fairly sure of is I want either a Ping Rapture or G15 to match the rest of my clubs.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by cnl390

Any suggestions?

Yes, for starters, share the following:

* What clubs do you carry in your current bag?

* How well do you hit your irons, and different woods (reliability and distance)

For future reference, why not put your club mix in a What's In My Bag section in either your sig line, or on an embedded list.

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Yes, for starters, share the following:

* What clubs do you carry in your current bag?

* How well do you hit your irons, and different woods (reliability and distance)

For future reference, why not put your club mix in a What's In My Bag section in either your sig line, or on an embedded list.

I will add my clubs to my sig ASAP.  My current set consists of...

Ping Rapture 10.5 degree driver

Ping Rapture 14 degree 3 wood

Ping G15 Black Dot Irons 4,5,6,7,8,9, L,W,U

Ping Asner G2i Putter

I hit my irons relatively well I believe for a person of my skill level.  I am pretty straight and accurate with my wedge to about 90 yards,  Hit my  5 around 142.  Longer irons and woods I have a slight fade, probably due to not squaring my club face.  I never could hit a 1 wood when I was younger (when woods were wooden and heavy) but can hit this one pretty well.

[WUTiger]

You seem to like Ping.

You should probably look at a 3H and a 4H, see how they work. Lots of Ping hybrids from a couple of years back are on sale now with big price cuts.

Also, a 3W (esp. a 14*) might be a little hard to hit. Try out a 4W (about +3 degrees loft) if you have trouble with 3W.

[Zachari208]

I have that exact 3 wood, love it off the tee, just picked up a Adams Super S 17* 2H for this season. It's a lot more versatile from less than perfect lies. Very long club, hit it more like a wood then a iron unless I'm choking up . Sounds like with your length you could drop the 3 wood unless you love it, and fill that huge gap.

[cnl390]

Thanks to both of you for your help.

As far as dropping the 3W I might wait a while and see what my distances top at since right now I am just trying to perfect (this word doesn't belong in any golf discussion) a good fluid swing and am not crushing it.  But then again when I was a kid I had a Babe Zaharias 4 or 5 wood that I was in love with so I might trade my 3 for a 4 or 5.  And I believe I will begin looking for a used 3 or 4h. Dumb question #1, do hybrids of one brand of club have the same loft as other brands?  Not so dumb question #2, Should I go with a Rapture hybrid or a G15?  Or does it even matter to try and have matching clubs?

Thanks again,

Charles

[dbuck]

I will concur with WUTiger on the 3 and or 4 hybrids as being a good addition to your setup. No, there will be some variation from brand to brand and even sometimes within a brand on different models as to the loft of their hybrids. I use a couple of older Callaways in 3H and 4H; their lofts are 20 and 23 and they work well for me. I don't feel that it is important to use hybrids of the same brand as your other clubs(see my sig-looks like a bad garage sale,lol). What is more important is that the clubs fill the gap and needs you have. The shaft and flex should probably be comparable to what you use in your fairway woods-providing those work well for you. Sometimes this is easily accomplished by using hybrids from the same brand, but not necessarily so.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by dbuck

... No, there will be some variation from brand to brand and even sometimes within a brand on different models as to the loft of their hybrids.

...  The shaft and flex should probably be comparable to what you use in your fairway woods-providing those work well for you. ...

Excellent points above.

* Check out the Specification sheet for a particular model of clubs. It will tell you the loft and shaft length for clubs in that model.

* Some models of shafts will have one version for woods and another for hybrids. Main difference: the shorter the shaft in a given flex (driver vs. hybrid), the heavier it is to maintain similar feel in the "model." Take a look at a GolfWorks or Golfsmith clubmaking catalog to see the variety of weights and flexes within a model of graphite shafts.