How good are hybrids, really?

I am new to golf.  In the short time I have been around, I have noticed that most players seem to have at least one hybrid in their bag.  Some have two, three or even four.  I have even read some comments that go as far as to say that all today's players need are woods, hybrids and wedges.  Then yesterday I read this comment by Butch Harmon in Golf Digest magazine:

I have never hit one yet, so I am wondering if hybrids are really that much better than long irons.  And if you could start over with a fresh new set of clubs, which irons would you replace with hybrids?

Hybrids allow you to get an iron with very little loft into the air very quickly with minimal effort.  I wouldn't directly agree with Butch's comment (I personally see the merit in a 3 or 4 iron), but they are a much better alternative to long irons for the vast majority of recreational golfers.

As far as "which would you replace...?"  Well, it depends on you.  I might consider replacing my 3-iron, though I currently carry one and hit it well enough.  Which long irons do you frequently mishit?  Do you routinely slice or fail to carry it the expected distance?  Do you want to hit it higher?  If you answered yes to any of those questions WRT your 2, 3, 4, or even 5 iron, then you might consider replacing them with a hybrid.

If you can find hybrids you hit well, they will typically be longer and easier to hit than long irons.  I've had trouble finding hybrids I hit as well or better than irons on a golf course.

I also 'got back into golf' in the last couple years.  I started with an Adams set that had 3,4, and 5 hybrids.  I later went back to a 4 and 5 iron and only carrying a 3 hybrid.  That set up works best for me.

I struggled with the hybrids early on.  I think I expected them to be "easy".  No long iron/club is easy to hit.

I recommend just trying them.  And to hit them 'like an iron'.  Hit 'down on them' like an iron (not sweeping like a fairway wood) with a smooth swing.   Don't try to hit them too hard.

I found my 3i easier to hit than the 4h I used to use and the distance off the fairway to be comparable.

Nowadays my irons stop at 4i but then hop up to my 3h before my 3w and driver.

Set up like you're hitting a long iron and you should be ok.

Good points. I think most hybrids I tried aren't stiff enough in the tip, making them just as likely to twist on slight mishits as an iron, if not more. I find contact to be muted so my swing and impact can start to drift to a bad place without really knowing it. This results in one shot going pretty straight and the next one that "feels" the same resulting in a snap hook. With an iron I seem to get more feedback on every shot and don't tend to go off the rails as quickly.

When I play blades I've found replacing long irons with Game Improvement long irons (2 and 3) works better, but I still tend to favour the blade 2 and 3 on windy days. Yeah, I often have 16 clubs in the bag during transport then have to do some visualization and mental math before deciding which pair makes it to the course. That alone might make hybrids the smarter choice.

I have bought a bunch of hybrids ranging from 2 - 5 lofts.    I found through much trial and error, they are simply not the as easy to hit as advertised.    Mishits are magnified when compared to irons.     I still prefer my 4 iron, but once in a while, I carry a 4h.    Fairway woods seem to agree with me better - I recently picked up a 7 wood (loft is between a 3 & 4 hybrid) ... don't have much experience on it yet, but from what I see on the practice range, I think it's going to work out better for me than hybrids.

At the amateur level, there's a huge variation in the quality and consistency of  swings. Many amateurs with slower swing speeds can't launch a long iron and find hybrids much easier to hit. Then as you get to the Pro level, where the swings are true and accurate, you will find many Pro's also using hybrids because they work for their needs. For example, Y.E. Yang clinched his win over  Tiger in the 2010 US Open with a beautiful hybrid shot to the green.

I guess that if you know how to hit a long iron well, you don't need to experiment with hybrids.

There does seem to be disagreement over how to hit hybrids. Some say you swing them down like irons. Others say you swing them like woods, It probably also matters what kind of hybrids  you own. Some are like fat irons on steroids. Others look like little woods.

Anyway, I think Harmon isn't wrong.

I'm also a beginner, age 60 and just flirting with breaking 100.  After trying a few sets of clubs, and on advice both from my teacher (a local country club pro) and a couple of knowledgeable golf store guys (using a swing monitor) I got a set of Cleveland HB3's.  All the irons are hybrids, with the 3 being a full hybrid, gradually stepping down to the 9 which has just a bit of added hybrid-ness.  I'm very happy with them.  I find that the 4 has become my favorite club, and I suspect that if it was an iron instead of a hybrid, at my stage of development that would not be the case.  But I like all of them.

My opinion is, if you're a beginner, get some clubs that make it easier on you.  The hybrids will do that.  The game is hard enough to learn, even with the most forgiving gear.  In a few years, you may want something different, or you may not.

I have noticed a lot of it depends on your trajectory with your irons.  I learned to play in Oklahoma, where the wind is crazy, so I always learned to hit low, boring shots.  My average 7 iron is around 155 yards, but with a low, flat trajectory.  So I've always struggled with long irons and didn't play them much, I'd come out better just laying up short with a 6 iron if I had a long shot in.  I went with the Taylormade hybrids, which resemble more of a fairway wood about a year ago to try to get some mid-range shots.  They look like a fairway wood, so I play them like a fairway wood and it works well for me.  I hit nice high shots with them and right now I'm carrying a 4 and 5 hybrid, which are typically 175 and 185 yards respectively.  When I need longer than that, I have a 7 wood that is my 200 yard club.

I have friends that hit their irons very high, and they do better with their long irons.  But they're the same guys that are hitting their 4 irons 160 yards, where I'm hitting an easy 6 iron.  I like the setup I have right now and wouldn't even think about carrying a 3 or 4 iron anymore, I just hit the hybrids better.

Those are some crazy distances.

Hitting a 4 iron 160 is not 'doing better' with long irons...

I borrowed a couple hybrids from my brother last season to give them a go and after a little practice I enjoyed hitting them.  My long irons are easily my least confident clubs and the hybrids have helped.  I do want to eventually replace them with irons if my skills increase enough but for a beginner I prefer them.

I currently carry a 3H and a 5H.  The 3H I'm able to hit it 205 to 210 carry...  The 5H I'm hitting it 185 to 195 carry.  They are nice alternatives for me as my miss with my longer irons (3i/4i) are low hooks.  And with the hybrids... I can get the ball up in the air with a nice trajectory... Which is exactly what I needed to be able to fly more forced carry shots on long par 3's and some par 5's where I'm trying to reach it in 2.

I'm thinking about taking out my 5 iron for a 27 degree hybrid. Know it's deeply unmanly but, to be honest, I'm finding myself hitting a lot of 180ish approaches right now with a choked-down 24 degree hybrid instead. If it's a critical shot -- over water, say -- I won't even think twice about ditching the iron because I just don't trust it the same way.

Chipless,

Your OP says "new to golf." IMHO, everyone except the most accomplished player should be using hybrids and carry no iron with a 4, 3, 2, or 1 on it. I would also make the long-iron exception for those who play in very high winds and are willing to trade a hybrid's forgiveness for a long iron's lower ball flight.

When you are ready to buy clubs, consider an integrated set that seamlessly adds hybrids into the set. As others have said on this thread, hybrids may not be easy to hit but they are easier than the irons they replace.

Adams makes great integrated sets (they may have invented the concept). You will see that Adams makes irons that appear to slowly meld into hybrids as the clubs get longer. The A&OS; set has a 7-hybrid. I also have heard good things about the slightly more "traditional" Mizuno JPX-800HD. The hybrids on the Mizuno set are hybrids of hybrids in that they are shorter and supposed to be even easier to hit than most hybrids. They don't even offer a 3 iron replacement, The hybrids replace the 4 and 5 iron. These integrated sets, targeted at beginner golfers, should tell you something about beginners using hybrids instead of long irons.

http://adamsgolf.com/products/irons/a7os.php

http://www.mizunousa.com/golf/products/mizuno-jpx-800hd-golf-irons