Guys, it's 2013 and the Mashie has been replaced with the Classic Hybrid - the shaft is the Matrix Ozik shaft and I believe it's a bit different from the previous Miyazaki shaft.
I haven't hit the Mashie before, but I know Cleveland's been using the same gliderail technology for these clubs for about 15 years. I've been looking to add a hybrid to the bag for awhile now, and tried a host of hybrids over the course of two testing sessions this past month at Golfsmith. I consistently hit longer and straighter w/ the Cleveland Classic Hybrid - both 18 degree 2h and the 20.5 3h.
Here's the list of hybrids I tried, ranked in order with my thoughts on each:
1. Cleveland Classic Hybrid - purchased this club after 2 sessions. Feels the most like an iron, with the ability to swing easy and still produce a penetrating ball that for me has gotten a nice high trajectory that still penetrates into the wind at my local range (usually a 1-2 club wind dead in your face at this range).
2. Ping g20 - At first loved the forgiveness and consistent distance of this hybrid, but the feel was a bit too heavy for my liking, and although this hit arguably the same distance and was a straight ball flight like the Cleveland Classic (avg carry of 201-105, total distance around 215-220 average), it did not feel as iron-like throughout the swing. After about 10 shots I started to see that the club was actually not as forgiving as I thought and felt somewhat stingy at impact.
3.Ping i20 - also liked this club, tried it only for the first session but it looked too much like a wood at address. Just wasn't what I was looking for.
4. Adams v4 - I came in really wanting to like the Adams hybrid, because of all the hype and being the #1 hybrid on tour. But the hybrid felt super heavy and the head felt clunky. I just didn't hit it as purely and didn't feel like I could dial in my swing with the club because of the way the head was shaped. It's awkwardly rectangular and felt clunky and didn't do it for me.
Sorry for the long review that may be out of context for the post, but I know there are not a lot of reviews on the new Cleveland Classic line, so I wanted to get some content out there for everyone.
Cheers,
T.G.