Hybrid vs. 5 iron

[Flipmode]

I bag the 3,4, and 5 Taylormade burner hybrids. If I had more time than once a week to practice or play I would consider putting the 5i back in but I just dont have the time to practice. It's crazy how you can just step up to the ball with a hybrid and know that if you put at least a half decent swing on it it will turn out to be a good shot. Im starting to come to the realization that I only have time to be a weekend warrior and that mid 80's low 90's might be as good as I get so why make the game harder than it has to be. My advice would be to use the 5h and when you have the extra time to practice...practice the short game

[topspin4hand]

When I started playing 3 yrs ago (in my 30's), I began with no 4-iron and 3-hybrid and 4-hybrid. However, the hybrids always felt to closed and I hooked them although my misses with all my other clubs were straight right pushes. So I took the hybrids out of the bag last season. This season, I put a 4-iron in my bag after a month of range work. I use that on long Par 3's b/c I'm more accurate with it.

This past weekend, my neighbor who is about 12 came over with his dad and hit my 4-hybrid into the woods in my back yard. He literally killed the ball with my club. So I was motivated and put the 4-hybrid in my bag for today's early morning round. I hit 2 GREAT shots with it. The 1st was my second shot from the rough on a par 5. I got about 180 yards out of it. The 2nd shot with the 4-hybrid was from 182 yds on a par 4 over water and I was in the rough. The ball carried about 185-190 yards rolled thru the green and I ended about 5 yards in the rough behind the hole. I chipped in for one of the few birdies I've carded this season (This was #1 handicap hole on the course). So I'll keep the hybrid in my bag (it replaced a 60° wedge) for situations when I'm in the rough. I'll have to test it when I have a fairway lie, though I prefer my 4 or 5-irons (or 5-wood on par 5's) in those situations ...

[VinoGolfer]

I'm a very new golfer, but I actually find my 5h much harder to hit properly than my 6i. I just can't figure it out as the hybrids were supposed to help my game. I bought a set of Adams A7 ideas to get started.

[brgolf]

I'm not a hybrid person but a 5i isn't usually too bad to hit. In this case I think you'd stand much more to gain from improving your technique that switching to another hybrid. Unless you aren't really trying to improve in which case find whatever club suits you best for your current ability.

[golfdesperado]

I know this is Old thread. Just read it and it is an eye opener for me that a lot of other people have trouble hitting the 5 well and constant even the PGA Pro's. I am at the driving range start hitting balls with sw , p, 9, 8, then the 7 still hitting them well. Then i take out my 6 and start to be a bit insecure but still struck it reasonable well. Then I take out my 5 and start praying that i hit it it well and of course i don't. Up to the 6 iron i feel i have a chance in playing golf but when i try the 5 it goes al south for me and drive home disappointed. Next range session I try a hybrid 21* or 19* and will continue trying to hit the 5 iron but in the back of my mind the mantra even a pga pro uses a 5h to hit it flush.

What is a good hybrid to replace a 5i ? Is there a lot of difference between the brands/type of hybrids. does it have to be the same brand your irons are?

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by golfdesperado

I know this is Old thread. Just read it and it is an eye opener for me that a lot of other people have trouble hitting the 5 well and constant even the PGA Pro's. I am at the driving range start hitting balls with sw , p, 9, 8, then the 7 still hitting them well. Then i take out my 6 and start to be a bit insecure but still struck it reasonable well. Then I take out my 5 and start praying that i hit it it well and of course i don't. Up to the 6 iron i feel i have a chance in playing golf but when i try the 5 it goes al south for me and drive home disappointed. Next range session I try a hybrid 21* or 19* and will continue trying to hit the 5 iron but in the back of my mind the mantra even a pga pro uses a 5h to hit it flush.

What is a good hybrid to replace a 5i ? Is there a lot of difference between the brands/type of hybrids. does it have to be the same brand your irons are?

On newer iron sets your 5i is really a 4i from about 10 years ago which is why many people have difficulty hitting it.  Iron makers have jacked up the lofts on irons to give you the illusion you're hitting the ball further.  Depending on your iron set, you'd want a 24* - 27* hybrid to replace your 5i.  Right handed players have more options, so go test out a few.  If you already have hybrids in your bag and like how they look and play stick with the same brand and model.

[Hacker James]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerald

None

I still don't understand much of the USA handicap system, we have NONE 11.1 cappers that cannot handle a proper 3 iron.

Soon you'll have 9 hybrids, a chipper, a sandwedge, a putter and a driver

that is a lot more common than you might imagine.  I noted a guy once, carried all woods the highest being a nine wood. Not hybrids, but  fairway woods. That nine wood looked like he was swinging a robins egg.

[Hacker James]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerald

None

I still don't understand much of the USA handicap system, we have NONE 11.1 cappers that cannot handle a proper 3 iron.

Soon you'll have 9 hybrids, a chipper, a sandwedge, a putter and a driver

that is a lot more common than you might imagine.  I noted a guy once, carried all woods the highest being a nine wood. Not hybrids, but  fairway woods. That nine wood looked like he was swinging a robins egg.

[Dave2512]

Hyrons (hybrid irons) are becoming popular. Steel shafts, same length as "standard" irons, feel and sound like an iron. I just bought the Cleveland Altitude 588 5 and 6 hi and I couldn't say enough good things about them. Really have to do something wrong to hit it bad. I bought those on a whim, wasn't even having long iron and hybrid issues. Just wanted to experiment since I have the 588 TT's. They are made to mix and match.

[NuclearMike]

My iron set came with a 5 iron (lofted like a 4 iron) as its longest iron.  I hit the similarly lofted hybrid farther and higher than I do the iron so I can keep both in the bag, but on most days I add a wedge and take the 5 iron out of the bag, just because the hybrid is easier to hit and stops quicker..

[ridenemwild]

I am a high handicap player and thought I would chime in. I replaced my 3,4,and 5 iron with g20 hybrids. The reason I replaced them is #1 I have a difficult time hitting the longer irons and not much of a distance gap between them and #2 the longer irons are not clubs I try to attack the greens with so I enjoy the extra distance and reliability of the hybrids. I am much more comfortable hitting a 4 wood off the tee and a 4 hybrid the a wedge on a par 5 then trying to hit 4 wood 7 iron 8 iron on the same par 5. The 5 hybrid is also the perfect 190 yard club for me for when I screw up off the tee and need to recover to try and get on the green. I have zero confidence in trying to hit a 5 iron on the green but the hybrid gives me the confidence that I will atleast get on the green.

[Lihu]

I find that my 21 degree and 18 degree hybrids go a bit farther than my 3 iron. I replaced my woods with them. I sacrifice a bit of distance with the long par 5's, but at least I can hit them.

[Hacker James]

ya know.....I am starting to give second thought about replacing long irons with hybrids. I have a 4H and Olimar 21* and removed 3I and 4I.  I also realize that I really only use 7I and up. Now while it is true, the 4H and the 7W are easier to hit, get better results, I fear I will lose my touch with the longer irons if I do not use them once in awhile. If I put those two irons back in the bag, something has to come out, and I really would hate not having the 21* . My thoughts are to lose my Lob wedge, and take out the 4H for awhile., or maybe keep it and lose the 5I....or maybe......

Oh hell, just leave it the f**k alone the way it is now.......

Sure glad we got that straightened out.....Thanks!

[dbuck]

Eons ago I took a few lessons and the teacher had me do most of my practice with a 5 iron. Today, I still do most of my full swing practice with a 5 iron, so I have a fair amount of confidence with it. All my clubs are older, so my 5 irons are not as strong as some; 1 is a 26* and the others are weaker. For most of the last 35 years, I have been able to hit all the irons fairly well for my ability-including the 1 iron; not that long, but reasonably relative to my 5 iron distance. I didn't take up hybrids until a couple of years ago, but now have a 20* 3h and a 23* 4H. I get more distance from a 4H than a 4 iron, so there is only a very small overlap. I am ok with a 5 iron and I still would need a 4 iron or close to it. To the OP, I would use what works best, but I would try to keep an iron around 24-27 in the bag if I could. Small overlaps in that range are a good thing.

[Apras]

i'm a 15 capper recenty replaced my 5i with an adams pro black 26 hybrid, and i won't be turning back. it is a 190 yard club secret weapon.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by RDM#

I just saw a small article in the August 2010 Golf Digest about Y.E. Yang, he just put a third hybrid in his bag to replace his 5 iron, he says he hits it 195 yards, but overall he is more comfortable with it, and says " I'm done with the longer irons: I'll never hit a 3 iron again."

So the way I see it, if he is a pro and is using hybrids, why shouldn't we use them if it improves our game, why struggle with a long iron when you don't have to, it doesn't mean you are any less of a golfer.

At the time, Yang was 5-foot-9, weighed 165 lbs., and was age 38. A taller person might be able to generate more clubhead speed, which is useful in hitting long irons.

Mickelson and Ernie Els both use long irons quite well, as does Tiger. And, there's 28-year-old Charlie Beljan. He carries a driver, 2i-9i, and 4 wedges.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equipment/whats-in-my-bag/2013-06/photos-charlie-beljan-bag#slide=1

Yang is an accomplished pro golfer, but he's only one person. You're trying to extrapolate what one person does to all golfers in the world.

My brother plays golf, and rarely breaks 90. But since he was 14 years old, he could hit a screaming 2-iron. When we play in scrambles, he'll work that 2i under the headwind and put us on the green for a birdie or an easy par a couple of times a round.

I carried a 3i until last year. Used it as a driving iron - great for a low draw down left center on short par 4s or windy holes. I switched to an Adams V4 4H, it launches fairly low and is more reliable and has more uses than a 3i.

There's also the issue of shaft. Players that are iffy on long irons might be able to hit them it they had flighted shafts, or softstepped their standard shafts.

[Hacker James]

last time this subject came up, I added that I hit a one iron pretty well. I got a lot of heat over that almost to the point of being called a liar.  Fact is, I am quite comfortable hitting that one iron and even practice doing a lot of short game pitches. I find that it has helped with my tempo. That being said, I don't carry it too often as it is much easier to grab a hybrid or lofted fairway wood without having to  concentrate so much. Admittedly, one has to be careful and hitting off the deck is a bit more difficult.

[Chris223]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

At the time, Yang was 5-foot-9, weighed 165 lbs., and was age 38. A taller person might be able to generate more clubhead speed, which is useful in hitting long irons.

Mickelson and Ernie Els both use long irons quite well, as does Tiger. And, there's 28-year-old Charlie Beljan. He carries a driver, 2i-9i, and 4 wedges.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equipment/whats-in-my-bag/2013-06/photos-charlie-beljan-bag#slide=1

Yang is an accomplished pro golfer, but he's only one person. You're trying to extrapolate what one person does to all golfers in the world.

My brother plays golf, and rarely breaks 90. But since he was 14 years old, he could hit a screaming 2-iron. When we play in scrambles, he'll work that 2i under the headwind and put us on the green for a birdie or an easy par a couple of times a round.

I carried a 3i until last year. Used it as a driving iron - great for a low draw down left center on short par 4s or windy holes. I switched to an Adams V4 4H, it launches fairly low and is more reliable and has more uses than a 3i.

There's also the issue of shaft. Players that are iffy on long irons might be able to hit them it they had flighted shafts, or softstepped their standard shafts.

I think the point was that people who are very skilled at hitting a 3 or 4i really sound stupid calling people who can't hit those well and choose to replace them with hybrids "not real golfers".  God forbid people use the new technology to have more fun and improve their game.  Sorry, I don't feel like any less of a golfer nor should I lose respect from other players because I don't carry a 4 iron and actually just recently replaced my 5 iron with an X-Hot 5h.  I hit it better, higher and it lands softer - the idea of a hybrid.  I can strike my 5i pretty well but I often found myself choosing not to use it off the deck because I just didn't often catch it the way I wanted.  But once I learned how to hit the hybrids (hooked them like crazy when I first got them... till I learned to start hitting more down on the ball with it because you need to play them more like an iron vs a wood) now I strike the ball great with a hybrid and out of the rough I can be on or near the green vs trying to rip a 5 iron through thick rough and watching the ball go nowhere.