Hybrid iron vs Rescue club?

[strohman]

I'm currently using some older clubs and I'm starting to upgrade a bit at a time.  My 4-6 irons are bybrids.  I replaced my 3 wood and I'm looking at a 5 wood, but where does a rescue club fit in?  Is it closer to a 7 wood, 3 iron hybrid, or something else?  There are a lot more categories than there used to be and I'm thinking that some of these might begin to overlap.

In the past I have used a 5 or 7 wood as a type of rescue club, but that was before the hybrid irons.

Help me understand the differences in these clubs!

Thanks!

[disco111]

I've tried the hybrid route several times and finally settled on fairway woods instead. The initial instructions, at least what I was told for hybrids, was to hit down on them, just like you would an iron. But, just about every time I stood over the ball and looked down, that part of the equation just seemed to slip my mind and I hit them like a fairway wood, with somewhat dubious results. Now I haven't the slightest understanding, as to the why's and where for's as to why i couldn't just make the same swing with both, but it didn't work that way. With that fairway 5 and 7 wood, they are for one a little longer shaft wise and knowing it's a wood just seems to equate to a better pass at the ball. A plus however, is that I hit the FW's longer and at my age, that's a big plus.

[saevel25]

I'm currently using some older clubs and I'm starting to upgrade a bit at a time.  My 4-6 irons are bybrids.  I replaced my 3 wood and I'm looking at a 5 wood, but where does a rescue club fit in?  Is it closer to a 7 wood, 3 iron hybrid, or something else?  There are a lot more categories than there used to be and I'm thinking that some of these might begin to overlap.

In the past I have used a 5 or 7 wood as a type of rescue club, but that was before the hybrid irons.

Help me understand the differences in these clubs!

Thanks!

I would say you either get a 3 iron or 4 hybrid. I would find out what your yardages are at, and go look for clubs you like that fit the gap between your 5-wood and 4 iron.

Fairway Woods tend to have a larger clubface, wider and longer sole and launch lower off fairway lies than hybrids.

I think a lot of people find that fairway woods are easier to hit off the tee than hybrids. Hybrids are easier to hit off the ground than fairway woods.

[colnago1331]

I think a lot of people find that fairway woods are easier to hit off the tee than hybrids. Hybrids are easier to hit off the ground than fairway woods.

This is certainly the case for me. I primarily use my 4 wood as a mini driver on holes where a driver will put me in trouble. The 4H, meanwhile, is a great fairway club (and rough club). Of course, YMMV.

[WUTiger]

Hybrid gets its name from genetics, an organism which results from the blending of two species.  In this case, hybrid blends irons and fairway woods. A hybrid has smaller, woodlike head and shorter shaft than a fairway wood, and due to head design gets the ball up better than a long iron for most golfers. And, it's often more reliable than lower-lofted FWs.

In the days of hickory-shafted clubs, the forerunner of the hybrid was called a bulldog. It had a small wooden head - face of it about two golfballs wide - a shorter shaft and around 24º in loft. Bulldog got you out of the rough.

In the 1970s, various small club shops offered utility clubs - basically shorter-shafted woods with heads designed to get you out of the rough. An example: the Stan Thompson Ginty , which had a heavy metal, v-shaped sole to help rough exit.

Also, golfers have seen multiple waves of high-lofted fairway woods - 7W, 9W and 11W - both before and during the hybrid craze. Some golfers find these easier to hit than hybrids.

In common usage, hybrid and rescue are synonymous. GolfLink.com credits TM with launching modern hybrids with the 2003 Rescue Mid-Hybrid club. Recently, some companies have come up with hybrid iron sets - basically, you have a thick-soled iron with a hybrid-like head throughout the set - gets the ball up easier. Models include the Cleveland HB3 and the Adams Idea Tech.

We have had many threads discussing hybrids. Here are some of them, talking about FW vs. hybrid selection, long irons, and "traditional" vs. iron-replacement hybrids. Enjoy!

[dbuck]

Thanks, WUT for the excellent summation.

I will add a couple of thoughts.

I have an old Taylor Raylor from about 1992 which to me is the modern forerunner of the hybrid Rescue later introduced by TM. It to me is also a variation of the Ginty that WUT mentioned. For you youngsters who haven't seen one, the original Raylor was styled after the Tour Preferred fairway woods but with a small head and rails on the sole, hence the name Raylor. I have seen it in lofts of 19* and 16* ( mine is 16*), and there may have been a 23* available but I don't recall. That old 16* is one club I will never let go of as long as I can swing it's DG S300.

I have always understood that you basically hit down on all shots except the driver, although more shallow with a 3 wood than a pitching wedge. I am much more of a sweeper than a digger all through the bag, but still hit down slightly on fairways, especially with my Raylor. I have two Callaway hybrids, 20* and 23*, and find them equally usefull off the tee or off the deck. My swing and ball position with them is somewhat similar to a 4 or 3 iron.

When I carry a more modern bag, I go Driver-Raylor-3H-4H-4 iron and find that gives me good coverage.

[WUTiger]

... I have an old Taylor Raylor from about 1992 which to me is the modern forerunner of the hybrid Rescue later introduced by TM. ...

dbuck,

I remember when your first version came out. After Raylor1 went out of production, I almost never saw one in a used club bin - owners liked them!

Circa 2009, the second-wave Raylors arrived. I carried the 19* version instead of a 5W for about two years. I almost got a 22* version to replace the 3i.

It was a good club, except I had trouble with distance control. When I went to 4W / 7W mix my wife pressed me to sell it , and the trade-in brought about enough money for a good lunch at a sports bar.

Raylor on, dude!