Why are hybrids a club longer?

[onthehunt526]

Hello Universe,

 I know the practical answer to my question, the hybrid is longer and lighter than the iron they are replacing...

Why do OEMs do this?  Joe Blow whose longest actual "iron" is a 7, and he hits his 6-hybrid 25 yards farther than his 7-iron, is fuming... why don't they make the hybrid the same length (or a smidge longer like +1/4" for graphite) as the iron they are replacing? 

Sure you're going to hit it farther than the numbered iron you're replacing, but gapping between your longest iron and shortest hybrid would be closer, especially for seniors and ladies who need all the height they can get.

[SavvySwede]

They line up if you use SGI irons.

[DaveP043]

25 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Why do OEMs do this?  Joe Blow whose longest actual "iron" is a 7, and he hits his 6-hybrid 25 yards farther than his 7-iron, is fuming... why don't they make the hybrid the same length (or a smidge longer like +1/4" for graphite) as the iron they are replacing? 

Joe Blow should learn not to believe the numbers on the bottom of the clubs.  Find a set of clubs so the gaps work out right, no matter what the labels are.  Maybe he needs a 7-iron and a 7-hybrid too, in order to make the gaps work out right.   My wife got a set of the Adams combination irons/hybrids, and I think they worked out just fine for her, with reasonably consistent gaps where the irons stopped and the hybrids start.

[caniac6]

The longest iron I carry is a 5. I also carry a 5 hybrid to replace a 4 iron, and a 4 hybrid in place of a three iron. The gaps seem to work for me.

[David in FL]

Are most hybrids even "numbered" any more? Mine only have the lofts.  I simply choose the lofts that give me the gaps that I need.  Even easier with the adjustability that so many offer these days....

[onthehunt526]

The longest iron I personally carry is a 4 iron. My 3 hybrid, plays more like a "2-iron".

I don't per se have an issue with them being a club longer. I just wonder why they do it. A 4h that is an inch to an inch and a half longer than a 4 iron. Is a little ridiculous. It looks like a lot of OEMs are getting a little better about it, where the hybrid is only a half to three-quarters of an inch longer than the same numbered iron... 

IMHO, I believe that if hybrids had lightweight steel shafts, it would be even closer.

@David in FL my example includes Hybrids with the same lofts as the numbered iron they replace.

[David in FL]

44 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

The longest iron I personally carry is a 4 iron. My 3 hybrid, plays more like a "2-iron".

I don't per se have an issue with them being a club longer. I just wonder why they do it. A 4h that is an inch to an inch and a half longer than a 4 iron. Is a little ridiculous. It looks like a lot of OEMs are getting a little better about it, where the hybrid is only a half to three-quarters of an inch longer than the same numbered iron... 

IMHO, I believe that if hybrids had lightweight steel shafts, it would be even closer.

@David in FL my example includes Hybrids with the same lofts as the numbered iron they replace.

Everyone's different.

My hybrids are 19* and 22* and I use them in place of my 3 and 4-irons which are 20* and 23* respectively. For me, the hybrids fly higher and land softer than the irons, even though they're a degree stronger.  I'm sure the shafts have as much to do with that as the lofts.  

[WUTiger]

It depends on whether you have an iron-replacement or  "traditional" hybrid.

Iron replacement hybrids have the same shaft length and loft as the numbered irons they are designed to replace.Traditional hybrids were designed as bridge clubs between long irons and FWs. They have longer shafts than the corresponding numbered irons they might replace. Mizuno offers both.

M has the JPX Fli-Hi line, which are iron replacement hybrids.

Fli-Hi 4H has 22* loft and a 38.25" shaft, the same specs as 4 irons for the JPX EZ and JPX-850 iron models.

On the other hand, Mizuno offers the JPX EZ and JPX-850 hybrids, which are traditional hybrids. The 4U model for each has 22* loft, but a 40" shaft (3/4" longer than the Fli-Hi or corresponding iron model 4i).

[GolfLug]

Surely the loft gaps account for the distances easily.

But, given equal lofts and equal swing speed, I believe longer graphite shafts that are usually used in hybrids, kick a bit more at impact and fly higher. I know for a fact that they land softer. Face is usually thinner and hotter (except the super thin SGI iron faces). So I think reasonable to think that they may carry longer as well. Just an educated guess though.

 

BTW: higher the base swing speed less the difference in the carry distance between a hybrid and iron of equal loft.

[bubble]

the hybrids are not too long, the player iron play capacity is more often not sufficient.

[DrvFrShow]

I have adjustable hybrids. I set the loft of the hybrid so that it's about 12 yds further carry than my 5 iron. That means it's set at the same loft as my 5 iron. It's just a little longer length than my 5 iron. Still, I carry a 4 iron for a "driving iron".

[onthehunt526]

5 hours ago, WUTiger said:

It depends on whether you have an iron-replacement or  "traditional" hybrid.

Iron replacement hybrids have the same shaft length and loft as the numbered irons they are designed to replace.Traditional hybrids were designed as bridge clubs between long irons and FWs. They have longer shafts than the corresponding numbered irons they might replace. Mizuno offers both.

M has the JPX Fli-Hi line, which are iron replacement hybrids.

Fli-Hi 4H has 22* loft and a 38.25" shaft, the same specs as 4 irons for the JPX EZ and JPX-850 iron models.

On the other hand, Mizuno offers the JPX EZ and JPX-850 hybrids, which are traditional hybrids. The 4U model for each has 22* loft, but a 40" shaft (3/4" longer than the Fli-Hi or corresponding iron model 4i).

 

@WUTiger would be the one give me an iron-replacement hybrid example. He is my back-up caddy when Alina isn't available...

I know there are few more "iron-replacement" hybrids on the market, I know TE has entire sets of them with current lines include the CB Pro Tungsten and The Hot Launch Ironwood line, and they've had more in the past...

My guess of why "traditional" hybrids are so long, is the gaps at the top end of the bag, don't matter so much. So basically my EX9 3-hybrid plays kind of like a cross between a 5 and 7 wood.

[SavvySwede]

22 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

 

@WUTiger would be the one give me an iron-replacement hybrid example. He is my back-up caddy when Alina isn't available...

I know there are few more "iron-replacement" hybrids on the market, I know TE has entire sets of them with current lines include the CB Pro Tungsten and The Hot Launch Ironwood line, and they've had more in the past...

My guess of why "traditional" hybrids are so long, is the gaps at the top end of the bag, don't matter so much. So basically my EX9 3-hybrid plays kind of like a cross between a 5 and 7 wood.

Have you considered you don't hit your fairway woods as far as you should?

[onthehunt526]

2 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Have you considered you don't hit your fairway woods as far as you should?

@SavvySwede I only carry one fairway wood the 4-wood... The old XRail, I hit about 220, in hit the EX9 about 230-235... I hit my EX9 3h about 215-220.

So perhaps, perhaps I don't hit my 4-wood far enough, or perhaps I do... I have 10-15 more yards of carry with my EX9 Driver than my XRail... 

But my point is, more or less "traditional" hybrids are more like short "fairway woods" than long iron replacement...

 

[jsgolfer]

On March 12, 2016 at 5:44 PM, DaveP043 said:

Joe Blow should learn not to believe the numbers on the bottom of the clubs.  Find a set of clubs so the gaps work out right, no matter what the labels are.  Maybe he needs a 7-iron and a 7-hybrid too, in order to make the gaps work out right.   My wife got a set of the Adams combination irons/hybrids, and I think they worked out just fine for her, with reasonably consistent gaps where the irons stopped and the hybrids start.

I have a 7 iron and 7 iron for just this problem. My 7 hybrid is the same loft as my old 6 iron.  As others have noted the degree is on the club which makes it easy to gap the hybrids and your irons. 

 

[SavvySwede]

12 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

@SavvySwede I only carry one fairway wood the 4-wood... The old XRail, I hit about 220, in hit the EX9 about 230-235... I hit my EX9 3h about 215-220.

So perhaps, perhaps I don't hit my 4-wood far enough, or perhaps I do... I have 10-15 more yards of carry with my EX9 Driver than my XRail... 

But my point is, more or less "traditional" hybrids are more like short "fairway woods" than long iron replacement...

 

Yeah those yardages seem a bit off to me. You should be hitting the driver and 4W further if you can get 215-220 out of the hybrid. I would think an extra 15yards with the driver. What's your swingspeed?

[onthehunt526]

22 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Yeah those yardages seem a bit off to me. You should be hitting the driver and 4W further if you can get 215-220 out of the hybrid. I would think an extra 15yards with the driver. What's your swingspeed?

Between 105 and 110, average is probably 106 or 107...  I was averaging 250 carry with the XRail Driver, I average about 260-265 carry with the EX-9, the difference is the XRail was off the rack, and the EX9 is dynamically fit...

Driver- 262(10°)

4-wood- 232 (16.5°)

3-hybrid- 217 (19°)

The driver is 45.5", The 4-wood 43", The 3-hybrid is 40.75"... All my shafts are Matrix Black Tie 7M3.1 X-Flex... Swingweight is 3 points higher (+1/2") than standard.... What's wrong with 15 yards between my 4w and 3h? There is only 2.5° of loft in between the two...

 

[SavvySwede]

42 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Between 105 and 110, average is probably 106 or 107...  I was averaging 250 carry with the XRail Driver, I average about 260-265 carry with the EX-9, the difference is the XRail was off the rack, and the EX9 is dynamically fit...

Driver- 262(10°)

4-wood- 232 (16.5°)

3-hybrid- 217 (19°)

The driver is 45.5", The 4-wood 43", The 3-hybrid is 40.75"... All my shafts are Matrix Black Tie 7M3.1 X-Flex... Swingweight is 3 points higher (+1/2") than standard.... What's wrong with 15 yards between my 4w and 3h? There is only 2.5° of loft in between the two...

 

Whoops, confused the numbers/names. Thought the 235 was the driver.