As a beginner: 4 iron > 4 hybrid

[Roenie]

As I'm relatively new to golf (best score thus far: +7 on a 9h par3), you'd think that I'd do better with a 4 hybrid than a 4 iron.
At the range today, I compared my cavity back 4 iron to my 4 hybrid.
(Yes, I know I have to hit down on the ball with a hybrid, as with an iron.)

The hybrid is absolutely no easier to hit well than the 4 iron. Both clubs require the same large amount of care to hit well.
My mishits were worse with the hybrid, wider left/right dispersion, the bad shots were typically a massive hook/slice, often low.
The hybrid's head is like a fairway wood's head but much smaller so it lacks forgiveness while the shaft still feels long.
(7W is easier to hit near the target line).
The 4 iron has a much heavier head than the hybrid, easier to control / keep on track during the swing.
With the cavity backed 4 iron as long as I get a half decent enough contact, it launches just fine.
I can feel a less than good contact in my hands (tingles) but the ball still launches ok.
When I nut it with the hybrid it does go higher, but it doesn't need to go quite that high.

So for me, the hybrid was no easier or better than the long iron. Subjectively I find the hybrid slightly harder to hit, if anything.
My next iron set will most likely include a 3 iron. Sue me.
Anyone else just not understand the hybrid hype?

Edited June 19, 2016 by Roenie

[Roenie]

Don't assume I have massive swing speed either. I might be 6' 1" but I'm only about 55kg/121 pounds. Not a big guy.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Roenie

[Shindig]

Are your irons and hybrid well fit for you?  Or just randomly pulled from somewhere?

My first hybrid that I tried was a S-flex 2-hybrid.  No wonder I didn't like it!

[Roenie]

Randomly pulled. Regular flex shaft though, which should be fine for me.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Roenie

[b101]

I love my 3 and 4 irons and take whichever one is in the bag off most tees I can. Thing is, I think it's partly because, as @Shindig suggests, the hybrid is off the rack and I just don't trust it as much as I do my irons, which I know have the right loft, lie and shafts. I actually want to spend more time with the hybrid, but often it's just not the club I need and falls into no mans land between my 3 wood (240-250 odd) and 4 iron (220-240). The misses with the 4 iron are probably about as bad, as my rubbish shot with the hybrid is a crap, low thin. 

Basically, I reckon part of it is personal preference. I know the hybrid is easier to hit (and for me, I reckon the fact that I don't find that is my problem to sort out), but you're by no means the only person to find otherwise. 

[chilepepper]

My previous hybrids were ok. Just by chance I had a rental set that had ping g20 hybrids in it. Something clicked with those and I ended up with them in my bag. I bought 1 first and did well with it. Then I tried about 8 different hybrids at a shop and didn't find anything that worked as well for me. I'm not endorsing pings but rather encourage you to try others and see what works for you. 

[70sSanO]

Took me years to get used to a hybrid.  Tried a few and just couldn't hit them.  Finally found one in the past month or so that seems to work well enough for me, but I still carry a 5i and 5h until I finalize the decision since I would rather hit a 5i.  As for as 3i and 4i, I have gone to a 19* 5W and a 22* 7W.

I chalk it up to a long history of pre-hybrid golf and not being able to embrace the whole hybrid thing.  If you can hit a 4i well, you are better off.  If you hit a 4i bad and a 4h even worse, you may want to keep pursuing a hybrid until you find the right one.

John

Edited June 21, 2016 by 70sSanO

[WUTiger]

Randomly pulled...

First hybrid I ever played just didn't work. It was OK out of light rough, but crazy off the tee or from the fairway.

Note: Some standard hybrids have a draw bias, which can cause left misses if you move through the ball well. That's the problem I had with the first hybrid.

I played a TaylorMade Raylor trouble club for a couple of years. Later, I went to a demo day and found two different brands of hybrids that flew quite well. It was just a matter of finding the right one.

See if you can try some other hybrids "from the experience barrel" and find one you like.

[DrvFrShow]

I play both a 4H and a 5H and a 5i. The 4H requires a better lie than the 5H. If it's wet I'll hit the 5 iron. 

[EMC2144]

I used to think that way.  I went out of my way to find a set with a 4 iron, and then found a 3 iron that matched up properly.  Now I regret it.  At a demo day I tried the new Cobra King F6 irons (and the respective hybrids) and the same clubs from Taylormade M2.  I hit the 4 irons in each set about 210-220.  I enjoyed the F6 more, so I tried the hybrids.  I hit the 4/5 set to 25* loft 225-230 yards, and it was easier (once I found out that you swing it like an iron, not a wood.  The only question I have that I couldn't answer at a demo day is how they work in the rough.  I've read that they cut through better than an iron, but that makes no sense to me.  The biggest issue I see is that since they have graphite shafts, you better make sure you like the shaft.  In my opinion, it's easier to play with most any steel shaft given the correct stiffness than any graphite.  Just more finicky to me.  I could just be crazy though.

[Roenie]

21 hours ago, EMC2144 said:

The biggest issue I see is that since they have graphite shafts, you better make sure you like the shaft.  In my opinion, it's easier to play with most any steel shaft given the correct stiffness than any graphite.  Just more finicky to me.  I could just be crazy though.

I don't see why you can't be crazy and make a good point.
It's possible the shaft is what's causing my problems with my hybrid.
I probably shouldn't judge all hybrids after having used just one, and with just one shaft.
Still going to make sure I get a 3 iron in my next set just in case though!

Edited June 23, 2016 by Roenie

[EMC2144]

If nothing else, the three iron may be good for punching out, if you have problems keeping punches down.

[Roenie]

It seems to depend on how you feel on the day, as well.

During another session at the range today my confidence with the 4 iron wasn't there like it was last time. This time at least half my shots were bad and the 4 hybrid was slightly better, mostly because it launched higher more often.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Roenie

[shanksalot]

I have been playing this game of over 50 years and to me the hybrid is one of the best equipment changes to help us hit the "long" clubs/irons. I would suggest you try to get to a demo day and try all the different styles of hybrid clubs. As I get older my swing speed keeps going lower and lower, but with the hybrids I can hit it longer, higher and have it land softer on the green. Wow it is like being twenty years younger. 

[Lihu]

On 6/19/2016 at 1:16 PM, Roenie said:

As I'm relatively new to golf (best score thus far: +7 on a 9h par3), you'd think that I'd do better with a 4 hybrid than a 4 iron.
At the range today, I compared my cavity back 4 iron to my 4 hybrid.
(Yes, I know I have to hit down on the ball with a hybrid, as with an iron.)

The hybrid is absolutely no easier to hit well than the 4 iron. Both clubs require the same large amount of care to hit well.
My mishits were worse with the hybrid, wider left/right dispersion, the bad shots were typically a massive hook/slice, often low.
The hybrid's head is like a fairway wood's head but much smaller so it lacks forgiveness while the shaft still feels long.
(7W is easier to hit near the target line).
The 4 iron has a much heavier head than the hybrid, easier to control / keep on track during the swing.
With the cavity backed 4 iron as long as I get a half decent enough contact, it launches just fine.
I can feel a less than good contact in my hands (tingles) but the ball still launches ok.
When I nut it with the hybrid it does go higher, but it doesn't need to go quite that high.

So for me, the hybrid was no easier or better than the long iron. Subjectively I find the hybrid slightly harder to hit, if anything.
My next iron set will most likely include a 3 iron. Sue me.
Anyone else just not understand the hybrid hype?

Yes, they do. One doesn't really replace the other.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 6/19/2016 at 4:36 PM, Roenie said:

Randomly pulled. Regular flex shaft though, which should be fine for me.

This kind of explains things, along with some facts you gave in the OP. You're swinging two very different clubs! Why would you expect them to produce similar results?

For me, every hybrid or "rescue club" I own is easier to hit than the equivalent iron. They get the ball up in the air, and I hit them farther! About the only problem I have with them is when I wind up in the trees and need to hit a low punch out of there. The hybrids get the ball in the air so easily that they are hard to keep low! I sometimes feel like pulling one club and putting an old 2 iron in the bag for that specific purpose.

[Rainmaker]

I have an SGI 4 iron with a uniflex shaft and it's easy to launch.  I have a "players" cavity back 4 iron (in another set) with a stiff shaft and it's kind of a thinker for me.  I know I *can* hit it.  I don't know that I'd carry it if the players irons were my gaming irons - which they are not.  I game the SGI irons so I do carry the 4 and don't really need a 4 hybrid. 

If you hit your 4i well and you're not changing your irons, I suggest leaving the 4i in use the space for a 3 or 2 hybrid, or a driving iron or another wedge or something that fits a gap for you in your current set. 

 

 

[Lihu]

A 4i and 4 hybrid are not the same club. A 4 hybrid is typically 20-23 degrees and a 4i is usually 24-25 degrees. There is some overlap between the lofts in the newer irons, especially the GI or SGI type clubs. For example, the Callaway BB type of clubs are essentially all hybrids.

A 4 hybrid is usually a longer club and launches higher and typically carries almost it's total distance. For instance, I carry my 20 degree hybrid about 195 to 215 yards and it goes about 203 on average. My 4i is my 200 yard club. It carries about 190 yards when I hit it correctly.

They're different clubs. A 4 hybrid would be like a 3i with a launch boost.

One is not easier to hit correctly than the other. A hybrid is more "forgiving" especially for people with lower swing speeds, but it is just as difficult to hit well as a 4i because the expectations are usually higher. That is, I expect to carry 200 yards with it.