Is the Hybrid on its return ?

[Gerald]

I have had quite a few hybrids and well I was never really pleased with their performance, I am sure it was my personal problem, read lots of advise, to hit them like a 7 irons etc. but the result I got from them were inconsistent. Hit some high balls, some nice long fades but also a severe hook out of the blue sky.

Looking in tour player bags, they seem to vanish or actually these guns are so seldom at distances they need the hybrid.

In my other topic on 10 clubs, I saw quite a lot of 3H etc.

So what is your opinion on, are hybrids on their return ?

[klineka]

Most pros dont hit hybrids because they have enough clubhead speed and skill to hit 2 and 3 irons consistently. Most amateurs do not. It's really as simple as that.

Spieth is one of the guys that immediately comes to mind that I know uses a hybrid though.

IMO, for the amateur game, hybrids aren't on their return, they've already returned. Pretty much any new boxed set for beginners is going to have a few hybrids in it, and the standard makeup for new iron sets is 4-PW, which means most people will look for a hybrid to fill the gap between 4 iron and 3 wood.

[GrandStranded]

Return? When did they leave? BTW If you're a 18 cap, don't set up your bag based on what a pro has in his. You're a different animal. 

[Gerald]

1 hour ago, GrandStranded said:

BTW If you're a 18 cap, don't set up your bag based on what a pro has in his. You're a different animal. 

I am not an 18 ..... maybe I am a 54 now, but I used to play from 5.7 so I know how to play (not like these animals) ....... and I have a 2H that I only use from the tee at long par 3's or narrow par 4's ..... my 3W goes as long as most players drivers, my driver .... balls go out of sight, mostly ending in the woods or on another fairway -;)

[ncates00]

Did hybrids leave?  I know the higher speed players don't use them as much, but the rest of us have embraced them.  My ball speed and peak height are much higher with the equivalent hybrid.

[Mr. Desmond]

No matter how much I cuss, practice, cuss, cry, practice, I cannot get hybrids to work on a consistent basis.

I am down to one - a 4H Rogue or a Exotics EX10 22 -both have a GD AD Tour HY 75g R flex - mid to high launch. Well, make that two - a PXG 0317 5H.

I like the look of the Exotics as compared to Rogue but the best looking HY is the PXG 0317 -  not too big or small and a hot face - I have a 25 adjust to 23.5 and am putting a Tensei CK Pro Red 70 (67g) R flex for high launch.

I think that I need to let the club do the work and not force the issue. I try too hard.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Mr. Desmond

[dbuck]

After resisting for a few years, I put hybrids in my bag about 5 years ago, and don't see ever being without at least one. I find them quite useful in a variety of situations.

[NM Golf]

For me hybrids are hook city. I tried several kinds including "players" hybrids but they all had a quick left miss in them which in no bueno. Talking to other good players, they tend to have the same issue with them. With the arrival of the new driving irons, there is an alternative available and many have gone that route.

[Patch]

I have a complete set of Bazooka JMax Ironwood's. (2 - LW). They were considered hybrids at the time. These clubs are at least 15+ years old. Maybe closer to 20. I played pretty good golf with them. I moved on from ironwoods to my current, custom fitted set. I still played pretty decent, but more consistent golf with my current set, which have no hybrids. I do carry a 7 wood. 

I am seriously thinking about going back to using a few of the Ironwoods, in combo with my current set. My hope is to save a stroke, maybe two with the right combination. 

Hybrids still have their place. For many golfers they are stroke savers. What ever works best for the golfer is my motto.. 

[rehmwa]

Hybrids are pretty mainstream here.  They were introduced and seem to just steadily grow in demand.  There's not 'comeback' at all.

Great tool and option.  I have 2 in my bag and am much more comfy with them (205 and 235 yard clubs) than I am with with my 5i and 6i......

[p1n9183]

^{I love my 2Hybrid. Moreover, i take out of my bag my 3wood and add another wedge because i don´t trust it as i trust my hybrid.}  

[WUTiger]

19 hours ago, Gerald said:

Hit some high balls, some nice long fades but also a severe hook out of the blue sky.

If you have good clubhead speed, the standard hybrid may have too much offset for you. Consider a pro or tour head which has a more square face.

15 hours ago, GrandStranded said:

Return? When did they leave? BTW If you're a 18 cap, don't set up your bag based on what a pro has in his. You're a different animal. 

Not all pros have abandoned them... A sampling from GD's What's In the Bag...

• Webb Simpson - Titleist 913Hd 20* and 915Hd 23.5*
• Paidrig Harrington - Wilson Staff D300 at 17*
• Russell Henley - Titleist 818H2 at 21*
• Ian Poulter - Titleist 816H2 at 21*
• Phil Mickelson - Rogue Hybrid 19* (also owns X Forged UT driving iron; assume he bags one or the other)

And, if you really fear left misses, try the Tour Edge CBX hybrid; the TE reps claim it is "left-proof" 

[butchammon]

Hybrids are awesome.  I have only one in my bag and love it.  I was a late bloomer the hybrid scene, until a good friend of mine talked me into a used 21° Ping hybrid.

I got a little small bucket of balls at the range, and only hit my 3-iron, used hybrid, my 3-iron, used hybrid... etc... over and over, carefully measuring each one, comparing the two.  I struggled a few times to get the 3-iron cleanly hit out there 195-200 yards off the mat.  The 21° Ping hybrid nailed the ball solid, laser straight, 200 yards with ease... every... single... time...

My old 3-iron now sits lonely in the closet, and the 21° Ping hybrid is a permanent fixture in my bag and is the "go to" club for any lie from 190-200 yards out.

 

Edited April 25, 2018 by butchammon
fixed a typo...

[inthecup]

I think if you looked on the LPGA tour it would be more of a comparison as far as amature male club head speed.  There are lots of Hybrid on the LPGA tour.

I always joke my bag looks like a puppet show with all the club head covers in it.  Right now the top of my bag goes DR, 2H,3H,4H,5H.  The hybrids take me from 175 to 220.  I can hit'em straight, draw, big sweeping draw, fade if I am desperate.  I used to be afraid of the hook but I found a couple things.  First ball position is critical.  If you look down and think fairway wood and put the ball too far forward in your stance it is turning left (at least in my case).  Second if I get all jacked up and try and "kill" one I get "armsy" and it is going left.  With the correct ball position and swing I can move the ball around and hit it the longer distances high enough to stop it on a green while maintaining control.

Hybrids are my favorite clubs in the bag, instill confidence. 

[rehmwa]

7 minutes ago, inthecup said:

2H,3H,4H,5H.  The hybrids take me from 175 to 220. 

4 clubs for a 45 yard gap around 200.....  Looks like an opportunity to maybe drop one and add a wedge???

Edit:  it's not really a bad thing, I have 6i to 2h at 175-235.....4 clubs also.  but I wonder it that resolution at long range is worth the gapping...

 

Just picked up my Rogue hybrids today - looking forward to playing them....3h and 5h replace my older 2h/4h nikes....

Edited April 25, 2018 by rehmwa

[lastings]

17 hours ago, WUTiger said:

If you have good clubhead speed, the standard hybrid may have too much offset for you. Consider a pro or tour head which has a more square face.

Not all pros have abandoned them... A sampling from GD's What's In the Bag...

• Webb Simpson - Titleist 913Hd 20* and 915Hd 23.5*
• Paidrig Harrington - Wilson Staff D300 at 17*
• Russell Henley - Titleist 818H2 at 21*
• Ian Poulter - Titleist 816H2 at 21*
• Phil Mickelson - Rogue Hybrid 19* (also owns X Forged UT driving iron; assume he bags one or the other)

And, if you really fear left misses, try the Tour Edge CBX hybrid; the TE reps claim it is "left-proof" 

Also, Jordan Spieth - Titleist 816H2 HYBRID 21*

[Pretzel]

I used to carry hybrids, but stopped once I got a new set of irons that made it easier to hit my long irons (the PING s55 irons, believe it or not, were WAY easier to hit than the old Eye 2's I had for a long time). The reason I stopped using hybrids was pretty simple: I found it easier to hit a long iron high than it was to hit a hybrid low. Hybrids spin a lot and it made it a challenge to keep them low in the wind, but I didn't and still don't have many issues getting a long iron up in the air. 

Most golfers, however, are better suited by a hybrid than a long iron. They have more issues getting a long iron up in the air than keeping a hybrid low to the ground, simply because of their swing speed and the forgiveness that hybrids provide on mishits. Most golfers also don't have to worry too much about the wind howling on the plains of Eastern Colorado up to 30 mph, so that was another factor for me to take into account (I play in the wind pretty frequently).

[LeftyWhiff]

Everyone I play with uses 1 or more hybrids now. Some of my golf buddies have increased their use recently getting away from woods. I started playing in my 50s a few years ago and started with hybrids--no long irons, haven't seen anyone use a 2 or 3 iron. I have always had a couple hybrids in my bag. but I'm moving more toward woods now, because of the tendency to pull/hook my hybrids. Don't seem to do this as much with woods.

One pleasant surprise for me is using the hybrid off the green rather than wedges or a chipper I used to use. Can put the ball closer to the hole with my 4 hybrid when just off the green than with any other club. Also, punch out of trees and forest better than with any other club. Hooray for hybrids.