Simply put, a cross between a wood and an iron. They are relatively new on the market – 10 years ago began to TaylorMade Rescue club to bring to the market (where they are still called Rescues) – and today, that thug offered by all manufacturers.
Why hybrids?
The traditional long irons – that the iron 1, 2, 3 and 4 – are not easy to get into the air and make the not so experienced players no consistent impact results – in particular the iron 1and 2, which are played by only a few top players . The hybrids replacing the long irons will make life a little easier for us.
When you play it?
If you still have a long way away from the green. It is best for most male golfers at 150m and above. Hybrids are very versatile – they can from the fairway, or play from the rough off the tee.
Interestingly, some players use – eg Todd Hamilton when he won the British Open in 2004 (right image) with a Sonartec MD Transition – Hybrids also for chipping around Green’s. But this is surely the exception. Let’s go back to the original idea of hybrids, the long game …
Worth a hybrid for me?
After a nice tee you are 180m from the green. You now want to necessarily take your 3-iron from the bag? No? Welcome to the club! Most of us do not like to play with the long irons, because it is difficult to achieve a club head speed at which you get the ball easily into the air.
For this reason, we try harder to beat – which then leads to the fact that we mess up the beat. If you are not just one of the 5% of all golfers with single handicap, you probably know what we mean. Here, the hybrids come into play. The distance between the clubface and the trailing edge is longer, which allows manufacturers to focus (ie weight) placed further back, away from the face – and the further back the focus, the easier it gets the ball in the air.
They are also ideally suited for the rough – traditional iron with its more angular edges can be caught in the grass and thus lead to a twisting of the club head – hybrids are shaped more like a wood and softer edges reduce friction in the thick grass.
But I am a good golfer. Do I need a hybrid?
Of course, a hybrid is not necessarily required. On the other hand, use nowadays even world class players like Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia (to name a few) hybrids. One of the few top players, which is commented hybrids without Tiger Woods. But well, he’s just Tiger Woods …
How would it look in my bag with a hybrid?
If you simply replace the 3 iron and / or 4 with a hybrid, the remainder of the bag remains unchanged. A driver, a 3-wood, 4 – Sand Wedge, Gap Wedge, or perhaps a word of praise and the putter would be nice for that matter.
Some players have two hybrids in their set, both the iron 2-3, 4-5 and the iron cover – this version is especially popular with seniors and ladies. In fact, you sometimes find ladies sets, which consist almost entirely of hybrids and cover up all the iron on the short irons and wedges.
The thing that this type of golf clubs apart from others is the design of the iron clubs. It is a mixture of a good iron, and a good fairway wood. It has a head and face into a fairway wood, the set is usually made of hollow steel with a focus on imitating less in the center and further to the rear and a touch down. With this design, it creates a higher loft, but with the same momentum. Once the ball is hit, it traps more air (because of the attic) and creates more backspin than with your normal iron (for example, Taylor Made R9 iron or timber allows you to be more precise with your shooting position.
