Filed under: Golf Clubs
Hybrids are Hot! And we’re not just talking about automobiles. The hybrid golfclub is often referred to as the utility club and is a somewhat recent addition to the line-up of clubs that golfers can choose. They are increasing in popularity since they are designed to be easy to hit for the recreational golfer. Actually, they are easier to hit for any golfer and most touring pros now carry at least one hybrid golf club in their bag.
Hybrid golf clubs combine elements of both irons & woods in their design. This characteristic creates advantages in getting the ball airborne, dampening the effects of miss hits, and many other pluses.
Most hybrid golf clubs are designed to replace the long irons (2, 3, 4, and sometimes 5 irons) in a golfer’s bag. When you hear it mentioned that hybrid golf clubs are easier to hit, this is usually meant in comparison to the long irons that these hybrids replace.
So why are hybrid golf clubs advantageous over regular irons?
A normal iron doesn’t have much of a back on it. You can make an iron that has perimeter weighting but you can’t have it further back unless it has a bigger back side. You can’t move much weight back into the air, so to make an iron easier to hit manufacturers have started to “fatten” the back of them. So hybrid clubs that look more like an iron appear to have a bulge on the back. They just moved the weight further back on the iron. Now they can have weight along the outside of the club and further back.
On the other hand, companies who make their Hybrid Golf Club look more like a fairway wood have been able to move the weight back a little more as the club is larger. Not large enough to be the size of a harder to hit fairway wood but large enough to do the trick.
Hybrid golf clubs also have a lower center of gravity. If you move the center of gravity down then the ball gets up in the air easier. It helps increase the launch angle of the ball without having to increase the actual loft of the club. This may not be visible but the result is.
If you have a 3 iron that is 20 degrees and a hybrid golf club that is the same loft, but with the weight further back and the center of gravity lower… the club will launch the ball higher. That’s why it is important to realize that when making a purchase of a hybrid golf club that the lofts are not directly comparable to the club you are replacing.
There are some players who swear by hybrid golf clubs and others who think they are just junk. But the simple fact is that a hybrid golf club is easier to get into the air, down the fairway and onto the green
No Comments so far
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>