Founders Club Technical Bulletin Fall 2024
The Hybrid Revolution
On professional golf tours and in golf retail stores across the country the hottest trend in golf equipment is the hybrid club. Formerly referred to as a utility club, hybrid clubs have the combined benefits of both fairway wood and long irons. Most people find the 2, 3 and 4 irons as the most difficult irons to hit in their bag, yet many still carry at least the 3 and 4 irons.
Looking back in history, clubs with the design benefits of hybrids are not new to the game. Lower profiles, increased sole weighting, and wider club heads from heel to toe were all features of the original woods of the game. In the early 90’s companies like Taylor Made, Cobra, and Founders Club brought the modern version of the hybrid into the market. Now, in 2004, the hybrid club market is the fastest growing segment in the golf industry.
Even for PGA Tour Players errant shots are part of the game; therefore what matters most is how you recover from these miss hits. This is the very area of the game that the hybrid club got its original moniker as a utility club. In addition to shots out of tough lies, divots, deep rough, and fairway bunkers, today’s hybrids provide the forgiveness of a fairway wood with the control and accuracy of an iron. Popular among PGA Tour players and great for golfers of all levels, hybrids help boast confidence on the course while shaving strokes off your score.
On average, a hybrid will give a player higher ball flight, greater total carry and more holding power on the green than that of an equally lofted long iron. Hybrids which have their center of gravity lower and deeper in the club than irons make it even easier for you to get the ball in the air quicker for higher launch angle and higher spin for long fast stopping shots. In almost all cases, the hybrid’s center of gravity will be lower compared to a long iron. If an iron is available, put it on the ground with a golf ball against the face. One will then see that the top of the clubface is even with or perhaps slightly above the top of the ball especially if the iron is a more traditional shaped club. On a hybrid it will be apparent that the top line of the clubface is slightly below the top of the ball; therefore, this virtually guarantees that the center of gravity is below the ball’s equator.
In addition the lower profile hybrids have much of their weight on the sole. On many of today’s hybrids the center of gravity is lowered even more than you might surmise from its outward appearance. This is because the metal in the sole of the club may be thicker than that on its top. Consequently, the center of gravity is substantially lower and golfers will get the ball airborne easily.
One of the main benefits of hybrids is improved trajectory and distance control. Hybrids have a longer club length than typical irons resulting in added distance. Due to the longer shaft, one will generate more club head speed with a hybrid, which also contributes to your ability to get the ball airborne more easily. Hybrids have shorter shafts than the fairway wood and their clubfaces are stiffer with less COR. Although this means less total distance on shots it also means less distance variation between shots. Now on miss hits the ball still finishes relatively close to the intended target. When using hybrids, golfers stand slightly closer to the ball which reduces the amount of grass between the clubface and the ball at impact for less twisting and a more solid impact.
Another benefit of a hybrid is that they have straight faces like irons compared to the typical bulge and roll of a fairway wood. Simply put, bulge and roll refer to the slight convex curvature of a driver or wood, both up and down and from heel to toe on the clubface. On slightly off-center hits, this rounded clubface surface interacts with a club’s gear effect so that shots curve back toward the center of the fairway. Unfortunately, on severely miss-hit shots, gear effect causes wild hooks and slices. Because irons and hybrids have almost no gear effect, shots hit on the toe and heel of the club will fly a little off-line, but will lose less distance compared with a centered hit and they won’t curve as much further into trouble.
When trading in your long irons for a hybrid one does concede a few things. For example, long irons can be quite useful when playing in windy conditions or on a relatively open golf course where the ball can be run onto the greens. Also, it is helpful to be able to hit the ball low so that the wind doesn’t blow it off line as much compared to a lofted wood. Many golfers find that they are more accurate using long irons on par 3-s where they also have the advantage of hitting the ball off a tee, or off the tee on short par-4s that require accurate shot placement. However, some hybrids are designed to have a slightly higher center of gravity which therefore puts less spin on the ball creating a more boring trajectory resembling that of an iron ball flight.
It is a tough deal even for PGA Tour pros to hit effective long irons from anything more than a light rough. These clubs must be swung through the rough at a very high speed, or else the longer grass will wrap around the clubs hosel through impact. This will slow down and close the club face through impact. The design of a hybrid by comparison help flatten out the taller grass through impact (The grass does not grab the hosel nearly as much); therefore you strike the ball with greater club head speed and with the face more square to the target line. These conditions favoring hybrids from rough are all the greater when condition is wet & heavy.
Some hybrids have rails. These rails smoothly glide the club head over and through the grass, like wheels securely set on a track. Rails reduce the club heads contact with the ground; which minimizes friction at impact, and allows for a greater transfer of energy into the ball for more distance.
For Several reasons hybrids are very handy around the green such as their wide sole and offset along with the 21 to 28 degrees of loft that makes the hybrid ideal for executing the bump and run shot from the fringe. Also, it is ideal when you find the ball resting up against the collar of the green.
Hybrids with their weight low, shallow face (low profile), broad hollow heads, wide soles and rails all help the club to interact with the turf creating less friction. Compared to fairway woods, hybrids are smaller which helps get through long rough and tough lies such as divots, and they are heavier so the face remains square through high grass and tough lies. Finally with a more upright lie allows hybrids to promote a steep downswing plane that helps get the ball up and out of the rough with minimal contact with the grass.
