Equipment

GolfWRX Members Choice: The Best Hybrids of 2017

Published

7 years ago

Oct 5, 2017

Figuring out which hybrid is the best hybrid of 2017 is simple: Hit every single one of them against each other and decide which one is longest, straightest, best from the fairway, best from the tee, flies the highest, flies the farthest, is best out of the rough, is most versatile, feels and looks the best.

OK, maybe it’s not so simple. Hybrids are asked to perform many jobs; they are utility players that are hit from the tee, the fairway, the rough, on par 3s, into par 5s and long par 4s, and even used to chip around the greens and hit out of fairway bunkers. Some players want them to fly low and hot and run forever off the tee, while others need them to fly as high as possible to provide forgiveness as long-iron replacements.

But if there’s any group of people knowledgeable and dedicated enough to test out a variety of hybrids and determine what’s “best,” it’s GolfWRX forum members.

We recently asked GolfWRXers — after they performed their thorough testing of this year’s stock of hybrids — to vote on what they believed to be the best hybrid of 2017, and explain why. Here are the top hybrids selected, and what our members had to say about them.

Check out the forum thread for the full results and discussion.

TaylorMade M2 2017 (4.53 percent of votes)

TaylorMadeM2hybrid

Bomber_11: Taylormade M2 tops my list and checks all the boxes you need in a hybrid. It’s long, forgiving, accurate, and aesthetically pleasing.

Callaway Apex (7.17 percent)

Callaway_Apex_Hybrid-1021x580

Sef: I haven’t found anything to top the Apex hybrid, looking forward to trying the 818 H2 though. I did not vote for it since I haven’t hit it…

Titleist 818 H2 (10.94 percent)

818_H2_Hybrids_Sole

GC70: Just got fit for the 818 H2 and it’s amazing. Can’t wait to get it on the course.

KCCO: I’ve played with a Titleist H2 21-degree and loved it. Compact, great shaft offerings for those not just scoring the head. Definitely curbed my 915, and no more dealing with the dirt slot. Performance was perfect for me. That list is pretty big, and have played a few, but the Titleist wins for me.

Callaway Epic (12.08 percent)

Callaway_Epic_Hybrid-e1493824571485-1021x580

jimwright: The Callaway Epic hybrid is just the perfect size and shape. Not too big, not too small. The internal weighting and the materials used are fantastic. Great selection of no up charge shafts also.

Crabbie50: I moved from the 816H2 (21 degree) to the Epic and love the flight characteristics. Highly recommend it.

Cobra King F7 (13.58 percent)

CObraKingF7Golfwrx

chch3: Cobra F7 made me a believer in hybrids again. Great club.

dcorun: Voted for the F7 but, I’m currently playing the F6. The best hybrid I’ve played so far. Easy to hit, accurate, longer than I thought and not draw biased like most hybrids. I did hit the F7 but, did not see a big enough difference to change for now.

Dasenergi: F7 vote. The rails really shine on the hybrid. King slowly took over my bag again.

ChubbsWoodenHand: Tie between cobra F7 and Srixon h65. I like hybrids to act like irons and prefer to hit down on them like normal irons. Haven’t tried the apex though.

thevaultsky: Cobra F7 — being able to adjust the loft makes it much more useful as an iron replacement. The rails also come in handy. It has become my go to in a variety of situations.

Titleist 818 H1 (13.96 percent)

Titleist_818_H1_Sole

DougE: I have played many hybrids over the years. It took me 5 years to replace an old Nike CPR2, because I couldn’t find something I liked more. I tried many, including an Adams A7, A12, Ping G25, and some others, but always liked the old CPR best. The Adams and Ping were the best of all those I tried. Eventually, the Ping G25 became a mainstay in my bag alongside a 19-degree Titleist 913H. I never brought out the CPR again. Then the Titleist 816H1 came out and proved to be the best hybrid I have ever played, bar none… until last week. The new 818H1 is even better as I realized in a fitting this week. Felt fantastic. A 19-degree 818H1 is on my list to replace my 915F 5W in 2018. My present 816H 21-degree (set to 22 degrees) will stay in the bag until I can afford to replace it with an 818H2 21-degree. (The H2 is a bit more iron-like, with a smaller head, which fits my eye even better for the shorter hybrid.)

pmang: I have owned TM M2 and Ping G400 hybrids this year. I hit the Titleist 818 H1 today. Titleist was the best of the 3 for me.

Ping G400 (16.23 percent)

PingG400hybrid

SirPercival: I’ve played a Ping G400 hybrid for some weeks now. So they get my vote. Imagine 818 would be nice though.

elwhippy: Difficult to choose as the majority of choices never make it to the UK or are only stocked in boutique stores around London. G400 looks and feels great.

Members Choice 2017

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29 Comments

RG

Oct 8, 2017 at 3:15 am

Every year when new hybrids hit the market I go to my local big name Golf shop and hit them all. I check the numbers and if theres one that gives me good numbers I get a demo and try it on the course heads up against my Adams XTD. So far every year Ive returned the demo.

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RG

Oct 8, 2017 at 3:13 am

Every year when new hybrids hit the market I go to my local big name Golf shop and hit them all. I check the numbers and if theres one thats gives me good numbers I get a demo and try it on the course heads up against my Adams XTD and every year I return the demo.

Reply Report comment
Joe J

Oct 7, 2017 at 3:12 pm

Cobra F7 over everything I’ve tried. Disclaimer: Best use is out of rough because of the bottom rails. I have a steep, upright swing (my irons are + 1/2″ with 3 degree upright lie angles) so no hybrids work for me out of tight fairway lies. I only use hybrids out of the rough and nothing comes remotely close to the F7 for that purpose for me.

Reply Report comment
Lee

Oct 6, 2017 at 4:47 pm

Did each of these voters test each of the Hybrids? Does not sound like it.

Reply Report comment
Robert Parsons

Oct 6, 2017 at 4:11 pm

The best hybrids weren’t made in 2017. How about the Adams Pro a12? That was a great hybrid. Several others, but not from 2017. PnT?

Reply Report comment
Smiller

Oct 6, 2017 at 11:46 am

I knock the snot out of an old mizuno t-zoid 5 wood. Best hybrid I have ever owned. It’s friggin incredible when you have a tucked back pin over warter.

Reply Report comment
- Crackshot
  
  Oct 6, 2017 at 3:31 pm
  
  Keep on dreamin’……..
  
  Reply Report comment
Swingman/Jerry

Oct 6, 2017 at 11:26 am

I like the Big Bertha OS 2016 Hybrids – forgiving, long, and consistent, EZ

Reply Report comment
- Crackshot
  
  Oct 6, 2017 at 3:32 pm
  
  You like the Big Bertha? Now try a real woman!
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jerry
    
    Oct 28, 2017 at 10:57 am
    
    You do know the “Big Bertha” was a WW1 Cannon, right?
    
    Reply Report comment
John Krug

Oct 6, 2017 at 11:20 am

The Callaway Epic shown is a 2 hybrid, but the loft is 18 degrees, hardly a 2, more of a 3.

Reply Report comment
- Crackshot
  
  Oct 6, 2017 at 3:34 pm
  
  Yer dominant eye is really sharp… you know it all
  
  Reply Report comment
  - John
    
    Nov 18, 2019 at 8:37 am
    
    Based on your comments here, id say its clear who the “know it all is”….
    
    A bit insecure and sensitive are we?
    
    Reply Report comment
- Hybrid Expert
  
  Oct 7, 2017 at 9:17 am
  
  If the loft is 18*, I sure wouldn’t call it a #3 hybrid. If that were the case, a 2 would be 15*? 18* is close to an old #1 iron.
  
  Reply Report comment
jbrunk

Oct 6, 2017 at 1:32 am

My WITB:
Cobra King F6+ 1W 11.5° Diamana D+ 63 S
Cobra King F6 3-4W 14.5° LTD Rogue Black 70 S
Cobra King F6 Baffler 18.5° 4-5W LTD Rogue Black 70 S
Cobra King F6 4-5Hy 22° Matrix Red Tie HQ4 S
Mizuno JPX-850 Forged 5i-GW C-Taper Lite 110 S
Mizuno S5 56•14 & 60•10
Odyssey White Hot Pro 7 CS

Reply Report comment
- Crackshot
  
  Oct 6, 2017 at 3:33 pm
  
  A Cobra King man….watch out!!!!
  
  Reply Report comment
Shooter McGavin

Oct 5, 2017 at 9:01 pm

Been hitting the Mizuno CLK and loving it over my 816 H2. Looking at maybe doing even a 16 degree to replace my 3 wood.

Reply Report comment
- Crackshot
  
  Oct 6, 2017 at 1:28 am
  
  I will never replace my trusty 3 wood. Hybrids look like sissy clubs.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Michael
    
    Oct 6, 2017 at 11:08 am
    
    Only a sissy would make that remark. You spot it, you got it.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Crackshot
      
      Oct 6, 2017 at 3:29 pm
      
      I bag a 2-iron…..you start at a 6-iron…..ya sissy!!!!!!!!!!
      
      Reply Report comment
      - Vegas Bullet Dodger
        
        Oct 7, 2017 at 4:43 pm
        
        I start at 8i….
        And break par
        
        Reply Report comment
Vegas Bullet Dodger

Oct 5, 2017 at 5:29 pm

Nothing can beat the g25 2,3,&4h and g20 5&6 hybrids
Skait up yo

Reply Report comment
- Crackshot
  
  Oct 6, 2017 at 1:29 am
  
  Buy American…. not Chinese
  
  Reply Report comment
  - John Krug
    
    Oct 6, 2017 at 3:13 pm
    
    You must walk around naked.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Crackshot
      
      Oct 6, 2017 at 3:25 pm
      
      Hey, gurK…. yer chow mein
      
      Reply Report comment
Peter in Parker

Oct 5, 2017 at 12:28 pm

The title should be renamed ‘Most Popular Hybrids of 2017 for owners that bothered to Vote’.

Reply Report comment
- SK
  
  Oct 5, 2017 at 3:43 pm
  
  It’s well known in marketing circles that golf club purchases are based on emotions… and after having bought the clubs trying to justify the purchase with desperate logic like “they are the best”, and “I love them”, and “so-and-so plays them and he won with them”!!!
  Geeerheads just buy new clubs for the pride of ownership… and don’t even play them for fear of scratching the soles and wearing the grooves. “Here’s my WITB, now tell my about yours and how do they feeel?”
  
  Reply Report comment
Think or Thwim

Oct 5, 2017 at 12:08 pm

A panoply of personal preferences…. pa thetic !!!

Reply Report comment
- Dennis Mcmahon
  
  Oct 10, 2017 at 3:30 pm
  
  Perhaps
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

3 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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