Equipment
Golf Clubs 101: Golf club types – what is a hybrid club?
When it comes to golf club types, seasoned golfers have no difficulty distinguishing a putter from a 3-wood. But with the number of people picking up golf for the first time growing exponentially in the last few months, we want to do our best to help answer some of the most basic questions beginners ask in their quest to better understand and enjoy the game of golf.
Golf club types: What is a hybrid? When do I use it?
Since hybrids are still the new kid on the block as far as golf club types go, let’s do a little history lesson before diving into which one you might need and how to use it.
The very first hybrid club was introduced by TaylorMade—it was part of the Firesole line and was called a “rescue” club. Like anything that is first to market, the name “rescue” became synonymous with a hybrid the same way Q-Tips are to cotton swabs.
They are meant to help launch the ball higher than long irons and help escape bad lies—hence the “rescue” name. Hybrids became an alternative to high-lofted fairway woods since they offered more “iron-like” control because of their shape and the length they are built at.
Before hybrids, among golf club types, the only alternative to long irons were higher-lofted fairway woods. In the ’90s, Callaway absolutely dominated the high-lofted fairway wood category making them all the way up to an 11-wood. The name “hybrid” comes from the fact that it truly is a combination of a long iron and hollow wood-style club.
Golf club types: What does a hybrid replace?
Hybrids replace hard-to-hit long irons and higher-lofted fairway woods. The easy way to figure out which one you might need can be done by looking at the loft or “stated replacement iron” on the sole of the club. Most companies will use both to identify their clubs, but if not here is a general guide
- 1-iron: 14-16°
- 2-iron: 17-19°
- 3-iron: 20-22°
- 4-iron: 23-25°
- 5-iron: 26-28°
- 6-iron: 29-32°
How do I use a hybrid?
A “hybrid” swing is essentially the same as your iron swing, you want to hit the ball with a slightly descending blow and have it placed more towards the middle of your stance. One of the best tips to offer a golfer new to hybrids is “try to swing it just like your 7-iron.” For most golfers, the 7-iron is a comfort club, and it’s just one way to help simplify the process of hitting the shot.
Among golf club types, hybrids can also be extremely useful around the green for golfers that either struggle with, or are learning to, chip, since the wide sole and iron-like length allow for the simplification of the chipping motion. You just have to grip near the bottom of the grip where it meets the shaft and make a putting motion.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Rory McIlroy WITB 2024 (April)
- Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9)
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Spotted: Nate Lashley’s Ping PLD “Wolverine” putter
Ping PLD putters have been a very common site on profesional tours. Pros seem to gravitate toward the PLD line’s custom options and precision milling. We have seen the PLD line expanded over the years, but we haven’t seen too many, if any, large mallets.
This week we spotted a PLD putter in Nate Lashley’s bag that has a similar look to the old Ping Wolverine head shape. This putter is a large mallet with the famous “claws” on the outside and oval center that housed the alignment aid.
Nick’s putter has the PLD logo on the back but also looks like it might have an insert installed on the face. It is hard to tell but at the address picture, it looks like the face is a lighter material than the rest of the putters. The putter is center-shafted and should be face-balanced with a high MOI for stability and forgiveness on mishits. The sole is completely milled and has no markings of name or technologies that might be present in the head. A single white site line is on the top of the putter for alignment.
Nick’s putter is finished off with a chrome steel shaft and a Super Stroke Zenergy Flatso 2.0 grip in black and white.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic
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Shallowface
Jul 23, 2020 at 8:05 pm
The reason high lofted fairways never sold all that well is that people were never sure what they were supposed to replace. If Callaway had somehow managed to more effectively convey that the 11 Wood shown above should replace a 5 Iron (today it would be a 5H), they probably would have sold a lot more of them.
For most people, the more woodlike the hybrid is the better. The leading edge being ahead of the hosel is a huge benefit when playing out of the rough.