HumanGolf.com

By Norman Stanley

The short answer is any one as they are all the same thing. They are all a cross between a wood and an iron utilizing the best features of both. I shall use any name as I go depending on where my fingers are on the keyboard.

A 3 or 4-Iron will give you a decent penetrating shot with a fairly low flight trajectory and a corresponding roll. However this can be difficult to control with any great accuracy especially on a dry firm fairway. The reduced top spin produced by the average player with a long iron also gives a greater margin for side spin off the more upright face leading to a pronounced curve to the ball flight.

A hybrid/utility/rescue golf club with its lower center of gravity helps launch the ball higher with more top spin, giving a straighter shot and a more “drop and stop” characteristic. This makes it ideal for those shots into the green where a long iron will bounce or roll off.

So, how does it work?

The design of the hybrid club generally follows two formats: Some look like a conventional iron (Titleist’s for example), and some, like the Callaway, have the appearance of a small fairway wood. This are just the two ways to skin the same proverbial cat.

An iron look will have a lump-like bulge at the back of the head; this allows the weight — i.e., center of gravity — to be further back, and it is this that affects the angle of trajectory making the ball take off at a much steeper angle, thus giving a longer flight and the drop and stop capability.

The fairway wood design is just another way of achieving the same effect. Some golfers like the look of the iron type over the ball, and some prefer the wood look. It’s a personal thing.

One other reason for making the head deeper is that it allows the hybrid club designer to bring in another characteristic: perimeter weighting. What’s that, I hear you ask. Well, it means that the forces from the club head are channeled to the outer edges, or perimeter, of the club head. The benefit is a much larger sweet spot, thereby cancelling out some of those less than perfect contacts.

Why would I buy one?

Playing from the rough is where these clubs really come into their own as the sheer mass behind the club helps drive it through the grass without twisting; some even have a rudder on the sole which further helps get the clubface square, so you can hit straight almost all the time.

A further use for the hybrid golf club is shots from just off the green where you need just a little loft to get over the fringe, or where you are against the fringe and need the club to get to the back of the ball. The hybrid is almost made for this.

The shorter shaft also makes for greater controllability, as it is often said it’s easier to make the shot when you are closer to the ball.

Hybrid golf clubs are made in a variety of styles, lofts and designs, and their sheer flexibility has earned them the other title of rescue club; a more fitting title couldn’t be nearer the truth. Pick a hybrid golf club and you will soon wonder how you got along without it.

Norman Stanley, “Big Norm,” is a weekend hacker, gives private tuition and never pays full price. He runs golfamateur.co.uk.

Visit GigaGolf, Hireko Golf or Pinemeadow Golf for low-cost hybrids custom-built to your needs and abilities!