Which Hybrid Are You?

By Mike Stachura
Illustrations by Kevin Hand April 2009

Is there only one kind of hybrid design that works, or should hybrids be optimized to fit different ball flights, player types and swing speeds? Designers can manipulate the center of gravity (blue and red dots above) and moment of inertia in the heel-to-toe direction and around the axis of the hosel (blue and red curves) to match a player's needs (see chart below). But like all questions of design, it comes down to where (or even if) you want to compromise.

Some hybrids have larger heads, and some are designed on a compact frame. Some are designed with a higher moment of inertia, yet others don't push MOI extremes. Some are built with iron-length shafts and some with longer wood-length shafts. Some push the center of gravity fractionally deeper front to back to improve stability. And some want the CG closer to the face so the club feels and performs more like an iron.

Of course, the club's mission hasn't changed: make something more forgiving than a long iron and more controllable than a fairway wood. "We're trying to return the Rescue to what it was in the first place," says Benoit Vincent, chief technical officer at TaylorMade. The company's new line of Rescue hybrids differs only marginally in CG location but not in shape, size or shaft length. "We wanted to return the versatile nature of the hybrid as a single club," he says. "The trouble if you go in either direction is, you can end up sacrificing versatility."

But some believe making one hybrid work well for all golfers might be difficult because all golfers aren't the same.

"The center of gravity is always going to be lowest on a hybrid when compared to an iron or a fairway wood," says Tim Reed, vice president of research and development for Adams. "But the slower swing-speed player is going to benefit from a wider sole that's going to put the CG in a position where it's going to generate more spin and launch. If you already can hit it high, you can go with a more narrow sole. The danger of combining higher clubhead speed with a wider sole is that it could generate too much spin." But every hybrid is different. Each is some degree of compromise between forgiveness and versatility: forgiveness meaning larger heads and longer shafts and versatility meaning compact shapes and shorter shafts.

Our advice: Decide how much help you need, then try several clubs. Before your final decision, be sure the distance gaps between clubs are consistent.

Photos: Jim Herity

GAME OF 21

It's an important number in golf as well as in blackjack. It's the loft where you can carry a 3-iron, hybrid or 7-wood in your bag. To know which club is best for you, try looking at the problem like an engineer.

The center of gravity is a theoretical point inside the clubhead described by the intersection of the X-CG (CG's distance across from the hosel), Y-CG (distance up from the sole) and Z-CG (distance from front to back). This CG location, along with the overall head design, is what makes clubs of the same loft fly differently. "Generally, the greater the Z-CG, the higher the ball will launch," says Nate Radcliffe, metal-wood development manager for Cleveland Golf, who provided the accompanying chart values. A small Y-CG value tends to create extra spin for slow swing speeds, and a smaller X-CG value can encourage a draw.

Better players should choose their 21-degree club based on the landing angle they prefer. Beginners should go with the club that maximizes their total distance and provides the most confidence. --Max Adler