A huge and growing percentage of touring golf professionals are adding hybrid or so called rescue clubs to their golf bags. Most professional golfers are so good at what they do, that they will seldom make a miss hit even with the hardest to hit clubs, however with hybrid irons they get a club that hits higher and lands softer, without any loss of distance, than the iron it is replacing. Just the fact that hybrid clubs are easier to hit may not be the only motivation for these changes. Consider that the right hybrid can replace two harder to hit irons allowing for the addition of maybe an additonal wedge to their club selection. We weekend warrior golfers should be learning from what we are seeing, for us, who do not always hit every club pure, adding a hybrid or two to our arsenal is even more dramatic. For the player who uses hybrid clubs, it is not unusual to see that the 2,3,4,& even 5 irons have been replaced.

Hybrids and Utility Clubs; Real Benefits or All Hype?

By Steven Passarell

Hybrids and utility clubs may be the hottest trend in golf today. To most golfers, the terms hybrid and utility club is the same. In fact, there are significant differences.Let’s first look at the utility club. According to Webster’s dictionary one definition of the word utility is “something useful, or designed for use.” Therefore utility clubs are defined as any club(s) that serves a specific purpose. You may know a utility club as a rescue, or a trouble club. A chipper is a utility club that has been around for a long time and has never been known as a utility club.The word hybrid is defined a “one of mixed origin or composition.” Hybrids are clubs containing elements of both woods and irons. They are divided into two categories. The iron/wood and the wood/iron. The iron/wood is basically a hollow bodied iron. The clubface is flat like an iron. The wood/iron will have a curved face like a wood. The curved face on woods is called bulge. Bulge by definition is the intentional heel-to-toe curvature designed on the face of a wood head that is required to counteract sidespin imparted to the ball on off center hits.Both styles of hybrids have the shape of a small old style wood. A wide sole that sometimes are cambered or radiused characterizes them. The size and shape moves the center of gravity down and too the back of the head to help produce a higher launch angle. Higher launch angle, with the higher ball flight it brings, also helps in stopping the ball on the green.