Hybrids are earning the Spotlight

[Goodsie]

Over the past year, I've noticed a slight shift in the use of the Hybrid/Utility Club. More and more Golfers are putting 3 Wood length Shafts in Hybrid heads and retiring their real 3 Wood to the closet. At this time, there are two leading OEM's that offer Hybrid Lofts in the 15*/16* range which would work as a 3 Wood replacement. When Shafted up with a 3 Wood Shaft length, these Hybrids become beasts as to distance, dispersion and feel. I've thought about it for a while as more and more of my better players wanted me to build them a "3 Wood Like Hybrid", so I Shafted up an Adams 16* Tour Prototype head to check out the performance versus a 3 Wood. The Hybrid won that test hands down.

The small compact head and the easy to hit face produces winning shots time after time. When faced with a long approach shot from the rough, the small head of the Hybrid just glides through the grass and produces controlled and long shots that amazed me. And, Mama Mia, it really saves strokes when coming out of a Fairway Bunker on a long Par 5. Even around the green, chipping with the Hybrid is easier to control than the 3 Wood.

Several of the PGA Pros are using this deadly combo (Hybrid 15*/16* @ 3 Wood Shaft length)....just more validation that a shift is taking place and the Hybrid is moving into the Spotlight. It might be time to approach our JDM friends to start offering a 14*,15* or 16* Hybrid head. The Hybrids that are being used the most are the ones with little or no offset such as the Adams Pro Series and the Nickent 4DX Series.

Give this slowly rising trend some thought and even test it out for yourself. You may be pleasantly surprised that a dinky Hybrid head can be so lethal from 245 yards out to a well guarded green. Yeah....Baby!!!

[Spoon]

good observation and well founded. i have tried that route long ago did not work with me 16* at least.

back then though my swing was a mess so could be a culprit as well. you still using the pnt2 16* i sent

ya awhile back?

i have two woods now the 14* 3 wood yamaha and a 17deg 3w egg spoon. havent tried the yamaha

but the egg spoon is already very very easy to hit and its longer than i could hit any hybrid, it has some

drawback though like off the tee and from thick rough. something where a hybrid would stellarly perform.

i have been tinkering between a driving iron hybrid and a hybrid hybrid for 19* right now i am using

a hybrid iron but it may be replaced soon provided i can find a nice yamaha 18/19 deg ute.

[Goodsie]

Yep, "C"....still using the PNT you sent me....its a solid gamer at 41". The 16* Adams I am using in the 3 Wood Hybrid is the Tour Prototype or PNT II as some call it.

My experience with the 16* Hybrid was outstanding. It was longer than the 3 Wood...much easier to control. The 3 Wood Hybrid (at 43.25") did launch the ball higher than my J33 15* 3 Wood but did not balloon as I have put an old Diamana Whiteboard in it....all Tuned up, of course.

This Hybrid configuration is something that is becoming more prevalent now a days and thought I would share with our fellow TSG'ers.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

I've got a 15* new version EGG and am looking for a club in between my 21* X-UT.

Thinking about a 17* X-UT with NS950 weight flow at 42.5"

[supo]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....,

Goodsie , why didnt u post this 2 days ago!!!!

i JUST pulled a DG s300 form my yamaha d ut 19* and replaced it with a NS fw 950s

heres the thing these yamaha utes DONT take iron shafts they take wood shafts the hosel size is for FW shafts and

i was contmplating putting my roddio tour proto shaft in it but thought thta was a waste of a shaft.

after this i might do that tonight.

the yamaha 19* for me goes really low , 240 ish no probs, its super solid beautiful feeling (even with that hidieous s300 thing in it)

and from a bunker as you say its a no brainer

def wont replace the 3 wood but its def an alternate on differnt tracks.

i can see me using this and the 3 wood and ousting the 5 wood on occasions on long tracks.

As for distance . my mate hit his titleist (not sure model , and , hes a beast, im telling u hes the biggest hitter ive ever seen by a county mile. )

from a fairway 13* ute with e V2 shaft 110 grams xx flex 285 ON THE FLY if the bunker bank wasnt there to stop it , it would have rocketed 3oo+ not a problem i fell over laughing i didnt think that was possible nor would have i believed it if i was told, but i saw it. iwas standing next to him whn he hit it.

( he did play on the US celebrity tour and hes the best golfer ive played with, and a monster)

he hasnt had a 3 w in his bag for eons , now i know why.!

Goodsie im gonna take ur advice here im shafting this puppy up with the roddio s7 proto 3 wood shaft...,

this might open a whole new world up...........,

[Spoon]

Yep, "C"....still using the PNT you sent me....its a solid gamer at 41". The 16* Adams I am using in the 3 Wood Hybrid is the Tour Prototype or PNT II as some call it.

My experience with the 16* Hybrid was outstanding. It was longer than the 3 Wood...much easier to control. The 3 Wood Hybrid (at 43.25") did launch the ball higher than my J33 15* 3 Wood but did not balloon as I have put an old Diamana Whiteboard in it....all Tuned up, of course.

This Hybrid configuration is something that is becoming more prevalent now a days and thought I would share with our fellow TSG'ers.

were you able to bend the lie for the longer shafts? i notice that i like my hybrids a bit on the flatter side. no problem with the adams though

as you can bend the hosels.

[Goodsie]

were you able to bend the lie for the longer shafts? i notice that i like my hybrids a bit on the flatter side. no problem with the adams though

as you can bend the hosels.

Nope, didn't bend the head as the setup was just fine....the longer shaft didn't "toe it up" in the least and the Swing Weight moved up to a D4 which is still in my sweet spot. Actually, this thing just fell together for me with no tweaking necessary. Easy as pie......Cured it out, a little spit and spittle and out the door she went.

[Eca]

There's something in this definitely. My Hybrid is suppose to be a 3iron replacement but weird as it is 18*. So i put an ozik altus at 40.5" to plau liike a #2 hybrid and this thing is sweet 240y off tee and 220-230y off deck. Only problem is it made my 3w redundant and kept my 3iron in play. Hence my search for a 15* that will beat this hybrid & earn a spot between driver & hybrid.

[Blader-X]

I have had good relations with hybrids for some time. For me I like the deeper face ones such as my current TourStage X-UT and the old TRC clubs. With the new RC hybrid coming my way it will soon be off to you G for some reshafting.

Stew, I highly recommend putting really good shafts into hybrids. I brought back into the bag on old favorite, my 22 degree TRC with a Speeder 757 shaft. That club is still money and in fact since I've put it back into the fold, I've finally decided to take out both the 3 and 4 iron since that one club can perform both clubs functions. I haven't always liked the "utility shafts" in utilities. Always felt something was lacking. Not really sure what I'll put in the new 17 degree coming my way but I'm sure I'll fun deciding.

[Spoon]

I have had good relations with hybrids for some time. For me I like the deeper face ones such as my current TourStage X-UT and the old TRC clubs. With the new RC hybrid coming my way it will soon be off to you G for some reshafting.

Stew, I highly recommend putting really good shafts into hybrids. I brought back into the bag on old favorite, my 22 degree TRC with a Speeder 757 shaft. That club is still money and in fact since I've put it back into the fold, I've finally decided to take out both the 3 and 4 iron since that one club can perform both clubs functions. I haven't always liked the "utility shafts" in utilities. Always felt something was lacking. Not really sure what I'll put in the new 17 degree coming my way but I'm sure I'll fun deciding.

i was actually going to post asking about a hybrid shaft. im planning on getting a 19 ute and will most likely pull the shaft.

my options right now are the graphite design tour ad ut 85s, ozik altus or even the tour ad di but that shaft costs as much as a hybrid:)

any suggestions ?

[EPONfreak]

interesting. Which PGA Pros are doing this? I hadn't noticed.

[supo]

i hit 2 utes today droppeed the 5 wood and hit the 19* yamaha d ut. shafted that with e NS 950 fw 5 wood shaft and it played really well!.

the other is my egg5 iron i made into a ute and that im here to tell us is the success story of the yr so far! i was hitting par 3s form 185-215 with it either high fades or straight draws.

swing super slow with it and just let the egg face do all the work.

thta thing is staying in my bag for ever 22*

im rotaing the 19* with a 5 wood tomorrow to compare th out comes but il tell ya that yamaha ute is a bloody beauty.

going to see how i go tom b4 i change up the shaft bec the steel one was suited brilliantly.

[MatthewC]

I've never thought about doing this but it seems like a good idea. The utilities work well for me much better compared to fws. Launch higher and land softer. Gotta try this out.