Does anyone actually like hitting hybrids

[AlchemyGolf]

I posted a thread a while ago calling hybrids cheating sticks and how as a long time scratch golfer 15 years ago I vowed I would never get 1 on principal.

Well these days I still have a lowish handicap but due to 2 very young daughters I do not have as much time to play as I once did.

This Xmas I purchased 2 hybrids and I have never looked back,I love them.Can I hit a 2 iron,yes of course I can but round my new parkland hilly course it was useless with the low trajectory.
I play golf for enjoyment these days,nothing else and these clubs help me enjoy the game more.

Are they easier to hit than a 1 or 2 iron,yes of course they are but that is why they exist.
A very high percentage of pros have them in there bag and I dont think they lie awake at night thinking they shouldnt be using them because they have the ability to hit a 1 iron.

No one should be chastised for doing anything that will help ,there game,there chances to improve or there enjoyment of there round of golf.

Ive played in the British Amatuer in the past and I have 2 hybrids now and I take great exception to being called a muppet for having them in my bag

 

[HomerJSimpson]

ChrisMc

In my early years there were mainly bladed clubs anyway (even my first set of Petron Impala were blade like and they were marketed for beginners) and so as a junior I taught myself (with professional coaching) to hit 1, 2, and 3 irons. I dare say if I needed to I could stand there with 10 balls and a 3 iron and hit maybe 4 satisfactorily. Is a 40% strike percentage though actually that rewarding though when I can hit the same 10 balls with a hybrid or 5 wood and get a 70 or even 80% ratio.

I'm glad I learned to hit long irons even off bare lies as I have no fear today reaching for a 4 iron if that is the right club. What your post and the OP are missing though is that it is all very well practicing these long irons that you may need 3-5 times per round, but it is the short game that is the business end and where the shots are saved. As a result I've had to juggle the longer clubs around to allow me to carry a PW, 52, 56 and 60 degree wedge combo. However if conditions are wet or windy or the course is exceptionally long I'll use the 52 and a 58 and add a longer club back in

 

[Robobum]

If the Clubs are available, then you have the choice to use them.

But, I would wager that most of you 'wish' you could drill a nice 3 iron off the fairway, or a drawn 2 iron low off the tee sometimes, and what the OP is trying to say is that 'more' of you should perhaps stick with them and not bin them quite so readily for the Hybrids.

Yes yes, I know we all dont have loads of time, and neither do I, but what I did do in my early playing days was stick with my long irons and learn to hit them well, and in all honesty, I feel it has benefitted my overall iron play enormously over the years.

But, each to their own.

Chris, you talk a lot of sense in your posts but with all due respect the h'cap that is on your signature does not match up with your words, is it incorrect or are you talking up your game a little too much??

 

[Macster]

Homer: Completely agree that the short game is the scoring game, no argument.

But in my opinion, if you cant hit a 4 iron off the fairway, or a 3iron off the tee even, it perhaps wont reflect well on your other irons either.

But as I said, its up to each player to decide, only you know if you strike it well.

 

[Macster]

I just 3 putt lots and lots.........

 

[Robobum]

I just 3 putt lots and lots.........

14 clubs in the bag, 909 D2 &.......13 putters??!!

 

[Canfordhacker]

Okay...

The one Iron when Jack was playing is equivelent to the 2 iron these days in loft.

Hey - so the Ping Eye2 1 iron I hit off the tee for several years in the 90's was harder to hit than the one Jack had. Cool!

I still swap my 2 iron and 16 degree rescue in and out (the 1 iron is in the garage), though the rescue is winning out as I can hit it out of the rough too.

 

[Canfordhacker]

I meant the 1990's, not my scores being in the 90's BTW

 

[Canfordhacker]

But, I would wager that most of you 'wish' you could drill a nice 3 iron off the fairway, or a drawn 2 iron low off the tee sometimes,

Chris - whilst I can't speak for the anyone but myself. I have to say that the drilled 2 or 3 iron does give me more pleasure than a shot of similar length and accuracy with my long hybrid. I don't know why (maybe it does feel purer)-but it just does.

 

[Canfordhacker]

Where's everybody gone? Have you moved on to the next argument?

Hello? HELLO?

Awww crap.

 

[vig]

I have put on my hard hat and plonked myself in a trench but I am inclined to agree with the OP.

I hit my 3,4 irons well. Long irons are the strongest part of my game. I think that most of the forumers that i have played alongside me would agree with this.

I do have an hybrid, 15* which I use off the tee ocassionally(sp) as The driver is currently the weakest part of my game. And the part that will be taking up most of my practice time in the spring.
I get far more satisfaction hitting a long iron than any others.
I have a 2 iron in my locker at the course which I do bring out when the weather dictates. I still have a 1 iron tucked away somewhere from my previous golfing life. Whether I could still hit it like I used to be able to is debatable even if the shaft held out after 15 years of inactivity.

The technology is there and if people want to/chose to use it, then so be it. As has been said, I think the hybrid is a variation on the fairway woods but more compact. I don't particularly like the look of the hybrid behind the ball but it serves a purpose.

I do think that the more time you put in practice the better the results but not everyone has that time.
I play the game for pleasure but ultimately I want to get as good as I possibly can. If hybrids play a part in that progress then so be it.

 

[Deleted member 1740]

I never used to then i had a lesson on how to use it and bingo i love it

 

[Cernunnos]

I think with my usual setup I've fudged a bit, as I still carry a 3 iron, but I also have a hybrid G10 18 degree, which gives a longish 3 iron equivelent or a short 5 wood.

I used my 3 iron today & hit it well enough but could have quite easily have taken a 5 wood or 3hybrid for the same shot. or even layed up further back with the 4 or 5 iron.

There are days I love to hit my irons & see the shot as an iron shot & other days when woods or hybrids seem a better idea.

Sometimes & for some conditions that high towering hybrid shot can be as rewarding as any drilled iron of any loft.

 

[minty18]

What's a 1 iron?

 

[Herbie]

If the Clubs are available, then you have the choice to use them.

But, I would wager that most of you 'wish' you could drill a nice 3 iron off the fairway, or a drawn 2 iron low off the tee sometimes, and what the OP is trying to say is that 'more' of you should perhaps stick with them and not bin them quite so readily for the Hybrids.

Yes yes, I know we all dont have loads of time, and neither do I, but what I did do in my early playing days was stick with my long irons and learn to hit them well, and in all honesty, I feel it has benefitted my overall iron play enormously over the years.

But, each to their own.

Not quite! Even when I had a full set of irons, the number of occasions I needed to use one were very limited. If you can hit 250 or more with a driver how often will you need a 2/3 iron on a par 4 or 5 on most courses? How often would you need one off a par 3? Its not just about the iron and its use but also its frequency of use. Why have a 2 and 3 iron in your bag that you may never use during the round when you can have extra wedges that you may use frequently and to greater effect?

Minty, a 1 iron is the one before a 2 iron often called a driving iron

 

[mono217]

this is a big post lol

 

[Cernunnos]

If the Clubs are available, then you have the choice to use them.

But, I would wager that most of you 'wish' you could drill a nice 3 iron off the fairway, or a drawn 2 iron low off the tee sometimes, and what the OP is trying to say is that 'more' of you should perhaps stick with them and not bin them quite so readily for the Hybrids.

Yes yes, I know we all dont have loads of time, and neither do I, but what I did do in my early playing days was stick with my long irons and learn to hit them well, and in all honesty, I feel it has benefitted my overall iron play enormously over the years.

But, each to their own.

Not quite! Even when I had a full set of irons, the number of occasions I needed to use one were very limited. If you can hit 250 or more with a driver how often will you need a 2/3 iron on a par 4 or 5 on most courses? How often would you need one off a par 3? Its not just about the iron and its use but also its frequency of use. Why have a 2 and 3 iron in your bag that you may never use during the round when you can have extra wedges that you may use frequently and to greater effect?

Minty, a 1 iron is the one before a 2 iron often called a driving iron

Now I'm not arguing with your point, actually I generally agree with you, but how mant times have we reached for a Driver during a round when we'd have been better reaching for a 3, 4, or 5 iron off the tee.

How many times have some of us picked out the hybrid in an attempt to hit or get close to the green off the fairway when we know hand on heart that, the 4 & 5 iron shot we have in our armoury would have gotten us close enough to attack the green from a better position.

 

[SammmeBee]

Back to the OP - I like my hybrid and I carry it in the bag....the hybrid has it's place - out of the rough, when you have to get it in the air BUT I still prefer my 3/4-iron and would choose and do use them alot more than the hybrid....of the tee and the fairway especially in the wind the iron rules....

 

[minty18]

[Minty, a 1 iron is the one before a 2 iron often called a driving iron

[/QUOTE]

I knew they exsisted but have never seen one.

Surely a rescue/utility club isn't far off what the old boys would have called a 7-wood?

This is a great debate but i'm firmly in the utility club corner. Whilst i admit it's easier to hit a utility than a low iron I definitely wouldn't say anyone can do it.

 

[rgs]

I prefer using my 3 or 4 iron than a hybrid whereas others prefer a hybrid---

My view is a simple one what ever club is needed to get the ball in the hole use it.