Hybrids

John,
You need to get down to either a Titleist day - details can be found on this site - or a good Titleist stockist with a studio and Trackman.
You need to try everything you can get your hands on. Test them thoroughly and see what fits into your set-up in terms of distances. You might even consider a long iron if it suits you better. Keeping an open mind is key - make your decisions as the facts emerge.
JT

I would work on my game this spring and summer...look to the fall for the release of the new irons and hybrids.
You will not be disappointed.

Cheers,
Dr. K

I have one hybrid and I love it. It is the one club I can't mishit. Use them and keep them. Take a lesson from a PGA Pro and you will learn so much.

Yes get fitted. I could never be consistent with the hybrids and found I could hit a 3 iron and 4 iron way more consistent

John,
Back in the day I hit ONLY irons. No driver or fairway and the hybrids hadn't taken off yet. I started with a 1 iron and went all the way down. Since then life happened and I got old and needed help. I have a 913 D2 driver, no fairway, and three hybrids ( all Titleist). They are a 21*, 24* and 27*. My first iron is a 6 iron. I agree with JT in that you should try everything available but disagree about the long iron. At a 28 hdcp I would think the long irons would probably be too difficult to hit. As your hdcp drops you can always re-think what you have in your bag. I'm 70+ years old and play to a 13 hdcp. I don't have the length anymore and almost never go for a par 5 in two. I also carry 4 wedges and work on them a lot since I tend to have a lot of short irons into the 5's and longer par 4's. My advice is to try everything keeping in mind what the courses are that you play and what shots you're most likely to experience. Besides, how much FUN will it be to hit all the options that are out there. Fairways and greens.

Mark F

In this issue of Golf Digest, the summary was the higher the handicap, the more hybrids that should be in a bag. They used a 6I for comparison. A 21 hcp was 16 yards longer with an equivalent hybrid versus a 4 hcp that was only 7 yards longer. In the case of the high hcp-er, it might be necessary to carry both 6I and 6H. Working on a ftting with a pro, y'all can decide what your lowest Iron should be and match hybrids accordingly If your 5I is only 4 yards further than a 6I, replacing 3/4 irons may be missing a gap issue further down. Too many amateurs carry 3I and 3W that they can't control. Similar to Mark, I have a 21 degree FW and an 18 FW for long par 3's and start with 6I. It's more fun when you are comfortable with every club in your bag.

I went for a Titleist fitting and was thinking of two hybrids (3&4) but with the fitting I had the most consistanncy with 3, 4, and 5 hybrids (H2) and 6-gap wedge in AP3s. The fitting was invaluable. If you are able to go to a quality fitting do it.

The 816h1 19 and 25 degree hybrids worked perfectly for me between my 917f3 15 degree and my AP3 5 iron.
AP3 4 iron is in the bullpen.

Like the rest of them stated, go to a Trackman. For me, a 21 and 27 are good. There was no difference between a 24 and 27 so I dumped the 24. I get 180-190 out of my 21 and 165-170 out of my 27. Between 2011 and 2017 I carried a 13* driver, 21 fairway, 27 and 32 hybrids. I switched to a 910D2 at the beginning of 2011. I carried a 915F 18* fairway until the middle of last year and took a "leap of faith" with a 913F 13.5 (which I hit very well now); same shaft length and lie angle. Plus I started hitting a 6 and 7 iron better at the beginning of last year. The bag on the left in the split photo is my 14 club setup; the right side is my backup clubs (the 7 and 8 irons are 32 and 37). The other photo is the bag I use when I want to sling it on my shoulder. If I play a "Sunday bag" I replace the driver and 15 with the 13.5 and take out the 56*

Definitely go get fitted. I went to a Titleist rep expecting to get two hybrids. After getting properly gapped it turned out getting a 4 iron and 3 hybrid made more sense for me. Go to a Titleist rep!

It depends how hard and far you bit your other clubs. Its funny though because my son only carrys a 5 hybrid. When he got fittted he was looking for a 220yd club and a 5 was far from it. However the fitter, said that for his swing a 5 hybrid is more efficient than a 3 or 4 due to loft. He successfully hits it 210-230. Good luck with your choice

I have a friend who is looking for a # 7 hybrid, any ideas.