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Hybrids vs Long Irons: Which Do You Prefer?

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Hybrids vs  Long Irons - GolficityYou step up to the tee box on reachable par 5 and hit your tee shot perfectly about 290 yards with cool breeze pushing it up the fairway.  As you make your way to your ball the GPS indicates that you have 215 yards left the flag stick.  Looking into your bag you see both the 3 hybrid and 3 iron starring you in the face.  Why you have both…you still don’t know.

The enevitable question is raised, hybrids vs long irons, which club do you use…and why?

You ask yourself, is it a matter of simply being comfortable with one club over the other?  Does the hybrid cause you to draw the ball too much while the iron causes you to hit the ball fat?

Here’s our breakdown of the three major differences between hybrids and long irons:

Club-Head

We’re all familiar with the traditional iron which has largely seen a recent transformation from blades into a cavity back design. The reason for the major change was to present higher handicap players with a more forgiving club in the event that the ball is struck on the heel or toe.  Unlike irons, hybrids have a larger “wood like” club-head with more of a hollow build.   With a hybrid, if you hit the ball off the heel the ball will produce spin back to the right for right-handed golfers and on the contrary, should you hit it the ball off the toe the ball will produce spin to the left for righties. The result of this counteracting spin being greater “forgiveness” with regards to correcting ball strikes that miss the sweet spot.  Some also say the bigger club-head adds some pop but we don’t fully agree with that sentiment.

Bottom Design

An iron is designed with a very slim bottom – about half an inch in width. The purpose of this is to allow the club to grab some dirt so when the ball is struck properly – the proper divot can allow for some back spin when it comes to ball placement on the green.   However, your average high-handicap “hackers” like us often strike the ground before the ball, causing a “chunk” or hitting it “fat”.  The hybrid’s sole is much wider than an iron (much like a fairway wood) and is designed for hitting the ball more flush without making much contact with the ground. The wider sole of the club head allows the club to lightly skid along the turf reducing or eliminating divots made before striking the ball.  It is important to be mindful however that this type of club head can have the opposite desired affect causing you to “skull” the ball or hit it “thin”.   Also, most players don’t’ realize that the larger club-head  and wider sole  produces more lift due to its lower center of gravity, thus hybrids usually produce a higher launch angle that what traditionally results from iron play.  The key to all this is knowing your swing type and what you would like to get out of your equipment.

Length of the Club Shaft

A traditional set of irons is usually manufactured with steel shafts while almost all hybrids are built with graphite. Graphite is a much lighter material than steel, allowing the user to generate greater club-head speed which ultimately produces a higher spin rate with more carry. Additionally, graphite shafts allow for a lower flex point – when a club flexes further down the shaft it will produce higher lift or launch to the ball. The length of the hybrid shaft is also longer than the traditional iron shaft because the club-head is built with a lighter design.  A longer shaft will also allow you to swing the club faster, therefore the overall result is that hybrids tend to produce higher club head speeds when compared to irons.

Eaglebrooke Golf Club Pro John Greiner explains it in more detail:

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For all the reasons listed here it’s easy to see how the hybrid does in fact have some advantages over the traditional long iron. However, if you are going to play one, just make sure you maintain the club amount limit of 14 clubs in order to not anger your golf buddies (or get yourself penalized out of a tournament).

Like any new club or product that you are contemplating, take each to the range and hit an even amount of balls with both. Record the results with the SwingTip if you have one – or simply write down the results and answer the 5 questions below:

  • Which one did you hit further?
  • Which one did you have more control with?
  • Which one did you slice or hook?
  • Which club felt better?
  • Did you chunk or skull any?

Everyone’s swing (and game) is different so it’s important to examine your style of play and gain an idea of what you want to get out of your equipment before deciding whether a hybrid or a traditional iron is best for your game.  The best thing to do is to take what you’ve learned here and go out and hit both under varying conditions.  Doing so will allow you to make a properly educated equipment decision.

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