![]() ![]() The sharp drop coupled with the continuing backspin creates "bite" the ball's forward momentum will be arrested sharply at its point of impact and carry only a few yards thereafter. This increased backspin is different from both the iron and the wood of the same number, and creates a flight path similar to a higher-loft iron but at a lower angle of launch the backspinning ball will lift itself in the air along its flight line, "stall" when the lift generated by the spin coupled with the ball's momentum can no longer keep it in the air, and drop relatively sharply onto the turf. Second, the increased loft coupled with the tighter impulse also imparts increased backspin on the ball. ![]() This does two things first, the angle of launch is increased so that the ball carries higher than the comparable iron. Because the wood-like head design creates enormous impulse on the ball, the loft of a hybrid head is generally higher than either the wood or iron of the same number, so that the distance carried by the ball is similar to the comparable iron number. Though generally similar to a wood of the same loft in performance, with slightly less carry distance (distance traveled before first impact) but similar launch trajectory, and generally similar to an iron in swing mechanics, hybrids have some behaviors different from either. Golfers may have different shaft lengths to suit their game. ^ Different golfers require lie angles that may be as much as +/- 3 degrees from the standard ones listed.^ Standard loft angles vary between models of club.Hybrids are now also available in traditional (teardrop) and square head shapes. ![]() The first equipment manufacturer to produce a full set of these true hybrids, in both left and right hand, was Thomas Golf. Other club manufacturers produce "true" hybrids as previously described. These clubs are preferred by players with slower swing speeds. These "iron replacements" swing and perform almost exactly like irons, except the difference in the added weight which slows clubhead speed but increases force applied at a given club speed, allowing a swing to cut through turf or sand with more momentum remaining at contact. Some have a club face that looks very similar to an iron, but instead of the cavity-back or muscle-back design these clubs have a slightly bulging back to appear more wood-like in shape. So while a "true" hybrid is as described above, many manufacturers cut production costs by marketing irons as hybrids by adding one or more features to make it look like a hybrid. The hybrid's lie, length and weight is comparable to an iron.īeing a new class of club, there is no generally accepted principle governing design. The face incorporates the "trampoline" effect common to most modern woods, in which the clubface deforms slightly, then returns to its previous shape, increasing the impulse applied to the ball at launch. The head must have an iron-like lie angle, and therefore also has a flatter sole than a fairway wood. A hybrid head is usually marginally shallower and does not extend backwards from the face as far as a comparable fairway wood. Design Ī hybrid generally features a head very similar to a fairway wood hollow steel or titanium with a shallow, slightly convex face. The answer to this dilemma for many players is to replace the 1-4 irons with hybrids. In addition, the fairway wood clubface is designed to skim over instead of cutting into turf, which makes it undesirable for shots from the rough. The long shaft of a fairway wood also requires much room to swing, making it unsuitable for tighter lies such as "punching" out from underneath trees. Players tend to avoid these clubs in favor of fairway woods which have a larger " sweet spot" to hit with, but such woods, having longer shafts, have a different swing mechanic that is sometimes difficult to master. įor many players, long irons (numbers 1-4) are difficult to hit well even with modern clubfaces, due to the low trajectory and very small face of the low-loft clubhead. The name " hybrid" comes from genetics to denote a mixture of two different species with desirable characteristics of both, and the term here has been generalized, combining the familiar swing mechanics of an iron with the more forgiving nature and better distance of a wood. A hybrid is a type of club used in the sport of golf with a design borrowing from both irons and woods while differing from both. ![]()
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