What are Hybrid Golf Clubs?

Hybrid golf clubs are also referred to as utility clubs and are a relatively recent addition to the variety of golf clubs golfers can choose from. They are growing in popularity because they are designed to be easier to hit for recreational golfers. In fact, they are easier to hit for all golfers and most touring pros now carry hybrid golf clubs in their bags.

The hybrid clubs are a category of club that combines elements of both woods and irons into their design. This combination adds up to having technical features that aid in getting the ball airborne, that dampen the effects of miss hits, and many other pluses.

Most hybrid golf clubs are designed to replace long irons (2, 3, 4, and sometimes 5 irons) in a golfer’s bag. When you hear it said that hybrid golf clubs are easier to hit, this is almost always meant in comparison to the long irons that these hybrids replace. So why are hybrid clubs advantageous over regular irons?

A normal iron doesn't have much of a back on it. You can make an iron that has perimeter weighting but you can't have it further back unless it has a bigger back side. You can't move much weight back into the air? Therefore, to make an iron easier to hit manufacturers have started to "fatten" the back of them. So hybrids  that look more like an iron have what seems to be a bulge on back of them. This is just moving the weight further back on the iron.

Now they can have weight along the outside of the club and further back. On the other hand, manufacturers who have made their hybrid golf clubs look more like a fairway wood have been able to move the weight back a little more since the club is larger. Not large enough to be the size of a harder to hit fairway wood but large enough to do the trick.

Hybrid clubs also have a lower center of gravity. If you move the center of gravity down then the ball gets up in the air easier. It helps increase the launch angle of the ball without having to increase the actual loft of the club. This may not be visible but the result is.

If you have a three iron that is 20 degrees and a hybrid that is the same loft, but has the weight further back (perimeter weighted) and the center of gravity lower then the club will launch the ball higher.

That is why it is important to realize that when making a purchase of a hybrid golf club that the lofts are not directly comparable to the club you are replacing. There are some players who swear by hybrid golf clubs and others who think they are just junk. But the simple fact is that a hybrid golf club is easier to get into the air, down the fairway and onto the green.