Describing a Hybrid golf club is kind of tricky as it looks like the little brother of a Fairway Wood with the larger hollow head while being much small and more precise like an iron.
Many people tend to use fairway woods rather than using long irons due to the fact that the woods have a much larger sweet spot on the face which means that it is much easier to generate faster ball speed and distance on a larger surface area. However, while the distance of what a golf ball can reach is a positive, fairway woods tend to have much longer and heavier shafts than irons which some golfers may find much more difficult to master. Using an iron allows for much more control on shots with greater accuracy, but it requires much more effort to generate the distance and power needed to avoid dropping a shot.
A hybrid golf clubs have been designed to sit between both options of golf clubs, able to offer the distance of a fairway wood with the accuracy and control of irons.
What's the difference between a Fairway Wood and a Hybrid?
The key difference between a fairway wood and hybrid is the size of the club heads and the length of the shafts.
Fairway woods have the longer shaft and larger head of the two options, allowing for shots that are much more suited for being played off the tee and on the fairway. The larger head on the fairway is much more forgiving and will send the golf ball higher as it creates much more backspin. The hybrid is best suited for shots that need to be played from the rough as its smaller head will allow for a better connection with the ball on uneven and bad lies more easily.
Hybrid or Irons?
For many beginners, they find a hybrid a much more forgiving golf club to use compared to using long irons. This is because the hybrid has a flat face that is quite similar to an iron when setting up your swing at address, but the clubhead shape means that the club is actually able to make much smoother contact with the turf and so avoids digging into the ground like an iron might. By avoiding this digging it means that more of the power that is created on a golf swing can be easily transfered into a golf ball rather than losing some that is lost into the ground.
While the accuracy of an iron will always outmatch what can be created by a larger head golf club, most modern hybrids from brands such as Titleist, TaylorMade, Mizuno and more do actually offer amazing accuracy on shots so that you can have more confidence playing longer shots to reach the greens.
Lofts
The loft in a club is the angle that the clubface is in relation to the surface of the golf course. When choosing a hybrid club, you need to know the loft of the club so you can decide if you are willing to part with an iron or fairway wood.
A low lofted hybrid, which offers between 14 and 17 degrees of loft, is a suitable replacement for a 3-wood or a 5-wood and is much easier to use on the fairway compared to a long iron. A hybrid with a moderate amount of loft, 18 to 22 degrees, can be used in place of either a 7 wood or 3 or 4 irons too. Higher lofted hybrids, 23 to 28 degrees, can be a suitable replacement for a 4 or 5 iron however you may have to sacrifice a little distance for consistency, depending on how far you can hit it.
Shafts
How the shaft flexes when using a hybrid will impact the clubhead speed and launch of the ball, so when picking out a hybrid be sure to get a fitting to ensure you have chosen the right shaft to fit your swing. Normally hybrid shafts are typically stiffer than iron club shafts, with the material usually being steel but graphite is available.
