Driving iron vs Hybrid

darpar

Been playing Adams hybrids for years,mainly the Pro-Mini's 20 and 26°.
They are easy to hit from about any lie,BUT they can can be a major banana ball
hooking club too! 🙁
Started switching those out for a couple driving irons,the TITLEIST 716 T-MB 2 & 4 irons.
Man what difference in direction control,pretty much dead straight and distance is surprisingly
close to the hybrids.....maybe longer!
Yeah the Titleist driving irons are a pretty pricey,but I found a couple of slightly used ones (actually the 4
looks brand new),changed shafts to graphite...the 2(i) is a Kuro Kage...the 4(i) a Fubuki.
I think they're just as easy to hit as a hybrid....but much straighter.

Might want to try a driving iron if you're tired of the occasional hook of a hybrid! 😉

potbunker

Interesting you bring this up, and glad you did.
A crossover, as some refer to it.
Did you hit any other brands beside the Titleist?

I'm looking for something to fill the 4 iron spot.

Hybrids are easier to hit and I like their versatility ex. chipping from the fringe.

What I don't like (hybrids vs the iron they replace), because a hybrid is more forgiving and the length is much longer, there is a yardage gap. Put it on a tee and the distance gap can be greater.

From the fairway, hybrids don't seem to launch as high as an iron and therefore, green holding ability is in question.

Yeah, I can have them tweaked or do it myself, but I have tired of that. Therefore, my PB Mega Sale. Yes, I can choke down, but that does not give me a lot of confidence on a par 3. Maybe I just need to play more to get over that.

Even considered using a 5 hybrid for a 4 iron.

So thanks for the reminder and may give a Ping a trial soon. I have a feeling the Titleist and maybe all the crossovers for that matter, are a bit above my new higher handicap and greatly reduced rounds per season.

Glad you found two new weapons.

scotts33

potbunker PB knowing that you have tried Wishon hybrids but I have found the .335 Wishon S2S hyrbid graphite shafts launch noticeably higher than any .370 shaft graphite or steel. Something to consider.

The utility iron that I have used successfully for many of my clients is the Swing Science FC-One Utility Iron mainly with graphite.

potbunker

scotts33

Thanks, Scott.
I have tried the Wishons so many times and for some odd reason, regardless of shaft, loft, S2S hybrid shaft or bored to .370 and traditional shafts, we never got along.

As much as the Wishon hybrid is beloved and revered by so many, I'm just the odd guy out on this one. The same was true for the SMT 455DB. Who knows.

Thanks for the heads up on the Swing Science. Funny you mention Swing Science. I actually met for the first time at the driving range and had a long conversation with a Swing Science fitter that is local to me. Didn't know he existed in Bingham Farms, MI. Ooooops, forgot his name.

Did you get your 919?

golfer_LD

scotts33

I think I remember Jeff Summit doing testing between .370 graphite shafts and .335 graphite shafts (using shims) in hybrids and found the same thing. The .335 shafts would launch noticeably higher than the .370 counter parts.

scotts33

potbunker Yes on the 919THI PB. Purchased one for a senior client with 88 mph driver club head speed who had a bit of a push fade so had it adjusted to +1* closed face angle and used a S2S Green R/S....went with a tip adjustment for his transition time and he reports in the first 2 rounds 20 out of 28 fairways hit and a nice draw no push/fades. The sound when he was using it at the range after I delivered it was the same as the old 919THI version very solid and no "ting"

DonM

Do most of these "driving irons" have some bulge and roll, or flat faces?

darpar

DonM
The one's I've seen/play are flat just like an iron.....that's what I like about them.

ZWExton

Are you guys playing iron-length DIs and comparing them to longer-than-iron hybrids? There's no reason you should be hooking hybrids and not DIs unless something is way off.

That being said, most hybrids are way too long. I have a steel shafted 19* hybrid at 39" and a graphite to match it, same length. Graphite is a newer "prettier" model. I think I hit it too far. Had a shot this weekend where 260 was the maximum safe distance off the tee on a par 5 - hit the hybrid with a smooth swing. Loved it. Got up there and I'm in the water. Couldn't freaking believe it.

Moral of this story - play your hybrids at iron length with iron swing weight. Consider a steel shaft if that's what you have in your irons. You don't need the theoretical distance gain of a longer club.