Hybrids and Low Irons

[ondadl]

I've been wondering about this for a while now...

Why do a hybrid and long iron, of equal loft, travel different differences?

Would it be fair to say that a 19* hybrid will travel the same distance as a 21* 3-iron of the same OEM?

Discuss! :D

[sharkhark]

I've been wondering about this for a while now...

Why do a hybrid and long iron, of equal loft, travel different differences?

Would it be fair to say that a 19* hybrid will travel the same distance as a 21* 3-iron of the same OEM?

Discuss! :D

Hey fellow lmgr. You didn't mention other factors like shaft type and length. I bought a ben hogan cft hyrid #3, which I think is 21 degrees, in a reg flex graphite.
I found out after that the shaft is longer than an iron. So it goes further.
Of course the fact its a flexible graphite and not steel. So it goes further.
Then finally add the 'mass' of head. Bigger than iron's. So it goes further.

Even if it was the exact same shaft i.e. nippon uniflex steel shaft in same length as a 3 iron...its going to go further because the mass of the head is larger than 3 iron. Same reason a fairway head would go further. More mass.

Ps you were right about a hybrid replacement. One should ignore the number they are replacing and even the loft. They should try out a few in a sim to find the distance they want to replace. They might just be suprised to find dropping out the 3 iron requires a #5 hybrid or they will end up like i did with a huge gap between my 4 iron and #3 hybrid I bought.

[ondadl]

Hey fellow lmgr. You didn't mention other factors like shaft type and length. I bought a ben hogan cft hyrid #3, which I think is 21 degrees, in a reg flex graphite.
I found out after that the shaft is longer than an iron. So it goes further.
Of course the fact its a flexible graphite and not steel. So it goes further.
Then finally add the 'mass' of head. Bigger than iron's. So it goes further.

Even if it was the exact same shaft i.e. nippon uniflex steel shaft in same length as a 3 iron...its going to go further because the mass of the head is larger than 3 iron. Same reason a fairway head would go further. More mass.

Ps you were right about a hybrid replacement. One should ignore the number they are replacing and even the loft. They should try out a few in a sim to find the distance they want to replace. They might just be suprised to find dropping out the 3 iron requires a #5 hybrid or they will end up like i did with a huge gap between my 4 iron and #3 hybrid I bought.

You make complete sense...maybe I'm just confusing it with when I switched from a 15* three wood to a 14* hybrid. Gotta stay more focussed.:help:

[Merlot]

I've been wondering about this for a while now...

Why do a hybrid and long iron, of equal loft, travel different differences?

Would it be fair to say that a 19* hybrid will travel the same distance as a 21* 3-iron of the same OEM?

Discuss! :D

Sharkhark seems to have hit it right on. I got the same results as you. I still use a MB 2 iron off the tee as I can pretty much do what I want with it. (pretty easy when teed up when compared to off the turf) Haven't found a hybrid with correct shaft that works as well.

[avidgolfer]

When all are equal, a 21* hybrid will fly higher than a 21* iron due to the location of mass and cog. Because of the higher ball flight, a hybrid may actually be shorter than an iron of the same loft if the length of the shaft is equal. To compensate, hybrids usually come with shafts that are +1/4" to +3/4" longer than the typical length of shaft for an iron of the same loft.

Even if an iron and an hybrid hits for similar distances, the carry, overall ball flight and roll upon impact (ability to hold greens) will be quite different between the two. Personally I love the feel of long irons. Unfortunately, I just can't hit irons with lofts less than 23* with any consistency. Otherwise, I would stick with regular irons.