How to Buy a Hybrid Golf Club

Hybrid golf clubs are very useful if they're properly fitted.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A desire to play better golf!

1. A hybrid golf club is a cross between an iron and a wood. It is the length of a longer iron with the helpful design of a wood. Use this article to be better informed when you go to a pro shop. Ask questions when you go regarding the length, lie, weight, shaft flex, and head design. They should even fit the proper grip size and material to you.

2. Next to a driver and a putter, a hybrid may be the next most important club in your bag.

3. If you can't tell that 2 clubs are different by hitting them, then maybe they're not. If you don't hit different weights, flexes, lengths, lies, and head designs, then you don't have anything to compare.

4. Start by hitting a steel shafted hybrid with a very soft flex and a high loft, and do it on an outdoor driving range (you need to see the entire flight of the ball). Why steel? Because it is heavier than graphite, and a heavier club is usually more consistent. Don't worry -- if it is too heavy you'll know when you change to a lighter one. Make sure you find a certified teacher/clubfitter to help you.

5. Check the lie and length of the club. Do this by performing a lie test and a face impact test. Your teacher/clubfitter should help with this. The lie of the club means that the sole of the clubhead should be parallel with the ground at impact. If it is 'heel-down' the ball should go left, and if it is 'toe-down' it should go to the right.

6. If the length and/or lie of the club are not correct, you will compensate and change your swing motion. Incorrectly fitted clubs can actually cause injuries: If the club doesn't go straight you'll change your swing motion, which forces you into movements your body doesn't want to make.

7. Check the shaft flex of the club. The ball will go farther if you get the right flex. The shaft is a spring, so to check you need to watch the last half of the ball flight. Stiffer shafts go lower, shorter, and can curve to the right (opposite for lefties). Softer shafts go higher, shorter, and can curve to the left.

8. Check the head design of the club. There are offset and non-offset clubheads. Offset means there is a little 'goose-neck' where the shaft meets the head. The offset effect is to help your ball go to the left.

9. Whatever is recommended by the pro, try a shaft that is the same weight but with a softer flex. There are at least 6 flexes available, not just regular and stiff. If they don't have a softer flex in the same weight, perhaps you need to try another shop.

10. BEFORE YOU BUY, ask about their return/exchange policy. If you get on the course and you can't hit the club it may not fit properly. Many shops have a 1-time, 30-day exchange policy. One manufacturer will even change the club FOR FREE at the pro's recommendation for up to 100 days.

11. Print this as a reference when you go to a shop. If your questions show that you're actually 'educating' a salesperson, that tells you something. Don't get sucked in by a sales pitch -- get sucked in by good performance!

Tips & Warnings

• If you already have some aches or injuries to deal with in golf you need fitted equipment more. For example, if you have a bad back you need SOFTER flexes in your shafts. Stiffer shafts make you keep your weight behind the ball causing your back to arch in the finish of the swing. Major back stress!
• If you're hitting a club with an offset and the ball is still going to the right, either the club doesn't fit, or you need more instruction, or both!
• 2 players can have the same swing speed but need different shaft flexes. A short and quick swing might produce the same speed as a long and lanky one, but each places different stresses on the shaft.
• You can only properly evaluate a golf club when you can see the entire flight of the ball. Hitting into a net shows very little.
• Most manufacturers offer graphite shafts in hybrids, but not all offer steel shafts. Steel is heavier and could help, so give one a try
• Different manufacturers have different standards, so one might have a stiffer standard than another. The best way to check is to have a Frequency Analyzer which measures the vibrational frequency of the shaft. Sounds complicated, but if they don't have one you may not know what you're hitting.
• Many players' egos get in the way when choosing a shaft and they think the ball will fly better with a stiffer shaft. Check your ego at the door -- golf is hard enough even with the right clubs.
• Some shops have launch monitors which measure the ball speed, direction, and spin rates. Be aware that some monitors have a 'boost' setting which means the numbers will be higher. If the monitor says you hit a hybrid 240 yards but that's about how far you hit your driver, take it with a big grain of salt!

[jull14]

on 7/6/2009 Thank you for sharing this information with me, it is very interesting, helpful for many here at ehow and the article is well written and easy to follow, thanks so much.