Hybrid Hunting

As I alluded to in my last post my Taylormade Burner hybrid has been misbehaving for a while and regularly produces huge hooks left, usually resulting in the ball being lost or at best in a difficult lie. So much for it being a rescue club. The issue stems from the fact that it sits slightly closed, cunningly designed to give a draw bias. The problem is my teaching pro has got me swinging on a much better swing path and so I generate draw anyway and so the bias only adds to this hence the big banana shots left. I've not had much confidence with it for a while and the time had come for a change. Enough was enough.



The 07 Burner - definitely out of favour

 I have to be honest and say given the opportunity I love to try latest gear out and I am a real magpie for anything shiny and new. The weather here in deepest Berkshire has been pretty abysmal today and you can definitely tell that lawn tennis is back in town (doesn't it always rain at Wimbledon?). However it gave me the perfect opportunity to spend some time looking for a new 3 hybrid.

I must confess I am a Taylormade fan and so I was immediately drawn to their offerings. I'd discarded the R11 model having tried it at a previous demo day and really not liked it in any set up. As a renowned tinkerer anyway the adjustable flight setting was always going to prove to difficult to resist. Any bad shot would have to have been the set up of the club and not the end user and the wrench would have been permanently in my grubby hands. That left their latest Superfast model which like the R11 is white on the crown with a black face and designed to promote better alignment

I really wanted to like this club with its sleek design and whiteness which really does make it easier to pick the ball out and ensure it points where you want it to. Sadly though the RE*AX SL 60 shaft in both stiff and regular flex was just too light for my quick swing and it was a nightmare to control. In truth it only took about ten balls to realise we were never going to get along.

Not to be deterred though I went for last years version of the Superfast which had a more traditional black head. It came with a RE*AX 60 Superfast shaft and given how the newer model had behaved I opted for the stiff version to start with. The results were better but not great. In truth my other Taylormade clubs are all regular shafted and I've never been told at any fitting or demo day that I needed stiff flex specifically. Maybe the regular would do the trick.

In the end the regular flex was a step up but not really what I was looking for. Now I had a problem. Taylormade had let me down and I was forced to fling myself to the mercy of all the other manufacturers. So many models and so many variations. In the end it came down to three. The G15 and I15 from Ping and the Cobra Baffler Rail Hybrid. I did try offerings from Cleveland, Titleist and Mizuno but to be frank, although the Titleist performed the best of these, it didn't look right to my eye behind the ball and I never stood there with any confidence. Translate that to the course and I could see myself doubting my ability with it and I think we can all guess how that would end.

Eventually it came down to a chose of two. The Cobra is a very good hybrid and will suit a lot of golfers. It has a good ball flight, looks great behind the ball and is very forgiving. The rail on the sole will make it very easy to cut through longer grass and so will be ideal for shots from the rough. However it didn't quite make my last two and it was a straight shootout between the Ping G15 and the I15.

I have always been a big fan of Ping gear despite being a Taylormade gear whore and I've already written on here about coveting the I15 irons and so I guess there was an air of inevitability about the final two. The G15 is a peach to hit and is very versatile and forgiving. The high ball flight may not suit everyone but the distance it produced was very much on a par with my Taylormade. I tried it with the Aldila Serrano 85 hybrid shaft in both regular and stiff flex and it was the stiff that performed the best.

In the end though the daddy of them all was the I15. It was awesome in terms of distance, at least ten yards further than any other model I tried using the Mamiya AXIVcore Tour Red 85 shaft. The regular was good but in the end the stiff flex fitted me to a tee. Ball after ball sailed high and true with a lovely penetrating flight and a delicious hint of draw.

So I've a shiny new hybrid in my bag. It does look a little lost amongst a sea of Taylormade clubs but on the day it was the best of the bunch and as we all know it isn't about what it looks like or to some degree how it plays, all that counts is the number on the scorecard. It has one degree more loft than the Burner it's replacing but I can live with that as it flies further. I can stand there with confidence now without fear of losing the shot left all the time and as confidence is such a big part of my golfing psyche I can't wait to get out onto the course to try it. I'll be hitting the driving range this week as my golf club will be in the midst of the Royal Ascot race meeting and so getting in and out of the club is a nightmare and it's best to give it a very wide berth. However I'm off to Windlesham Golf Club on Friday and relishing the prospect of the first proper shot with it.

All in all it was a very enlightening experience and a very enjoyable one. If you are struggling with your longer irons, I thoroughly recommend you look at a hybrid. There are plenty of makes and models to choose from and there is bound to be one out there for you. As for me I'm tired but very happy with my purchase and it does look enticing sitting in my golf bag next to me as I write this. I think this will be the start of a beautiful friendship.