Part 2 of Hybrids. Last week was a primer. How many? What are they all about? Today we can discuss how do we fit them.

If you remember nothing else as you read this, remember this. Hybrid fitting is yardage gapping fitting. You are trying to achieve or maintain acceptable differences in distances between clubs throughout the bag. It’s the same as fitting a set of wedges – these just happen to be in between a 6-iron and a 7 wood. So how do we do it?

First things first. We need to decide if a hybrid is even right for a player. Do you remember what number we look at for the apex height on a shot? For most players, we want to look at the Club Head speed in MPH of a players driver – in feet. If a player swings his driver at 100 MPH, we want his apex to be 100 feet high – for EVERY club in the bag. Driver 100 feet high. 7 Iron 100 feet high. Sand wedge 100 feet high. As swings slow, this number gets lower. 70 MPH driver speed might be closer to 50 – 60 feet high. This is important because if the player can’t achieve the desired height with a certain club, kit means the resulting distance and performance will be off. These are the clubs/ areas you need to address. You get the picture?

So, the player says “I want to replace my 5 iron with a hybrid.” In your pre-fit interview, ask him WHY he wants to replace his 5 iron. You may have to dig for the answer. If he says because 5 hybrids are easier to hit – that doesn’t tell you what is wrong with his 5-iron. To properly address his problem, you need to know what’s wrong. You may need to try a different line of questioning – “When you hit it, what happens?” “I hit it so bad I never hit it.” “Ahh, you want to replace a towel holder with a club you can use. Can you hit it off a tee? When you miss hit it, where does it go? Interesting, are there any symptoms of this in your 6-iron as well?” Dig. Find out what the WHOLE issue is. You can fix it all at once. When you think you know what is going on, have him hit some shots.

First things first. Hit 5 or 6 shots to warm up. “OK? Good. Grab your driver.” But I want a hybrid… “I know. I need to know your optimal Apex Height. The Driver will help me figure that out.” Three drives at 93 MPH average. Apex height is 77 feet (Should be 93). Ask “Is that a normal trajectory for you?” This tells you a lot about what you will face in a few minutes. If the answer is Yeah. I hit a high ball. (when he hits it 15 feet too low), trying to chase 93 feet high with a hybrid probably isn’t going to work.

Remember, hybrid fitting is about yardage gapping. To achieve this, it’s as much about optimizing trajectory as it is giving a player an easier head to hit.

“OK, good with the driver. You want to replace your 5 iron?” Yes. “Will you take a few shots with your 7-iron, please? But, I want to replace… I know. 7-iron goes 80 feet high and carries 130 yards. This is good, we can work with this. *Here’s a rule of thumb you can use. The clubhead speed with a 7-iron will be roughly 15 MPH lower than that of his driver.* Too low, but the same as the driver so we are still OK. “Nice. Can you hit a couple with your 6 iron?” 70 feet and 134 carry. Too low and doesn’t carry far enough. “OK, and your 5 iron?” 63 feet high and 137 carry. Event lower and carry is significantly shorter. Clearly this player needs something they hit higher so they can carry it longer, right?

Now, you need to establish your other ‘bumper” – in our example, not only does the 5-iron need to be replaced, so does the 6-iron. It’s time to ask the other question. “What club do you have that goes longer than the 5-iron? Is it a 4 hybrid?” Yes. Want me to hit that one? “Yes please.” 70 feet high and 150 carry. “OK. What comes after that? A 7-wood?” No. I have this Big Bertha 5 wood that my Grandpa gave me…. “Haha. OK.”

Here’s the situation/ problem. He has a solid 130 club. He has 3 clubs that go 7 yards apart. His next club is 13 yards longer. The one longer than that is from the cold war era. This is your time to shine. If he’s 130 with his 7-iron, he should be 140 with the 6, 150 with the 5, 160 with the 4 hybrid. 170 with the next club. This player needs to replace his 6 iron, his 5 iron, his 4 hybrid, and probably that FW Wood. He wants one club, but he might need four. How do you handle this?

I’d start by seeing if he can hit a 6 hybrid 140 yards at 80 feet high. If he does, he can use his 4 hybrid as his 5-iron (code for his 150 club). This will give him the right height and trajectory for 7-iron, 6-iron and 5-iron (150 yards down).

The 4 hybrid flies low for him (70 feet), and having a second 4 hybrid in the bag will just confuse him. He’s going to need a fairway wood above that 4H. That can be a discussion for today, or a game plan for the future. “Why don’t you hit this so we know where to go next time. I’ll write this down and keep it on file for you.” What is this? “It’s a 9 wood. This could give us the yardage and trajectory we need.” Why not a 3 hybrid ? *you can think – because it will fly 25 feet high and carry shorter than your 7-iron, but do not predict what will happen. He needs to be convinced, so let him hit it. “We can try that too. This might give us a better flight.” OK. “Hmmm. 170 and 82 feet high. This is perfect.” Wow. This is really easy to hit. “I know, isn’t it? See how high if goes? That’ll make it stop too. Do you event want to try that 3 hybrid?” No thanks. This is great. “OK, great. Let me have you hit one more thing… Here. Try this one.” 7 wood? “No. This is a 5 wood. The 7 wood might be too close in yardage to the 9 wood.” But I have grandpa’s old…

Think of it this way… When it comes to hybrids, you are looking at several things. First, you are shopping for a yardage. You’re looking for a 150 club, not a 5 hybrid. Second, you need the right trajectory AND distance. If the 5 hybrid doesn’t fly high enough, you need to go to a fairway wood. If the trajectory is too low, it will not stop when it hits the ground. Third, you are trying to gap the set correctly. You need to find a distance the player hits reliably well, then find where the yardage shortcomings are, and address those on BOTH sides of the shortcoming. Finally, address other opportunities in the bag for “down the road”. Often that road isn’t very long.

If someone says I want to try a 5 hybrid, and you just hand him a 5 hybrid to try, you’re not doing your job. Find out the yardage he needs to achieve and work with him to fill it. It very well may be a 5 hybrid, but you have at least a 50/50 chance that it is something else.

I hope this helps. Happy Fitting. Adapt, Learn, and Grow.