Hybrid Golf Clubs from Forgan Golf

Hybrids, Utility Woods, Rescue Woods… just some of thenames given to hybrid rescue woods. More and more players are resorting tohybrids as an alternative to long irons but are these clubs really deliver onthe hype?

Many golfers don't realise that hybrid clubs have beenaround for some time in one guise or another – so why are more and more hybrid golf clubs finding their way into the bags of professional and amateur players?

The origins of the hybrid club amongst players is somewhat unclear – the generalconsensus says that hybrid clubs originated from Gary McCord a PGA pro – who observed his colleagues struggling withlong irons. At that stage of his career McCord was sponsored by TaylorMade –who took the concept and developed a golf club which combined the features of awood and an iron. In crude terms the manufacturer developed a new club-headbased around the following properties of a golf wood: wide sole, low-backcentre of gravity and increased mass and connected an iron shaft to the head.

The main difference between a hybrid club and a 5 or7-wood is the shaft. The standard length of a 2-iron is roughly 39" andthe length of a 5-wood is 42". Hybridgolf clubs are somewhere in between. A longer golf club will deliver agreater distance through increased club-head speed; the additional speed willalso increase the trajectory of the ball and will prove harder to control.

Hybrid golfclubs also feature thicker shafts than woods for increasestability and accuracy. Compared to an equally lofted wood a hybrid club ismore accurate, easier to use at the sacrifice of distance. When compared to along iron a hybrid club features a larger club-head with a lower centre ofgravity to increase distance and carry and will deliver a softer landing. Ahybrid club can also achieve better results from the bunker or rough,

The current generation of hybrids offer a rich varietyof lofts with a choice of different sole widths and face heights available.Today's hybrids are also available in a variety of lengths – some larger orshorter than standard irons and others the same length as woods. Today'shybrids are best likened to fairway woods and irons. Popular brands like Prosimmon, Confidence and Texan Classicsnow produce hybrid iron sets which replace long 3 and 4-irons with hybrid golfclubs (21 and 24-degrees). Online retailers such as The Sports HQ canoffer exceptional discounts on hybrid rescue clubs and hybrid iron sets (from£29.99 – per set) – sourcing direct from the manufacturer – online retailerscan pass on savings of up to 85% to the customer whilst offering a greaternumber of lines compared to a retail shop.

Online prices can range from £7.99 to £29.99 per club– typically available in lofts of 15, 18, 21 and 24-degrees. Hybrid wood setsoffer the best value for money and scope for improving your game – the Confidence HQ7 Square Hybrid Wood Setfor example consists of four square profiled hybrid golf clubs (15 to24-degrees) with matching head-covers and the choice of regular or stiff flexedshafts.