The most versatile club in your bag; the club that puts you on par with longer, better hitters; the hybrid. No golf bag is complete without one, (or a few).
For high-handicap golfers, having the correct hybrid gives you the ability to hit high, arcing shots and shape the ball on the same level as low-handicap golfers.
| Compare Prices | |
|---|---|
| Top Pick Titleist TS3 Hybrid  |   |
| Budget Option Srixon Z H85 Hybrid  |  |
| Best for Fixing A Slice Cobra F-MAX Airspeed Hybrid  | |
| Runner-up Mizuno CLK Hybrid  | |
| Best High Launch Cobra SPEEDZONE Hybrid  | |
A great way to build your bag is to create a blended set with these hybrids and these irons for high handicap golfers.
Top Pick | Titleist TS3 Hybrid
Titleist markets their TS3 hybrids as iron replacements, and isn’t that really what we’re all after?
As a high-handicap golfer, when you’re around 200 yards away, you face a challenge. Under most circumstances, you’ll have a hard time reaching the green and getting the ball to land soft enough to remain on the green.
Titleist TS3 hybrids are specifically designed to land at steeper angles, reducing roll, but maximizing carry. This combination allows you to hit the ball just as far as any other club, only this time with precise control.
Titleist TS3 Hybrid
The Titleist TS3 Hybrids are a great combination of the classic look of Titleist and impressive game improvement technology,
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Over time, the heads of golf clubs have remained largely unchanged. Gradually, clubheads have gotten larger and the occasional design that’s supposed to “change the game” emerges—we remember the TaylorMade Burner’s. I think we can all agree the best changes are the ones that you hardly notice.
TS3 hybrids have a streamlined clubhead that promotes increased club speed. Combine this with the large clubface and ultra-thin crown, you have yourself a club where it will feel like you can’t miss. Confidence is key, right?
One of the most underrated aspects of Titleist TS3 hybrids is their versatility. While everyone looks at how high and far you can hit the ball with a club, we know that there needs to be a little more to earn our top pick crown.
As a high-handicapper, you aren’t always in the fairway. Considering many single-digit handicappers only hit half their fairways, this shouldn’t make you feel too bad. What you do need to do, however, is be prepared for the difficult shots that lie ahead. When you find yourself in trees that require a low punch shot, TS3 hybrids make it easy to not only ensure your next shot is out of danger, but that you can advance the ball due their easy to shape nature.
Budget Option | Srixon Z H85 Hybrid
While they are best known for golf balls, Srixon has taken a major step forward with their clubs in recent years. As a brand altogether, they’ve considerably stepped up the quality of their products. Their already-good golf balls, namely the Z-Star line matches the performance of top-quality balls of other brands. Additionally, their PGA pro lineup is constantly growing.
Srixon Z H85 Hybrid
Srixon is less known for their clubs than other brands, but the Z H85 Hybrid is a great option for high handicappers that want a more budget friendly option.
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The biggest benefit of a company trying to grow their profile and impress the average golfer—their prices are great. The Srixon Z H85 hybrids are priced to sell, and come with technology and forgiveness that elevates the game of golfers anywhere on the handicap spectrum.
Our favorite feature on Srixon Z H85 hybrids is the low center of gravity. Far too often high-handicap golfers will “top” their hybrids, whether it’s from the tee, fairway or rough. Solving this problem goes a long way in better setting yourself up for success as you get closer to the green.
By shifting the center of gravity lower, it will lead to more consistent distance, regardless of how precise your contact is. This doesn’t mean that your good shots will lose distance (they’ll probably get some yards added). It means that even when faced with a difficult lie or imperfect conditions, bad contact will not mean a bad shot.
Best for Fixing A Slice | Cobra F-MAX Airspeed Hybrid
Ahh, everyone’s favorite ball shape—the slice. Not only does it cost your precious yardage, a slice is difficult to control and almost impossible to accurately shape, even when embraced. In order to put you back on the straight and narrow (literally), you a need a club that will help you along the way. This club, is the Cobra F-MAX Airspeed hybrid.
Cobra F-MAX Airspeed Hybrid
With an offset and a draw bias, this is the club to go with if you need some extra help controlling that slice.
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Golfers pay close attention to weight distribution in their swing, but often neglect how clubhead weighting can negatively or positively affect them. For those fighting a slice, this is even more important. The Cobra F-MAX Airspeed hybrid features back heel weighting. This distribution is designed for golfers who have a hard time turning the club over at the bottom of their swing.
Rather than relying on the golfer to fix their swing, Cobra does the work for you. In theory, we should be able to work out our swing issues and make corrections. In reality, it’s never that easy. By embracing a more natural swing and a club that fixes the errors of your ways, you’ll be on the fast-track to eliminating your slice and getting your scores down.
Besides weighting, the Cobra F-MAX Airspeed hybrid also features an offset design. This is seen in the hosel and continues the club’s overall effort to reduce any tendency to leave the ball out.
Thanks to Cobra’s creative design, you’ll be hitting more fairways and greens before. If this doesn’t lead to lower scores, well, that probably means you need to spend a bit more time on the practice green.
Runner-up | Mizuno CLK Hybrid
Almost every high-handicap golfer will tell you that their swing changes round to round, and sometimes even shot to shot. A high-handicap golfer that won’t admit this is probably in denial. Since our swings go through peaks and valleys that often correlate with our scoring trends, Mizuno designed their CLK hybrids to change with you, courtesy of an eight-way adjustable hosel.
Mizuno CLK Hybrid
Mizuno is known for the great feel in their irons. The CLK Hybrid adds some impressive game improvement technology to their iron pedigree that is ideal for high handicap players.
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Adjustability is a double positive. On one hand, you have the ability to fine tune your distances so that you do not have too much of a distance gap between your longest iron and shortest hybrid. Looking at it the other way, you can also properly space your clubs that you do not hit two clubs nearly the same distance. Even better, these adjustments give you a little leeway when trying to conform with your natural ball flight.
When companies include heavy science jargon in their copy describing clubs, I get lost. At this point, I start looking for smaller details which convince me of the club’s quality. One thing made clear by Mizuno is that their CLK hybrids are designed for high launch and ease of shaping the ball.
What I really like about Mizuno CLK hybrids is that your launch angle can be varied based on where the ball is in your stance or the type of swing you take. When you’re out in the wide-open fairway, you can launch the ball high and true. When faced with more difficult angles, you can just as easily steer the ball with a cut or draw at a height suited for the shot on hand.
Best High Launch | Cobra SPEEDZONE Hybrid
Hybrids are designed to help golfers get the ball off the ground more easily than long irons. Sometimes, this is not enough. That’s where a hollow split underneath the Cobra SPEEDZONE hybrid comes into play. Not only does this wind tunnel of sorts help to increase clubhead speed, it makes hitting higher shots even easier.
Cobra SPEEDZONE Hybrid
The low center of gravity and rails on the bottom will help you get the ball launching higher and farther than your long irons.
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The “Baffler Rails” on the bottom of the clubface not only improve speed, but also promote better turf interaction. Rather than the clubhead itself making contact with the ground, possibly at too steep of an angle, leading to a chunk, the rails prevent this.
Instead, the baffler rails will glide across the top of the ground, without digging too deep into the turf. This also serves as a major plus for fairway bunkers. These rails will allow you to sweep across the sand with minimal friction, giving you a chance to get to the green in regulation.
Having an appealing exterior design isn’t enough to fully classify the Cobra SPEEDZONE hybrids as ideal for high launch. What separates this club from others is a low center of gravity and low, back weighting. Even without changing your swing at all, this weight distribution will naturally loft your ball higher than with other clubs. Even better, your improved flight will let you land your ball in tighter areas, giving you more options with each shot.
Less chunks, better ball flight. For a high-handicap golfer, the improvements will allow you to continue advancing the ball, regardless of where your drive went.
Using A Hybrid
Don’t let the clubhead fool you, a hybrid swing is basically the same as an iron swing. Similarly, you’re going want to place it more inside your front foot than you would a driver or wood.
One of the most common mistakes for high-handicapper make with hybrids is overswinging. To get the most out of a hybrid, you do not need to swing 100 mph. In fact, swinging as hard as you can is usually counterproductive. With a hybrid you want to focus on making good contact and allowing the club to do the work for you.
Another common error is taking too wide of a stance. With a driver or wood, it is normal to take a stance as wide, or wider, than your shoulders. With a hybrid, you want to shorten things up. You can take the same stance and swing as you would with a 7-iron. Even to get the massive distance benefit of a hybrid, you do not need to overdo it on the swing. Improved technology and high-quality hybrid materials will have you hitting the ball further than ever before.
Be sure to check out our more in depth tips on how to hit a hybrid.
Using a hybrid for punch shots
Not all shots with your hybrid have to be high, long and lofted. Some of the most valuable shots that you hit with a hybrid—you know the ones that shave strokes off your score, will be low, punch shots.
This all starts with getting yourself into trouble off the tee, or trying to take a shot you know you shouldn’t. The key to becoming a better golfer, however, is limiting the detriment of a bad shot and recovering enough to make a par or bogey.
Some golfers refer to hybrids as rescue clubs—this isn’t by accident. Regardless of terrain, lie or angle, a hybrid “rescues” you from your mistakes. Move the ball back in your stance, take it inside, shorten your swing and follow through low. This will keep it low and straight, saving you from the trouble you’ve gotten yourself into.
The final benefit of this is that the ball will travel further than it would with a mid-iron. Once you get the ball just off the ground, it will have plenty of roll. Instead of hitting another iron into the green after your punch shot, a wedge will suffice.
Full disclosure, this is my favorite shot (mostly because I’ve had so much practice doing this).
