Thinking Man's Guide to Finding Your WITB: Part III

In part I we discussed the driver and why we should seek to optimize distance first, then look for consistency and accuracy. In part II, we discussed the fairway woods and how we should seek consistency first, then distance and accuracy.

In part III, I'll discuss the hybrid. Here's my current hybrid specs:



Wishon 775HS
18° Loft
58° Lie Angle
Wishon Gold Tour Hybrid Shaft (Stiff flex)
40-3/4" long
D-4 swingweight
2,765 kg/cm2 MOI

Hybrid clubs are often referred to as 'rescue' clubs. I think that is a good term to describe the purpose of hybrids as I usually use the hybrid to advance the ball at least 220 yards from a difficult lie or a very tight and difficult tee-shot. There are times when I use it from the fairway into a par-4 or a par-5 and there are some tee shots on par-3's I will use it off once in a while, but the main purpose is usually to move it a good ways (220+ yards) from difficult shots.

With that, I believe the hybrid should be your 'best club' in the bag because you are hitting difficult shots with the hybrid that have to travel a good ways and have to be accurate and consistent.


CLUBHEAD (WISHON 775HS)



The hybrids are much like the drivers these days, there's not much of a engineering advantage between hybrids, regardless of make and model. So a lot of it has to do with personal preference as far as the looks, CoG location (which is usually low on all hybrids) and feel.

Where Wishon Golf has some sort of advantage is with the high-COR head. However, Taylor Made's RBZ hybrid also has a high-COR head. All this really allows a golfer to do is to hit a club with the same specs and shafts a little further.

My main goal was to find a hybrid that I could hit in between my 3-wood (250 yards off the deck) and my 3-iron (215-220 yards).

So that's why I went with the 2-hybrid which I can hit about 230-245 yards.

The other part was the face thickness.



I prefer a hybrid that has a 'little meat on them bones' instead of those super shallow hybrids. Getting the hybrid up in the air is not an issue for me, but I believe that the super shallow hybrid heads are more difficult for me to hit out of the rough as I can go under the ball or the face is more likely to twist against the grass.


LOFT & LIE ANGLE (18° & 58°)

The loft is important because it plays a role in how far you can hit the club. I was probably hitting a 21° lofted Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK around 220-235 yards, which wasn't enough for my tastes, so the 18° loft in the Wishon 775HS better suited my needs.

The lie angle becomes more important because we are getting closer to the irons. Fortunately, the 775HS at 58° lie angle fit me well. But if it didn't, it has a soft steel hosel so the lie angle can be bent up to 4° upright or flat.


SHAFT (WISHON GOLD TOUR HYBRID - STIFF FLEX)

Wishon Golf no longer makes the Gold model shafts as they have been replaced by the Black model shafts.

One of the main points about this shaft is that it fits me, despite being a stiff flex and my driver and 3-wood shafts being X-Stiff. That's because the shaft bend profiles are more suited to my swing despite what the shaft label says.

Also, from what I've been told a hybrid shaft of the same model is typically softer in the tip section than a wood shaft of the same model. That's because the woods have lighter clubhead weights, so they counter that by makign the tip-section stiffer and heavier. The Wishon 949MC weighs in at 208 grams and the 775HS 2-hybrid weights in at 238 grams.

The shaft is also a 0.335 tip. That's because the 775HS head has a 0.335 hosel. According to Wishon, who has the capability to make 0.370 hosels and 0.370 shaft tips (he already has 0.370 iron head hosels and 0.370 shafts), the reason for the 0.335 shaft tip is that it gets the kick point lower which allows the trajectory to fly higher. I'm not sure how much merit or a difference that makes, but I did think it was interesting.


LENGTH (40-3/4")

Typically a 2-hybrid is about 40-1/2" long. I made mine 40-3/4" to help with my height (6'3" tall).


SWINGWEIGHT & MOI (D-4 & 2,765 KG/CM2)

One of the features I like about the 775HS is that it has a small weight port on the sole where the golfer or clubmaker can add a small weight and simply glue a medallion on. This makes it much easier for me to MOI match the club to my desired MOI. As we get into the hybrids, the optimal MOI more closely resembles my irons optimal MOI.

Here's what I have for fitted MOI's so far:

Driver: 2,825
3-wood: 2,805
Hybrid: 2,765

I generally find hybrids fairly easy to hit. However, MOI is crucial because I believe that the hybrid should be our 'best club in the bag.' So, I need every advantage I can possibly get to make sure it's the best club in the bag.

I know very few hybrids have the ability to change weights like the 775HS, so it's a feature I would look out for if you're looking for a hybrid.


Up Next, 3 & 4-irons







3JACK