The best hybrids erase the fear of hitting low-lofted, long-shafted clubs off the ground.
We considered 32 hybrids; 12 made the list.
GOLD
LISTED ALPHABETICALLY
Callaway
epic flash
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
These clubheads don’t mess around when it comes to a low centre of gravity. The lightweight carbon-fibre crown accommodates a metal-injection moulding piece of heavy tungsten low in the sole that weighs nearly as much as the rest of the head. This helps elevate shots with less spin for more distance. Even more metres come from the vertical “Jailbreak” bars inside the clubhead that stabilise the body and concentrate flexing in the face.
COMMENT
“Quiet but powerful, like the parent who doesn’t have to raise her voice to let you know she means business.”
Callaway
mavrik • max • pro
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT
Using artificial intelligence to design the faces in this three-hybrid family isn’t just about inputting numbers into a computer blender and hoping a fully formed clubhead emerges. Rather, AI is used to vary the thicknesses for each specific loft to control spin. This requires the type of analytical muscle found in mapping the human genome. Models include the high-launching Max and the flatter-lie, mini-fairway-wood Pro.
COMMENT
“Shows me the face without feeling like shots will sky. No excess climb – good, boring trajectory.”
Cobra
king speedzone • one length
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
A lot of hybrids use innovative features on the inside of the head, but these models do their magic on the outside first. That includes the company’s decades-long tradition of rails on the sole to more easily move the bottom of the club through the turf, and a rear tungsten weight that further lowers the centre of gravity. There’s also a cool trick inside the head. The rails are hollow up the front, which allows the lower part of the face to flex better.
COMMENT
“High cool factor with the matte finish. The rails make it universally playable. Compact but not intimidating.”
Mizuno
clk (2020)
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★½
VERDICT
Mizuno hits the hybrid checklist pretty completely here. The flatter crown and wider body help lower the centre of gravity and increase forgiveness. Then, a thinner face made from a high-strength steel used in race-car engines adds flex for speed. To improve performance on those slightly thin shots, the sole’s wave structure gives more at impact for better rebound. Finally, the four adjustable heads create lofts from 14 to 27 degrees.
COMMENT
“Perfect dimensions at address. A timeless design. A deeper crack at impact with a piercing trajectory.”
PXG
0317 x gen2
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★½
VERDICT
Distance is lovely, but the right hybrid gets you a specific distance to attack the pin. The low, forward centre of gravity helps to reduce spin so shots launch with efficient power. The multiple levels of adjustability dial in distance and direction better than Waze. A rotating hosel tweaks loft by 1.5 degrees in either direction, and the mix of eight sole weights (light titanium and heavy tungsten) can add forgiveness, reduce spin or add draw or fade bias.
COMMENT
“Looks like Kevlar and feels bulletproof when you’re swinging it. Authoritative thud at impact.”
TaylorMade
sim max
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT
Giving hybrids driver-like face technology is nifty, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of making a club that works smoothly through a variety of turf conditions. The Sim Max’s V-shape sole plate features recessed heel and toe sections that reduce drag regardless of the conditions. Less friction means more speed is directed into the ball – speed that’s enhanced by a high-strength steel face and a wider sole slot to provide more rebound.
COMMENT
“Has a modern feel to it. This is definitely your friend on a long par 3, parachuting onto the green.”
Titleist
ts2 • ts3
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
If you’re looking to improve a hybrid, making the face flex faster, lowering the centre of gravity and stabilising off-centre hits are good places to start. That’s just what the TS hybrids did, building on the increased ball-speed philosophy of the TS drivers and fairway woods by having the thinnest hybrid face in company history. The two options cover those with sweeping swings seeking forgiveness (TS2) and those who hit hybrids like irons and need less spin (TS3).
COMMENT
“Has that clean, tight, players look. It’s a shotmaker’s club, but you can also bash it down the fairway.”
SILVER
Callaway
apex
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★
VERDICT
Some hybrids fight ineptitude and others enhance skill. Firmly place Apex in the latter category. Its compact shape will appeal to better players looking to provide a hint of forgiveness to their long-iron games. This doesn’t mean there isn’t speed here. The internal vertical “Jailbreak” bars focus more flexing in the face to boost your distance, and the flatter, low-spin trajectory make this
a hybrid that better players won’t see ballooning into the wind.
COMMENT
“Muted sound and feel. You can shape it, knock it down or shoot it high- – and it still feels powerful.”
Callaway
big bertha
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
Hybrids need special engineering so that the small face and head can be flexible and forgiving. Big Bertha solves those challenges by concentrating more flexing in its wraparound cupface through the vertical “Jailbreak” bars that join the crown and sole internally. Shortening the adjustable hosel and making it lighter saves weight that’s used to lower the centre of gravity – precisely where it would be if the hosel weren’t adjustable.
COMMENT
“Slightly larger, but gives you confidence. Powerful sound. Launch is high, and mis-hits are forgiven.”
Cleveland
launcher halo
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★
VERDICT
Seems simple: rails on the sole of a hybrid lower the centre of gravity and help turf interaction. Designing them correctly? Not so simple. Cleveland’s engineers used extensive computer simulations to determine t he ideal number, size and spacing of its rails. Crucial is the way the leading edge forgives fat shots, allowing for 25 percent less loss of speed coming into the ball versus past models. A thin, high-strength steel face rewards all that saved speed.
COMMENT
“The squared toe is comforting at address. The rails slice through the turf and launch the ball high.”
Cobra
f-max airspeed
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★
VERDICT
Sometimes to really help golfers with moderate swing speeds, you do things better players don’t need. That’s why these hybrids are ultralight (six swingweight points lighter than many hybrids on our list). It’s also why they’re slightly offset. It helps slower swingers get the face back to square and increase launch. The high-strength steel in the face also helps in two ways: there’s better flex for more ball speed and less weight so you can swing it faster.
COMMENT
“The offset helped me take the right side out of play. I actually hit some high draws.”
Tour Edge
exotics exs 220
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT
Tour Edge reminds us that we need hybrids because we frequently mis-hit longer-shafted, lower-lofted clubs that we play off the ground. So our hybrids should be forgiving first. The longer front-to-back size coupled with a rear weight make this Tour Edge’s most stable hybrid ever. We also need forgiveness through the turf, so wider channels line the bottom of this club. Those combine with heel and toe indents for an easier move through any lie.
COMMENT
“The proportions on top were like the golden ratio, and the rails let me hit baby draws from anywhere.”
