Mizuno

What it does: The CLK is on the compact side, but its adjustability extends from 14 to 27 degrees in four heads that get progressively larger the lower the loft. One of the club’s more effective attributes is a flex-friendly maraging-steel alloy face that gives ball speed a boost. By compressing more freely than previous models on the lower part of the face – a common impact area – this new face design improves where the hybrid most often makes contact with the ball: low. A wave-shaped structure on the front of the sole gives the club even more juice on impact and has a solid, tour-preferred sound.

Why we like it: Hybrids are supposed to fill the void between fairway woods and long irons. Too often, though, they perform like a scaled-down fairway wood (instead of the best of both), which can create gapping and utility issues. That’s not the case here. Like a good character actor – think of J.K. Simmons in… well, anything – the CLK knows its role better than other hybrids know theirs. The smaller profile would seem to suggest it’s mostly for better players, but with eight settings on each head to tweak lie and loft, players of any skill level will find it gives them all they need.

Lofts 16, 19, 22, 25; adjustable