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Best Men's Hybrid Golf Clubs

Updated March 2023
Bottom line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
TaylorMade 2022 Stealth Rescue
TaylorMade
2022 Stealth Rescue
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Customer Favorite
Bottom Line

Players love this hybrid for its reduction of spin with its sturdy steel Twist Face construction.

Pros

Features well-balanced, lower center of gravity with a new carbon crown that offers more forgiveness. Provides stability and accurate aim with laser-etched alignment. Twist Face made from C300 steel that allows for faster ball speeds and prevents mis-hits. Loft choices from 3H to 7H.

Cons

Comes at a high price that inexperienced players might not want to invest in a single club.

Best Bang for the Buck
Callaway Rogue X Hybrid
Callaway
Rogue X Hybrid
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Bargain Pick
Bottom Line

A hybrid club that is easy to hit and increases distance.

Pros

Lightweight but equipped with a larger club head. Useful for those with a slower swing speed by utilizing Jailbreak Technology to increase ball speed across face. Hyper Speed Face Cup increases forgiveness and enhances energy transfer. Straightens hits, prevents spin and mis-hits.

Cons

Might be longer than desired; has been difficult for some to achieve desired loft.

PING G425 Hybrid
PING
G425 Hybrid
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Loft Versatility
Bottom Line

This popular pick is known for its wide range of loft and capability to improve players' distance and accuracy.

Pros

Employs Spinsistency™ low on the face to add distance. Increases flexing and speed with Facewrap™ technology. Features smart grip and sensor to easily track, record, and analyze player shots. Boasts 8-position hostel that is lightweight and allows for customizable loft and lie.

Cons

Users recommend buying custom grips, as the sensors in the standard option make them feel unstable.

Mizuno JPX 921 Fli-Hi Custom Hybrid
Mizuno
JPX 921 Fli-Hi Custom Hybrid
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Simple Yet Solid
Bottom Line

A customizable hybrid option designed to fit each players' specific preferences for loft and lie.

Pros

Custom-made to take the place of unreliable long and mid irons. Features a 431 body and 17-4 stainless steel face that is durable and reliable. Designed to increase accuracy, speed, and distance for a specific user. Bendable hostel allows for lie adjustments.

Cons

Can be quite pricey. Because it's custom, it might not be suitable for other players to borrow.

TaylorMade SIM2 Max Rescue0 Hybrid
TaylorMade
SIM2 Max Rescue Hybrid
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Accurate & Balanced
Bottom Line

This club is a favorite for its impressive balance and control, making it very easy to hit.

Pros

Optimized forgiveness with V Steel™ Design. Increases ball speeds with C300 Steel Twist Face design. Features a mid-low spin and high launch. Users love that it's well-balanced, lightweight, and incredibly easy to hit. Loft choice of 3H, 4H, or 5H.

Cons

The face scratches and wears quite easily. Limited loft options compared to others.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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Buying guide for Best men’s hybrid golf clubs

Sometimes with sports terminology, the name of an item tells you nothing about it. Golfers try to score a birdie, hockey players try for a hat trick, and baseball players…well, baseball has its own language. But when it comes to hybrid golf clubs, the name tells you exactly what it is. A hybrid golf club is simply a combination of more than one type of golf club.

Men’s hybrid golf clubs represent a relatively new concept – they’ve only been available for a couple decades. If you aren’t yet using a hybrid club (or two), we’ll explain how these clubs work and why you may want one.

If you’re ready to buy, check out our top recommended hybrid golf clubs, too.

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Some people refer to a hybrid golf club as a “rescue” club, but this is also a brand name. Manufacturer TaylorMade branded its first hybrid clubs as Rescue clubs in 2003, and it still uses the Rescue name.

Key considerations

You’ll find three primary types of men’s hybrid golf clubs: iron/wood, iron, and putter.

Iron/wood hybrids

The iron/wood hybrid golf club is the most popular type of hybrid. This club aims to deliver distance similar to what you’d see using a long iron, but the club looks a bit more like a wood. The iron/wood hybrid club gives you a more forgiving swing path than a long iron, making it easier to hit the ball squarely. Inexperienced players can often hit more consistently with a hybrid club than with a long iron.

  • Iron hybrids: Iron hybrids are designed to replace all of the irons in your bag, not just the long irons. If you find that you have more success with hybrids than long irons, you may want to try some short iron hybrids. These hybrids have the same loft (angle of the clubface) as their short iron counterparts. You’ll even find some short iron hybrids to replace pitching wedges and sand wedges, too.

  • Putter Hybrids: A putter hybrid makes chipping around the green easier. If you’re someone who likes playing a bump-and-run game around the green, you might want to try a putter hybrid. Rather than a 5-iron, the putter hybrid is more forgiving for this type of shot. You also can use this type of club for full swing shots from the fairway in place of a wedge if desired.

Men’s hybrid golf club features

Before purchasing a hybrid golf club, you’ll want to understand some of the features common with hybrids. These features help explain why less experienced golfers have more success with this type of club.

Center of gravity

With the hybrid clubhead’s center of gravity placed toward the back, beginners can use more of a sweeping swing. An iron requires you to have a steeper angle, digging into the turf. With a low center of gravity, it’s easier to gain loft on the ball, too.

Clubhead technology

A hybrid club may have features like rails that allow the club’s sole to slide through long grass. It works nicely out of the rough. (With an iron, the club’s sole may get caught up in the rough.) Additionally, some clubheads allow you to twist a screw and adjust the angle of the clubface by a few degrees either way.

Flat face

A hybrid club has a flat clubface, more like an iron. This allows you to keep the ball on line more successfully than with the slight curvature of the face of a fairway wood or driver.

Lighter weight

Hybrid clubs weigh less than fairway woods or drivers. For golfers who struggle to generate clubhead speed, a lightweight club helps to get more distance.

Shorter shaft

Hybrids have shorter shafts than woods, which makes them easier to control, especially for high-handicap players.

Wide sole

The wide, flat bottom on the hybrid club gives inexperienced players more confidence. Some players overswing with an iron because of its narrow sole – they feel like they need to swing harder to get more distance. But novice players tend to swing normally with a hybrid’s wide sole.

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Did you know?
The most common type of hybrid club looks like a smaller fairway wood.
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Men’s hybrid golf club prices

Inexpensive

Hybrid golf clubs vary quite a bit in price. You can expect to pay $40 to $100 for the least expensive hybrid clubs. These clubs don’t have any significant advanced features, but they’ll work for beginners.

Expensive

High-end hybrids cost anywhere from $100 to $300. Expect these clubs to have features like adjustable clubface angles. You’ll also find high-end materials in the clubface that deliver extra ball speed and distance.

Set

Finally, you might want to consider a set of hybrid clubs containing five to nine clubs for $200 to $700, which makes the cost per club pretty low.

Tips

  • Try using the hybrid club off the tee. If you’re struggling to hit your driver, or if you’re facing a really narrow fairway, hybrids work well off the tee. You won’t get the distance that you would from a driver, but the hybrid provides amazing accuracy. Don’t tee the ball as high as you would for a driver or fairway wood.

  • Address the ball properly. A hybrid club is slightly longer than an iron and slightly shorter than a driver or fairway wood. Adjust your stance and address the ball accordingly.

  • Understand the lie in the rough you have. When deciding whether to use a hybrid or iron in the rough, study the lie and the grass. An iron with its sharper face works better in extremely thick grass. A hybrid club has a better chance in sparser grass.

  • Chip with a bump-and-run technique. When using a putter hybrid for chipping, you’ll want to bump and run. This means landing the ball toward the edge of the green and letting it roll (run) across the green to the hole.

  • Plan for the roll. While an iron allows low-handicap golfers to put backspin on the ball, this is less common with hybrids. The ball is going to bounce forward more with the hybrid than with an iron. Adjust your aiming point accordingly.
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One reason men’s hybrid golf clubs are so popular is because they can be used for many types of shots. They work from a fairway lie, off the tee, around the green, or from the rough.

FAQ

Q. Are hybrid clubs useful for experienced players and pros?

A. Quite a few professional golfers have added a hybrid club or two to their bags in the past few years. Certainly, some low-handicap golfers avoid hybrid clubs, thinking they’re primarily for beginners. But hybrid clubs allow even great golfers to simplify some tougher shots from bad lies. Female pro players and male senior pro players have adopted hybrids more readily than traditional male pro players.

Q. As a beginning golfer, should I just stick with hybrids?

A. For typical beginners, having a variety of club types in the bag is a good way to learn. It’s best to work with different clubs both in practice and on the course. You then can figure out which types of clubs you hit consistently. You may find you only need one or two hybrids in your bag, or you may find you love hybrids and want several of them.

Q. What are the common types of clubs that hybrids usually replace?

A. Golfers commonly struggle with hitting long irons. In fact, golf club sets and iron sets rarely include 1- and 2-irons anymore because so few golfers hit these clubs successfully. Some golfers struggle with the 3- and 4-irons, too. Hybrid clubs most often replace these long irons in the bag.

Q. Is it better to buy a set of hybrid clubs or buy them one at a time?

A. This decision really depends on personal preference. If you know you’re going to want a lot of hybrid clubs in your bag, buying a set will save you some money versus purchasing one at a time. However, it’s more common to purchase individual hybrid clubs as you find a need for a particular one.

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