In our forums, our members have been discussing the strategy and methodology of replacing irons with hybrids. WRXer ‘Lefty_3Jack’ was recently fit for a 4-hybrid to replace his 3-iron and asks fellow members whether the natural replacement for his 4-iron would, therefore, be a 5-hybrid.

Per ‘Lefty_3Jack’:

“My current setup is:

• Driver
• 18° 5W
• 22° 4Hy
• 5-PW
• 49°-54°-59°

I was fit 5 years ago for my woods, so I’ll admit I need to go get fit, but in the midst of this lockdown, I thought I’d get some opinions. When I was fit, they gave me the 4 Hybrid to replace the 3i. So now that I’m thinking about replacing the 4i, I was wondering if I should go to a 5 hybrid?

Do you normally replace a 4i with a 4hy? I’m guessing the fitter thought with the longer, graphite shaft and hotter face of the hybrid that the number on it didn’t mean anything.

I don’t love the idea of having four headcovers, but I just want to shoot the lowest scores I possibly can. Truth be told I’d probably be better off with a setup that had a 3W, 5W, two hybrids, 5-PW and two then maybe like a 52/58.”

Our members have been sharing their thoughts on the issue in our forum.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

• rufus mangler: “I can only speak for myself, but I replaced my 4 iron with a 24º 5 hybrid. MUCH easier to hit to my 4 iron yardage.”
• Boognish: “All hybrids aren’t created equal either for a given loft or iron number stamped on the sole. Shaft lengths will affect actual carry distances, so be careful to choose a hybrid that fits your desired distance range. I actually carry 4i and 4h. Iron for lower flight and punch shots. Hybrid for flexibility from the rough and for high launching shots.”
• BobV56: “When I carry a hybrid, I get one that has the same loft as the iron it replaces. It still usually goes a little further than the iron but close enough that it doesn’t really cause any gap issues.”
• juststeve: “I carry a 23-degree hybrid which goes a little further and a lot higher than a four iron. Go after it hard and its more like a three iron. Very useful club.”
• JohnKHawk: “Most 4 hybrids will go further than 4 irons due to the hybrid being a longer length. The general rule of thumb is when substituting a hybrid for an iron I always go with a higher number hybrid compared to iron I’m replacing. That is probably why they replaced your 3 iron with a 4 hybrid when you were fit. Makes sense to then replace your 4 iron with a 5 hybrid. All this depends on your iron lofts & gaping you want to achieve. I have a strong lofted iron set that I actually go from a Cobra F9 5 hybrid at 24 degrees to a 6 iron which is 26.5 degrees. For me, gaping is pretty good. Hybrid goes 195ish while 6 iron goes 180ish.”

Entire Thread: “Replacing irons with hybrids”