LPGA Tour competitor Brittany Lincicome is a convert to hybrids. She uses product from Adams.

As a low-single-digit handicapper, I added a 19-degree hybrid to my arsenal two years ago. This 2-iron replacement is a versatile performer, to say the least. Think of it as a mini wood. It’s great off the tee when tight fairways demand accuracy; perfect for long par-3s; ideal out of a variety of fairway lies; long and forgiving out of the rough; and makes chipping onto the green a cinch.
Among PGA Tour players using at least one hybrid this year are Canadian Mike Weir, 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson and Jim Furyk, winner of the 2006 and ’07 Canadian Open. Most of the LPGA Tour competitors count at least one hybrid amongst their equipment, too.
There are a myriad of hybrid options, one of the best being Adams Golf’s Idea a3 Boxer hybrid. For the first time in the company’s history, Adams Golf won the hybrid equipment count at this year’s Masters Tournament.
The Idea a3 Boxer hybrid uses Boxer Technology, which promotes forgiveness, straight shots and longer distance. The rectangular shape of the Boxer hybrid head boasts a low, deep centre of gravity, plus a cambered sole. This means maximum forgiveness, getting the ball airborne with ease and the ability to cut through the thickest of rough. The box-shaped club offers a moment of inertia up to 70 per cent higher than most hybrids – again, for superb forgiveness.
Nickent Golf is a major hybrid player with its award-winning 4DX Ironwood hybrid that includes tungsten polymer weights, providing easier shot-making while dampening vibration. And the Cleveland Golf HIBORE XLS hybrid features a scooped-out crown, moving weight low and deep for – you guessed it – maximum forgiveness.
Meanwhile, Wilson Staff offers six hybrids in its FYbrid system. (Full disclosure here: Wilson sponsors my website.) The 19.5-degree FY club is the key to the FYbrid family in that consumer testing conducted by Wilson shows that the 19.5-degree loft and 41-in. shaft length is the optimum combination for most swing speeds from a fairway lie. The FY club actually replaces three clubs: the 2-iron, 2-hybrid and 7-wood.

Jeffrey Reed is the editor and proprietor of londonontariogolf.com and a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.