A 2020 hybrid. A win. A question for your bag.

Published 18 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader,

🏌️‍♂️ Which hybrids belong in your bag?

If your longest iron rarely produces the shot you want, a hybrid deserves a look. And the latest release isn’t the only place to start.

GOLF’s Jack Hirsh reports that Austin Smotherman won the recent Bank of Utah Championship carrying a TaylorMade SIM Max 3-hybrid from 2020.

Last week we linked our club-replacement guide.

And right here’s a timely example of an older club still earning its place even at a time when Smotherman's Tour colleagues appear to be moving in a different direction.

Although one Tour win doesn’t tell us which hybrid will suit you.

Start with the job you need it to do. Check the distance gap to your longest reliable iron, and compare the shots you actually hit. A 4-hybrid doesn’t automatically replace a 4-iron just because the numbers match.

Our video What Hybrids Should You Carry? works through how many might make sense in your bag and the factors behind that choice.

How many hybrids do you carry?

🎯 Is the back of the green really that scary?

Lou Stagner’s August analysis compared rough misses short of front pins with rough misses long of back pins, after approaches from 125 to 175 yards.

Strokes needed to finish were very close. Every handicap group except scratch was marginally better off long of the back pin.

Both groups were in rough within 25 yards of the hole. That tells us nothing about water behind your green, or whether missing long beats leaving a putt.

Our conservative targeting advice still applies. Judge the actual trouble before deciding which miss to fear. The flag’s position alone doesn’t settle it.

Thanks for reading and as ever and most importantly enjoy your golf!

Play well until next time 👍

Graeme Hay

Founder, GolfingFocus.com

Golfing Focus Limited, 73 Maple Road, London, KT6 4AG
Unsubscribe · Preferences

Does that hole really demand a draw?

Fully Focused On YOUR Golf Hi Reader, ⛳ Does this hole really need a draw? Water left. Start it right and draw it back. Sounds sensible. But what if your fade is much more reliable? Adam Young’s latest example illustrates why the shape alone can’t make that decision for you. He places different shot patterns over the same hole, then adjusts their aim. The tighter fade produces a better projected score than the wider draw, even though some fades miss the intended shape. Tighten the draw...

4 days ago • 1 min read

'Never up never in' is just bad putting advice

Fully Focused On YOUR Golf Hi Reader, ⛳ Never up, never in. But then what? Your 20-foot putt stops a foot short. Frustrating? Of course. But would you rather be six feet past? “Never up, never in” is 100% 'technically' true. It’s just not a good way judge the putt. Lou Stagner’s latest analysis looked at five years of PGA Tour data. From 20 to 24 feet, 26% of putts finished short. From 30 to 34 feet, it was 40%. From 45 to 49 feet, it was 49%. That’s almost half from longer range, even among...

11 days ago • 2 min read

What wedges give the best spin. Get into the grooves!

Can your wedge handle a little water?

Fully Focused On YOUR Golf Hi Reader, ⛳ How much spin survives the rain? Last week we looked at what headwinds do to scoring. This week, there’s another reason your usual shot might behave differently. In MyGolfSpy’s 11,400-shot wedge test, the wedge with the highest spin on dry 50-yard shots produced 7,217 rpm. Add moisture and that fell to 3,506. Another model went from 6,857 dry to 6,860 wet. Almost no change. That’s quite a difference if you’ve bought a wedge expecting the same stopping...

25 days ago • 2 min read