Hybrids: Freedom From The Left Miss

By Marty Jertson

If your game and your set makeup are anything like mine, you need the extra ball speed and spin that a hybrid is designed for, but you have some skeletons in the closet from bad left misses in the past. I have feared this just like you. But now I have the freedom from the hybrid left-miss…and with it comes immense confidence.
 

When my whole bag is set up to match my release pattern (my unique application of force and torque to the handle of the club), I'm much more confident and I play my best golf. This is the essence of custom fitting. The hybrid - maybe you can relate - has traditionally been a challenging club to get directionally dialed in. This is where the G410 hybrid 3D fitting comes into play. We now have some ‘levers’ (big movements) and ‘knobs’ (small refinements) to dial in the left-right bias.
 

The biggest custom-fitting lever for directional bias in hybrids is lie angle. With G410, we’re passing along this power directly to our customers and custom-fitting community. 

Let’s look at a fun example from the PGA Tour. Two-time major champion and PING Pro Angel Cabrera is playing his G410 17° (2) hybrid in the “Flat Minus” position. With this sleeve setting, the lie angle is 2.5° flatter (55.5°) than the standard “Dot” position (58.0°). We all know from watching Angel win his two majors that he loves to play a small fade or cut shot, and with his G410 hybrid he now has the freedom from the left miss. 
 

When our PGA Tour fitters were tuning in his hybrid fitting, a big premium was placed on the directional bias of the club.  Quite often, advanced fitters and our Tour players use the Trajectory Tuning adjustments for lie angle to achieve more centered contact. There are several tools you can use to check this yourself, including launch-monitor measurements, impact tape, face spray, or a simple Sharpie mark on the ball. 
 

If the sleeve and lie-angle settings don’t achieve the left-right bias for you perfectly, don’t worry, there are other options. Increasing the overall weight of the club, most easily accomplished by a heavier shaft, is another great custom fitting solution. Below, you can see that a switch from the Alta CB 70 Stiff to the Tour 85 Stiff increases the club’s total weight by 8 grams. This might not sound like a lot, but this added weight will help deliver a more open face-to-path (less left!).
 

If the first two options still don’t quite get you 100% there, we can also utilize swing weight as a fine-tuning knob. 

A simple adjustment from D1 to D2 swing weight often can be enough fine tuning to eliminate the left miss.  Be cautious with this approach, however, as going too heavy with just one club in your bag can lead to inconsistencies in the feel of the hybrid relative to your other clubs. The best approach to an entire set makeup is holistic, where you don’t have that one club in the bag that stands out as odd, requiring a drastically different swing. 

A skilled fitter will ask questions at the beginning of your fitting to help identify your pain points on the golf course.  Come prepared to your fitting ready to share your on-course frustrations. 
 

With the G410 hybrid, you get the fast ball speed powered by a maraging C300 face, plus great feel, forgiveness, and optimized spin ratios.  And now you can dial in your distance gapping and left-right bias that marries to your swing mechanics – a level of fitting service previously reserved for Tour players.  You can achieve freedom from the fear of left, and the fears of your past. This intersection of custom fitting and performance is innovation that helps you Play Your Best. #FittingMatters