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Hybrid golf clubs were developed by manufacturers to provide golfers with an alternative to long irons. Many golfers struggle to hit long irons successfully as they are more difficult to strike well. Long irons have a smaller head which is narrower so the weight of the club head is close to the club face. The small head initially means that the sweet spot on the club face is also small.

When you swing the club, you want to strike the golf ball from the sweet spot on the face. Achieving this will result in maximum shot distance and accuracy. But with a small sweet spot, this is difficult for many golfers to achieve, especially with the long shaft length of a long iron. The longer that the shaft length of a club becomes, the further away from you the club head swings and this makes it more difficult to control and therefore strike from the centre.

Striking from off centre reduces shot distance and also accuracy. When the strike is made from one end of the club, that end slows down due to the impact it has with the golf ball. However, the other end does not slow down as there is no impact and the club face twists and the shot is hit in the wrong direction.

The narrow club head of the long iron means that the head has a narrow sole. If the club strikes the ground before the golf ball, this narrow sole cuts into the turf and digs in, transferring the club head speed into the ground rather than in to the golf ball. This produces short, low golf shots, that fall short of their intended target.

Hybrids were created to provide an alternative that is far easier to play successful shots with. Hybrids have a larger head which is wider and this has allowed club designers to move the weight of the head further away from the club face. This provides several advantages. Initially, the club head is able to resist the twist action that occurs in long iron club heads, so the shots produced are much straighter. Secondly, the weight position helps to strike the golf ball high and into the air and this produces shot distance. Finally, the larger head means that the sweet spot on the face is also larger, making it easier to strike the ball from.

The larger hybrid club head also means that the sole of the club is much broader. This prevents the club head from digging into the turf and helps it to glide over it, preventing fat shots from being hit.

Long irons are difficult clubs to play successful golf shots with. The narrow, smaller head combined with the long shaft makes them difficult to strike from the small sweet spot. Hybrids, with their larger, broader head and shorter shaft length, have more forgiveness and are easier to hit up into the air, making them much easier to play well.

Hybrids combine the larger head that you would find on a wood, with the shorter shaft length that you would find with an iron. The larger head of the hybrid, compared to the smaller iron head, results in more forgiveness on off centre strikes, a higher launch angle from the face to get the ball into the air and more distance achieved with shots from them.

There is a massive difference between trying to hit a long iron successfully and a hybrid. Hybrids are much easier to hit into the air, achieve distance with and shoot straight well as they are much more forgiving than long irons are.