Category expert Sam De'Ath selects his top hybrid golf clubs for the year 2024.
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00:00Now, I think hybrids are one of the most underrated clubs
00:03you can have in your bag.
00:04We're not all blessed with the ball-striking prowess
00:06of John Rahm and Rory McIlroy,
00:08and so hitting long irons off the fairway
00:10can be particularly challenging.
00:12I've tested 14 models from nine different brands
00:15to determine which hybrid is gonna be best for your game.
00:20Now, as much as hybrids will help you perform
00:23slightly better than, say, a long iron
00:25in terms of the technology implemented in them,
00:28you still have to like how they look.
00:30Now, there's three that I've picked out for this year
00:33that I think will catch the eye of most golfers.
00:36Now, the first one is that of the Mizuno STZ.
00:40Now, this is a carry-on model from last year,
00:42but I love how it looks behind the ball.
00:44It's a really small compact head, teardrop kind of finish.
00:48The sight lines really help with alignment,
00:50and the Mizuno logo on top just really helps
00:54center that ball and will help promote a more pure strike.
00:58Now, the middle ground I'm choosing is the QI10 Rescue.
01:03This is a rescue that surprised me.
01:05It's actually a touch larger than I thought it would be,
01:07but this is the hybrid out of the three models
01:10released from TaylorMade that will appeal to most golfers.
01:13It's, like I said, a slightly larger footprint,
01:15will inspire confidence behind the ball.
01:17It's got a slightly shallow face,
01:19and one thing that has continued
01:21within the QI10 range this year
01:23is this silver alignment bar at the top of the face
01:27will really help you square that club face up to target.
01:31Thirdly, my overall pick
01:34for the best-looking hybrid this year
01:36is the Cobra Darkspeed.
01:38Now, this thing just looks mega.
01:40It's stealthed out, black on black,
01:42with satin and gloss kind of tones to it.
01:45It looks awesome behind the ball.
01:47It's quite a compact-looking head,
01:49although the blade length itself is fairly long,
01:53so that will inspire confidence
01:54for those who maybe hit one slightly out of the toe
01:56and then the heel,
01:57but it looks awesome behind the ball,
02:00and I'm going to be honest,
02:02one of the reasons why I have picked this one
02:04over the others is the head cover.
02:05The head cover game on the Cobra Darkspeed hybrid
02:08is exceptional.
02:12Now, we're going to talk about
02:13the feel of the golf club here.
02:15Now, feel is super important.
02:16It's very personal and very individualized,
02:18but I've picked out three that feel and sound superb
02:21all for their own different reasons.
02:23Now, the first one I'm going to highlight
02:24is the PXG Black Ops hybrid.
02:27PXG have incorporated a carbon crown on the top here,
02:30which gives it a much more muted sound
02:32than previous models released by PXG.
02:34It's still more on the louder side of things,
02:38but the feel off the face is superb.
02:40Let's give one a hit here.
02:42Hopefully, you can hear it.
02:48Struck really nicely there.
02:49Felt superb off the face,
02:51produced a good distance as well.
02:53Now, the second one I'm going to bring you into
02:55is the Titleist TSR3.
02:58Titleist are known for their performance and feel.
02:59These feel superb off the face, super soft,
03:02a more muted, thud-like sound,
03:04one that I personally prefer,
03:07and I feel like you get the same performance
03:10no matter where you hit these things on the face.
03:15As you can tell there, much more muted sound,
03:18lovely ball flight, feels superb,
03:20but there is one hybrid that just took the spoils from me,
03:24and that was the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke hybrid.
03:27This thing looks awesome, sounds awesome, feels awesome.
03:30I'm using awesome a lot, it's a big word,
03:32but this one deserves it.
03:34It feels superb off the face,
03:35thanks to AI Smart Face technology,
03:37creating multiple sweet spots on the face.
03:42Oh, how good is that?
03:45If there's ever a golf shop worthy of a like
03:47and subscribe on the Golf Monthly YouTube channel,
03:49I think that was it.
03:53Okay, so the eagled-eyed amongst you will realize
03:56that I am actually no longer in Madeira.
03:58I am remarkably in beautiful, sunny England in December.
04:01We did encounter some minor technical difficulties
04:04when it came to audio at Madeira,
04:06so I'm continuing the video
04:07from the beautiful North Hans Golf Club here in Hampshire,
04:10but this section is all about performance.
04:12Now, there are three hybrids that stood out
04:14in terms of their performance this year.
04:17The first of those being the TaylorMade QI10 Tour Hybrid.
04:20Now, this is a much smaller, more compact-looking head
04:24that is definitely aimed at the more confident ball striker
04:26and the player who likes to work the ball around,
04:28playing with their trajectory and ball flight,
04:31especially from distance.
04:32There's good levels of adjustability here
04:35through a hosel that allows you to change loft and lie
04:38to promote certain ball flights,
04:40but ultimately, this produced really fast ball speeds
04:44and a ball flight that I really like to look of.
04:47It was actually the second longest out of the hybrids
04:49that I tested this year, with an average of 241 yards.
04:53Now, the second model that really stood out
04:55in terms of its performance was the Ping G430 Hybrid.
04:59Now, this is a carry-on model from last year,
05:01but it's still relevant in the Ping lineup.
05:03It is their most current hybrid model release.
05:05Now, where I really thought the performance
05:08of this was excellent was from the differing lies
05:10that you find yourself in on a golf course.
05:13It performed excellently off the tee,
05:14produced a really, really high penetrative flight,
05:18but also performed excellently
05:19from those lies that aren't so great.
05:21Now, when hitting off fairways into par fives
05:25or longer par fours, the tendency for me in particular
05:29with long irons or hybrids is to hit them
05:30slightly thin, slightly low on the face.
05:33Now, this hybrid produced a really high ball flight,
05:36even when I was to hit it slightly low on the face,
05:39and it gave me that forgiveness that I needed
05:42when I'm coming into a green from distance,
05:44producing that high flight,
05:45and got the ball coming in really steeply into greens,
05:49meaning I could hold greens from distance,
05:50and for that reason, I really, really like this hybrid.
05:54Okay, so the third but final hybrid I have chosen
05:58in terms of the performance we've seen this year
06:00is the Cobra Darkspeed Hybrid.
06:02Now, as you can see from the table here,
06:04this thing performed superbly
06:06and was an absolute monster on the golf course.
06:09Pushed on 150 mile per hour ball speed
06:12and produced an average carry of 243 yards.
06:15Now, this hybrid was just insane from a variety of lies,
06:20produced a really high penetrative ball flight
06:22that was ideal for hitting into long par fours,
06:25even par threes, and especially par fives,
06:28allowing you to attack pins
06:30that you wouldn't normally be able to get to
06:31with a long iron.
06:32Now, the PowerBridge technology is something
06:35that we have seen from Cobra the last couple of releases,
06:38but also the Hot Face technology
06:39really allows this face to react,
06:42producing those fast ball speeds,
06:44but also that weighting lowers the center of gravity
06:47and allows this club to produce
06:49really high, forgiving ball flights.
06:51So if I was to choose a best performing hybrid from 2024,
06:56it would be the Cobra Darkspeed.
06:58Now, it looks superb, feels great,
07:00but also performs excellently.
07:03It's suitable for all levels of golfers,
07:05and that's something I think is what makes this club superb.
07:09Now, it doesn't have the adjustability that others do,
07:12but it is available in multiple loft options,
07:15so you can be sure to find one that fits in your bag.
07:21So when it comes to hybrid performance,
07:23versatility is a key factor.
07:26Now, there are a few models
07:27that I'd like to point out this year
07:29that perform excellently
07:30in terms of maneuvering ball flights,
07:32such as the PXG Black Ops and the Titleist TSR3,
07:35as mentioned in the performance section.
07:37However, there's one that stood out to me,
07:39and that was the Paradigm AI Smoke.
07:41Now, the reason I'm shouting this hybrid out in particular
07:45is because of how well it performed from differing lies,
07:48in particularly the rough.
07:49Now, this thing launches extremely high,
07:52but out the rough, it still delivers
07:55a really high towering ball flight,
07:57perfect for advancing the ball down par fives like this
08:00or hitting into long par fours.
08:02Let's see how we get on out the rough.
08:08Oh, as you can see there,
08:12absolutely launched that ball
08:14from the first cut of rough here,
08:16and that has put me in perfect position
08:18to try and get up and down for my birdie on this par five.
08:21Now, after testing all the models available in 2024,
08:26I've narrowed it down to my top three hybrids.
08:30Now, to kick off, and in third place,
08:32I'm going to choose the TaylorMade QI10.
08:35Now, it's a new product for this year.
08:38I just think it looks superb.
08:40The gloss black finish on the top,
08:42but also the technology in there with the speed pocket
08:45and the V-steel system on the bottom
08:47really allows this to go through turf excellently.
08:50Great combination of looks and performance.
08:52In second place, I'm going to go for all-round forgiveness,
08:55but all-round performance in the Ping G430 hybrid.
08:59Performed amazingly out of multiple lies.
09:01Was the easiest hybrid to hit that I tested this year,
09:04and for that reason, I think this will suit so many golfers
09:07and it has to be in my top three.
09:09But if I'm going to crown a champion,
09:11it has to be the Cobra Darkspeed hybrid.
09:14Now, Cobra seem to have a knack
09:15of producing excellent hybrids.
09:17After last year, the King Tech
09:18won my best hybrid of the year video,
09:20but this Cobra Darkspeed has it all.
09:23It has forgiveness, distance, feel, and looks.
09:26And for that reason,
09:27the Cobra Darkspeed is the best hybrid of 2024.