What is a 17 Degree Hybrid Golf Club
Hybrid golf clubs are an integral part of every golfer’s bag these days, irrespective of their skills level. They can be used in several conditions such as the fairway or off the tee. They can easily replace classic clubs like the wood and iron. This is because they come in different degrees of the loft; hence, they make an easy replacement.
The angle made by the clubface with the ground is the loft. The greater the degree of the loft, the more it will rise up from the ground. The loft is differentiated by their degrees, so it is easy for the golfers to recognize the loft of the club.
The 17 degrees hybrid comes under the range of low loft hybrids. It is a fine replacement for the traditional 5-wood and 3-wood which mostly depends on the loft of the clubs. 17° hybrids can replace both iron and wood clubs, but they can’t replace driver clubs.
The 17° driver has a low loft and large clubhead that makes it difficult to be replaced. For 1-iron and 2-iron, 17-degree hybrid can be used as an alternative. Off the fairway, it is easier to hit off the hybrid rather than the long iron.
What is a 17 Degree Hybrid Equivalent to?
The 17 degree hybrid is equivalent to 3-wood and 5-wood clubs. A 17° hybrid is a good choice to prefer over traditional wood clubs. Hybrids have a low loft which makes it much easier to hit the golf ball, and allows for better control of shots.
The 17 degree hybrid can also be used as a replacement for the 1-iron and the 2 iron clubs. The 17-degree hybrids are a crossway between the fairway wood and the iron, so it easily replaces both of them.
Hybrid clubs were introduced 10 years ago, but now they are commonly being manufactured and supplied by all golf manufacturers.
The main purpose for the introduction of the hybrids was to get clubs for golfers that were easy to hit with consistency and could easily get airborne. This is because many golfers struggled while using the iron club especially, the 1 and 2 iron clubs.
1 and 2 iron clubs are only known to be used by the best golfers now. Hybrids are equivalent to the iron clubs; hence, it makes every shot a whole lot easier for a lot of golfers. The golfers can have more control over the shot when using a hybrid.
What Iron does a 17 Degree Hybrid Replace?
The 17 degree hybrid replaces the 1 iron and the 2 iron. The replacement has been really helpful for most golfers as using an iron club is not a piece of cake for everyone. It is difficult to attain the maximum height with the traditional iron club.
It is quite hard to generate the maximum club speed with a 3 iron; hence, the shot can’t reach its maximum height. Less than 5% of the golfers have good control over the long iron so, not everyone can make their best shots with the iron club.
How to Hit a 17 Degree Hybrid
On the Fairway:
- Place the ball in the center of the stance. This placement should be similar to that when you use a long iron club. The ball will reach a higher height and cover more distance on the ground, so it is a good idea to re-position it beforehand according to your shot.
- Keep your posture similar to that when hitting with an iron. This is just like when you are swinging the ball with the 2-iron or 3-iron. Put your hands right above the ball, and the ball should be positioned under the middle of your chest.
- When making your shot, you should remember that a shot hit with a hybrid will travel around 4-12 yards farther than that hit with an iron. It will also have a higher flight and soft landing on the ground.
- Hit the ball just like you would hit it with a long iron. If you make a good hit, a mark would be left on the grass where the ball contacted the hybrid.
Off the Tee:
- Choose a hybrid club when you are looking for more accurate shots. You should tee the ball lower to the tee with a driver. The hybrids have been designed to hit the ball directly off the fairway so getting a good shot is difficult if the ball is placed too high on the tee.
- When setting the hybrid with the ball, the ball should only be a quarter above the hybrid.
- You should do the practice of teeing off with a hybrid so you can know of the necessary adjustments to be made on course.
- Off the tee, the hybrid should be swung just like a wood club. Flat downswing should be used to approach the ball, and the swing should be leveled out before making the shot.
- The hybrid clubs have a smaller clubhead than the wood clubs, so try standing a little closer to the ball.
17 Degree Hybrid Distance
Many golfers face a dilemma when striking with a low loft; this is why hybrids were introduced against the iron clubs. To increase the distance covered by 17° hybrids, the manufacturers have decreased the loft of iron clubs along with the decreased spin.
Both these factors have made long irons very difficult to be used by most golfers. Hybrids have a deeper center of gravity, so they provide more sweet spots for the shot that helps to get the ball in the air easily.
The 17 hybrid club can hit a distance over 190 yards by a golfer who has a swing speed of about 90 mph. Similarly, with a 21-degree hybrid,180 yards can be covered, and with a 24-degree hybrid, 175 yards can be covered.
The 17-degree hybrid easily covers the distance gap and can be choked down if needed. The 17-degree hybrid is a preferable choice as the 19-degree hybrid covers the same distance as the 2 and 3 iron.
Read my complete guide on Golf Club Distance
17 Degree Hybrid Length
The graphite of the 17-degree hybrid has a length of 40.75 inches. This varies slightly in clubs for men and women.
For men, it is 40 inches while for women it is 39 inches. When switching from iron to the hybrids, you should go for the one that doesn’t result in large distance gaps.
Many people find the length of hybrids to be really long, so they cut it down accordingly. This is to have more control over the shot and increase the distance covered on the field.
Changing the weight and length of a hybrid to fit one’s needs is not a bad idea. This is because it might be more difficult to adjust yourself with the existing length of the hybrid. According to the science of swing, the longer length of hybrid helps in getting greater club speed which in turn means that more distance is covered.
17 Degree Hybrid Vs 4 Wood
- The 4 wood might cover a longer distance in contrast to the hybrid, but for more accurate, consistent and precise shots; a hybrid is chosen.
- Some golfers still prefer the 4 wood over the hybrid besides the many plus points of using a hybrid. This is because the shot with a wood club goes higher up and if the 7 wood is used, it has a soft landing. The 4 wood can cover 188 yards par 3.
- The 17 degrees hybrid is 1.5 inches shorter than the 4 wood, and there is a difference of around 80 grams in weight.
- 4 wood has a longer shaft so often it is difficult to swing the club and hit the shot.
- Some golfers give priority to consistency over the distance covered on course. This is why hybrid is used in these cases.
17° Hybrid Vs 5 Wood
- The 17° hybrid launches lower than the 5 wood. This affects whether you are able to run the ball, or you would have to use any elevation or bunkers. Hybrid is great for holes where you can maintain a low flight.
- With low flight, it can be allowed to run out. But if you are looking to make targeted shots, then 4 wood is preferable where you need to bring the ball to a halt on the fairway.
- The 17° hybrid is steeper so it needs to be launched higher while the 5 wood has more club speed so you can hit it farther away.
17° Hybrid Vs 17° Fairway Wood
- The 17-degree hybrid is easier to hit in contrast to the 17-degree fairway wood.
- The hybrid has higher launching whereas the 17-degree fairway wood covers more distance on the course. It depends on what is more important for you to select between both of them.
- 17-degree hybrid gives more control over the shots. Off the tee, the 17-degree fairway wood can be used over the 17-degree hybrid.
- The 17-degree hybrid is the same in length as the 5 wood, and it offers more versatile shots.
- The trajectory can easily be controlled with the 17-degree hybrid on a windy day, and it can hold the greens much more easily.
- The choice mainly depends on your swing speed and the angle of clubhead you prefer to play.
Ping g410 17 Degree Hybrid
The Ping g410 17° hybrid is adjustable and can be adjusted by the golfer according to their shot in eight different ways. The loft can be varied by +1.5 or -1.5. The hybrid has a thin design and comes with greater flexibility. The steel face is said to increase the ball speed and give a higher launch to the ball.
This hybrid has a larger head to increase the stability of the club, and the face of the club is textured to reduce the spinning of the shots.
The gapping has been improved with with the latest design. The Trajectory Tuning 2.0 feature allows the golfer to adjust the flight of their shot.
The back weight of the club helps in getting maximum forgiveness. The steel makes the club stronger and more flexible along with increasing the speed of the ball with the greater distance covered on the course.
According to user views, the adjustable feature is a winning feature as one can easily make the adjustments that suit their shot and make the shots more consistent and accurate. The hybrid is very forgiving and easy to it due to its modern design.
Is a 16 degree hybrid better? Read my answer