Since they first appeared on the market, hybrid golf clubs you were a golfer’s friend. Generous and forgiving are the qualities every golfer expects from their clubs when they want to break the code of good, consistent golf. Whatever lie we find on the fairway or in rough terrain, there’s a good chance we can pull it off with our hybrid and then get a good, hard shot.
Also known as rescue clubs, they are an excellent option for all golfers with a handicap. Especially for older golfers, they are even more useful if the player cannot generate the same speed and power in their swing as in their younger golf life. But don’t worry there’s no need to feel inferior as hybrid golf clubs have found their way into the bags of the pros when they consider the conditions to be right for a softer landing of a hybrid strike as opposed to a long iron or track wood. The hybrid club even works as a “belly wedge” for the little putt-like chip we occasionally need to play close to the green when we need to hit the ball a few yards across an uneven surface to the putting surface. Yes, a shot we’ve all played at one point or another!
At AMERICAN GOLF, we’ve picked our top ten hybrid clubs for 2023. Read on and see which one is best suited to stepping up our game in a timely manner.
The best hybrids of 2023
Ping the G430 hybrid (£279):
Loft: 17°, 19°, 22°, 26°, 30°, 34° Left-handed: Yes
This is truly a clubhouse for golfers who LOVE hybrids, given that there are options to get lofts from 17° all the way to 34°. This takes the player through the whole spectrum, from the traditional four-timber loft to the seven-iron loft. Not only that, but the Ping gives buyers a choice of loft, flex, shank, shank length, grip and grip thickness. This should allow a person to habitually create a hybrid club that fits his game better than anything else, making it one of the best hybrid clubs in 2023.
engineers in Ping have left no stone unturned in their efforts to create a market-leading hybrid club. The G430 is all about speed and performance. The lightweight construction of the Carbonfly Wrap technology saves 8g in weight and lowers the center of gravity, as well as providing a nice ball-to-club sound. The Facewrap technology encourages greater distance and higher shot launch, two very enjoyable aspects of the hybrid cue, while the added back strain provides more forgiveness. With an eight-way adjustable loft and positioning hose, the player has a good chance of adjusting the type of trajectory they want for maximum distance and accuracy.
TaylorMade STEALTH 2 Hybrid (£239):
Loft: 19°, 22° Left-handed: Yes (19°, 22°)
One look at the list of male and female golfers in Made by a tailor family tells us everything we need to know about the quality of their hybrid golf clubs. If they’re good enough for Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, they’re more than OK for us.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see how TaylorMade STEALTH2 made it onto the 2023 Best Hybrid Clubs list. Designed in the red and black colors that Tiger has created throughout his career, the STEALTH 2 has a lower center of gravity (CG) than the original version. CG is also more face-centralized to improve performance around the sweet spot, so sweet shots should be even sweeter!
The hybrid has a lowered toe and heel for better interaction with the turf and creates less friction with the club head, making it ideal for hitting from tight or difficult spots. While the corrective face angle is designed to reduce lateral rotation and deliver straighter strokes – a deal any golfer would be happy to sign up for.
Callaway Paradym hybrid (£269):
Loft: 18°, 21°, 24° Left-handed: No
Do you love forests and are generally a bit annoyed with irons? Then the Callaway Paradym hybrid may be the answer. This hybrid is shaped like wood and can be a real address position confidence booster for those of us who prefer our woods when we look down and see a wood shaped mace.
As one of the best hybrid golf clubs of 2023, it offers very good versatility and control and is good at various lies. Shots are soft yet firm, while the cutwave outsole provides increased leading edge flex that has been specifically designed to cut through turf with ease, making it extremely valuable when hitting from thick uneven surfaces. The Callaway Paradym also offers adjustable hose technology that allows you to change the loft of the club to aid ball flight and control.
The title TSR 2 (£259):
Loft: 21°, 24° Left-handed: No
For any golfer who uses a hybrid golf club in a wood-like manner, the Titleist TSR2 may be a good option as it has been specifically designed for those players who have a more sweeping movement.
As one of the top hybrid clubs in 2023, Titleist consulted with some of the top players on how they would like the hybrid to sound and perform. The manufacturers took this into account and came up with the TSR2, so if it looks good, sounds good and feels good, it will only add extra confidence to the person holding the stick in their hands. This hybrid is designed to move faster in rough and harsh conditions thanks to the extra pockets in the sole that create less friction. There is also an adjustable hose that can be adjusted to suit daytime conditions or personal preference.
Cobra AeroJet Hybrid (£219):
Loft: 19°, 21°, 25° Left-handed: Yes (19°, 21°)
This hybrid club with Cobra can be summed up in three words: speed, speed, speed. Having worked with the striking American Bryson DeChambeau until recently, this probably comes as no surprise as he has been pushing the limits to generate more clubhead distance and speed than is thought possible. All aspects of the technology used to create this one of 2023’s best hybrids have come together to focus on speed. The 43g suspended stem provides flexibility and lowers the center of gravity to unleash more ball speed. And the stick face is designed using AI and machine learning to create a hotter face, with 15 thicknesses for increased speed and spin.
But in addition to greater ball speed, the Cobra AeroJet boasts a combination of distance with a high launch to provide more forgiveness on longer shots. And if we can find a club that will give us distance and forgive us if we’re not perfect with our shot, can we really afford to ignore it?
Wilson Dynapower hybrid (£179):
Loft: 19°, 22°, 25° Left-handed: Yes (only 22°)
The Wilson Dynapower hybrid club is cheaper than some of the other best hybrid clubs in 2023, but don’t take that as a sign of inferiority.
Manufacturers in Wilson worked with some of their Tour pros to create a club with a center of gravity balanced lower in the head to generate more ball speed and easy starts. This means we have more forgiveness and better performance on shots that are less than clean, and higher launch angles for consistent performance over distance.
The Wilson Dynapower may also be suitable for golfers who like clubs with a larger head as they give extra confidence in how they intend to hit the ball.
Tour Edge Exotics E722 (£149):
Loft: 22°, 25° Left-handed: No
The specialists from Tour Edge put a lot of work into their design and received very positive feedback from customers. The key here is a high start and straighter flight of the ball. The weight has been extended from the leading edge to the trailing edge for high starting shots with maximum ball speed towards the front of the club.
The Tour Edge also used Maraging Steel Diamond Face technology to create one of 2023’s best hybrid poles. With 41 different thick and thin diamond shapes that create a huge sweet spot, helping to generate more ball speed and giving you a more forgiving stick when you hit those off-center shots.
Ping G425 Golf Hybrid (£279):
Loft: 17°, 19°, 22°, 26°, 30° Left-handed: Yes
The Ping G425 doesn’t slouch when compared to the Ping G430 and is another of 2023’s best hybrids. With five different loft options, golfers can truly find the hybrid that best suits their game, as well as all other custom dimensions where Ping excels.
This club has a higher MOI (moment of inertia) which in simple terms means it is more forgiving as it is aimed at more ball speed, more distance and consistent spin – what’s not to love about this combination. Another big plus is the arrangement of three dots on the crown of the club. The visual aid is ideal for making sure we have positioned the stick and ourselves in the correct position to take the shot. With all these advantages, it is no surprise that players have described the club as extremely easy to hit.
TaylorMade STEALTH Plus+ (£219):
Loft: 22° Left-handed: Yes (Loft – 19°, 22°)
TaylorMade STEALTH Plus+ is one of the best hybrid clubs because it is a hybrid for the better player. With its slender head, this stick is more of a replacement for a long iron than a lifesaver stick to get us out of trouble and feels more like iron than fairway wood. This stick offers distance and control, and with the speed pocket, it has an even bigger sweet spot, perfect for both.
Due to the extra distance it generates, this stick is a good off-tee option instead of a driver, no length issue. But because the flight of the ball is slightly lower, it is not as good for green-approach strokes, so it is more suitable for players with lower handicaps who are looking for a club to support their long game rather than a club that can be used for shots into the green.
about the author
Adam Lanigan – golf writer
Adam is a freelance news and sports journalist who has written for the BBC, The Sunday Post, The I, The Times, The Telegraph and others. He has been writing about golf for nearly two decades and has covered 13 Open Championships and two Ryder Cups. Adam not only golfs, but has been playing golf for as long as he can remember. He was a member of Northenden Golf Club for around 25 years until the arrival of his children and his last official handicap was 11, although his form varies from eight to 18 each day.
