Don't write off the hybrid yet

The hybrid is having an identity crisis. High-lofted fairway woods are trending. Mini drivers keep popping up in tour bags. Utility irons have their own cult following. And if you look at retail numbers and tour usage, hybrids have been quietly sliding down the bag setup pecking order for a few years now. Only three PGA Tour winners carried one last season, which is telling.

So, is it time to write the hybrid’s epitaph? Not even close. Manufacturers keep releasing new models with better sole designs and adjustability that rivals some fairway woods.

The hybrid still fills a role in the bag—it’s just harder to know if it’s filling the right one for your game.

To showcase where hybrids are in 2026, we put 11 3-hybrids from eight brands on the swing robot at Golf Laboratories to find out. Two interactive graphics we created after analyzing the data break down our findings across miss forgiveness and shot-to-shot repeatability.

Here’s what stood out: every hybrid in the field loses carry on an off-center strike. No surprises there. But unlike what we saw in our driver testing, the way each hybrid handles a miss tells you something specific about who it’s built for. A strip of impact tape will answer that question for you in a few swings.

Our in-depth hybrid analysis tells you what to do with the answer. It’s time to find a hybrid for your game. 

Learnings from testing 11 hybrids on a swing robot

How the hybrid data we analyzed can benefit your game

By Jonathan Wall

What You Need to Know

Jonathan Wall

TaylorMade is going ghost hunting. The Ghostbusters collection pulls straight from the 1984 original film, with equipment and accessories that carry a heavy dose of nostalgia. The Slimer Spider Tour X putter gets a deep green PVD finish, a detailed laser-etched sole and a glowing proton-stream shaft. The containment unit MG5 wedge set (52, 56 and 60 degrees) gives each head its own engraved, paint-filled villain.

On the ball side, TP5 arrives in a ghost trap box while TP5x gets the firehouse treatment, both with custom sleeves inside. The supporting cast also runs deep: a Stay Puft mallet headcover, a no-ghost logo TP glove, proton tees, two ball marker sets (the original crew and the Ecto gear), rope hats, a jumpsuit polo, and a stack of t-shirts and hoodies.

Jonathan Wall

Miura and Steph Curry have teamed up on a limited-edition iron set, and it’s yet another reminder of Curry’s well-documented golf obsession. The Miura x Curry irons are a combo set: TC-202 cavity backs (4-6) and MB-101 blades (7-PW). Every head gets Miura’s black QPQ finish.

The details are where this custom set gets fun. The 6-iron is a degree weaker than standard at 30 degrees, matching Curry’s jersey number, and the sole reads “30” instead of “6.” The ferrules feature four rings, one for each NBA title. The hosel carries the motivational line Curry writes on his sneakers—"I can do all things." Even the Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts come in a custom SC30 flex.

A portion of the sales goes to Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour, which creates opportunities for juniors from underrepresented communities and for girls in the game. Thirty of the 300 sets come with a certificate of authenticity that Curry actually signed. Good luck landing one when they drop.

Alex Myers

No driver? No problem for Rory McIlroy. Much has been made about the six-time major champ not having a driver in the bag while playing the tight confines of Delhi CC at the DP World India Championship, but when you can do what he did on his first hole Friday, the conservative strategy makes a lot more sense. McIlroy hit an iron off the tee on the opening par 5 then smoked a 5-wood to about 10 feet and rolled in the putt for an eagle to start his round at the DP World Tour event. Just absolutely bringing a 516-yard hole to its knees without the use of a 1-wood. Must be nice.

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