Category expert Sam De'Ath selects his top hybrid golf clubs for the year 2024.
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00:00 Now I think hybrids are one of the most underrated clubs you can have in your bag.
00:04 We're not all blessed with the ball striking prowess of John Rahm and Rory McIlroy
00:07 and so hitting long irons off the fairway can be particularly challenging.
00:11 I've tested 14 models from 9 different brands to determine which hybrid is going to be best for your game.
00:17 Now as much as hybrids will help you perform slightly better than say a long iron in terms of the technology
00:27 implemented in them, you still have to like how they look.
00:30 Now there's three that I've picked out for this year that I think will catch the eye of most golfers.
00:36 Now the first one is that of the Mizuno STZ. Now this is a carry-on model from last year,
00:41 but I love how it looks behind the ball. It's a really small compact head, teardrop kind of finish.
00:47 The sight lines really help with alignment and the Mizuno logo on top
00:52 just really helps center that ball and will help promote a more pure strike.
00:58 Now the middle ground I'm choosing is the QI10 Rescue. This is a rescue that surprised me.
01:05 It's actually a touch larger than I thought it would be,
01:07 but this is the hybrid out of the three models released from TaylorMade that will appeal to most golfers.
01:12 It's like I said a slightly larger footprint, will inspire confidence behind the ball. It's got a slightly shallow face and
01:19 one thing that has continued within the QI10 range this year is this silver alignment bar at the top of the face
01:26 will really help you square that clubface up to target.
01:30 Thirdly, my overall pick for the best looking hybrid this year is the Cobra Darkspeed.
01:37 Now this thing just looks mega. It's stealthed out black on black with
01:42 satin and gloss kind of tones to it. It looks awesome behind the ball. It's quite a
01:48 compact looking head, although the blade length itself is fairly long.
01:52 So that will inspire confidence for those who maybe hit one slightly out the toe and then the heel, but
01:57 it looks awesome behind the ball and
02:00 I'm going to be honest,
02:02 one of the reasons why I have picked this one over the others is the head cover. The head cover game on the Cobra Darkspeed
02:07 hybrid is exceptional.
02:09 Now we're going to talk about the feel of the golf club here. Now feel is super important.
02:16 It's very personal and very individualized, but I've picked out three that feel and sound superb all for their own different reasons.
02:23 Now the first one I'm going to highlight is the PXG Black Ops hybrid.
02:27 PXG have incorporated a carbon crown on the top here, which gives it a much more muted sound than previous models released by PXG.
02:34 It's still more on the louder side of things, but the feel of the face is superb.
02:40 Let's give one a hit here. Hopefully you can hear it.
02:43 Struck really nicely there, felt superb off the face, produced a good distance as well.
02:48 Now the second one I'm going to bring you into is the Titleist TSR3.
02:52 Titleist are known for their performance and feel. These feel superb off the face, super soft, a more muted thud-like sound, one that I personally prefer.
03:01 And I feel like you get the same performance no matter where you hit these things on the face.
03:08 As you can tell, they're much more muted sound, lovely ball flight, feel superb.
03:13 But there is one hybrid that just took the spoils for me, and that was the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke hybrid.
03:20 This thing looks awesome, sounds awesome, feels awesome. I'm using awesome a lot, it's a big word, but this one deserves it.
03:26 It feels superb off the face thanks to AI Smart Face technology, creating multiple sweet spots on the face.
03:39 Oh, how good is that? If there's ever a golf shop worthy of a like and subscribe on the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, I think that was it.
03:53 Okay, so the eagle-eyed amongst you will realize that I am actually no longer in Madeira.
03:58 I am remarkably in beautiful sunny England in December. We did encounter some minor technical difficulties when it came to audio at Madeira,
04:05 so I'm continuing the video from the beautiful North Hans Golf Club here in Hampshire.
04:10 But this section is all about performance. Now there are three hybrids that stood out in terms of their performance this year.
04:16 The first of those being the TaylorMade QI10 Tour hybrid. Now this is a much smaller, more compact looking head
04:23 that is definitely aimed at the more confident ball striker and the player who likes to work the ball around,
04:28 playing with their trajectory and ball flight, especially from distance.
04:32 There's good levels of adjustability here through a hosel that allows you to change loft and lie to promote certain ball flights.
04:40 But ultimately this produced really fast ball speeds and a ball flight that I really like to look of.
04:47 It was actually the second longest out of the hybrids that I tested this year with an average of 241 yards.
04:53 Now the second model that really stood out in terms of its performance was the Ping G430 hybrid.
04:59 Now this is a carry-on model from last year, but it's still relevant in the Ping lineup. It is their most current hybrid model release.
05:05 Now where I really thought the performance of this was excellent was from the differing lies that you find yourself in on a golf course.
05:13 It performed excellently off the tee, produced a really, really high penetrative flight,
05:17 but also performed excellently from those lies that aren't so great.
05:21 Now when hitting off fairways into par fives or longer par fours,
05:26 the tendency for me in particular with long irons or hybrids is to hit them slightly thin, slightly low on the face.
05:33 Now this hybrid produced a really high ball flight even when I was to hit it slightly low on the face.
05:39 And it gave me that forgiveness that I needed when I'm coming into a green from distance,
05:44 producing that high flight and got the ball coming in really steeply into greens,
05:48 meaning I could hold greens from distance. And for that reason I really, really like this hybrid.
05:54 Okay, so the third but final hybrid I have chosen in terms of the performance we've seen this year is the Cobra Darkspeed hybrid.
06:02 Now as you can see from the table here, this thing performed superbly and was an absolute monster on the golf course.
06:09 Pushed on 150 mile per hour ball speed and produced an average carry of 243 yards.
06:15 Now this hybrid was just insane from a variety of lies, produced a really high penetrative ball flight
06:22 that was ideal for hitting into long par fours, even par threes and especially par fives,
06:27 allowing you to attack pins that you wouldn't normally be able to get to with a long iron.
06:32 Now the PowerBridge technology is something that we have seen from Cobra the last couple of releases,
06:37 but also the Hotface technology really allows this face to react, producing those fast ball speeds,
06:43 but also that weighting lowers the centre of gravity and allows this club to produce really high forgiving ball flights.
06:51 So if I was to choose a best performing hybrid from 2024, it would be the Cobra Darkspeed.
06:57 Now it looks superb, feels great, but also performs excellently.
07:02 It's suitable for all levels of golfers and that's something I think is what makes this club superb.
07:08 Now it doesn't have the adjustability that others do, but it is available in multiple loft options,
07:15 so you can be sure to find one that fits in your bag.
07:21 So when it comes to hybrid performance, versatility is a key factor.
07:26 Now there are a few models that I'd like to point out this year that perform excellently
07:30 in terms of manoeuvring ball flights, such as the PXG Black Ops and the Titleist TSR3,
07:35 as mentioned in the performance section.
07:37 However, there's one that stood out to me and that was the Paradigm AI Smoke.
07:41 Now the reason I'm shouting this hybrid out in particular is because of how well it performed from differing lies,
07:47 in particularly the rough.
07:49 Now this thing launches extremely high, but out the rough it still delivers a really high towering ball flight,
07:56 perfect for advancing the ball down par fives like this or hitting into long par fours.
08:02 Let's see how we get on out the rough.
08:04 Oh, as you can see there, absolutely launched that ball from the first cut of rough here
08:16 and that has put me in perfect position to try and get up and down for my birdie on this par five.
08:20 Now after testing all the models available in 2024, I've narrowed it down to my top three hybrids.
08:29 Now to kick off and in third place, I'm going to choose the TaylorMade QI10.
08:35 Now it's a new product for this year, I just think it looks superb.
08:39 The gloss black finish on the top, but also the technology in there with the speed pocket
08:45 and the V steel system on the bottom really allows this to go through turf excellently.
08:49 Great combination of looks and performance.
08:52 In second place, I'm going to go for all-round forgiveness,
08:55 but all-round performance in the Ping G430 hybrid, performed amazingly out of multiple lies.
09:01 It was the easiest hybrid to hit that I tested this year and for that reason,
09:05 I think this will suit so many golfers and it has to be in my top three.
09:08 But if I'm going to crown a champion, it has to be the Kobrid Darkspeed hybrid.
09:13 Now Kobrid seem to have a knack of producing excellent hybrids after last year,
09:17 the King Tech won my best hybrid of the year video, but this Kobrid Darkspeed has it all.
09:22 It has forgiveness, distance, feel and looks and for that reason,
09:27 the Kobrid Darkspeed is the best hybrid of 2024.