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Hybrid
Club Ratings /
New
Testing Methodology for Hybrid Clubs
At the end of 2005 GolfTest USA partnered with Golf Illustrated,
one of the top national golf publications, to provide them
with the results of our standard golf equipment testing that
we conduct on an ongoing basis. Golf Illustrated has agreed
to publish a feature article in each issue highlighting many
of the new clubs that have been introduced. In the process
of explaining our testing process to GI they asked if we could
expand the criteria we have the testers evaluate. We agreed
and there are now 10 criteria that the testers evaluate. There
is also an additional rating we list in the last column which
is the combined "AVERAGE" of the first 10 criteria. We feel
this "AVERAGE" gives golfers a good indication of which clubs
performed the best across all the criteria.
We pick test golfers with varying skill levels based on what
the manufacturer recommends that each club is best suited
to. Some clubs are designed for low handicap golfers and some
clubs are referred to as game improvement clubs and are designed
for mid to high handicap golfers
When testing hybrid clubs we use three evaluation formats.
The first evaluation format is done by GolfTest USA Test Administrators
and in the second evaluation format GolfTest USA asked each
golfer to rate 10 criteria on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being
best. GolfTest USA had 60 testers hit shots at the driving
range. GolfTest USA Test Administrators rated the distance
and dispersion of each shot on a scale of 1 to 10 and the
"Control" and "Accuracy" they felt each
golfer displayed with each hybrid club during the test. These
ratings are then combined with the second evaluation format
which is the golfers own ratings to come up with the ratings
for each hybrid club. (The "Overall" column is not an average
of the other criteria. For the "Overall" criterion we ask
each tester to rate the club based on how they feel the club
performed overall in the test.) For the third testing format
we have 15 golfers play one round of golf with a set of each
of the hybrids clubs and again rate all the criteria. We then
take those rating which where obtained under actual playing
conditions and merge them with the range test to come up with
the final ratings. We have found that combining these formats
gives the most comprehensive ratings.
On a scale of 1 to 10(with 10 being best) they rated
each of these criteria.
Distance:
Each tester rated how far they hit each hybrid club.
Control: Testers rated how much control they
felt they had while hitting each hybrid club.
Accuracy: Testers rated how accurate they
felt each hybrid club was.
Forgiveness: Testers rated how forgiving
the hybrid club was on off center hits.
Sound: Testers rated how did they liked the
sound of each club.
Appearance: Testers rated how much they liked
the appearance of the club.
Feel: Testers rated the feel of the club
at set up, during the swing and at impact.
Ball flight (Trajectory): Testers rated how
they liked the trajectory of the ball off the club?
Recommend to others: The testers were asked
to rate how strongly would they recommend to each hybrid club
to their friends or other golfers.
Overall Rating: The testers were asked to
take into consideration what is important to them in a hybrid
club and give it an overall rating. (This is not an average
of the other criteria).
Overall Average: A final category was added
at the request of Golf Illustrated which is the average of
the 10 criteria rated by the testers. We feel this average
helps to give golfers an indication of how each club performed
taking into account all of the criteria in the test.
Why are the test results the way they are? Click
here to find out!
Let us know if there are other hybrid clubs you would like
us to test and we will contact the manufacturers and see if
they will participate in our next testing cycle. requestatest@golftestusa.com.
 Based
on the testing completed to date we have determined that any
club that has an "AVERAGE" score 7.9 or better based on our
scoring system is awarded the GolfTest USA "Seal of Excellence"
award. Being awarded the GolfTest USA "Seal of Excellence"
indicates a golf product has been tested and reviewed by our
staff of golf testers and has been judged to be of superior
quality, value and performance. Golfers who purchase any of
these clubs can feel confident they will be obtaining a quality
golf product.
Click
on each column head to sort ratings by that criteria.
| Hybrid Clubs |
Distance |
Control |
Accuracy |
Forgiveness |
Sound |
Appearance |
Feel |
Ball Flight |
Recommend |
Overall |
Average |
| Callaway Fusion FT | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Nicklaus Claw | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Sonartec HB001 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Adams Idea a2 0S | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Bobby Jones | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| De La Cruz CRUZER | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Mizuno CLK FLI-HI | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Nickent 4DX IW | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Nickent 3DX | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.4 |
| Yonex Cyberstar XC | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Nike Slingshot | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.3 |
| GRIP Hyper Steel | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Innovex Type S | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| MacGregor MACTEC NVG2 UT | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| PGF PWT Southpaw | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Vulcan Sniper | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Alpha RX | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| PGF V8 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 |
| Izzo Z Wood | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.1 |
| Wilson Staff Dh6 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 |
| Infiniti Hotshot XS | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| TechPower Elite | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 8.0 |
| Black Shark MX EX Launch | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Upswing | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 8.0 |
| Natural Golf Beryllium Copper Plus | 8.2 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 |
| McHenry Metal Hybrid | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.9 |
| Innovex RLS | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.8 |
| Alpha HI-COR | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
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