What I like about Titleist is that they don’t pretend to do something they are not good at. What I mean is that they focus on making top notch clubs for low handicap players. They don’t fill the whole spectrum of the golfing public with game improvement clubs. I always felt that Cobra filled that niche for them, and with the sale of Cobra…Titleist is focused on their highly recognized brand.

A Players Hybrid

The Titleist 909H is a hybrid with a classic shape. I demoed the 19° model with a graphite Diamana Blue Hybrid Shaft. This is one of two stock graphite options available for this club (actually there are 12 shafts to choose from in either steel or graphite that are not up-charges). The Diamana Blue Hybrid Shaft is made by Mitsubishi Rayon and weighs in at 82 grams and 40.5″. The shaft has 2.9° of torque which is slightly high, meaning it will twist more than its counterpart in the Aldila Voodo which has 2.6° of torque. Overall I liked the feel of the shaft, solid yet responsive. The swing weight comes in at a D2, similar to most irons… about a swing weight less than mine. The 17-4 Stainless Steel head has a 455 Carpenters Steel insert on the face for added feel and punch. A factory installed SureFit Swingweight Screw lowers the center of gravity, allowing for easier launch. The bottom of the sole is plain and I like that. What makes the 909H nice for me is that it has a 0.5° Open Face.  So many of the Hybrids have closed faces.

Clean Lines, Clean Shots

I love the clean lines of the 909H. It is simple and straight forward. There are no graphic designs, or material designs that make the club head look futuristic. The color of the head matches the classic smoked grey look of all Titleist Wood and Hybrid heads. I felt comfortable looking down…it’s a mini version of my Driver, so I have a familiar visual.

I used the 909H from the fairway, rough and tee box. In all instances the club performed awesome. It played above my expectations. Off the tee it had a medium-high trajectory, and I was able to hit my typical draw. From the rough I found that the club did not turn or twist, which is what I fight when hitting a long iron. That makes for a confident powerful swing, knowing that the club resists the twisting motion. Balls sitting down are easy to get airborne, more in the low to medium trajectory. My key shot with the 909H was into a difficult green..212 yards to the pin from the dormant rough. The wind was directly into me (about 3 clubs extra) and I flushed it. The ball barely wavered off line and stopped within 10 feet of my ball mark. That was my “wow” moment, I normally would have had to play a choke-down 3/4 wood shot, or try a punch three iron…I loved that a full swing, not over swung, with the hybrid gave me the option to attack the hole!

The Good and the Bad

The great things about the 909H are that it has a clean look. The face is not overly closed, and it frames the ball well. The Diamana Shaft is nice, feels at home with the club head. Well hit balls go where you want them. The simple sole cuts through dormant rough.

If I have one gripe, it is a small one…The ball seems to “thunk” and not “click”. I know it’s a face material issue. I just want a little better feedback from the face. Even though the club is marketed as being longer from toe to heel, off center shots will not “feel” good. But I like that. I want poor shots to end up in bunkers or missing greens. That is great feedback for my swing.

If you are looking for ultra forgiveness then I don’t suggest the 909H, it’s a Titleist…it’s a Players Club. The 909H is looking like a solid contender for my bag but with a different loft and surely a different shaft.

What is a hybrid?

If you have been playing golf for a while, you know that your long irons are the toughest ones to hit. The long irons (3 and 4) are difficult to hit because of their longer shafts and lower lofts. The real reason is that they have a smaller clubface and thinner bottom sole. I jokingly call my 3 iron the “knife” and well it sorta looks like one. A thin sole does not promote or achieve much bounce. Bounce in long clubs is important if you don’t have a very compact and repeatable swing, especially when coming out of the rough. Long irons tend to close down when gnarly grass gets between the face and the ball. Another drawback to long irons is that they are tougher to “frame” the face with the ball. The lack of loft and the length of the club tend to make the ball look smaller than it is. To get the ball airborne and flying a respectable distance you will need to have ample clubhead speed to overcome the clubs lack of loft. Failure to achieve proper clubhead speed will result in a “hot” low shot, which will usually end up in trouble. The development of the Hybrid golf club helped conquer some of the inherent difficulties of striking long distance shots that fell between that of irons and woods.

The hybrid is a mixture between a wood and an iron. The key to a hybrid is that it has the best qualities of both, and it really is easy to adapt to your game.

The typical hybrid replaces a long iron. It does this by being similar in length, while more substantial in head size. Again the most notable feature is the bounce and depth of the club. While it has less depth than a wood, compare a hybrid to an iron and whoa! The increase in overall depth allows for a lower center of gravity and an increased MOI.  So it really gets the ball airborne.

Check this out. A great video from Titleist, and PGA Pro Todd Anderson from Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia..