- 03/06/2025
Sam De'Ath from Golf Monthly shares his top picks for the best golf hybrids of 2025!
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00:00Laying in front of me are some of the best hybrids released in 2025.
00:04We're going to break them down into a few categories including sound, feel and then
00:09decipher the performance of these clubs to determine which ones may be right for your game.
00:15Let's get into it.
00:30So when it comes to choosing a golf club you really have to like the looks of it both from
00:36a shelf appeal point of view when it's in your bag so you can boast for your friends but
00:40also when it's down behind the ball at a dress that's the most important thing.
00:44But looks are very much a matter of personal preference.
00:47Some people like a slightly larger head, some like a more compact head.
00:50It depends on what you're trying to get out of a hybrid and the performance that you're
00:54seeking.
00:55I've selected three that I think all golfers will love and the first one I want to talk
01:00about is the Shrixen ZX-i.
01:02Now Shrixen are making massive waves in the metalwood industry.
01:06I think their drivers and fairwaywoods this year alone are outstanding and the hybrid follow
01:11suit they they're all uniform they all look the same which I really really like.
01:15They haven't changed from the driver to fairway to hybrid they all look the same.
01:20The mixture of gloss and satin tones across the head I think looks superb.
01:24There is one little bug bear the technology highlighted on the face here the iFlex on
01:29the toe there just kind of stands out a little too much for my liking but my next choice doesn't
01:35fail in that category and that is the Mizuno ST Maxx.
01:39I think this thing just looks absolutely awesome.
01:41It's a carry-on product from last year and I raved about this in last year's video as well.
01:46The black head with the bolt blue core tech chamber you've got the Mizuno bird alignment
01:52aid on the top to ensure that you're centering that ball at address and while it is a teardrop
01:58finish and it probably will suit the eye of the better player I still feel like it's large
02:01enough that those seeking a bit more confidence can get it out of this club.
02:07But there was one standout winner for me and the rest of the Golf Monthly team agreed with
02:11me on this front and that is that it's the Cobra DS Adapt Hybrid.
02:16This thing just looks mega.
02:18It's this matte black head all over.
02:20It's got little gloss tones a bit like the Shrixen I guess on the sole.
02:25The power bridge technology underneath is highlighted in this silver that really makes it just pop
02:29a little.
02:30The QR code highlighting the future fit hosel was something that I don't particularly
02:35like but at the end of the day we spend most of the time looking down on this club at address
02:39not so much in our hands so it's not too much of an area of concern.
02:43When the club is down at address the score lines on the face here are bright white really
02:48highlight the loft on this face will inspire confidence and I just think for me there is
02:53no better looking hybrid in 2025 than the Cobra DS Adapt.
03:02Okay while the looks are important obviously when choosing a golf club you still have to
03:07like how it sounds and feels and there's a few models to me that stood out.
03:12Now the first one I want to talk about is the Black Ops 0311 Hybrid from PXG.
03:18I'm going to clip a few away and hopefully the microphone can pick up the sound here and
03:22you'll gain a good understanding of just why I like the sound and feel of this club.
03:27Now it does have this kind of gloss carbon crown on the top which is said to have muted
03:32the sound of these hybrids.
03:33I still find it's quite high pitched, it's quite a light sound but some people may like
03:39that, some people think that sounds powerful so let's give one a hit here.
03:42Hopefully you can understand what I'm talking about.
03:48Well it's a really nice strike and what I really like about this is yes it is slightly
03:54high pitched and it does sound powerful and it feels really powerful, it feels quite fast
03:59off the face and for that reason I think a lot of golfers will really love the Black Ops
04:04Hybrid.
04:05So the next model that I want to talk about is probably the latest release in the hybrid world
04:10and that is the Titleist GT2.
04:12Now there are three hybrid models that have just been released by Titleist.
04:16You've got the 1, 2 and 3, the 2 fits in the middle and has seen a 10% increase in MOI compared
04:21to the TSR2 model which I was equally impressed with.
04:25So what is it that's changed with this hybrid in terms of the sound and feel?
04:29Well I think it actually sounds a little more lively, it's not quite as high frequency and
04:34high pitched as the Black Ops but it falls just under that.
04:38It sounds a little louder than the TSR2 model.
04:41Let's give this one a hit and hopefully you'll be able to hear it.
04:49It just sounds, there's a whooshing sound through the ball which I really love.
04:54That was actually hit slightly out the bottom and that's another reason why I love this club.
04:58It feels just as good out the bottom of the face as it does the middle.
05:01I think a lot of golfers will really get on with this club.
05:05But the last model I wanted to talk about was the TaylorMade QI35.
05:08Now again, there are two models in the TaylorMade QI35 Hybrid family.
05:13You've got this one and the Max.
05:15This is the standard version.
05:16To me I feel like this did everything the Max did and for that reason I just don't
05:20see why you would need to go to the Max model unless you were looking for a slightly larger
05:24head.
05:25But in terms of the sound and feel you've got this chromium carbon crown on the top which
05:29not only looks great but actually has saved weight, put it in the bottom, it's easy to
05:33launch but also dampens the sound and vibrations through impact as well.
05:37That's something I particularly love.
05:38I've always loved like a thud-like sound and for that reason I think this is the best feeling
05:43hybrid of 2025.
05:46So rather than just tell you what I felt was the most forgiving hybrid of this year, at
06:01Golf Monthly we wanted to come up with something a little more substantial, some quantifiable
06:04data to back up what we're saying.
06:07And so what we've done is we have taken the furthest shot hit with this particular club,
06:12minus the yardage between that and the shortest club here as well as the furthest left hit
06:16shot and the furthest right hit shot, divide it by two and that will give you your number.
06:22Because of that there were two clear standouts when it came to the most forgiving hybrids.
06:27The first of those is the Callaway Elite Hybrid and this isn't just the Elite, this is the
06:31Elite X.
06:32It's the slightly larger model.
06:34It's got two weight ports as does the standard model so you can kind of dial in that preferred
06:39shot shape but it is a slightly more draw bias club.
06:42Now the reason I found this to be the most forgiving is it does have the AI 10X smart face in there.
06:48Thousands of data points have gone into the production of this face in order to produce
06:52a face that has variable thickness so if you hit one out the toe or out the hill you should
06:57see the same kind of ball speeds and same ball flight that you would see as if you hit one
07:02out the middle.
07:04Let's give one a hit.
07:05I'm almost going to try and miss this one on purpose just to show you what I mean but
07:08I find that this club just produces, it just wants to produce a high draw.
07:12That's all it does.
07:13No matter where I hit it on the face I seem to get a high draw and that is largely down
07:17to the head design and where it is weighted.
07:25Just absolutely beautiful.
07:27I didn't actually miss it.
07:28That was probably one of the best hits that I've had while I'm out here at this beautiful
07:32golf course.
07:33But it's an ultra forgiving head.
07:36This is one to check out but there is one that is slightly more forgiving and that is
07:41the PING G440.
07:42Yes, PING always seem to feature in the most forgiving segments of our videos because they
07:48are just outrageously consistent when it comes to downrange dispersion and I just couldn't
07:55fault this club when it came to mishits.
07:58I've tried hitting them out the bottom.
08:00The slightly taller face means I was hitting a few more out the bottom than last year's
08:04model but it just climbs up in the air as if it was a normal shot.
08:08I found it to be extremely versatile out of different lies even when I mishit them.
08:13These hybrids have now got the carbon wrap crown which means that there is more flexion
08:19in the face and a more stable face from heel to toe.
08:22Therefore, producing more consistent ball flights across the board.
08:26Let's give one a hit here and see how we get on.
08:28So I've actually hit that one a long way out the hill and it has faded and it's climbed
08:37up a touch but I haven't lost much distance.
08:39In fact, it's only gone about five yards shorter than the Callaway Elite X and for that reason,
08:45the PING G440 hybrid for me, and it's not just for my opinion, the data proves that this
08:51is the most forgiving hybrid of 2025.
08:54Okay, as you may have noticed, I am not in fact in the UK.
08:58I am at the beautiful La Hacienda Lynx golf course here in the south of Spain.
09:03If you're enjoying the backdrop, make sure you drop a like on this video and if you like
09:07any of the products that you see in today's video, I will make sure I will link them out
09:11in the description box below for the cheapest price in your selected area.
09:15Okay, so we've talked about the looks, we've talked about the sound and feel, but ultimately
09:24a golf club has to perform in order for it to gain a place in your bag.
09:28Now the data here on the left of myself gives you a chance to compare all the different models
09:33between launch, spin, carry, even descent angle, and you can work out which one you feel
09:39like may suit your game the best.
09:42Now I'm going to run through a few key areas of performance and which hybrids I think actually
09:47performs the best in those select areas.
09:49So if there's a part of the game you're really looking to improve on with your hybrids, this
09:54is the time to listen up.
09:56Now you may not want a hybrid necessarily that just performs off the fairway.
10:00You may want one as an alternative option to say a driver or a fairway with off the tee.
10:05And for that, you're going to want something that produces fast ball speeds, but also relatively
10:09low spin in order to produce a penetrating flatter ball flight that you get maximum roll and
10:15therefore maximum distance.
10:17There were three models that stood out in particular, and that would be the tailor-made QI35.
10:22There were two models, like I said earlier in the video, but the core model for me produced
10:27a nice flat ball flight and ball speeds on average of around 147 miles per hour.
10:31Now we ramp it up one more notch and we go to the Shrixen ZX-i hybrid.
10:36Now again, produced very fast ball speeds thanks to the iFlex and rebound frame technology in
10:41the face.
10:43That essentially creates more flexibility within the face and therefore off-center hits come
10:47out with the same ball speeds as they would out the middle or relatively.
10:52But the last one I want to talk about is the Cobra DS Adapt and not only is this the
10:56best looking hybrid, like I said, in my opinion, it was the fastest.
11:00This hot face technology that has been around in the last few generations of Cobra Metalwoods
11:05and hybrids continues in the DS Adapt hybrid and it produces just, I wouldn't say knuckleball
11:11ball flights because that's doing it a disservice.
11:14It's they're hot, but penetrating.
11:16You can almost lean back and crank it up in the air if you need to, but for the most part,
11:21you get quite a fast, penetrative ball flight and it's one that I really love.
11:28If you're looking for a hybrid to hit, particularly off the fairway, you're going to want something
11:32that launches quite high with a lot of spin so it can come down steeply onto a green and
11:36hold the green instead of rolling out.
11:39Now there are three models that stood out in particular.
11:41The first of those is the Wilson Dyna Power.
11:43I found this was actually my highest launching hybrid that I tested.
11:47It had quite a lot of excess spin though and did occasionally balloon up in the air, but
11:52the other two would be the Callaway Elite and the Titleist GT2.
11:56Not only do these hybrids look spectacular, but they both feature dual weight ports so you
12:01can dial in a preferred ball flight, switching the weights from the heel to the toe, but they
12:05both also feature an adjustable hosel, which means you can actually dial in the trajectory.
12:11So when you're hitting off the fairway, if you find it's climbing too high, you can knock
12:14the flight down and vice versa, if you find it's launching too low, you can bump the loft
12:19up on the head to produce that high powerful ball flight off the fairway that will hopefully
12:25get you holding greens more often.
12:28So if like me and you find yourself being slightly erratic off the tee, you'll end up playing
12:33from the first cut of rough quite a lot.
12:35So I have found two hybrids that I feel are particularly strong at playing out of the rough.
12:41Trust me, I've had a lot of practice on this one.
12:44The first of those is the Ping G440 and even sat down behind the ball in the rough, I just
12:49feel like it frames it so well.
12:51The scorelines on the face make the loft really stand out and it makes it look really confidence
12:57inspiring behind the ball.
12:59There's a new free hosel design as well, which means weight has been saved in the hosel, redistributed,
13:04lower and further back in the head in order to create high launch and maximum spin, which
13:08is exactly what we want when coming out of the rough.
13:10Let's give one a hit here.
13:12We're in quite a thick, snaggy lie in the rough here.
13:15Let's see how it pops out.
13:18Well, it's come out pretty clean, if I do say so.
13:23It's gone chasing down the fairway.
13:25It wasn't overly high, but it's got enough spin on it.
13:27You can just see it wanting to climb, which means if you're playing into a green, it's
13:30likely to hold.
13:32And if you're just trying to advance it down the fairway, you're getting enough carry
13:34on it to gain considerable distance.
13:37But the one that I thought was absolutely exceptional out of the rough was the PHG Black
13:42Ops 0311.
13:44Now the reason behind this, I'm just going to tread this down a little here, so hopefully
13:47you can get a really good understanding of how this club performs.
13:51Naturally, this club spins quite a lot.
13:52I found that even when testing off the tee in the fairway.
13:55So you're likely to see that ball, again, pop up a really high floaty ball flight, even
13:59out the rough.
14:00And I found this club to be extremely good at holding greens when playing out the rough.
14:05Let's give this one a hit.
14:10I mean, it's absolutely incredible.
14:15Okay, so for the better player and more confident ball striker among you, you're going to want
14:20a hybrid that's a bit more workable.
14:22It doesn't just produce the same high straight ball flight.
14:25You're going to want something that you can turn in and out and it's a bit more iron-like.
14:28And for that, I've got two suggestions.
14:30The Mizuno ST Max has got that teardrop look, which makes it really easy to manipulate the
14:36club face without making it appear like it's pointing miles offline.
14:41But the second option, and my favorite, is the Titleist GT3.
14:45There's plenty of customizable options here through the hosel.
14:48And again, the dual weight ports on the top of the club here, but the ability to be able
14:53to hit, I would say, high cuts and low draws has never been easier than with this Titleist
14:59Hybrid.
15:00I'm going to hit a few here.
15:01To start with, we're going to aim down the left side here and we're just going to peel
15:04a high cut into the air.
15:09I mean, that was just effortless launch.
15:12And what I absolutely love about this hybrid is the fact I can pull another ball over and
15:17I can go from a high cut that just climbs and will land like it's got a butterfly with
15:23sore feet or I can put a ball back in my stance.
15:26Just close the toe in a touch and feel as though I swing slightly out to the right.
15:35And I get a completely different ball flight.
15:38Much flatter, chasing down the fairway with a hint of draw.
15:42And that is perfect for advancing down long par fives.
15:46Or if there's a long par three that you might struggle to carry to, you can pull this club
15:50out, get more turning over, a bit of run and who knows, you might even chase it up onto
15:54the green.
15:55Okay.
15:56So this little section here is talking about which hybrids are the most adjustable.
16:00And if you're like me and you like to tinker or you play different courses and you actually
16:03want slightly different setups within your clubs, then these are the three hybrids that offer
16:07the most when it comes to adjustability.
16:09You've got the TaylorMade QI35, which has the standard TaylorMade adjustable hosel.
16:15And then you've got the Titleist GT2, which has, like I said, the two weight ports, one
16:19slightly heavier than the other in the toe and the heel.
16:21You can flip them over to dial in a ball flight or use the sure fit setting in order to change
16:27loft and lie.
16:29But the one that is probably the most impressive and is a new release this year is the Cobra
16:33DS Adapt.
16:34Now I'm going to quickly take the head off here and you'll understand why this is so impressive.
16:40It's got the Cobra FutureFit 33 hosel.
16:45That does mean there are 33 different loft and lie settings that you can actually have
16:49on this one hybrid.
16:51I mean, that is absolutely insane.
16:53And while it may seem overly complicated, there is actually a really handy QR code etched
16:58into the hosel here.
16:59Scan it quickly with your smartphone and it brings up a really simple chart that shows
17:04you exactly what setting that you're looking for or let's say you hit a low draw and you
17:11want to hit a high fade.
17:12It shows you exactly what setting you need to put it in, in order to achieve that ball
17:16flight.
17:17So for that reason, the Cobra DS Adapt I think is by far the most adjustable hybrid release
17:22this year.
17:23So there you have it.
17:29I have tested all of the best hybrids released this year.
17:32I've split them up into different categories and given you the best ones from each, but
17:36if I was to pick a favorite, it would be the Cobra DS Adapt.
17:39This thing offers superb ball speed, amazing amounts of forgiveness, and even looks spectacular.
17:45If you want one of these for yourself, remember the link is in the description below.
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