You will by now have heard of golf hybrid-or-rescue-clubsthese are the new kids on the block, sometimes called rescue or utility clubs or even clone golf clubs though this is not strictly true as clone clubs are really copies of the main stream clubs and of course much cheaper they are however proving to be really popular and according to some reports just as good.
If you've ever had trouble hitting long irons - and if you're like most recreational golfers, you have - then you may want to give a utility club a try.
Utility clubs are one of the newer categories of clubs on the market, and there are still some major golf companies that don't make them.
Those companies are disappearing, however - being won over to the utility club market by the clubs' growing popularity.
Utility clubs - which are also called hybrids, wood-irons or iron-woods - are intended as replacements for long irons. They combine the best elements of fairway woods and long irons into one club whose goal is to be easier to hit and whose purpose is to be used off the fairway, out of the rough, out of sand or other poor lies.
Utility clubs should provide the distance of a fairway wood or long iron but with a higher trajectory than what you'd get from a long iron so that the ball gets airborne, flies high and lands soft.
The clubs achieve this by using the low profile and weighting of fairway woods to help get the ball in air, while avoiding the digging (divot-taking) nature of irons.
In general, they are shorter in shaft length than fairway woods, providing more control.
Some of the innovators in the utility club category include Kasco, Tour Edge and TaylorMade.
Kasco's K2K E-Spec utility clubs (read review) came on the market in 2003 and have been a huge hit despite their MSRP of $399. The high price is a result of what Kasco calls "Super Hyten," a super-maraging steel twice as dense as titanium. Lower-priced steel versions are also available.
Other popular brands include Tour Edge's Tour Iron-Wood, a rare utility club that in appearance is more like an iron than a fairway wood. It is designed for better players who want to work the ball.
The Perfect Club (read review), despite its infomercial originals, has been popular with critics. TaylorMade's Rescue Mid is a fine update of the company's Rescue Club, one of the first utility clubs to gain acceptance on the PGA Tour.
Adams, Kasco, TaylorMade, Tour Edge and Wilson are among the companies now offering full sets of clubs in which utility clubs are substituted for long irons. Rather than getting 3-iron through PW, these sets include two utility clubs and 5-iron through PW.
Utility clubs are here to stay, and golfers can look forward to many more choices to come
These could be the clubs that take your game to the next level, like all clubs if you can find one you like thats half the battle
but dont stop there try a few to find the one you like, there is also a huge variation in price with the most expensive not neccessarily the best!!
Their main asset is their versatility they give you another option in your bag.
Look at Tod Hamilton in last years British Open he used his rescue club to drive and chip.
How versatile is that
They are intended as replacements for long irons i.e. 2,3&4, I dont know about you but I have never been able to hit these irons effectively in fact they are no longer in my bag.
They are designed to combine the best elements of fairway woods and long irons into one club and making it easier to hit especially out of the rough or sand or other poor lies you may find yourself in.
They should provide the distance of a fairway wood or a long iron but with a higher trajectory allowing the ball to land softly.
On the recommendation of my fellow golfers I have just bought one!!
Up date:
What a club easy to hit and goes a long long way I will be having a look at some others, my golfing friends were so impressed they have bought them also.
Roll on the summer!
Update
Have lost 3 shots off my handicap so far this summer!!
Theres no doubt about it,
is probably the busiest site on the web and they have some great deals and a terrific selection of these clubs.
For our UK and European visitors
You will find a terrific selection here and currently there is up tp 50% discount on some models.
But as we have said before it pays to shop around and these guys give some real good discounts, who knows it could be your turn to be in the right place at the right time you could say--------to get rescued
Introducing the NEW 2005 V-Steel Fairway Wood
Features:
The new V Steel is crafted of steel via Pull-Face construction allowing for a thin and flexible clubface that delivers high COR to promote greater ball speed and distance
Taylor Made V-Steel headcoverincluded
Shaft: Taylor Made Fairway 65 Ultralite graphite shaft
