Bobby Jones Hybrid Golf Clubs

January 2008 Update- No significant changes to add to what is written below.

This is an interesting company. The heirs of the legendary Bobby Jones have had a golf apparel company for some time and decided to get into the competitive golf club market. To do this they hired the reputed club designer Jesse Ortiz who had left the golf club company his father had founded some 50 years earlier, Orlimar Golf. Ortiz earned his reputation at Orlimar by designing a line of fairway woods that was highly regarded and became extremely popular. In fact the line of hybrid golf clubs is actually called “Bobby Jones Hybrids by Jesse Ortiz”.

The company designs and markets drivers, fairway woods, and a women’s line of clubs. For the moment they do not sell sets of irons. It appears that most sales are made on the company web site at www.bobbyjonesgolf.net. All the hybrids retail for $200 on the site. They have an excellent promotional infomercial which I saw recently on the golf channel. In fact a few video clips from the infomercial will automatically play on the company web site when it is brought up. A number of notable golf names are featured including the renowned golf instructor Jim McLean, Champions Tours players Jay Sigel and John Jacobs, and former U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi. A female player is also in the clips, and I’m not sure of her name, but she certainly swings the club like a golf pro. All of this is very intelligent marketing aimed primarily at people who would be the most likely users of hybrid clubs, senior golfers and women.

Of course hybrid golf clubs are becoming popular with every level of player these days since they offer an alternative to long irons, which are difficult to hit. If anyone doubts this they had only to tune into the recent British Open to watch Phil Michelson hitting a hybrid club or to see the eventual winner Padraig Harrington tee off on the final playoff hole with a hybrid. He was leading by several stokes and needed a safe shot into the fairway to preserve his lead.

As with other hybrid designs, Bobby Jones hybrid golf clubs aim to put as much weight as possible both low in the club head and toward the back of it. To do this weight is taken from the hosel, which is smaller than some other hybrids, and also from the crown. Maraging steel is used on the crown to make it lighter and give a solid sound and feel at impact. Maraging steel is also used on the club face. This advanced metal is thin and provides a spring-like effect on the face of the club to add a bit more distance. Placing more weight to the back and low in the club head positions the center of gravity (CG) of the club to be low as well, and this helps to get the ball in the air more easily, which is the main reason for using a hybrid golf club rather than a long iron. And putting more weight around the club head perimeter increases its MOI, or moment of inertia. This adds forgiveness on off-center hits, since the club head doesn’t twist as much as it otherwise would.

It seemed to me that the feature most highly touted in the Bobby Jones hybrid gold clubs infomercial was the club sole design. Rather than a flat leading edge, the curved sole design allegedly makes it easier to hit the ball out of difficult lies, such as rough, fairway bunkers, and divots. Numerous examples of this were shown in the infomercial.

Another feature pointed out on the web site is that Bobby Jones hybrid golf clubs are shorter than many other hybrids. This is good to hear because most golfers tend to use clubs that are too long for them, since they know they can get more distance. The problem is, however, that they sacrifice accuracy in so doing.

The product line has 4 clubs, labeled 2H-5H. The 2H has 19 degrees of loft, the 3H has 21 degrees, the 4H has 25 degrees, and the 5H has 30 degrees. These clubs are meant to replace their corresponding iron clubs. They are designed to be an easier alternative to the irons, not clubs that will hit the ball farther. In other words they are not fairway wood replacements. Ortiz has specified a proprietary line of graphite shafts for the product line. Ladies, seniors, and left-handed versions of the clubs are available on the Bobby Jones Hybrid Golf Clubs web site. Although the line is only a few years old, it has won some prestigious awards, including being listed on the 2006 Golf Digest “Hot List” and several others.