Like Cheating?

Hybrids to the rescue

Edited by Mike Stachura
Golf Digest

You want a perfectly legal way to cheat? Forget steroids, human-growth hormone and blood doping. Try a hybrid instead. These long-iron replacement clubs made of lighter, stronger metals and heavy sole weights make you feel like you’re getting away with something. Left to right:

PING Rapture. The mixed-material approach includes a traditional 17-4 stainless-steel body with a 475 steel face, a sloped crown and a tungsten-nickel sole plate (three lofts, $180, pinggolf.com).TOUR EDGE Bazooka JMax QL. The thin steel parapet and crown combine with a tungsten sole weight (13 lofts, $100, touredge.com).

TITLEIST PT585.H. The multiple-steel construction has a 455 stainless-steel face balanced with a 20-gram tungsten rear sole plug (four lofts, $180, titleist.com).

MIZUNO Fli-Hi CLK. Designers have switched from a composite crown to a thin titanium cut chemically braised to the crown (four lofts, $180, mizunousa.com).

CLEVELAND HiBore. The scooped crown is designed to lower the center of gravity and redistribute saved weight to rear parapet (six lofts, $200, clevelandgolf.com).

COBRA Baffler DWS. The larger head size utilizes a thin Carpenter 465 in the face; heavier heel and toe weights are placed in the sole (six lofts, $150, cobragolf.com).