Tour Winners Shun Hybrids As Amateurs Reconsider Club Choice
The once-dominant hybrid club is rapidly fading from professional golf bags, as data from the 2026 PGA Tour FedEx Cup season reveals only three champions—Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, and Aaron Rai—used the club to win. Across 37 tournaments, 12 winners instead relied on a 7-wood, while 14 opted for utility irons, signaling a broader shift away from hybrids.
This trend reflects a growing preference among elite players for more specialized tools, with 7-woods offering higher launch angles and utility irons providing greater control. While hybrids were once celebrated for bridging the gap between fairway woods and long irons, their decline underscores how quickly equipment trends can evolve at the highest level.
Even so, the club isn’t entirely obsolete: Austin Smotherman’s victory at the Bank of Utah Championship later in the season proved hybrids still have a role in certain conditions. For amateur golfers, the shift raises questions about whether to follow the pros’ lead or stick with what works best for their own games.
