I was amazed that the announcers made such a deal over the fact that everyone’s using hybrids nowadays. Someone predicted that the pro shops would be sold out of them today.
Umm, I’ve been carrying one in my bag since 2000. Doesn’t everyone use them these days?
Yes, you are right. 
And what I ended up pointing out was not that the Open annoints more single-major winners (actually, the PGA Championship manages that), but that it annoints more winners who can only win at the Open (a combined 13 winners who’s only major wins were at the Open, 8 one-timers, and 5 multiple-Open Only winners). This was for the period 1980 to 2007.
Since then, we’ve seen: Padraig Harrington (BO 2007, 2008; PGA 2008), Tiger Woods (PGA 2007; US Open 2008), Trevor Immelman (Masters, 2008), Angel Cabrera (Masters 2009) and Lucas Glover (US Open 2009). So the Masters picked up a one-timer, the US Open dumped one, then picked a new one up, and The Open and the PGA managed to engineer wins by multiple major winners. Situation remains much the same, then.
It wasn’t just “hybrids” I heard them saying that about, but rather Mike Weir’s hybrids, since he was the one who was doing so well with them.
Mickleson’s second shot to set his eagle on the back nine was with a hybrid and they raved about it.
Hybrids can give you comparable distance with long irons but more elevation. That means you could hold fast greens better. If you get comfortable with one. You can shorten its distance quite easily by choking up. They come out of rough easier too.
I don’t have any idea how many years my 4 IW has been my “go-to” club.
I went to a demo day recently, and the rep commented that mine was the “original” models, and that they had gone through at least 2 subsequent models.
So easy to hit, off the tee, fairway, or rough. Just a guaranteed 200 yds.
Can’t imagine whay everyone wouldn’t carry at least one.
A lot of iron sets don’t have 2 and 3 irons. You can add wedges to get to the right number. But more and more pros are going toward utility woods. They can help anyones game.
When I was a yoot ,most people carried 2 ,3, and 4 woods. Then the 2 wood disappeared. two irons are getting rare. The 1 iron was an option at one time. A pro who is sponsored by a club maker that does not offer utility woods, would not be using them on tour.
When Nicklaus won a tournament a few years with a big ugly putter, they went off the shelves the next day. Other makers started offering them and for awhile, we all had big ugly putters.
Speak for yourself. I never had a big, ugly putter! 
I did, however, covet Ping putters after the Johnny Miller birdie binge of the early 70s with them. Sadly, they were much too expensive for me to purchase, so I made do with some mildly wasp-waisted putter for a long time.
I remember having a set that had half woods, that is, it had the 3½-wood, the 4½-wood, etc. I used the 2½-wood to tee off with all the time. My dad had a set with a 2-wood, and I believe I had a set with one when young, too. Eventually, I settled on a set with a Driver, 3-wood, 4-wood, and 5-wood, then 3-iron to SW. At the time, IIRC, a 3-wood and a 1-iron had roughly the same loft, and so forth, so hitting a 5-wood was like hitting a 3-hybrid today. I loved that club, VERY useful! That’s why I have a 3-hybrid in my bag now. 
Of course, when I got good at golfing in my 20s and 30s, I stuck a 1-iron and 2-iron in the bag, and got rid of the 4-wood and 5-wood. I used to tee off with the 1-iron regularly, since it went 265 off the tee and much straighter than my driver ever did. But that was in the days of golf 4 times a week. :sigh:
I’m somewhat equal parts looking forward to and dreading this afternoon’s round.
Sunny hot and humid, with temps in the 90s.
I’ll let you know what it feels like to golf on the surface of the friggin sun! 
15-20 yrs ago, I used a ping 1-iron off the tee. And I could hit it pretty good, 240 includes lots of roll. I am a much better golfer now and occassionally I will take the iron out and try to hit it.
I can’t get it airborne. They shots look like dying quail going to the left.
I don’t think anyone I play golf with regularly have anything iron lower than a 4 iron. My lowest iron is a five-iron. I have one hybrid for 190-200 yds, a 7 wood (200-215 yds), and a weak 3-wood that I hit from 220-240, depending whether I fade it or draw it.
Actually now, I don’t know how far I hit anything. On the disabled list. {sniff}
I bought a one iron years ago because my course has three holes that needed a 235-240 shot off the tee. One is a 90° dogleg par four around a lake that my three wood is too long for and cutting the lake with driver is too risky. One is a short par four that you just need to lay back on. One is a long but downhill par four that has a lake on the left and OB on the right. Not confident enough in my driver to hit it there.
I tried a 19° hybrid and the one iron hasn’t seen the light of day since. It’s the perfect distance but goes much higher and I can hit it from the fairway/rough. Most people say that a 19° hybrid replaces a three iron but not for me. I hit a three 220 yards. I think I’ll replace my three with another hybrid.
One of the best golfers I play with happens to be the only guy I know who carries, regularly hits, and absolutely stripes his 1-iron both off the tee and off the carpet.
Another good friend hits the ball a TON and carries only a driver and 3-I. I keep telling him if he would just pick up a 3W he’d be DANGEROUS!
My son can hit a 2 iron. It still goes low and drives. The comparable utility wood will get the distance and be higher. It is far more controllable. Want to score ,dump the deuce.
I have seen a guy pull out a long iron to play safe and blast it into the woods a thousand times. A 5 or 7 wood is so easy to hit and just drops down . It wont bounce a ball along for half a block looking for a place to hide.