Bulge radius on hybrids

[bames]

I read that the Cleveland Halo has a very large bulge (face) radius. My Nickent has one of the smallest. Anyone know where I can find this info? I'm looking for a forgiving hybrid that has a larger radius. Possibly the Cobra Baffler DWS or Halo.

[Eracer]

Go with the Baffler. I've played both it and the Halo, and the Baffler is clearly more forgiving. The Halo is a great hybrid when you hit the ball well, but the Baffler just never seems to miss.

Do yourself a favor and get it with the Nippon steel shaft. The stiff plays a bit soft to flex. I play regular flex irons, and the Nippon NS950 stiff shafts in my hybrids fit right in. I've heard more than one person (PAJayhawk for one) say that they didn't like the graphite shaft, but loved the steel-shafted version.

[tn-golfnut-from-nj]

This may be a crazy idea, but has anyone re shafted a 3W, with a 3I shaft?
Most importantly, would anyone ever admit to doing such a thing?

[usa1950]

I don't carry a hybrid (still carry the 1-Iron... yes I'm an idiot) but I have been thinking of biting the bullet and playing the modern game.... WITH a hybrid.

One of the Golf Magazines (Golf Mag or Golf Digest) did a story on hybrid bulges recently. They listed the bulged radius for every hybrid otu there (well, at least about 20 of them) and had a nice little article about how the different radius numbers affect play, what levels of golfers will benefit most from what level of radius etc.

I don't have it in front of me, but it was definitely a recent issue. No more than three months old. You may be able to track down the article online, or at the local library.

[RickinMA]

Originally Posted by tn-golfnut-from-nj

This may be a crazy idea, but has anyone re shafted a 3W, with a 3I shaft?
Most importantly, would anyone ever admit to doing such a thing?

I'm not sure how we'd fit a .370 iron shaft into a .335 3 wood head

even if you were to take a taper tip .355 and use a .350 wood head, I still don't think it would work

you could always just cut it down and play it short - this works for some

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by bames

I'm looking for a forgiving hybrid that has a larger radius. Possibly the Cobra Baffler DWS or Halo.

Based on a recent golf magazine article, those two are at the total extremes of the scale, with the HiBore (the new version of the Halo) hybrid having the biggest radius and therefore flattest face, and the Baffler having the most curved face of any regularly available hybrid.

You really need to go and demo as many as possible to see which you like, but you'll find those two at the total opposite ends of the spectrum!

Personally I've had the totally opposite experience to Eracer, and just couldn't hit the Bafflers for toffee but absolutely love the Halos and find them wonderful. Interestingly I loaned Greydawg (a 30+ handicapper) my 25* and 28* Halos for our round on Satutrday after he'd been having a horrible time trying to hit his beloved Bafflers. I've never seen him hit a club so well, and I think I'm going to have a hard time getting the back off him. Gone were the duffs and topped shots that seemed to be the norm with the Cobras, and instead he was getting the ball airborne with ease, pretty much dead straight every time and with consistent distance from the fairway or the rough.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Sandy

Based on a recent golf magazine article, those two are at the total extremes of the scale, with the HiBore (the new version of the Halo) hybrid having the biggest radius and therefore flattest face, and the Baffler having the most curved face of any regularly available hybrid.

You really need to go and demo as many as possible to see which you like, but you'll find those two at the total opposite ends of the spectrum!

Personally I've had the totally opposite experience to Eracer, and just couldn't hit the Bafflers for toffee but absolutely love the Halos and find them wonderful. Interestingly I loaned Greydawg (a 30+ handicapper) my 25* and 28* Halos for our round on Satutrday after he'd been having a horrible time trying to hit his beloved Bafflers. I've never seen him hit a club so well, and I think I'm going to have a hard time getting the back off him. Gone were the duffs and topped shots that seemed to be the norm with the Cobras, and instead he was getting the ball airborne with ease, pretty much dead straight every time and with consistent distance from the fairway or the rough.

Hey...You....Get off of my cloud!

I get $1.32 for each and every Baffler sale that comes off this website. You're killin' me brother. Just killin' me.

Seriously, it just goes to show how different golfers are. Gotta' test (ho), test (ho), test (ho). Does your friend have the Bafflers with the steel or graphite?

Honestly, my Bafflers are pure gold.

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by Eracer

Does your friend have the Bafflers with the steel or graphite?

It's Greydawg from this very board, and he has the graphite shafts as he really doesn't have the swing speed for the steel shafts. He has Cobra 3100s for his irons and absolutely loves them, hence why he went for the Bafflers originally, but every time I've played with him they've absolutely killed his game when he's used them. The difference watching him hit my Halos was like night and day, and as they really picked the ball up off the turf for him and he was hitting them high and straight all day.

For me the Bafflers felt too much like mini-woods, and the length of them felt unwieldy compared to the more iron-like Halos. I don't I ever hit a shot with mine that I felt I'd really connected with in the 3 rounds I played with them, whereas I have absolute confidence in the Halos from any lie. It amazes me that the Halos never got the 'love' they seem to deserve as I just find them incredibly easy to hit. I've even got a 14* '0i' that I can hit off the deck and out of the rough!

[usa1950]

Originally Posted by Sandy

Based on a recent golf magazine article, those two are at the total extremes of the scale, with the HiBore (the new version of the Halo) hybrid having the biggest radius and therefore flattest face, and the Baffler having the most curved face of any regularly available hybrid.

It's never quite this simple... but generally speaking would you say that the better player would be more effective with a bigger radius/flatter face hybrid, and should therefore stick to the HiBore/Halo end of the spectrum?

I think I remember the article stating as such......

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by usa1950

It's never quite this simple... but generally speaking would you say that the better player would be more effective with a bigger radius/flatter face hybrid, and should therefore stick to the HiBore/Halo end of the spectrum?

I think I remember the article stating as such......

The better player wants the ability to work the ball. Gear effect from bulge/roll makes that more difficult by design.

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by usa1950

It's never quite this simple... but generally speaking would you say that the better player would be more effective with a bigger radius/flatter face hybrid, and should therefore stick to the HiBore/Halo end of the spectrum?

As Eracer says, the effect of the curved face is to make off-center hits go straighter so theoretically hybrids with a more curved face should be straighter for higher handicappers.

But of course you're never really comparing like for like. My Halos have a much flatter face but I never have any problem hitting them straight, and find the sole contour an absolute life-saver out on the course. Whereas I found the length of the shaft on the Bafflers much harder to control, and found them much harder to get airborne.

Ultimately it all comes down personal preference, but the Halos/HiBores and the Bafflers both have some very loyal fans so there must be something to them both!

[bames]

Thank you gentlemen for the input. I'm going to look for the article, and I guess I will need to demo the two to make my decision.

[Eracer]

No problem. FYI - the flatter the face, the larger the radius. The Halos have flat faces (large radii).

[Pa Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Eracer

Go with the Baffler. I've played both it and the Halo, and the Baffler is clearly more forgiving. The Halo is a great hybrid when you hit the ball well, but the Baffler just never seems to miss.

Do yourself a favor and get it with the Nippon steel shaft. The stiff plays a bit soft to flex. I play regular flex irons, and the Nippon NS950 stiff shafts in my hybrids fit right in. I've heard more than one person (PAJayhawk for one) say that they didn't like the graphite shaft, but loved the steel-shafted version.

Originally Posted by Eracer

Seriously, it just goes to show how different golfers are. Gotta' test (ho), test (ho), test (ho). Does your friend have the Bafflers with the steel or graphite?

Honestly, my Bafflers are pure gold.

I absolutely hated the Aldila shaft on the baffler (it was the 65g HL for the stock shaft, not the 85), and I play an Aldila on my driver. I opted for the Halo because I liked the shaft better. Later decided I had no confidence in them compared to the Baffler with the NIPPON and made a 2 for 1 deal for the 18* Baffler.

While my 18* Baffler is not currently in my bag because the wonderful success I have been recently having with my 5w and now the 7w, it is not going anywhere soon. Pretty happy with my set now, and certainly imagine the first sign of my 7w going south, the Baffler will go back in the bag. I have been going through some swing changes the last couple months that have really paid off big in trying to convert the shot shape of my woods from a power draw to a slight fade. I found it was easier to do so with a fairway wood over the hybrid. So I may likely start next season with the 18* back in the bag after I am fairly comfortable with the shape of my shot.

The 23* Baffler already has a long standing permanent spot in my bag. If I consider replacing the 23*, it would likely be for something like a bowling ball.

They do now have an option for a Fuji shaft on the new Pro Bafflers.

edit 1 - Thinking back, I am thinking the HALO had more of a "Bulge Radius", but this may be deceiving and hard to really remember because the HALO had a more rounded bottom and did not seem to set up as square for me.

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by Pa Jayhawk

edit 1 - Thinking back, I am thinking the HALO had more of a "Bulge Radius", but this may be deceiving and hard to really remember because the HALO had a more rounded bottom and did not seem to set up as square for me.

The way to think about it is that if you draw two circles, one with a larger radius (so a bigger circle) than the other, and then cut identical slices out of them, the one with the larger radius would have less curve on its end, and seem much flatter
.
The Halos have a sole contour that is more rounded along the bottom, giving it that low leading edge that I love so much, compared to the flatter bottoms of the face most hybrids have. If you put one down right next to a Baffler (as I have!) you'd see a pronounced difference in the curve of the actual face.