My all time favorite golfer is isn’t Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus. It’s Bobby Jones. Bobby Jones was perhaps the most intelligent golfer ever. From 1923-1930 he won 13 of 21 national championships he entered, 62%. Bobby Jones was the first to win all four major championships–the grand slam. Bobby Jones is one of the best to ever play the game of golf, yet he never even turned pro. Last but not least, Bobby Jones was the father of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament.

Bobby Jones Golf Company & Jesse Ortiz

Bobby Jones Golf Company has been well known for making wonderful golf apparel. Now with premier club designer Jesse Ortiz, the Bobby Jones Golf Company is making hybrids and soon a full line of clubs.

Jesse Ortiz is one of the world’s top club designers. He was the design brain behind the extremely popular Orlimar products. Having experienced first hand Jesse’s products, I’ve got a rave review forthcoming.

Bobby Jones Hybrids

Looks

Rather than making a hybrid that looks and performs like every other one out there, Jesse Ortiz decided to use design concepts common in fairway metals to make a “hybrid hybrid.” A “hybrid-hybrid” is a cross between standard hybrids and fairway metals. I coined that phrase so if you use it you have to send me a nickel each time…

The Bobby Hones Hybrids don’t have the long and flat leading edge found on most hybrids. The leading edge and top line resemble fairway metals more than fat bodied long irons or typical hybrids. The head is deeper and more rounded than typical hybrids as well. Bobby Jones Hybrids look more like mini fairway woods. The hybrids have a more retro look, bringing back the clubs Bobby Jones himself used to play: Clee’s and Mashees.

Aesthetically, I’ve never seen a finer looking club. The shape of the head is extremely pleasing to the eye when standing over the ball. The workmanship and finish of these clubs is so beautiful I don’t even want to hit them. Every golfer who checks out my BJ hybrids practically salivates.

Technology

The Bobby Jones Hybrids use Carpenter’s 465 steel alloy faces, milled to 1.6 mm thickness. The thin face produces maximum feel and and feedback for the player. The steel in the crown of the head is a fraction of the typical thickness found in similar clubs. The result is amazing feel and control.

The shape and weighting of the Bobby Jones Hybrids produces a very low and deep center of gravity. The result of such a low COG is the ease with which you can get the ball in the air and how high the ball will fly.

The shape of the club’s sole is quite different than any typical hybrid. Once again, these are more like fairway woods. The sole is rounded at the heel and at the toe. The result of the rounded sole is the ease with which shots can be played out of the rough, bad lies, tight lies and bunkers.

The face of the BJ Hybrids isn’t quite as deep as other hybrids. These are certainly not “over-sized” clubs. Be careful not to tee one up too high or get too far under the ball. It would be a shame to put a sky mark on these clubs.

Shafts

The Bobby Jones Hybrids feature a proprietary JS-6 adn JS-7 shaft.

The shafts are shorter than standard hybrids for a couple of reasons. First to increase accuracy. Second to truly be long iron replacements and not fairway wood alternatives.

Shaft flexes: women, senior, regular, stiff and extra stiff.

Lofts

Lofts are available in 19, 21, 25 and 30 degree. They’re made to replace your 2-iron, 3-iron, 4-iron and 5-iron respectively. The 21 and 25 degree models are available for left handed players.

Accessories

Each Bobby Jones Hybrid comes with a great, green Bobby Jones hat. My hat is already one of my favorites (and I have about 100 hats).

The BJ Hybrids also include an old school knitted, pom-pom head cover. While I really dig the look and traditional concept of the these head covers, they’re not very durable. Mine is already falling apart.

On the course

This is the part of the review I’ve been dying to get to. I’ve been dying to spread the word about how amazing the Bobby Jones Hybrids really are. I’ve never played clubs that have such feel and feedback. The sound these hybrids make when you hit them pure is like hitting the golf jackpot. Even better than the feel and feedback are the phenomenal results.

I happen to think that some of Jesse Ortiz’s engineering has compensated for shots which I thought might not be as good as the results indicated. I could swear I’ve seen a few of my shots start out off-line, but correct themselves in the air.

As good as I am with the driver, all season I’ve been disappointed with my par-5 performance. Since putting the Bobby Jones Hybrids in my bag, I’m hitting more par-5’s in two than ever. Way more. I’ve had at least four times as many eagles this year as a result of a new shot entering my game, the 200-240 yarder. I’m making birdie on par-5’s with regularity, many times just by tapping in my 2nd putt. My ability to hit a long shots of 200-240 yards from almost any lie has really improved my scores.

Fun stories

I have several stories to tell about my Bobby Jones Hybrids already, and I’ve only had them for a reasonably short time.

The guy with the hot girlfriend on the driving range

The first day I had my BJ hybrids I hit the driving range to try them out. I parked at the end of the range where I usually do, to stay out of people’s way and take my photos etc. There was a guy with a very attractive female next to me. He was giving his lady friend a “lesson.” You know that type of lesson, where you get behind your “student” and help them with their swing? He was working it, complimenting her on her great swings (which were all bladed pull shots by the way). I understand.

The second he saw me pull one of my Bobby Jones Hybrids out he practically forgot about his hot girlfriend. He almost shoved her aside to come talk to me. He said “hey is that one of those Bobby Jones Hybrids?!” When I told him yes, he literally went crazy about them. He was telling me they were the sweetest clubs he’d ever hit and how he wanted all of the models. I showed him the clubs and we went on and on for quite a while about them, ignoring his hot girlfriend.

Believe me when I say this. If you hit these hybrids, you might start ignoring your hot girlfriend too.

“That shot is too high. It will never get there…”

I play with a regular group of excellent golfers every week. The highest handicap of these eight or so guys is a five. Tough crowd. They know my swing and I know theirs.

The first time I hit one of my BJ Hybrids (the 21 degree) for my 2nd shot on a par-5, one of my buddies said “That shot is too high. It will never get there.” I believed him too, until the 230 yard shot landed pin high and released less than three feet.

I’ve had several occasions where my high flying hybrids fake out me and my playing partners because we can’t believe shots so high can travel that far. Imagine the height of an eight iron but the length of a two or three iron.

The nine inch eagle putt

I had a fun match going last week. My friend Dave and I were playing against the local club pro and the scratch player who ejected me from this year’s club championship in the semi-finals.

The match was even and we had one hole left. One hole left because of darkness, not because it was the 18th hole. I had a shot from about 210 to a back pin on this par-5. I hit my 25 degree Bobby Jones Hybrid. It was a nice, pure shot. It was so dark though, we couldn’t really see where it went. I just told my golf partners “it felt good so let’s see where it is…”

When we got to the green we saw one ball, stiff. It was my 2nd shot. I was no more than 8-9 inches from the hole, behind it no less. My 25 degree hybrid shot could have easily rimmed out for double-eagle. My nine inch eagle putt was conceded and my partner Dave and I collected the winning bets. Most of all, we had bragging rights against these two big guns.

Critiques

By now you get the idea. These are sweet clubs. But I do have two critiques:

1. The old school pom-pom head cover is neat. I dig the vibe. But it’s not going to last for players like me who golf a lot. My cover is fraying and has holes in it already. If you pick up a Bobby Jones Hybrid or two you may want to use a different head cover. Here’s an idea: Use a lost-and-found cover from a worthless hybrid or a generic cover with no name on it. Then people won’t want to steal your precious BJ’s out of your bag.

2. Be careful on the driving range. I hit a few shots with range balls which hadn’t been cleaned. There was some dirt on them. The soft metal in the face of the club can get scratched by the dirty, hard range balls. I was sad to see some scratches in the face of my hybrids after hitting a few practice shots.

Photo gallery

I have many photos of the Bobby Jones Hybrids in the Hooked On Golf Blog Bobby Jones Gallery.

Conclusion

All the positive hype, accolades and praise you’ve heard about the Bobby Jones Hybrids is true. Every last bit. It’s not that often you find clubs so sweet, so magical, so perfectly designed, so beautiful. Hit them a few times and you’ll understand.

I’ve tried roughly 15 hybrids, many of which perform extremely well and I trust them in my bag. The Bobby Jones Hybrids outperform all of them in nearly every respect, from feel to looks to feedback. The results? Higher confidence, lower scores, more wins, more bragging rights… MORE FUN.