Clubs with adjustable weights are hot. Belly putters are hot. Hot balls are hot. Even calendars are hot (which may explain the hot balls…but I digress).

Nothing, however, is hotter this season than hybrid clubs.

Whether these clubs are envisioned as replacements for hard-to-hit long irons, or as fully integrated sets, these iron-wood/wood-iron contraptions come in enough shapes, sizes, materials, and lofts to please just about anyone who feels less than confident when pulling out an iron with a number on it lower than 6.

Some spanking new offerings include:

--DeLaCruz Golf’s Cruzer Hybrid Trouble Wood. The Cruzer Hybrid is available in three lofts:17 degrees, 20 degrees and 23 degrees, and features three raised ridges on the crown of the clubhead to strengthen the hitting surface.

--Nike’s Slingshot Hybrids, whose extremely low center of gravity (CG) is made possible by the weight-saving carbon crown and low-slung Slingback design. 70% of the clubhead mass is below the equator of the ball. The CG is positioned deeper in the clubhead as a result of the added thickness of the Slingback bar (twice that of a normal fairway wood), hot/lightweight Carpenter Custom 455 stainless steel faceplate, moderate offset and wood-like footprint.

--Nike’s CPR 3 Iron-Woods, with a new geometry in the head that features a scoop back design, which moves the CG lower and farther back. These are designed for players who prefer a smaller hybrid head design, it features a more boring trajectory than the CPR Wood, while maintaining the features that made the original CPR Golf Digest’s Hybrid of the Year in 2004.

See what I mean? Heck, Nike’s so hot after the hybrid market, they’ve got sets competing against each other.

Now, I would be remiss not to mention that I for one do not believe hybrids are for everyone. In fact, although I have tested and reviewed numerous individual clubs and sets, I have yet to find any that I would want to replace my 3-5 irons with. My long irons are in fact some of my favorite clubs, especially for “rescue” shots from the woods, brush, off people’s decks, etc., where I often find myself.

Nevertheless, if you’re in the market for a hybrid, never before have the offerings been so rich. Just be sure to test and choose carefully, to make sure you’re not simply getting a whittled-down version of a fairway wood, the merits of which are, in my opinion, open for debate.

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