Why Titanium Hybrids?

Titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. It is as strong as steel, but 40% lighter. This strength-to-weight superiority allows designers to create better performing hybrids through optimizations with titanium that are not possible with steel.

The strength-to-weight ratio of titanium lets designers make the face extremely thin – 60% thinner than what is possible with steel. The super-thin face creates the famous "trampoline effect” that is sought after in high performance drivers.

The lighter titanium lets designers place extra weight in strategic areas of the head. Most of the extra weight fills the back and the sole of the club head to move the center of gravity back and rear of the club head.

The Highest-COR Hybrid

The Coefficient of Restitution (COR) is the measurement of how fast the ball travels after the impact with the face of the club. Obviously a higher COR club launches the ball a greater distance. The USGA regulates and limits COR of woods to 0.83. But there is no USGA regulation on COR for hybrid clubs.

For this reason, a hybrid club with a COR greater than 0.83 is currently conforming for PGA play. And Tour players have taken advantage and sought the highest COR hybrids for their bags. The Alpha V5 Hi-COR hybrid has the highest COR aamong hybrids played on the Tour. At 0.85, the V5 Hi-COR has the highest COR of any commercially available golf club.

Hi-COR comes from extremely thin faces. A super-thin face creates a "spring-like effect" where the face momentarily depresses at initial contact and then "springs" back into shape at launch. A thick face lacks this flexibility to catapult the ball off the face. And only the high strength-to-weight ratio of titanium lets designers make the face of a hybrid extremely thin.

To further increase the coefficient of restitution, the V5 Hi-COR face is made taller than most hybrids. During manufacturing of high-end golf clubs, the face is plasma-welded onto the shell of the head. The outer radius of the face thus needs to be thick enough to be properly welded, while the face can be gradually thinner towards the center. With a taller surface area, the center of the V5 Hi-COR face can be made much thinner than that of a short face hybrid.

The tall profile is again made possible through the choice of material. The heavier steel cannot support the big and tall face that can be manufactured with the lighter titanium.

Center of Gravity and MOI of the Titanium Hybrid

The Center of Gravity (COG) of a hybrid club has 2 important design dimensions Y and Z, corresponding to the height and depth of the club head. The height (Y) of the COG is kept low, and the depth (Z) of the COG is kept as far away from the face as possible.

Keeping the vertical COG low accomplishes 2 things:

1) Increases the amount of backspin on the ball which creates nice soft landings, allowing for very accurate shots with little roll.

2) Eases airborne launches with higher trajectories since the club’s COG is well below the ball’s COG. This is one of the reasons why golfers find hybrids so much easier to hit than long irons.

Keeping the depth of the center of gravity away towards the rear of the club head increases the forgiveness of the club through higher resistance to twisting.

When the ball is struck away from the center of gravity, the club head twists about the COG axis. The greater the distance between impact and COG axis, the greater the torque that twists the club head. If the COG in the Z-axis is close to the club face, the distance from COG to an off-center shot dwarfs the distance from COG to an on-center shot, magnifying the resulting torque. But moving the COG towards the rear of the club dampens the twisting effects. In this case, the distance from COG to an off-center spot on the face is nearly the same as the distance from COG to the on-center spot.

Optimizing the center of gravity position and increasing the MOI of the hybrid is done through careful weight placement and perimeter weighting. Because titanium is 40% lighter than steel for the same strength coefficient, a titanium hybrid has 60% more mass available to move around to place the center of gravity. This is a huge advantage of titanium hybrids. And the extra cost of titanium is justified by the forgiveness, performance, and ease-of-use benefits of the V5 Hi-COR hybrid.

Teeing off with a Titanium Hybrid

With a high MOI, optimal center of gravity, and a coefficient of restitution that is even higher than a driver, the Alpha V5 Hi-COR hybrid is the longest and most forgiving hybrid on Tour. More golfers are hitting the V5 Hi-COR off the tee and achieving yardage rivaling that of a wood. With much higher accuracy and control, the V5 Hi-COR is the easiest way to shoot straight down the fairway.

When teeing off with a hybrid, tee it up about a quarter inch and play the ball slightly forward in your stance. Swing down and through the ball, with the confidence that your shot will be consistent and straight.

The 1st Titanium Hybrid on Tour

The Alpha V5 Hi-COR Hybrid is the first all titanium hybrid to be played on the Champions Tour. It has the highest coefficient of restitution (COR) of any other hybrid, and even exceeds the COR of drivers.

Off the tee or in tight lies, the V5 titanium hybrid is the secret weapon in achieving distance and accuracy.

V5 Hybrid Specifications

Hybrid Shafts
All of the major shaft manufacturers build hybrid specific golf shafts. Email for help choosing the correct hybrid shaft for your game.

Mitsubishi

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Matrix Ozik

Fujikura

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