Five years ago, hybrids were still a regular part of bags on the PGA Tour. Even Rory McIlroy was using one .
Today, they're almost nonexistent, with only three PGA Tour winners across 37 events carrying one for their victory this past FedEx Cup season.
On the PGA Tour, hybrids have been largely replaced by high-lofted fairway woods and a resurgent uptick in utility irons, thanks to advances in technology for both alternatives.
Yes, while 12 PGA Tour winners used a 7-wood in 2026 — four times as many as a hybrid — and one additional player (Alex Fitzpatrick) who plays a 9-wood, 14 players carried a utility iron.
But the really interesting trend is that while utility iron usage at the top end of the bag is still relevant, it's growing in use for the top end of the iron set too. Of those 14 utilities that won PGA Tour events, four players used them to replace a 4-iron.
One of those players is World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who uses a 23-degree Srixon ZU85 utility iron in place of a traditional 4-iron.
There was also a major won this season with a player who didn't even have a 4-iron in the bag at all!
Keep reading below for a breakdown of the hybrids and utilities PGA Tour winners had in their bags for the 2026 FedEx Cup season.
Viktor Hovland might have the most traditional hybrid use case of the three PGA Tour winners who used one.
At the Travelers Championship, Hovland played a 20-degree Ping G440 hybrid, replacing the Ping iDi 3-iron he normally plays. Basically, this club serves as a 5-wood/7-wood alternative for Hovland.
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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore
From left-to-right, Scottie Scheffler's, Rory McIlroy's and Wyndham Clark's Qi4D drivers. Jack Hirsh/GOLF
For the early part of the season and including his win at the Players Championship, Cameron Young and Titleist were experimenting with a unique hybrid concept. Young, along with Tom Kim, was playing this GT1 hybrid as a 7-wood replacement , but with a fairway wood shaft.
The oversized GT1 hybrid profile was the perfect club for this, and it proved useful for Young over the first few months of the season.
But, like many other hybrids, Young subbed out the GT1 for the new GTS3 7-wood when it became available for him at the Masters.
Personally, I would also call this a 3-hybrid and not a 4-hybrid since it's 20 degrees and he clicks it down to 19, but there's a "4" stamped on the hosel to match the lofts the typical GT1 user plays in their irons.
ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore , Titleist
Aaron Rai's Titleist GT2 hybrid. Jack Hirsh/GOLF
The only player to win this season on the PGA Tour without a 4-iron did so instead with a 24-degree Titleist 5-hybrid . While Rai was the only winner without a 4-iron this season, it's becoming more and more common for players to drop the 4-iron for something more forgiving.
More often these days, that's a 7- or 9-wood, but Rai is not alone in playing the 5-hybrid there.
ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore , Titleist
Gary Woodland's Wilson Staff 2-iron. Jack Hirsh/GOLF
The ole 2-iron, even in Utility form, is just hanging around on the PGA Tour, with not a ton of use outside of links golf season.
Gary Woodland used his Wilson 2-iron to win in Houston, while Tom Kim played an 18-degree Titleist T200 in addition to a 5-wood to win the Scottish Open.
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Ryan Fox (L) and Bud Cauley were two of the 7 players to use a 3-iron to win this season. Srixon and Jack Hirsh/GOLF
This was by far the most common utility iron loft, coming in around 20-degrees.
Unsurprisingly, more players had 3-irons in the bag later in the year when conditions became drier and hotter. Winners this year included Scottie Scheffler (Srixon ZU85) in Memphis, the Champion Golfer of the year, Ryan Fox, who used a prototype Srixon ZXi5+ that we're anxious to learn more about, Ricky Castillo (Titleist T350 prototype), Bud Cauley (Titleist U505), Steven Fisk (Mizuno 225 Fli Hi), Stefano Mazzoli (Callaway Apex UT) and Jackson Koivun (Titleist T250U).
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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore , Mizuno
Collin Morikawa (L) and Jacob Bridgeman's TaylorMade 4-irons. Jack Hirsh/GOLF
This one is the biggest growing trend on the PGA Tour. While many pros are replacing their 4-irons with players distance options, others are going one step further and going with utility irons.
Now, most aren't going all-out with hybrid shafts, instead putting the same shaft as the rest of their iron set in these, but the extra prioritization of launch and forgivness at the pro level cannot be overlooked.
Along with Scheffler, who also uses a ZU85 at the 4-iron spot, Collin Morikawa (TaylorMade P-DHY), Jacob Bridgeman (TaylorMade RSi TP UDI) and Akshay Bhatia (Callaway X Forged UT), all used utility irons for their 4-irons this season.
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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore , TaylorMade
Titleist: 6 (4 Utilities, 2 Hybrids)
Srixon: 5 (5 Utilities)*
TaylorMade: 3 (3 Utilities)
Callaway: 2 (2 Utilities)
Ping: 1 (1 Hybrid)
*Scottie Scheffler played two Srixon utilities at the FedEx St. Jude.
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The post Just 3 2026 PGA Tour winners used this once-popular club type appeared first on Golf .
