A thread was started earlier this month in the GolfWRX Equipment Forum titled, “Anti-hook hybrids.” The original poster, JaNelson38, asked GolfWRXers for their recommendations for a hybrid with “little if any draw bias.”

“For the life of me, I can’t stop hooking the hybrids I play,” he wrote. “It’s starting to affect me mentally, as the 3-hybrid is an important club for me when I’m playing my home course.”

More than 60 comments later, JaNelson38 had countless leads from GolfWRX Members. Suggestions ranged from trying a handful of 5-year-old hybrid models to switching to driving irons. He was even offered swing advice.

Titleist’s new 818 H1 and 818 H2 hybrids were created with golfers like JaNelson38 in mind, and they’ll likely simplify future discussions. They’re the first Titleist hybrids to feature the company’s SureFit CG Technology, an adjustable-weight system that allows golfers to shift a hybrid’s center of gravity to encourage, or discourage, a specific ball flight.

The 818 hybrids are also loft and lie adjustable through Titleist’s SureFit hosel.

SureFit CG, which is also available on Titleist’s 917 drivers and fairways, uses a weighted stick to adjust CG. The stick is inserted through an opening on the side of the hybrids that runs from toe to heel and is secured with a screw. Every 818 H1 and 818 H2 hybrid is sold with two weighted sticks: one that’s evenly weighted to encourage a straight ball flight, and another that’s heavier on one end to create either a draw- or fade-biased trajectory.

Using SureFit CG, golfers can encourage a draw by positioning the heavy end of the weighted stick on the heel side of the hybrid; they can encourage a fade by positioning the heavy side of the weight on the toe side of the hybrid. The CG difference between the two settings is approximately 1.5 millimeters, which will create about 4 yards of trajectory bias, says Stephanie Luttrell, Director of Titleist Metalwood Development. The stock weight of the stick is 14 grams, but heavier and lighter weights are available to accommodate custom club lengths, shafts, and swing weights.

Gapping Recommendations From Titleist

• 25-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP1 4-iron for R-Flex golfers
• 23-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP1 4-iron for S-Flex golfers
• 23-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP3 4-iron for S/X-Flex golfers
• 21-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP3 3-iron for S/X-Flex golfers
• 23-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP2 3-iron for S/X-flex golfers

Learn more about Titleist’s 718 irons.

When the 818 hybrids were made available to PGA Tour players in July at the Quicken Loans National, Brendon de Jonge saw the benefits of the added adjustability first hand, Luttrell says. De Jonge had developed a tendency to hit his hybrid to the left, and at the time he had abandoned the 816 H2 hybrid he was previously using. Using the fade-biased SureFit CG setting in an 818H2 hybrid allowed de Jonge was able to fix the issue. He put a 19-degree 818 H2 in his bag that week.

The 818 H2 targets the needs of better players, with a compact, squared-off appearance. It’s the most popular Titleist hybrid on the PGA Tour by a wide margin. The vast majority of amateur golfers, on the other hand, will likely prefer the company’s 818 H1 hybrid. Although it’s smaller and more streamlined than the 816H1 hybrid it replaces, it has a larger, more fairway-wood like shape than the 818 H2 to offer a higher ball flight and more forgiveness.

According to Luttrell, golfers won’t notice much of a distance increase if they’re comparing the 818 hybrids to 816 models: maybe 1-2 yards. Where they should see a difference is in the consistency of the new hybrids, which is attributable to the movement of weight lower and deeper in the club heads. That boosts moment of inertia (MOI), a measure of forgiveness, by 10 percent over past models. It also boosts launch and spin of the clubs, leading to more “playable distance.”

“We weren’t looking to make these hybrids go significantly farther,” she says. “We wanted to deliver more consistent launch and spin.”

The 818 H1 hybrids are available in five lofts (19, 21, 23, 25 and 27 degrees). The 818 H2 hybrids are available in four lofts (17, 19, 21 and 23 degrees). They’re available for testing starting September 1 and will be in stores September 29.

Stock Shaft Options

• Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Red 50 Hybrid (L)
• Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Red 60 Hybrid (A, R, S)
• Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Blue 70 Hybrid (R, S)
• Mitsubishi Tensei Pro White 90 Hybrid (S, X)
• Fujikura Atmos HB Tour Spec Blue 8 Hybrid (S, X)
• Project X Even Flow Blue 85 Hybrid (S)

Discussion: See What GolfWRX Members Are Saying About The 818 Hybrids In Our Forum.