With Randy Peterson
Callaway Golf’s Director of Fitting and Instruction
The two main reasons many golfers switch from an iron to a hybrid are: 1. loss of distance and trajectory on their irons; and 2. a lack of distance gap between two irons in their set (see related story). But hybrids are no longer just for golfers who fit into one of the above categories. Many tour players use hybrids because of the versatility they offer, a major advantage they have over irons. Here are a few ways hybrids can help you shave strokes off your game.
Standard shot
On a standard shot, such as a fairway shot, a hybrid is a more forgiving club due to the combination of the club’s wider sole and increased moment of inertia. You’ll get higher and longer ball flight from a hybrid than you will from an iron, so a well struck hybrid will go farther than a well struck iron shot. On miss-hits, a hybrid also offers more forgiveness, more clubhead speed and more potential gain. That means your miss-hits go longer and straighter.
Randy says: Remember, a hybrid is a replacement for an iron not a fairway wood, so you’re making a descending swing like an iron. For a 3H or 4H, position the ball a couple of inches inside your front heel and come down on it like you would a 3-iron or 4-iron. You’re still trying to hit down on the ball and, although you don’t want to take a big divot, you should hit the ground like you do with a long iron. Many people put the hybrid forward in their stance and make a sweeping stroke as they would with a fairway wood so they are ascending when they get to the ball, which leads them to top the ball. You need to be descending slightly as you make contact.
Putting
A hybrid can be used anywhere from three feet to 30 feet off the green, like you often see tour pros do on links-style courses in Britain. The rounder, wider sole of a hybrid means that when you chip-putt with it from just off the green you don’t have to worry about stubbing it, which might happen with an iron or wedge. Due to the club’s loft, the ball will get up in the air without having to hit down on it.
Randy says: Put the ball slightly forward in your stance and your hands a bit in front of the ball. You also want to choke down on the club and bottom out your swing right at the ball while making a stroke just like a putt. Much less can go wrong with that kind of shot than with a chip where there is more wrist involved and more of an angle in the shaft. It’s much more difficult to chunk or skull a hybrid shot than it is using an iron or wedge.
Fairway Bunkers
Tour pros will tell you that the fairway bunker shot is one of the most challenging shots they encounter. A hybrid is ideal for these shots because the wider sole makes it harder to dig into the sand. If you get steep on your swing with an iron, the club can easily dig in. The thick sole of a hybrid means it simply skips through the sand and you get more distance than normal. And because of the hybrid’s lower center of gravity, if you hit the ball thin from a fairway bunker the ball will still get up in the air.
Randy says: On fairway bunker shots, choke down on the shaft a bit and position the ball just forward of the center of your stance. Make sure your footing is secure, but don’t dig your feet into the sand at address like you would in a greenside bunker. Try to make a slightly shorter backswing than normal, which will help you maintain good balance, and then go ahead and swing to a full finish.
Out of the Rough
Don’t let the traditionalists fool you: for most golfers, a hybrid is much easier to hit out of the rough than an iron. For starters, the blade of the club is shorter so the club doesn’t get caught and drag in the rough like an iron might. Again, the hybrid’s longer shaft also means more clubhead speed as you power through the grass.
Randy says: When playing a hybrid out of the rough, open your stance, move the ball back slightly in your stance and hit down on the ball, just as you would with an iron. The difference is a hybrid will cut through the grass better than an iron.