Hitting the ball with Hybrids

[rob_golf1]

Off the fairways, is where I seem to be struggling with this club. The shot usually ends up being topped, how can I hit the ball straight with my hybrid?

I am not necessarily looking for distance, as this will obviously come over time, once I get more confidence hitting ball with the hybrid.

Cheers guys.

 

[musselburghgolfclub]

Not seeing your swing or technique it's hard to tell, maybe try and get confidence hitting it like an iron by moving it back in your stance a touch or smoother swing. If you've tried that your possibly lifting your head?

 

[bobmac]

When you top it, how does the ball react?
does it fly away very low or does it bounce down the fairway?

 

[SocketRocket]

The Hybrid has a wider sole than an iron so should be bounced into the back of the ball a bit like a fairway wood. Play the ball just a little bit forward of centre and swing with a nice smooth tempo as if using a 9 iron. You are probably topping it due to trying to hit up on the ball to get it airborne, your weight is probably hanging back on the rear foot.

 

[rob_golf1]

When you top it, how does the ball react?
does it fly away very low or does it bounce down the fairway?

Ball bounces down the fairway!

 

[One Planer]

The Hybrid has a wider sole than an iron so should be bounced into the back of the ball a bit like a fairway wood

If the club head is bouncing into the back of the ball wouldn't that increase the chance of the strike being thin or even a hooking the ball

 

[SocketRocket]

The Hybrid has a wider sole than an iron so should be bounced into the back of the ball a bit like a fairway wood

If the club head is bouncing into the back of the ball wouldn't that increase the chance of the strike being thin or even a hooking the ball

Not if your weight has moved onto your front leg and the club is still decending. When you thin the ball the leading edge is striking the ball around it's equator and either past the bottom of it's arc or lifted up.

Look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmxyEz7vjIM

Hooking is a completely different issue, this is caused by the axis of rotation being tilted to one side, normally due to the swingpath being out to the right of the clubface direction.

 

[bobmac]

When you top it, how does the ball react?
does it fly away very low or does it bounce down the fairway?

Ball bounces down the fairway!

That would suggest to me you have a little too much sway in your swing.
As the club approaches the ball, your head has moved and is in front of the ball at impact. This will make the angle of attack too steep therefor hitting down on the ball too much and driving the ball down into the ground. I pressume there is normally a pitchmark just in front of where the ball was?

Try and keep your head behind the ball at impact and feel the clubhead go passed your face. This will help you sweep the ball off the turf and if the ball is in the centre of your stance or a touch forward that should help you stop the "top"
HTH

 

[Smiffy]

When you top it, how does the ball react?
does it fly away very low or does it bounce down the fairway?

Ball bounces down the fairway!

That would suggest to me you have a little too much sway in your swing.

Exactly the same problem I had with my hybrid.
I found the answer was to sell it.

 

[One Planer]

The Hybrid has a wider sole than an iron so should be bounced into the back of the ball a bit like a fairway wood

If the club head is bouncing into the back of the ball wouldn't that increase the chance of the strike being thin or even a hooking the ball

Not if your weight has moved onto your front leg and the club is still decending. When you thin the ball the leading edge is striking the ball around it's equator and either past the bottom of it's arc or lifted up.

Look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmxyEz7vjIM

Hooking is a completely different issue, this is caused by the axis of rotation being tilted to one side, normally due to the swingpath being out to the right of the clubface direction.

Let me re-phrase. You are advocating hitting the ground BEFORE the ball

bounced into the back of the ball

If the club head has hit the ground before the ball there is no way you can guarantee what kind of strike you're going to get.

Impacting the ground before the ball could cause the face to close (causing the hook), or if the ground is firm the club could bounce high enough to cause a thin strike.

I would agree that the ball should be played forward in your stance, so you would sweep the ball off the turf similar to a fairway wood but you don't bounce a fairway wood into the back of the ball so why would you with a hybrid?

You would be hitting the ball on the up, sweeping it off the turf, rather than with a decending blow causing you to hit the turf.

 

[timchump]

i have the same problem.

i think for me it might be to do with the length of shaft?

I always thought it was best to put the ball forward in your stance like a 3 wood and sweep it of the deck, but i always topped it, the only reason i can think is the shaft is shorter than a 3 wood therefore causing the top, moved the ball a little further back in the stance and close to me like hitting a 3 iron, works a little better.

 

[Imurg]

There's definitely 2 schools of thought with hybrids.
1. Treat them like a fairway wood, ball forward and sweep.
2. Treat them like a long iron, ball not so far forward and hit slightly down.

Try both, see which works best or adapt your style to make it work. There's always a way...

 

[bladeplayer]

There's definitely 2 schools of thought with hybrids.
1. Treat them like a fairway wood, ball forward and sweep.
2. Treat them like a long iron, ball not so far forward and hit slightly down.

Try both, see which works best or adapt your style to make it work. There's always a way...

Gmac gave tips in the mag a cpl of editions ago , his tip was treat them like the long iron , back in stance & hit down .. to best of my recollection

 

[SocketRocket]

Bounced into the back of the ball means the leading edge slides or skips into the bottom of the ball, the flat sole of the club allows it to do this (look at Shawn Clements video), this gets it into the air. The only way you can top a ball is for the leading edge to strike it around the equator and this is normally caused by flipping the wrists and having your weight on the back foot. If you study the way Phil Mikelson plays a high shot with his sand wedge he bounces the sole into the back of the ball when he has a reasonable lie, admitedly for a hard lie you need less bounce.

 

[bobmac]

The only way you can top a ball is for the leading edge to strike it around the equator and this is normally caused by flipping the wrists and having your weight on the back foot.

Sorry Brian but that would be a thin.
The op is topping which is completely different fault and cure.

 

[Monty_Brown]

One of the mags this month has tips on hitting hybrids from YE Yang, who appears to carry 13 hybirds and a putter, so must know a thing or two about 'em.

His basic guide was to position the ball 2 ball widths inside the left foot in posture. That might help.

 

[Bigfoot]

Surely if club has loft , it is better to use it to get the ball airbourne. If you play the ball towards the centre of your stance, like an iron, you may as well carry the iron you replaced with the hybrid. The benefit of hybrids is that they get the ball out of difficult positions - therefore to do this they need to use the loft provided - so play the ball towards the front of the stance.

 

[SocketRocket]

The only way you can top a ball is for the leading edge to strike it around the equator and this is normally caused by flipping the wrists and having your weight on the back foot.

Sorry Brian but that would be a thin.
The op is topping which is completely different fault and cure.

I dont see much difference, both of these shots are caused by the same problem, the leading edge hitting high on the ball and from my perspective both stem from the same problem. Did anyone look at the video I attached from 'Shawn Clements', he is a great golf coach and his explanation of using the hybrid is spot on for me. The sole of the club is flat and wider than an iron so needs to be slid into the back of the ball. I think people are misreading this as the club being bounced off the turf into the air. In this case 'bounce' is used the same as with a sand wedge where the bottom of the club has to slide along the ground, not bounce up into the ball.

 

[bobmac]

I dont see much difference, both of these shots are caused by the same problem, the leading edge hitting high on the ball and from my perspective both stem from the same problem.

Sorry Brian, but have to disagree with that

 

[sweatysock41]

Am I missing something here, I was told during my lessons that I should hit my hybrid like I hit my 5 iron i.e. a slightly descending blow onto the ball - that would give the high soft landing flight that they are meant to produce. And that if I wanted a lower flight to change the way I hit it to the same swing as a fairway wood i.e. sweep the ball into the air.

I was never told to bounce it into the ball - I think the term bounce when used in golf should only be used to describe the 'bounce' on a wedge or it becomes really confusing for mere mortals like me.