Swing Timing & Weight Distribution: Irons vs Hybrids

[DrGolfer]

I’ve been playing regularly since getting back in the game after many years and as things seem to be ‘clicking’ I’ve found that my swing timing and weight distribution when playing my 3H and 5H clubs is different vs. 6/7 irons and I was wondering if this is correct or a quirk in my body mechanics.

So basically from >130 yards whenever I swing I count in my mind 1,2, and, 3.

On 1 I shift weight to my lead foot (L) and on 2 initiate backswing with weight shift to trail foot (R) then pause at the top and swing through on 3 with weight back on to lead foot.

However, I’ve found with the hybrids if I don’t do the weight shift on 2 (ie keep the weight distribution on L) I hit much more consistently and accurately with those clubs. However, with my 6/7 irons I need to do the weight shift to have a consistent ball strike (8/9 irons it’s more of a pitch swing so I have less weight shift).

Is this normal/correct? Or should my swing technique be consistent across club hybrids and irons?

 

[Region3]

I’m not really qualified to answer so take this with a pinch of salt, but you may be hitting the hybrids better without the weight shift if the weight shift causes too much lateral body movement and you aren’t quite getting back to the ball on the downswing.

If your ball position is further back for your irons then you could still hit those ok with the lateral movement.

 

[Ian_George]

I'd challenge the need for the 1st move - onto your lead foot - in the first place, but if it works for you and you've been doing it for years --- It would promote a sway as opposed a turn for me!
Hybrid swing is more of a sweep than that of irons, so any inconsistency in height will affect quality of strike more. You could well be changing your height throughout your swing, the effect of which is exaggerated by the longer hybrid clubs. What do you do with Fairway woods.
A Pro should sort out the fundamental problem out quickly!

 

[DrGolfer]

I'd challenge the need for the 1st move - onto your lead foot - in the first place, but if it works for you and you've been doing it for years --- It would promote a sway as opposed a turn for me!
Hybrid swing is more of a sweep than that of irons, so any inconsistency in height will affect quality of strike more. You could well be changing your height throughout your swing, the effect of which is exaggerated by the longer hybrid clubs. What do you do with Fairway woods.
A Pro should sort out the fundamental problem out quickly!

So this was tip/technique I received over 20 years ago when I first had lessons to help me with swing tempo and consistency. For some reason, it’s stuck now that I’ve come back to the game!

I don’t really sway it’s more like reminding me to deliberately weight shift. It definitely helps with follow-through and a consistent contact with the ball (my worst shots tend to not be horrible if I’m remembering to do this).

I do the count with all my clubs even driver but over the last few months as I’m starting to get my game back these little tweaks are appearing for each club type and I’m just curious whether I’m hitting nicer shots but with ‘bad’ technique or whether these nuances are actually positive refinements to my game.

 

[Ian_George]

So this was tip/technique I received over 20 years ago when I first had lessons to help me with swing tempo and consistency. For some reason, it’s stuck now that I’ve come back to the game!

I don’t really sway it’s more like reminding me to deliberately weight shift. It definitely helps with follow-through and a consistent contact with the ball (my worst shots tend to not be horrible if I’m remembering to do this).

I do the count with all my clubs even driver but over the last few months as I’m starting to get my game back these little tweaks are appearing for each club type and I’m just curious whether I’m hitting nicer shots but with ‘bad’ technique or whether these nuances are actually positive refinements to my game.

An assessment or analysis session with a Pro - as opposed to simply a lesson - would likely be appropriate. I still find the concept of shifting your weight forward as the first movement of the swing an 'un-natural' one though!

 

[jim8flog]

Without going in to too much detail without seeing your actual swing.

In terms of weight transfer my practice drill (right hander) is as I go back I put all my weight on my right foot (actually lifting the left off the ground) when my arms are about in the 9 o'clock position as as I go down I put all my weight on my left foot (lifting the right off the ground) when my arms are roughly in the 6 o'clock position.

Purist teachers will say the down swing starts with a movement of the left hip.

My own personal body problems mean that I often start with a lot of the weight on the left foot with a reduced transfer to the right foot during the back swing and it works for me (as long as I remember to transfer all weight to the left as per a usual swing).

 

[RichA]

I thought that the point of hybrids was that you make the same stroke as you would with an iron but there's more forgiveness for a potential fat.
I don't get on with them because something in my brain tells me I should sweep it like a wood and I end up pulling the shot every time.

 

[DrGolfer]

I thought that the point of hybrids was that you make the same stroke as you would with an iron but there's more forgiveness for a potential fat.
I don't get on with them because something in my brain tells me I should sweep it like a wood and I end up pulling the shot every time.

That’s my take. I play my hybrids like my irons. I’ve just found that the adjustment in my weight transfer makes me hit the hybrids with a more pure strike but everything else is the same.

 

[SocketRocket]

You should play a hybrid like a longer iron where you hit down slightly and take a small divot, not like a mid range iron where you need a more forward leaning shaft.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I’m just amazed people think about their weight shift during the swing ?‍?

Surely there’s not enough time in a golf swing to be thinking too much.

 

[DrGolfer]

I’m just amazed people think about their weight shift during the swing ?‍?

Surely there’s not enough time in a golf swing to be thinking too much.

I have swing thoughts lol but seriously I just have a series of steps I work on every few weeks until they become muscle memory so in reality I’m only thinking about 1-2 things in my swing at any given moment in time.

 

[SocketRocket]

I’m just amazed people think about their weight shift during the swing ?‍?

Surely there’s not enough time in a golf swing to be thinking too much.

When playing it's the wrong time to be having swing thoughts, you should be thinking about the target and shot shape. The time to be thinking about weight shift is when practising.

 

[Ian_George]

When playing it's the wrong time to be having swing thoughts, you should be thinking about the target and shot shape. The time to be thinking about weight shift is when practising.

I find swing thoughts for practice swings helps improve the quality of the subsequent real swing and strike. But I try to only think of the post strike positions on the real swing.

 

[bobmac]

I’m just amazed people think about their weight shift during the swing ?‍?

Surely there’s not enough time in a golf swing to be thinking too much.

During the backswing I think about my wrist hinge, at the top I think about a slight pause and on the downswing I think about a balanced finish.
Nothing wrong with swing thoughts, just don't have too many.

 

[Ian_George]

By about the 13th, my dominant thought is about the 1st sip of the 'afters'!

 

[DrGolfer]

When playing it's the wrong time to be having swing thoughts, you should be thinking about the target and shot shape. The time to be thinking about weight shift is when practising.

Is there a right or wrong if it helps you play better?

When I play a round, especially alone, I’m looking to implement whatever techniques I’ve rehearsed and started to trust on the range (especially if it’s something new for a specific club). Doesn’t that require some thinking until it becomes a second nature part of your swing/repertoire?

 

[WGCRider]

I’ve been playing regularly since getting back in the game after many years and as things seem to be ‘clicking’ I’ve found that my swing timing and weight distribution when playing my 3H and 5H clubs is different vs. 6/7 irons and I was wondering if this is correct or a quirk in my body mechanics.

So basically from >130 yards whenever I swing I count in my mind 1,2, and, 3.

On 1 I shift weight to my lead foot (L) and on 2 initiate backswing with weight shift to trail foot (R) then pause at the top and swing through on 3 with weight back on to lead foot.

However, I’ve found with the hybrids if I don’t do the weight shift on 2 (ie keep the weight distribution on L) I hit much more consistently and accurately with those clubs. However, with my 6/7 irons I need to do the weight shift to have a consistent ball strike (8/9 irons it’s more of a pitch swing so I have less weight shift).

Is this normal/correct? Or should my swing technique be consistent across club hybrids and irons?

I found that I benefit from seeing a video of myself from front on periodically. My bad shot with my fairway woods in a hook. I know this is as a result of my "iron swing" where I would have my hands in front of the ball at impact and trap it. For my woods I should be keeping my sternum behind the ball at impact - if I don't I hook it. The reason I say video helps me is cause sometime it will feel like all my weight is on my trail leg - almost like I'm standing on 1 leg - but the video will show me that my chest is over or in front of the ball.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I have one swing…the one I use to hit the ball with. I don't consciously change anything according to the club I am using. I decide what I want my shot to look like, then walk up to the ball and hit it. Though TBH I do pause for slightly longer over my wedge shots before hitting them as I check more carefully that my club face is aligned to my target pt - then I just hit it.

No point in me seeing my swing, in fact I don’t want to see me swing a golf club as I know it’ll look nothing like Adam Scott’s. And there is no point in me knowing that and trying to emulate it as what my head thinks I’d have to do is most probably nothing at all related to what I should do…if that’s what I wanted.

So I’ll just stick to having my head work out beforehand what I want to happen to the ball when I have hit it, then let my body instinctively find the right place in space for my swing for that to happen.

Besides…it’s much more fun and a great relief to not having a bundle of stance, address and swing thoughts to sort through before and during any shot.

 

[WGCRider]

As you say consciously. But think on this - when was the last time you were happy taking a divot with your driver or 3 wood? I'd guess never. When was the last time you were happy taking a divot with your wedge or 9 iron? I'd guess the last good full wedge you hit.
With your short irons you are compressing the ball and the low point of your swing is normally a few cm in front of the ball. With woods (and sometimes long irons) you are sweeping the ball and your low point the point of contact is the ball. With your driver you are hitting up so still a sweep and the low point is behind the ball. That is 2 and for some people 3 different swings.


You instinctively make the adjustment - I do too, but sometimes I "forget" and seeing a video 2 or 3 times a year helps me remember. It's just a way of verifying what you are trying to do. For example some people think they are keeping their left arm straight throughout their swing but a 10 second phone video could prove otherwise. Or a non golf example - my wife thinks crime in Surrey is getting worse cause of what she reads on the village facebook page - actual hard data tells a different story.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

As you say consciously. But think on this - when was the last time you were happy taking a divot with your driver or 3 wood? I'd guess never. When was the last time you were happy taking a divot with your wedge or 9 iron? I'd guess the last good full wedge you hit.
With your short irons you are compressing the ball and the low point of your swing is normally a few cm in front of the ball. With woods (and sometimes long irons) you are sweeping the ball and your low point the point of contact is the ball. With your driver you are hitting up so still a sweep and the low point is behind the ball. That is 2 and for some people 3 different swings.


You instinctively make the adjustment - I do too, but sometimes I "forget" and seeing a video 2 or 3 times a year helps me remember. It's just a way of verifying what you are trying to do. For example some people think they are keeping their left arm straight throughout their swing but a 10 second phone video could prove otherwise. Or a non golf example - my wife thinks crime in Surrey is getting worse cause of what she reads on the village facebook page - actual hard data tells a different story.

Get that…but rather than me look at a video me and try and work out if all is ok, my version is to check in with my pro every so often just to make sure I’m not developing any bad habits that could become manifest in time as a big or limiting issue.

I’ll add. That I don‘t include ball position as part of my ‘swing’. And so, after placing the club head behind the ball I place my left foot relative to the ball according to the club I am using and type of shot I intend to play. Right foot goes down, sometimes then a quick check on target point, sometimes not, and almost immediatey and with no swing thoughts I swing the club to hit the ball.

Not quite ‘Happy Gilmour’…but not too far away.