3balls Golf
Hybrid golf clubs are in your bag for a reason: to make your shots easier and the game more fun to play. Many players are still attacking their balls using hybrid clubs. They use heavy handed swings and ruin what should otherwise be a painless approach. Whether you’re new to hybrids or you just want to improve your swing, here is what you need to know:
Hybrids Aren’t Woods
I know that some hybrids look an awful lot like woods, but for the most part, they aren’t. They should swing like irons, and more specifically, middling irons like 5 or 6 irons. Imagine taking a divot each time you swing, while maintaining not too wide of a stance. Your hybrid will perform best if you’re hitting down on the ball — if you need to, picture your 5 iron in place of your 3 hybrid, then swing accordingly.
Grip Your Club Lightly for Consistency
When you swing your club, you shouldn’t be gripping it so hard that your knuckles turn white. But you can’t just drop it in mid-swing, either. Southland Golf Magazine offers an interesting tip to help you better gauge how tight to grip: pretend your grip is a tube of toothpaste with the lid off. As your swing moves over the ball, the goal is to maintain the pressure you need to move the toothpaste tube through the air without squeezing any out onto the grass. After all, that would be messy – and it’ll create a messy swing.
Playing in the Rough
Hybrids get you out of trouble, be it far away from the green on the fairway or in shaggy rough. When playing in the rough, attack the ball at a steep angle, and hit downward through the moment of contact with the ball. You may take a divot, but this is how hybrids are meant to work to advance you through difficult terrain.
Ball Placement
Last, but definitely not least, pay attention to your ball placement. Remember that what you’re swinging is more like an iron than a wood, so the ball should be in a similar position to the iron at address. Many players make the mistake of moving their balls too far forward when they play with their hybrid. Pull yours back to just ahead of the middle of your stance. In other words, put your ball where you’d align them if you were playing with a middle iron.
No matter how far along you are in your game, there’s always more to learn. If you imagine your hybrid as an iron instead of the wood it resembles, you’ll have a lot easier time with it. You’ll find increased confidence in hitting your versatile hybrid!
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