How To Hit a Hybrid Golf Club

Hybrid clubs allow you to hit long and medium-distance shots from high or low grass. You can achieve almost any result with them.

To hit with the hybrid, place the ball a few inches inside the front foot and swing as if you were hitting an airball, with a slightly downward angle of attack. You don’t need to try to lift the golf ball into the air, as the natural lift and design of the hybrid will do it for you.

Well, let’s take a look right now at the features of these types of golf clubs and how to hit a hybrid.

How To Hit a Hybrid Golf Club

What Is a Hybrid In Golf?

A hybrid golf club combines the familiar swing mechanics of an iron with the more forgiving nature and better distance of a fairway wood. Hence the name of the club, Hybrid. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the specific uses of hybrid and fairway woods, as well as hybrids and long irons, in a minute.

Grass clogged the slots of a standard club, and most golfers couldn’t get the ball to spin properly. So in the early 2000s, designers invented the hybrid golf club, which technologically solved all the problems.  

The invention of the hybrid is one of the most powerful technological advances in golf in the last 30 years. This is evidenced by simple facts: 

2004 – 7% of golfers used the hybrid.

2007 – already 30% of golfers use a hybrid. 

And now hybrids are replacing 3, 4, and 5 irons. 

And of course, it is the perfect golf club for amateur golfers.

Hybrid from the Callaway Golf brand
Hybrid from the Callaway Golf brand

What’s The Best Way to Hit a Hybrid?

Hybrid golf clubs are visually similar to Woods but have the mechanics of long irons. The purpose of hybrids is to provide an alternative to the difficult-to-hit long clubs. In fact, the advent of hybrids has made it easier for golfers to play the game because the larger club head, extra loft, and shorter shaft make it easier to execute swings. Plus, you can easily hit off the deck, in the raff, and some hit off the tee.

If you’re struggling to get the ball out of a hard-to-reach spot, such as under a tree, hybrid golf clubs will help you much more than matching long irons.

The most common question of beginner golfers is where to place the hybrid golf clubs in the stance. The hybrid club is placed in the same part of the stance as the 6 club.

You can place the golf ball 2 to 3 inches deep from the heel of the front foot. First, practice your swing. Take a few swings with the hybrid on the driving range without the ball. Just try to get the club off the ground and pay attention to where the divot is in relation to your feet. You can simply place the golf ball in the part of the rack where the divot forms after your practice swings.

How to Hit a Hybrid Straight Hitting

The main thing is that you must have the right stance, then you will be able to take a full swing. The ball position is slightly ahead of center. Your feet should be slightly wider than the width of your shoulders. The longer the hybrid, the wider the stance, about an inch away from the ball. 

When swinging the hybrid, do what you would do with an iron. The impact needs to be down on the ball so that you can take a divot in front of the ball without scooping it.

Much of the shot will depend on the hybrid you use, but in any case, keep your weight centered and play the ball in the middle of your stance, slightly behind where you normally hit with the 3 and 4 clubs.

Then prepare to hit the hybrid with a shoulder turn to gain enough speed to accelerate through the ball.

How To Hit A Hybrid From The Fairway

When hitting a hybrid from the fairway, you need to stand a little wider than shoulder-width apart, straight posture, leaning slightly forward at the waist. Position the ball slightly forward of center, similar to a 7-iron club stand.

Make sure the ball position is not too forward when you set up. You hit the putter with a slightly downward stroke, like a 5 iron putter, and a slight swinging motion of the fairway wood. Swing the club as you would normally do with a 5-iron, hitting the golf ball down and through it.

Hitting a Hybrid Off a Tee vs the Ground

Hitting the ball off the tee with a hybrid golf club and hitting the ball off the ground have the same golf swing methodology.

In either case, you should hit the ball at a downward angle of attack, as the convex surface of the club’s design helps to easily knock the ball into the air, whether it is on the tee or not.

However, when hitting the ball off the tee, the ball should not be higher than a few millimeters off the ground, in this position the hybrid golf club will hit correctly.

Striking a hybrid club on a tee that is too high may cause the ball to fly too high. After all, hybrid clubs were designed to easily toss the ball into the air from the fairway or raff.

How To Hit A Hybrid Out Of The Rough

How To Hit A Hybrid Out Of The Rough

In raff conditions, the hybrid becomes a real lifesaver on the golf course. It’s much easier to hit the ball out of the raff with a hybrid than a driving iron, long iron, or fairway metal (like a 3 or 5 wood), even if you have to pull the ball out of a thick lie.

First, check the ball position. 

If the golf ball is buried, position the ball further away from you and try to hit it at a steeper angle of attack.

It is unlikely that you will be able to advance the ball as far as you would with a good stance, as the goal is to get it as close to the green as possible.

If the golf ball is lying well, stand as usual, positioning the ball slightly ahead of the center, and take a normal golf swing. The wide sole of the club should glide easily over uneven ground and make good contact.

Read more about the best 3 woods for high handicappers and how many clubs are in a golf bag.

Why Do I Keep Topping My Hybrid?

And while the hybrid golf club is phenomenal in its results, some golfers hate it because of the constant hitting errors.

If you keep topping up your hybrid, this can happen for three main reasons.

  1.  It can be an early extension. If you stand up from your stance before impact and your left hand (if you are right-handed) and the golf club form a straight line before impact, you may have difficulty controlling the bottom of your swing. You get into your hitting position a little earlier and so your wrists have to flip the golf club, and if you don’t, the bottom of the club collides with the top of the golf ball. To correct this situation, it is better to take a golf lesson from a swing coach and practice your hitting position with him. 
  2. Swaying off and ahead of the ball. In this case, the accuracy of your golf ball swing suffers. Swinging is very bad for the golf swing because it can prevent the ball from spinning properly and can cause your hands to flip over at impact, which often results in you being above the ball.
  3. Misconceptions about how to hit a hybrid golf club. The mistaken judgment of golfers is that they need to flip and scoop the ball into the air instead of hitting it down and letting the club design push the ball into the ground to get it up into the air. Instead, when you are hitting your golf hybrid, feel like you are hitting the ball down instead of up, and you will see your golf ball strokes become superior.

What’s Better: A Hybrid or a Driving Iron?

There are differences between hybrid clubs and long irons, which are summarized below. 

 What's Better: A Hybrid or a Driving Iron?

Hybrid Golf Clubs

Pros

  • The hybrid is more forgiving and ideal for higher handicapp players, the elderly, or people with injuries.
  • Easier to hit than long irons.
  • A full swing gives a natural arcing highball shot.
  • A more comfortable sweet spot (the most effective part of the golf club face that transfers energy to the ball). Hybrid heads are larger than any of your irons, making it easier to hit the center of the club.
  • Designed to get the golf ball into the air with less spin than long irons.
  • Glides over uneven terrain better than an iron.
  • Hybrid can be used effectively from the fairway.
  • Usually has a higher ball flight, making it easier to hold greens
  • Can be used to play bump-and-run shots around the green.

Cons

  • Keeping the ball low is more difficult because the club design lifts the ball up.
  • Often needs to be bought separately rather than as part of your set of irons.
  • Less workable for shot-shaping than a long iron due to its wide sole.

Long Irons

Pros

  • More comfortable for shot formation due to the thinner surface and thinner sole.
  • Provides a faster swing speed, so more suitable for golf professionals and low-handicap players who hit the ball consistently. 
  • Often long irons are included in a set of irons (no need to purchase separately).
  • The classic look of the club is often more pleasing to golf enthusiasts.

Cons

  • Medium and high handicap players are more difficult to play: less forgiving than a hybrid, with the smaller, slimmer face making them more difficult to hit.
  • Golfers with slower swing speeds will have difficulty tossing the ball high into the air.
  • Long grass in the rough tangles the club head easily due to the sharper edges of the club head.
  • The slice is a common shot with long irons while hybrids tend to draw.

Fairway Wood vs. Hybrid Golf Club

Although hybrid and fairway woods are very similar in appearance, each type of club has individual uses.

Fairway Woods have a wider sole and larger head than hybrids and are hit farther but lower. Hybrids are more forgiving and most golfers find them easier to hit than.

Hybrids launch the ball higher and cut through the raff better.

Leaving a big divot with a fairway wood usually means that the swing is excessively steep. Hybrid forms facilitate accurate positioning beneath the ball.

Fairway Woods have a wider sole and larger head than hybrids

Fairway Woods:

  • Bigger head than hybrids;
  • The longest shaft;
  • Makes more accurate tee shots;
  • Able to withstand higher impacts than hybrids, but lower, making them more suitable for use in windy conditions.

Hybrids:

  • Easier to hit;
  • More forgiving and suitable for beginner players;
  • Manufactured with shorter shafts;
  • Hybrids have a larger sweet spot than fairway wood.

Conclusion

So we’ve looked at the different ways How to Hit a Hybrid Golf Club from tee to green. We have also looked at the design features of the hybrid and the prototypes of this golf club – long irons and fairway woods.

We can conclude that hybrids are ideal for high and medium-handicap players. Therefore, if you find it difficult to get consistent results with long clubs, then a hybrid version of golf clubs will be a great choice. They are also easy to hit from the fairway, raff, and on the green

FAQs on Hitting Hybrids Tend

Do You Swing a Hybrid Like an Iron?

Yes, a hybrid may look like a mini wood, but treat it like a golf club iron. Proper understanding can be helpful for proper setup and golf motion. If you think of the hybrid as an iron, you have a much better chance of hitting it successfully in certain situations.

Are Hybrids Easier to Hit Than Woods?

There are some similarities between fairway woods and hybrids, most golfers carry at least one club of each of these varieties of clubs in their golf bag. A fairway wood usually has a larger head than a hybrid, which helps increase the launch angle. Many people find hybrids easier to use because you can make a downward stroke like you do with your irons, and the ball tends to fly high and land quickly with spin.
However, woods are a solid option for players seeking maximum distance from the tee or fairway.

Do Professionals Use Hybrids?

Professional golf club set

Professional golfers often carry hybrids in their golf bags. For example, Tiger Woods doesn’t usually carry a 3-wood on the weekends, he carries a hybrid instead. Professionals can hit long iron shots accurately because they have swing speed, but many will still carry a hybrid.
When it comes to long approach shots on par 5s and par 4s, the hybrid is a great option because they are easier to hit from the rough.

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