Today we are going to talk about hybrids--what they are, how they work and how you play them. This tip is inspired by a question I recently received from a Surgite named Barrie, who wrote:
"Surge,
Love you instruction and having great success using your swing. Like many "oldies", I have changed my longer irons for hybrids and now carry 35*, 30*, 25*, 21* and 17* hybrids instead of the corresponding irons. (My longest iron is a 7-iron).
Can you do a bit on ball position for hybrids please? Have tried placing the ball forward in my stance like a 3-wood or a driver but the ball goes too high. Back in the stance, and I tend to hit the ground. Which is correct, please?"
Before we answer Barrie's question, let's talk a little bit about the history of hybrids and how they differ from woods and irons. Hybrids have been around for a long time under other names. When I was a caddy back in the early sixties I remember one member who had a full bag of Stan Thompson hybrids that looked a lot like woods but actually replaced every iron in the member's bag except his pitching and sand wedges. They were pretty cool back then and are collector's items now. More recently, TaylorMade introduced the first of the modern versions of hybrids with the launch of their Rescue Club line of hybrids. Since then, it's been Katie-bar-the-door in the golf world as many golfers with slower swing speeds have fallen in love with this style of club that takes some of the advantages of irons and marries them to those of woods.
So what makes hybrids better for players who have slower swing speeds? The reason that a hybrid club is better than a comparable long iron is that the head design allows the center of gravity to be moved lower and farther back from the face. This gets the ball up easier and at a higher angle. A higher launch angle, combined with the greater mass found in a hybrid head means that the actual carry distance will be quite similar to that of the comparable iron it is replacing.
Now to Barrie's question as to how you play them in your stance. He reports problems playing it forward like a 3-wood or a drive and backward in his stance, presumably like a high iron would be played, but he didn't say how well he hit them at positions in between. Even though hybrids look like woods, they are shorter like irons and so should be played that way. Remember that the Surge Swing often has parameters within which we need to find the right spot for our unique swing patterns. So for anyone out there trying to dial in their new hybrids, here's how I would test for the ball position that delivers the right set of shot characteristics. First, check your alignment to make sure it's square so we can eliminate any problems due to the Big A. Next, start at one of the extremes--say forward as if you were hitting a driver. Take a few swings, and assuming you didn't like the results, move the ball back a bit and take a few more swings. Repeat doing this, making note of how well the ball's actual flight matched what you wanted out of the shot. At some point, you should notice that the results will begin to get worse again. Just move the ball back to the previous location and take a few more cuts to confirm the diagnosis and you should have that club's ball position dialed in. I would recommend that you do this with each of your hybrids just to be sure some of them don't perform just a tad better with a slightly altered ball position.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge