Hybrid Club Strategy

GM Top 25 coach Peter Dawson looks at your hybrid club strategy options from long range, in the rough and even around the greens...

Hybrid Club Strategy

GM Top 25 coach Peter Dawson looks at your hybrid club strategy options from long range, in the rough and even around the greens...

GM Top 25 coach Peter Dawson looks at the whys and wherefores of your various hybrid club strategy options out on the course...

Watch Ian Poulter's top hybrid-play tips...

1) Master of design Hybrids have virtually replaced the longest irons now, and for good reason. They’re the same length, but thanks to wide soles, shallow faces and more clubhead weight further back from the clubface, they make it so much easier to get the ball up in the air from long range.

There’s a confidence issue too. Set a 3-iron down behind the ball and it’s easy to think, “Oh, I need to help the ball up here.” Hybrid design does away with all such thoughts.

More on the merits of hybrid clubs...

2) Play it like an iron Although they may look like mini woods, you actually need to set up and swing as you would with an iron. Leave the ball in the same position at address as you would with a long iron, and make an iron swing, looking to take a little divot after the ball as you would with an iron.

3) Better from the rough Another great thing about hybrids is their capability from the rough. It’s notoriously difficult to hit a long iron when the ball’s sitting down two or three centimetres, whereas the hybrid is better designed to just glide through the rough.

If you’re still carrying a mix of long irons and hybrids, forget about your long irons from the rough and rely on your hybrids to help you progress your ball a good distance still when you’ve strayed offline. But be realistic – if your ball’s sitting down in heavier rough even the hybrid should stay in the bag as you focus on just getting it back in play with a wedge or 9-iron.

4) Around the green The hybrid can also be very useful for those little greenside chip-and-runs. Too many club golfers rely on their lofted wedges, but as they often have their hands forward on this shot, there’s a far greater risk of them digging the leading edge into the ground at impact – the dreaded duff!

The hybrid’s wide sole allows it to just glide over the turf, bringing you better results even when your strike is a little bit off. You should play it more like a putt really. It does take a bit of practice, but it’s a much more forgiving option in the strike.

More on the hybrid chip with GM Top 25 coach Keith Williams

5) The versatility club The hybrid is almost certainly the most versatile club in your bag. It’s several clubs rolled into one really. When you factor in its ease of use compared to long irons, its performance from the rough and its potential around the green, I’m not sure any golfer can really afford to be without at least one in the bag.

 

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response