Hybrid Golf Clubs, Explained | Pine Ridge Golf Club

Hybrid golf clubs fly higher, farther, and land softer than your long irons. According to Golf Digest, the number of golfers using hybrids has reached more than 80 percent, nearly doubling in the past 15 years. Today, the average golfer carries two hybrids with them.^[1]

What is a Hybrid Golf Club?

A hybrid golf club is a type of club that borrows the design from both irons and woods. It was designed to combine the familiar swing mechanics of an iron with the more forgiving nature and better distance of a wood. For golfers who struggle to hit their long irons or fairway woods, hybrids give golfers another option. They offer the accuracy of an iron with the distance of a fairway wood.

Advantages of Hybrids

Long irons can be difficult to hit well with, and many golfers opt to use fairway woods instead as they have a larger “sweet spot.” However, fairway woods can also be difficult to master as they have long shafts, making them hard to swing accurately.

Hybrids have a higher launch angle than long irons and a shorter shaft than fairway woods, making them easier to hit. Hybrids are the best of both worlds and, for the average golfer, easier to use. Hybrids launch the ball higher, add more spin, and land on the green softer then either a long iron or fairway wood could manage.

When Should You Use a Hybrid?

If your handicap is higher than 3 then it is definitely recommended to carry a hybrid golf club. Higher handicap golfers should use hybrids because, generally speaking, they don’t have the clubhead and ball speed to use long irons effectively. For the high handicap golfer, a 3 and 5 hybrid can replace the 3, 4 and even 5 iron. Players can use hybrids in the fairway, to get out of the rough or even to hit out of a sand trap.

Many people believe that the hybrid club is helpful to handicap players but not professionals, which is simply not true. Many professionals carry a hybrid, often referred to as a utility club, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Steve Stricker.

How To Use a Hybrid

Swing the hybrid as you would an iron, hitting down on the ball and taking a divot in front of the ball’s position. For a standard hybrid shot, it’s usually recommended that you play the ball in the middle of your stance, and keep your weight centered. Line your hands up with the ball, and square your shoulders, hips, and feet to the target. Remember to swing and hit the ball on the descent, don’t use a sweeping motion as you might a fairway wood. Finish high with all your weight on your left leg.

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