The most versatile golf club in your bag

Text: Grant Hepburn. Article from the July 2013 issue of Compleat Golfer Magazine.

The hybrid gives you the best of both worlds: the forgiveness, distance and height of a fairway wood, with the stop of an iron. PGA professional Grant Hepburn explains how to make optimal use of this multifaceted club.

The hybrid, in its current form, may only have been around for the better part of a decade, but there is no doubting the effect this easy-to-hit cross between a fairway wood and a long-iron has had on the game.

Within a few years of its introduction, the popularity of the hybrid skyrocketed and the clubs are now commonplace in the world of golf, with even the best pro players using them on a regular basis. If you haven’t got a hybrid in your bag already, you need to ask yourself why not – since they are undoubtedly easier and more forgiving than long-irons and carry further with less effort.

What you get with the hybrid is the payability of a fairway wood combined with the accuracy of an iron. You also get the most versatile club in your bag. Although the hybrid is designed primarily to replace your long-irons, it is useful in a number of different scenarios. It’s a great option on a narrow driving hole where you need to find the fairway; it’s perfect for shots from tight lies of when your ball is settled down in the rough; it’s handy to use for those long bunker shots; and you can even use it to chip from off the green – like Todd Hamilton did en route to winning The Open at Royal Troon in 2004.

The Set-Up

The hybrid is a replacement for your long-iron (like a 3- or 4-iron), which many players have found hard to hit. The beauty of a hybrid is that it has a much bigger sweetspot and sends the ball higher and longer than your conventional long-iron.

Your hybrid may look more like a fairway wood, but its function is that of a long-iron. Therefore, you need to set up as if you are hitting a long-iron, not a fairway wood.

When setting up for a hybrid, make sure the ball is positioned forward of centre, as you would with a long-iron, as this will encourage a downward, iron-like strike.

When you are hitting a fairway wood, the ball will be further forward in your stance – in other words, closer to the line of your left heel – to encourage more of a sweeping swing. You will also have a slightly wider stance, to give you better balance for a harder swing and a longer shaft.

The Swing

One of the fundamentals of being a good hybrid player is to remember that you don’t have to swing the club all that hard to get the best result from it. You simply swing the club as you would a normal long-iron, and the design of the hybrid ensures that the ball will come hot off the face with ease.

Don’t make the mistake of treating the role of the hybrid the same as a fairway wood and trying to hit it as far as possible. The hybrid is an iron replacement, so it makes sense that you need to know the specific distance that it hits the ball, especially for approach shots. It is much more of a ‘go-to’ or controlled club – where placement takes precedence over distance – which is why the hybrid is a good choice off the tee when playing to a narrow fairway.

A good drill to get used to the feeling of ‘swinging easy’ with your hybrid is to choke down on the club and hit some balls with three-quarter swings. Even swinging softly, you will be amazed at how far the hybrid still hits the ball.

The Rough

It is out of the rough where the rescue club really does come into its own. Since it is smaller than a fairway wood but larger than an iron, it can cut through tough lies with ease, and the rounded sole won’t snag and twist in the rough. It is also designed to get the ball airborne as quickly as possible, which is exactly what you want out of a nasty lie. Add to this the fact that a rescue club has a shorter shaft than your fairway wood and it’s clear why the hybrid gives you more control coming out of the rough.

The key to getting the best result when hitting out of the rough is to ensure that you make clean contact with the ball. For this, put the ball back in your stance, with your weight favouring the left side – this will encourage a steeper angle of attack and limit the amount of grass you get between club and ball. Make sure you finish with a full followthrough to avoid any deceleration.

Of course, not all situations allow for a hybrid shot and it’s important to assess each case individually. There are times when taking your most lofted club to move the ball back out onto the fairway is your only good option.

“…The little hybrid chip from just off the green is one of the most effective shots around.”

The Chip

It may sound odd, but the little hybrid chip from just off the green is one of the most effective shots around. The problem is that, because the hybrid face is so ‘springy’, it takes a lot of practice to learn how to control the shot.

Many players will prefer to play the hybrid bump-and-run over the flop shot, since it is more of a percentage shot, but the real advantage of the shot is the forward roll that the hybrid generates. With no backspin – as you would normally get from an iron bump-and-run shot – the ball is less likely to grip either the green or the grass apron in front of the green and will start rolling sooner.

To play this shot, make sure you choke down on the club for extra control, as the shaft is longer than that of a short-iron. Put the ball slightly back in your stance and keep your weight on your left side throughout the shot. Now simply take a short backswing and play the shot similar to how you would hit a putt.

Remember, the ball will come hot off the face, so it will take some getting used to. However, once you master the hybrid chip, it is a very handy shot to have in your bag.

Meet the Pro

Grant Hepburn has been a regular face in Compleat Golfer for a decade. His CV includes time spent working on the European and USTours, a partnership with Robert Baker in Logical Golf, and an impressive list of top amateur and pro golfers. Grant runs the Southern African Golf Institute and is based at the Institute’s Cape Town Academy at The River Club, where he oversees a small, dedicated crew of fully qualified PGA pros. He is also CEO of the South African Golf Development Board and project manager for the Olympic Golf Programme.

Check out his website www.granthepburn.com and follow him on Twitter@granthepburn.