Instruction

How To Hit Your Hybrid

By Hank Haney Photos by Dom Furore
July 11, 2010
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Make a full hip and shoulder turn to the finish. If you can't hold this position for five seconds, you aren't getting all the way to it.

Hybrids replace long irons in your bag, so the tendency is to do the same things with them that you did with your 3- or 4-iron -- forgetting why you replaced those clubs in the first place.

The main rule of hitting a hybrid is to swing with the same sequencing and mechanics as you do with your 7-iron. The common urge is to move your arms and hands faster to generate more speed and try to lift the ball in the air. That's not necessary.

Instead, make a full shoulder turn, and swing through to a full finish, so your hips and shoulders are facing the target. Make sure you finish all the way up on your back toe (see photo), which is a sign you've gotten completely through the ball. Trust the loft of the club to get the ball in the air. When you stop turning your shoulders through, the bottom of your swing moves too far behind the ball. That results in hitting shots fat or thin.


Hank Haney is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional. He runs the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy, located in Hilton Head.