See it, Feel it, Play it.
GolfPunk Magazine (China) June 2015
There are many ways of using a hybrid when on the golf course.
1: Tee - Shot
On a long Par 3, a Par 4 or Par 5 with a narrow fairway when control of direction is much more important than total distance.
Place the ball onto a small Tee Peg. Move the ball position towards the target side leg (left leg for a right handed golfer)
The swing through impact should be a sweeping movement to “brush” the ball off the Tee Peg.
2: Fairway shot
From a good lie in the fairway, the ball should be placed underneath the target side eye (left eye for a right handed golfer) in the setup position to ensure the ball is struck at the bottom of the swing arc. This will allow the true loft of the clubface to get the ball into the air.
Keep the hands and arms swinging low through impact (the feeling is of “chasing after the ball with the clubhead”).
3: Playing from the rough
Grip firmer to reduce the risk of the grass twisting the shaft and clubface during the swing (on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is light and 10 is tight, grip pressure should be about 6 for this shot).
Place the ball position towards the middle of the stance to encourage a downwards swing at impact, this will help to push the clubhead through the thick grass to reach underneath the ball.
Swing the arms low and “drive hard through the grass” to keep clubhead speed into the follow-through.
4: Fairway Bunker
Check that the lip of the Bunker will allow the ball to fly up over the top of it.
Dig the feet into the sand for added balance and control. I like to incline my feet onto the inside edges of my feet to feel that my legs are used for stability and are not an active part of the swing.
Grip down the shaft to offset the loss of height from digging the feet into the sand.
Firm the grip pressure up (6 or 7 on the pressure gauge). This will reduce the wrist movement during the swing and will help to shorten the arm muscles and prevent the clubhead from hitting the sand before contacting the ball.
Backswing and Follow-through will be restricted due to not using the legs and reducing the wrist movement. The ball will not fly as far as it would from a good lie in the fairway because of the smaller leg and wrist movement, but the number 1 objective for this shot is to get the ball out of the bunker and advance it much closer to the target than just using a Sand Wedge to get the ball back into the fairway.
5: Playing from an old divot
Place the ball towards the back foot (right foot for a right handed golfer), push your hands and body weight towards the target. This will de-loft the clubhead, but help to encourage a steeper downswing.
Increase grip pressure to a 7 or 8 (in the pressure gauge).
Drive the clubhead down and through the ball at impact, you want to feel that you are going to make the old divot deeper after you have played the shot
The follow-through will be shorter as the ground is going to slow the clubhead and arms.
6: Low Running Chip Shot
Stand close to the ball with a narrow stance to gain more control of the shot. Grip down the club (maybe even below the grip and onto the shaft).
Place the ball inside your rear foot (right foot for a right handed golfer).
Swing your arms and shoulders, with no significant wrist or body movement. The clubhead stays below knee height for this swing, and the rhythm feels less like a Golf "Swing" and more like an extended Putting “Stroke”.
