hybrid ball position

[sparnar]

hi all

i would like some advice on ball position when hitting my hybrids.

 

i recently acquired a 19* adams 3H (one of the older models, A3 Boxer if i'm not mistaken).

 

i have hit some great shots on the course with it, and it has helped me to go for the green from about 220yds out. i must just mention that it is winter in south africa, so we do get alot of roll currently, as the area i live in, is a summer rainfall area, and winters are typically very dry.

 

anyway, lately off of the tee i have been inconsistent with the 3H, and was wondering about ball position.

 

i've also got a 4H arriving soon (actually i have two arriving soon, i hadn't realised a bid of mine on ebay was still active, when i bought another 4H. so i'll soon be the proud owner of the Adams Idea A12OS 4H, and the Adams Idea Idea Tech V3 4H). i'll be trying both, before i decide which one to keep.

 

i have been hitting the 3H low(at least it feels to be lower than i would expect), and i thought ball position might impact this.

 

where do you position the ball with the 3H? (and the 4H). does it differ off the deck, and off the tee?

[ZenGolfer]

You should play it just like its a 7-iron: center of just slightly forward of center. Hybrids are designed to be hit down on the ball with.

[Kanoito]

I used to hit down like an iron. Then I took lessons and the pro told me to place it 1 ball left of center (where I play my 4 iron).

Something that really helped me was opening the club face a little bit.

I was always thought I was squaring the club face, but the pro said that was closed. So now square looks open to me, but I have better contact.

 

If you want, I can take pictures and show you the difference that it made for me.

[RookieBlue7]

Put the ball in the same position in your stance as the club it's replacing. If its a 3 hybrid, replacing a 3 iron, that ball position would be slightly forward of center. Swing down on it like you would an iron as well, taking a small thin divot. That's a common mistake I see when people say they're struggling to hit a hybrid. They see the larger head size and their brain equates that to fairway wood and it goes to the front of the stance, they flatten their swing and try to sweep it instead. My uncle bought a hybrid and brought it to the course and tried it for a while on the range. He was hitting rabbit rapers that were hooks. Didn't understand it because he'd neer hit a hybrid before. Watched him hit it and saw it immediately. Told him to hit it like the club it was replacing and he started hitting it like he was supposed to. He still carries a 2 iron and doesn't use the hybrid because he always forgets and hits it like a fairway.

[JMiller]

Well two main things when talking about ball position in general

1) Have a reference point on the upper body / head, the upper body / head position will tend to be more consistent then stance width and feet positioning.

 

2) The "stock" ball position for all clubs except the Driver is the "lead ear" / "lead logo". For me as a RH golfer I use my left shirt logo on my chest or my left ear as my upper body reference.

 

 

As for how to play a hybrid / fairway metal off the deck in general, I always play it at my left ear or one ball in front of that, If I need something to go very low I play it 1 ball back from my left ear. Regardless I am trying to trap the ball, I normally take a very very shallow small divot where just the grass gets turn off down to dirt or in thicker fairways the top layers of grass is torn off to show some dirt under it. I don't try to pick / lift the ball into the air, I allow the loft and spin to do it's job in getting the ball airborne.

 

A personal note anything more then 1 ball forward of "stock position" like 2 and 3 balls forward I typically need a tee under the ball to hit the ball without topping it or really laterally sliding way forward, I don't need a lot of lateral slide in my swing to make good contact so I avid sliding to the point my weight is past the outside of my left foot at impact. Only time I make sure I stance on my left leg lot at impact is downhill shots, I a lot of times end up walking my right leg through impact. Think Tiger Woods when he goes full out at a ball in the rough.

 

Hope that helps some.

[sparnar]

thanks for all the replies, guys. look forward to the end result ;-)

[BK in TEXAS]

He was hitting rabbit rapers that were hooks.

 

rabbit rapers.....LMAO

[Tyk]

The nice thing about hybrids is you can get pretty creative with them. My two favorite shots with my hybrids are a super high floater that drops straight out of the sky and a bullet draw that cheats the wind and runs forever. I hit the first like an iron with the ball more centered and delivering a descending blow, I hit the draw more like a fairway wood with the ball a bit forward and a sweeping swing. Off the tee make sure that you are teeing the ball based on the type of shot you are trying to hit for both tee height and ball position. Experiment with it, the nice thing about a hybrid is that its a cross between a long iron and a fairway wood, being easier to hit than either, there's no right or wrong way, just what works best for your game.

[sparnar]

thanks, tyk!

 

will definitely have some fun with it next time i'm at the range

[sparnar]

another question on hybrids, that might sound a little silly at first.

 

when i use my 3H to tee off on holes that have trouble on the right (i still slice my driver badly at times), i tee the ball fairly low on a wooden tee.

 

with every single tee shot like this, my wooden tee is broken.

 

am i correct in thinking this shows that i am striking the ball downward, instead of a sweeping swing? or would be related more to the fact that the tee is pretty much 90% submerged, and any contact would smash the tee?

[Matt Saternus]

another question on hybrids, that might sound a little silly at first.

 

when i use my 3H to tee off on holes that have trouble on the right (i still slice my driver badly at times), i tee the ball fairly low on a wooden tee.

 

with every single tee shot like this, my wooden tee is broken.

 

am i correct in thinking this shows that i am striking the ball downward, instead of a sweeping swing? or would be related more to the fact that the tee is pretty much 90% submerged, and any contact would smash the tee?

 

Regardless of the tee breaking or not, you SHOULD be striking down on the hybrid...and your fairway wood (unless it's teed up more). If a ball is on the ground (or on a tee, but just barely elevated), you NEED to hit down to get the ball up. Pull up the Trackman data for tour players: they are hitting down 3.3* on a hybrid.

 

The idea of sweeping a FW or hybrid can be good for someone who hits down too steeply, but it can be the wrong advice for some.

[Tyk]

What Matt said. Really, even when I am using a "sweeping" swing, I am still coming down on the ball with almost all shots, just not as much as I would with an iron hitting a ball laying on the ground.

 

For me, "sweeping" is more of a feel description, I mean, I am not going down to get the ball, I'm not really seeking a big divot, I've got the ball a bit forward in my stance and I'm thinking about a little flatter bottom of the swing arc, more like I'm letting the clubhead chase the ball for just a split second longer than normal but still finishing the swing, not holding it off if that makes sense.

[JMiller]

Regardless of the tee breaking or not, you SHOULD be striking down on the hybrid...and your fairway wood (unless it's teed up more). If a ball is on the ground (or on a tee, but just barely elevated), you NEED to hit down to get the ball up. Pull up the Trackman data for tour players: they are hitting down 3.3* on a hybrid.

 

The idea of sweeping a FW or hybrid can be good for someone who hits down too steeply, but it can be the wrong advice for some.

 

Exactly...

 

I pretty much tee my hybrid and fairway wood up like I do an iron. The bottom of the ball is just above the blades of grass on the tee box, assuming it is closely cut grass. Long grass on the tee the bottom of the ball probably into the grass a little.

 

If I want to hit them higher I tee it up a hair higher so that the head of the wooden tee is visible above the grass, and move the ball a little forward then normal in my stance to make sure I am coming through more level or slightly up on the strike compared to normal...

[sparnar]

thanks matt, tyk and jmiller.

 

i'll keep that in mind next time i'm practising.

 

i also want to start practising some bump-and-run type shots with the hybrid around the greens.