I have two hybrids and I seem to hook them more often than not. This doesn't happen with my irons. I thought hybrids were supposed to be easier to hit and go straighter? Perhaps I'm just making a lousy swing?
Disagree 100%...for me this is the problem I have with hybrids, at least the ones that I have owned (Cleveland halo, sonartec md, taylormade dual tp)...they require a slightly different stance and ball position than do my irons...is it because of the offset, the lie angle, the feel of the club? I don't know...I have tried to make things as equal as possible by adjusting the swingweight to match my irons, but the club feels different, looks different and behaves different in relation to what happens to the ball when you hit it...personally, I go through phases...I always feel my long irons are more accurate, and that is due I am completely sure the constant reinforcement during the round, as far as alignment is concerned, every time I use an iron...they set up the same, and an adjustment made after hitting the 8 iron left will hold true for the 5 iron on my next iron shot, all things such as grip and stance being equal...this doesn't carry over to the hybrids...I thik the problem is the closed face on the club...not a big problem in itself as after a few swings on the range it seems I can't miss...but as the rest of the clubs in the bag have very little offset and the degree of closure on the face is marginal to none, again the adjustment factor comes into play...it really is splitting hairs to a degree as contact is consistenly good and the ball goes down the fairway a long way on a regular basis, and depending on my expectation level, that could be good enough...the problem is I am not satisfied missing a green from 210 when I feel I put a good swing on the ball but didn't adequately replicate my "hybrid" set up and for me this is the crux of the problem...now the argument begs that if I struggle with the back and forth between hybrids and irons, but my fairway wood is one of the most consistent shots in the bag with it's own set up and ball position I would answer I don't know...
I keep going back and forth though because the hybrid produces a ballflight that will stop on greens, they are long, and when grooved, pretty accurate...my next experiment is going to be with one of these...
...hopefully one of these (18*) will breed consistency...but one thing I do know is that if I try to hit the hybrids that I use like an iron, the strike is too steep and the sole bottoms out...however I don't really sweep it like a fairway wood either...it is a combi hybrid of a swing and a honey of a shot when it comes off, but in a round when you are tiring or the wheels start coming off and you go an hour or more without making this hybrid of a swing, it is tough to pull out of your pocket and expect consistent results...
The shape of the club face is different for each of my hybrids. It is very important to line up the club using the bottom line of the clubface. If I use the top line one will slice and another will hook.
Also, even if you like a sweeping swing you must allow for the shorter shaft (than a wood or driver), so set the ball a little more back in your stance than you do now.
I understand what bump-n-run is saying. My first hybrids were Adams, and I just couldn't make them work for me. My wood swing didn't work, and my iron swing didn't work. They were just too head-heavy for me to be comfortable.
The ones I had custom made, I went with the 95 gram UST ProForce shafts. The head-heavy feel went away, and hitting down on them like an iron works perfectly. Long, high shots that stick on the green are now common, and expected.
My Orlimar hybrid (16*) has an 85 gram shaft, and absolutely no offset. I love it too. It's replaced my 3 wood completely. I get more height, can shape the shots better, and have lost very little distance compared to my 3 wood.
Accuracy isn't an issue either. From 220 yards, it was very unlikely that I was going to hit a green with a 3 iron, muchless get it to stick if I did. With the hybrids I have now, I fully expect to hit the green, and have it stick. All I have to do is put a good swing on it, and the clubs do their job... Same as with any other club.
Today I went to the driving range and placed the ball in the middle of my stance, hit down on it, and slowed things down. I was hitting them higher and straighter.
Today I went to the driving range and placed the ball in the middle of my stance, hit down on it, and slowed things down. I was hitting them higher and straighter.
Good news there CI. Did you get the distance you were expecting of the hybrids?
I hit my hybrids JUST LIKE MY IRONS!!! Only a little further back in my stance.. Other than that, its the same swing, and was designed to be as well.. My 4 iron hybrid is the same length as my 4 iron iron, people tend to try to sweep with a hybrid, thinking its supposed to hit like a 3 wood, it works for some people. I play it like an iron and its my best club in my bad 190-210 yards, Straight as an arrow!
I hit my hybrids JUST LIKE MY IRONS!!! Only a little further back in my stance.. Other than that, its the same swing, and was designed to be as well.. My 4 iron hybrid is the same length as my 4 iron iron, people tend to try to sweep with a hybrid, thinking its supposed to hit like a 3 wood, it works for some people. I play it like an iron and its my best club in my bad 190-210 yards, Straight as an arrow!
That's what I was doing. Trying to hit it like a wood instead of an iron. I'm learning my lesson.