How to Use Hybrid Golf Clubs for Distance

Professional golfers got their first look at prototype hybrid clubs in 1999. Within a decade, hybrids were a common sight on golf courses around the world, wielded by players of varying abilities.

Hybrids are popular in large part because they are easier to hit than irons and also help golfers get the ball in the air. The clubs, which combine some elements of both irons and woods, also don’t skimp on distance.

1. Avoid tension in your forearms and hands as you grip a hybrid club. Too much tension can prevent you from generating maximum clubhead speed and rob you of distance.

2. As a drill, take a normal grip with your fingers, but leave your thumbs off the shaft.

3. Swing the club with a thumbless grip. This will naturally ease any tension in your forearms. Try hitting the ball with this loose grip on a driving range to get the feel of a relaxed swing.

1. Tee the ball up lower for a hybrid than for a wood or iron.

2. With a driver, for example, about half the ball should sit above the clubhead when you place the clubhead next to the ball on the tee. Because hybrids make it easier to loft the ball, only about a quarter of the ball should sit above the clubhead when the ball is on the tee. When hitting a tee shot with a hybrid, swing as if it were a fairway wood; use a flat, sweeping swing instead of the upward swing required for a driver.

1. Swing down on the ball when hitting a hybrid in the fairway.

2. Instead of hitting a hybrid like a fairway wood, which requires a sweeping swing that takes little if any divot, swing your hybrid in the fairway as you would an iron.

3. Swing from a higher angle, and strike the ball on a downward arc, taking a divot in front of the ball after making contact. Trust the loft of the club, as well as the hybrid’s construction, to lift the ball off the ground.