HELP!!!! Hybrid club problems.

[Jamboboy]

Hi everyone, i'm a noob to this forum and to the sport really. I first really got playing about 2 months ago and haven't looked back since. I personally think I have picked it up really quickly. I can make good contact with 90% of my shots and my accuracy isn't too bad. Like everyone I have good and bad days.
Recently my Dad bought me a Ben Sayers M8 utility club which has a 20 degree loft, and on the first day that I got it, I was smashing it, I couldn't hit a shot wrong with it. But ever since then I just can't seem to make a decent contact with the ball, if I use it on the fairway I usually top it and if I use it off the tee, I slice it and it goes about 15 yards! It's got to the point where I am scared of using it even on the range because I don't want to harm my swing whilst i'm still developing it. Has anyone else had a problem with hybrids, or any other club? How did you get over it?

[Jamboboy]

This is the best pic I could find of the club.

It's a lovely club and i'd really love to be able to hit as consistantly as I hit my irons.

Please HELP!!!!

[ERC7.5]

Are you swinging it like an iron (hitting down on the ball) or like a fairway wood (sweeping through it)?
If I get to where I'm either topping the ball or slicing, I concentrate more on swinging the club as I would an iron (I'm not too knowledgeable on hybrids as I've just started using them but, I believe, this is how the club is meant to be used.).

[Jamboboy]

Are you swinging it like an iron (hitting down on the ball) or like a fairway wood (sweeping through it)?

Yes well, my only knowledge comes from magazine articles really. I have been using it in both ways really, usually off the tee i've been sweeping it like a driver but from the fairway i've been hitting it like an iron.

At the range today I hit about 20 balls with it and I think I hit 2 that actually went over 100 yards. My dad said to just leave it at home for a few weeks and try it again later. It's frustrating though because I really want a club that I can use in different situations.

[Jamboboy]

I think i'm gonna just leave it out of my bag for a month or so, just use my 3 and 4 woods instead.

[Mr Eagle]

I hate hybrids.A woods a wood and an irons an iron, The Hybrid is niether .

[oreodawg1]

well i bought the nickent 3dx set and it came with a hybrid 4...i hated that club...just looking down on a wannabe wood or a fat iron....i just didn't like the look of it. well i actually broke down and tried it on the range one day and that just made me hate it more cause i couldn't hit the stupid thing...long story short a guy came over and told me to swing about 3/4 speed instead of all out...it worked and now i love this club...i carry it about 215, and i can work it with a draw or a fade...just slow down and let the weight of the club fix your swing...hybrids are weighted low and in the back so they get the ball up and as long as you keep your grip kinda loose(don't throw the club) it will guide itself

[LottaBalata]

From what it sounds like, you got over confident with it after having such a good day with it the first time out. I would assume you need to just relax and take an easy, solid swing. I always find that when I hit a new club very well, I try to manhandle it and the action gets much worse. When its new, you've never hit it, you're probably concentrating very hard on just hitting it solid, hitting it well.

Definitely give it a chance, go to the range and practice with it. And remember, you should have one swing with all of your clubs, when you take a normal, full swing. The only things that change are ball position and how much turf you hit with your club.

Since you're new, using a hybrid is going to be MUCH easier than a regular two or three iron. I still don't enjoy hitting a reg. 3i and have pretty much switched permanently to a hybrid rescue 3i.

[kc8kir]

"A wood's a wood, an iron's an iron, a hybrid is neither."

Actually... a hybrid is either. It depends on the a shaft and head design. some are designed more like long irons, with iron shafts. Others are have longer fairway wood shafts, and have flatter more wood-like heads.

Either can be with a sweeping strike, or descending blow.

Like any long club though, you need to let its length and loft do the work. Don't try to smash the ball. Maintain your lag and let the club launch the ball.

[bm303]

Do the following and you really can't go wrong:

Swing Easy
Treat it like an IRON not a wood

[Jamboboy]

Thanks very much for all your replies. I went to the range today but I didn't take it. Next time I go I will take it and give your suggestions a go.

I had a problem with my driver, which I believe is common in noobs, where I was trying to force the shot and ended up not being able to hit it. I went back to the drawing board and really looked at my technique and now i'm a lot more confident with my driver.

The problem is that i've never seen anything telling you how a hybrid should be hit, technique, etc. So I have been trying different things, but I think possibly I am forcing it again. Next time I go I will take it nice and easy and try not to get too frustrated. Thanks guys!!

[MPS67]

Jamboboy,

Here's a video from Shawn Clement that may help some. Shawn discusses some of the differences between the iron, hybrid, and wood.



Like Kc8kir stated, the hybrid is versatile in that it can be used in different ways, depending on where the ball lies.

When the ball is in the rough, play it like a short iron and use a steeper swing so that the club head can get through the grass easier and punch out the ball.

I'd recommend a flatter/shallower sweep-like swing when you're hitting off the fairway or light rough. Here, place the ball two inches forward of your stance's center line, and use a wide stance, like you're hitting your driver or wood.

Remember that it's all right, and actually preferred, to allow the hybrid's sole to contact the ground after the ball position.

Best of luck.

[Fat Slice]

From what it sounds like, you got over confident with it after having such a good day with it the first time out. I would assume you need to just relax and take an easy, solid swing. I always find that when I hit a new club very well, I try to manhandle it and the action gets much worse. When its new, you've never hit it, you're probably concentrating very hard on just hitting it solid, hitting it well.

That's me to a T. When I have problems with ANY club, I relax, slow down and shorten my backswing, then try and make good contact without worrying about anything else. From there, I can build up speed, try and work the ball, etc. But I definitely have the problem of getting overconfident and then swinging wildly. Breaking it down back to zero is the only thing that helps.

For a long par-3, I don't have anything to hit other than a hybrid!

[LottaBalata]

That's me to a T. When I have problems with ANY club, I relax, slow down and shorten my backswing, then try and make good contact without worrying about anything else. From there, I can build up speed, try and work the ball, etc. But I definitely have the problem of getting overconfident and then swinging wildly. Breaking it down back to zero is the only thing that helps.

Man, I know! Been there, about every other week it seems like! When I first starting using my TMade hybrid rescue earlier this year, I LUV'd that thing, still do. But it was an absolute saviour for my game. Low punches out from under trees--smooth and easy. After I snaphook my driver into the trees on the left, 210 left to the green, pull the 3 hybrid. Then I started seeing how far I could hit it and that was a bad idea. Yeah, I was def. speaking from experience,

[Jamboboy]

Jamboboy,

Thanks, that's an ace video, I learnt a lot from that. Now I can't wait to get my hybrid back down the range to try it out.