Why can I hit long irons but not hybrids?

[freshmanUTA]

Shouldn't it be the other way around? I struggle to get hybrids off the ground, but when i do they go longer than my long irons. Is it because I'm not used to hitting them? I think its weird that i don't have issues with 3 and 4 irons but i cant hit the hybrids. Anyone else have this issue?

[SavvySwede]

Do you hit 3 wood off the deck low as well?

[metbid]

I do/did have the same problem.  Not the longest hitter, but I can send my 3i over 200 yards with fair accuracy, and my 4i about 190.  But when I tried to hit a hybrid or 3w, I'd have a nasty low hook with no distance.

That said, this winter (I live in northern Minnesota) I have been taking some indoor lessons and practicing weekly at the facility.  I found that I was snapping my wrists and closing the face at impact trying to get loft on the ball and accomplishing just the opposite. (Trying to lift the ball)  I also was way too steep in my downswing.  By keeping my takeaway low and slow, I have started connecting more solidly and achieving much better ball flight and distance, not yet as good as my 3 and 4 irons.  Another little thing that has helped is a smash bag my wife gave me for Christmas.  Hitting it out in the garage with an old 3w and 2I hybrid has helped with getting to the ball with a more inline wrist at impact and not snapping my wrists.  5SK key 3 is soooooo important

[Chrisco]

Play your hybrids back in your stance and make ball contact as you hold your release through impact.   Setting up with a hybrid like it is a 3-wood ie: to far forward in the stance, could be the problem.   I have also found that keeping your club low and slow on the take away can best be achieved by initiating your first move with a good hip pivot by moving your right rear pocket behind you and keeping your weight to the inside of the right foot.  This will not let you come over the top and get steep on the down swing.  Good luck!

[ScouseJohnny]

Quote

i don't have issues with 3 and 4 irons but i cant hit the hybrids.

Exactly the reason why my friend Paul now has a couple of nice Tour Edge Exotics hybrids (which were previously mine)! I bought them, and could never get on with them. I've heard it said that you're supposed to hit down on hybrids, but my upright swing could never seem to get along with them, although I can hit long irons until the cows come home.

One afternoon at the range I tried a 19 degree hybrid and a 3 iron side-by-side. Conclusion: (speaking on a purely personal level) some things are over-hyped; and why make the game harder than it already is? A lot of wormburner hybrids and some truly horrible hybrid slices vs very nice long iron shots; Paul got the hybrids, the long irons remain in their proper place in my bag.

Edited January 23, 2016 by ScouseJohnny

[natureboy]

It could be influenced by your setup.

I was having a little trouble getting the feel for them when I first tried them - was setting up like a fairway wood with them. Then I saw a tip to play the 3 hybrid like a 5 iron and gave it a try. That adjustment really helped me hit them more solid and with both distance and the high trajectory you'd expect of a hybrid.

[SavvySwede]

50 minutes ago, Chrisco said:

Play your hybrids back in your stance and make ball contact as you hold your release through impact.   Setting up with a hybrid like it is a 3-wood ie: to far forward in the stance, could be the problem.   I have also found that keeping your club low and slow on the take away can best be achieved by initiating your first move with a good hip pivot by moving your right rear pocket behind you and keeping your weight to the inside of the right foot.  This will not let you come over the top and get steep on the down swing.  Good luck!

Pretty rare to have the ball too far forward in the stance, almost all amateurs play the ball too far back because they don't get their weight forward enough on the downswing.

[Club Rat]

I switched over to hybrids two years ago and struggled for awhile until I figured out I was not staying behind the ball very well.

 

[Dave325]

1 hour ago, SavvySwede said:

Pretty rare to have the ball too far forward in the stance, almost all amateurs play the ball too far back because they don't get their weight forward enough on the downswing.

I agree on this too. I switched my long irons to hybrids this past summer with my new set. I could hit the long fairly decent before that, but struggled a bit with the hybrids. I thought I made a mistake to go with the hybrids. However.... This was about the time I signed up here on TST and learned about 5SKs. The first two keys were critical for me to make good contact with those hybrids. I love them a lot better now. Hope this helps.

[freshmanUTA]

15 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

Do you hit 3 wood off the deck low as well?

Yeah pretty low, high enough to clear a pin but not much higher.

13 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

Pretty rare to have the ball too far forward in the stance, almost all amateurs play the ball too far back because they don't get their weight forward enough on the downswing.

Actually, I play most of my shots from in front of the middle of my body, and I was playing the hybrid from the inside of my left heel.

 

 

I'll try hitting nearer to where I play an iron.

[David in FL]

A common mistake is to try to sweep the ball, with a stroke similar to what you would use with a 3-wood off the deck.  In fact, think of the hybrid as if it were the long iron it replaces and use the same type of descending swing.  You may even take a bit of a divot.  

[allenc]

Am I right about this?  The only possible reason for his hybrids to go too low when he's playing them farther forward than his long irons, and his long irons go high enough, is that he's thinning them?  It's pretty unlikely that he's delofting them off his left heel when he isn't doing the same for his long irons closer to the center, no?

[freshmanUTA]

36 minutes ago, allenc said:

Am I right about this?  The only possible reason for his hybrids to go too low when he's playing them farther forward than his long irons, and his long irons go high enough, is that he's thinning them?  It's pretty unlikely that he's delofting them off his left heel when he isn't doing the same for his long irons closer to the center, no?

I'm not sure I understand completely but I play almost all irons out of the center, my wedges all depend on whether I'm trying to get them to stop or to roll, high/ low, etc. 

 

i play driver, 3/5 wood, and hybrids off my heel. it just seemed right because of the look of the club. I'll go later and try out the hybrid again and see how it works when I hit out of the center.

[SavvySwede]

39 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

I'm not sure I understand completely but I play almost all irons out of the center, my wedges all depend on whether I'm trying to get them to stop or to roll, high/ low, etc. 

 

i play driver, 3/5 wood, and hybrids off my heel. it just seemed right because of the look of the club. I'll go later and try out the hybrid again and see how it works when I hit out of the center.

Playing the hybrids off the left heel is perfectly fine. Moving the ball back in your stance is typically a band-aid fix. Not getting your weight forward enough at impact is still the most likely cause. You really should upload a video of your swing in the MySwing section but in the meantime I think you you give these a read.

 

 

[freshmanUTA]

12 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Playing the hybrids off the left heel is perfectly fine. Moving the ball back in your stance is typically a band-aid fix. Not getting your weight forward enough at impact is still the most likely cause. You really should upload a video of your swing in the MySwing section but in the meantime I think you you give these a read.

 

 

Thank you so much! I'm living with my grandparents atm so I'm in the outskirts of Chicago and it's snowing, so I'll find a place to hit balls that will allow me to record, and I'll upload my swing when I can!

[freshmanUTA]

On January 23, 2016 at 9:21 PM, SavvySwede said:

Pretty rare to have the ball too far forward in the stance, almost all amateurs play the ball too far back because they don't get their weight forward enough on the downswing.

I was setting the ball up in the middle this morning and it wasn't fixing the issue too much, and I was ready to blame not having my weight forward till I remembered that every once in a while on my shots my body will fall forward after my swing. Yes, balance issue, but is that what you mean by getting my weight forward? Is there a such thing as too aggressive weight shift?

[natureboy]

1 hour ago, freshmanUTA said:

I was setting the ball up in the middle this morning and it wasn't fixing the issue too much,

If you play all your irons out of the center of your stance, how do you adjust for the extra length of the long irons - or are you shifting ball position a little?

[Mr. Desmond]

Depends on the hybrid sometimes. Some are heavy, and lower lofted hybrids, usually below 22 degrees are (at times) designed for the speedier player. I will not/cannot play a hybrid below 22, especially some brands...

I do not think about the way I swing when I hit it - I hit all clubs off the deck with a downward AOA and I do place the ball position more forward for most clubs.