Trouble Shots: The Low Shot From The Trees With A ..... Hybrid???

[Golfingdad]

I was golfing with my dad on Saturday and he was in the trees on one hole with his only option being a really low shot down the fairway.  He attempted it with his hybrid and made good contact, but not surprisingly considering the characteristics of a hybrid, hit it too high and caught the tree.  I made a note to give him some advice later on after the round.  I was going to tell him that when he needs to hit it low like that, don't pull out your hybrid, use your 4 or 5 iron, put it back in your stance, swing easy and finish low.  Piece of cake.  :)

But then I realized that he has a set of clubs that is not that uncommon - one that includes many hybrids.  It's one of those Adams progressive sets and I think he said he doesn't have a true "iron" until he gets down to either 7 or 8 iron.  I didn't know what to tell him.

So that is the question here:

How do you hit a really low "stinger" type shot when you don't have the luxury of using your 3,4 or 5 iron?

[billchao]

I play punch shots out of the woods with my 4 hybrid all the time, abeit with various degrees of success. What I do is choke down on it, play it just a hair back of normal, and hover the club at address. The idea is to hit a thin shot intentionally.

Where I tend to mess up is putting it too far back in my stance, causing me to catch it too early in the swing arc and straight topping the ball into the ground. Then I get to try it again 

[Hardspoon]

Huh...this is interesting. I actually use a hybrid for all of those shots, even though I have a 5-iron. My (admittedly ignorant) reasoning was that it has less loft, and the wide sole would make it a little less likely to "dig" in when hitting down.

Heck, when I need to keep a ball really low I'll punch out with a 4-wood.

I'm interested to see the responses here and improve my strategy. 

[iacas]

Play it middle to middle-back in your stance and yet try to thin it with a shallow AoA - you don't want to pop it up and hit down too steeply. If you want to finish forward (with your chest) that's okay too.

[natureboy]

14 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I was golfing with my dad on Saturday and he was in the trees on one hole with his only option being a really low shot down the fairway.  He attempted it with his hybrid and made good contact, but not surprisingly considering the characteristics of a hybrid, hit it too high and caught the tree.  I made a note to give him some advice later on after the round.  I was going to tell him that when he needs to hit it low like that, don't pull out your hybrid, use your 4 or 5 iron, put it back in your stance, swing easy and finish low.  Piece of cake.  :)

But then I realized that he has a set of clubs that is not that uncommon among older golfers - one that includes many hybrids.  It's one of those Adams progressive sets and I think he said he doesn't have a true "iron" until he gets down to either 7 or 8 iron.  I didn't know what to tell him.

So that is the question here:

How do you hit a really low "stinger" type shot when you don't have the luxury of using your 3,4 or 5 iron?

I was pretty far out in some scraggly crabgrass rough and hybrid was my only club to cover the distance (~ 200 yds). I got really steep on it (body weight leaned well left, early wrist set) and ball slightly back (effectively due to narrowed stance) so I would catch more ball. It came out super low (~ 4-5 feet @ 50 yards?) climbed up to maybe 60 feet (seemed about half normal height or even a bit less) and landed pretty softly on the somewhat backstopped green.

I did grip down an inch or so and I tried to consciously actively release / throw the right arm / hand through the ball so any deloft would be directed toward the target and not the ground.

Edited March 29, 2016 by natureboy

[SavvySwede]

I'd play it like any other stinger type shot off the tee. Ball back in the stance, hood the face a smidgen, very early wrist cock going back, come down real steep at it from the top and shallow it out at the bottom. That's more or less how Ben Hogan describes it in "Power Golf"

[Hardspoon]

6 minutes ago, iacas said:

Play it really far back in your stance and yet try to thin it with a shallow AoA - you don't want to pop it up and hit down too steeply.

Makes sense. Is this easier with a hybrid or an iron? For me, the closest options would be a 5-iron (25-degrees) or a 4-hybrid (22) with a wider sole.

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

Makes sense. Is this easier with a hybrid or an iron? For me, the closest options would be a 5-iron (25-degrees) or a 4-hybrid (22) with a wider sole.

It's easier to hit the ball lower with an iron.

[baller7345]

I tend to play this shot with my 4 iron but its doable with a hybrid.  My method is similar to what others have said, put the ball back in stance and come down very steep.  I try to deloft the face as much as possible and depending on how low I need it and how much actual distance I want I may not even have a true follow through on my swing (I'm sure there is a less violent method than mine with this).  I kind of chop at it like its an axe if I want to keep it really low. 

[Patch]

I have been known to use my driver and fairway woods for this low punch shot. Just depends how low the shot needs to be. I just grip down on the club handle a little and make an abbreviated swing. 

Edited March 29, 2016 by Patch

[vangator]

25 minutes ago, iacas said:

Play it middle to middle-back in your stance and yet try to thin it with a shallow AoA - you don't want to pop it up and hit down too steeply. If you want to finish forward (with your chest) that's okay too.

I absolutely agree with this.  Coming to steeply will often cause the ball to pop up with more backspin.  I will use either my 4 or 5 iron.  I see no problem using a hybrid either.  You could use a 7 iron but you'd have to have a good forward press.  I wouldn't really recommend using that over a hybrid though.  Choking down is always a good idea since you want to make clean contact.

[jsgolfer]

I do this shot frequently with a 4 or 5 hybrid, I choke down, play the ball back of middle and put my weight forward and take an abbreviated swing and follow through.  And my face is either a little closed of a little open depending on which way I want the ball to curve.  I haven't had an issue since switching to hybrids last year.

In fact I did this yesterday on our 14th hole par 5.  Hit my drive left and had to get around and under a tree to get it as close to the green as possible, and it has to be a draw or a hook, otherwise a straight ball of any distance would be hit at  the OB stakes and a chip out leaves over 150 yards to green.  So I hood a 5 hybrid, play it back, weight forward and hit down on the ball with an abbreviated swing.  It curves and runs out around 180 yards and leaves me an 80 yard lob wedge to green.  I think it is very easy to do it with a little practice.

[onthehunt526]

42 minutes ago, iacas said:

Play it middle to middle-back in your stance and yet try to thin it with a shallow AoA - you don't want to pop it up and hit down too steeply. If you want to finish forward (with your chest) that's okay too.

Abbreviated follow-through Erik?

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Abbreviated follow-through Erik?

Usually, yes. Tough to follow through really far with the "old man follow through."

[Mike Boatright]

3 wood all day put it forward in your stance and nip it thin with less wrist action. It's the most effective way to hit a trouble shot that does not take tiger woods athleticism. If it's down in the rough I'd say chip it out as far as you can. Hitting down and putting the ball back in your stance is the least effective way to make the ball go low. In fact it's generally very ineffective and won't work at all. Say you take a 4 iron and turn it into a 2 iron loft, but even at 18 deg the ball will go up when hit down. If your skilled it's all about thin it goes low everytime! The worst thing that could occur is you top it 150 yards down the fairway instead of 200. The only time you want to place the ball back and flight it down hard is into a non forced carry wind where backspin is desirable and hitting that low spinning 4 iron with 20 yards less carry will cause the ball to sit 170 by the flag or if missed catch the front,but even then a thin shot into that wind will roll to the flag so again I recommend thin especially the 3 wood the 15 deg loft is set in stone for you and less wrist action and a easy swing will make the ball go low and straight everytime without effort of adjusted ball position.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Mike Boatright

[dchoye]

I like to play hybrids or Fw if I want to get the ball low and running more than irons. I place the ball further forward to my left forefoot and it feels like a "slicepunch"  Its more like a top shot to me. My aim is to try to move the ball forward 70-120 yards  The same motion with a  low lofted iron is gives me more of a higher slice with less punch. I use that when i want to go around the tree rather than under.

Edited March 29, 2016 by dchoye

[Golfingdad]

3 minutes ago, dchoye said:

I like to play hybrids or Fw if I want to get the ball low and running more than irons. I place the ball further forward to my left forefoot and it feels like a "slicepunch"  Its more like a top shot to me. My aim is to try to move the ball forward 70-120 yards  The same motion with a  low lofted iron is gives me more of a higher slice with less punch. I use that when i want to go around the tree rather than under.

Yeah, so when I want to hit the shot you're describing but with an iron, then it goes back in my stance, not forward.  Although, I will say that as my regular shots have migrated over time from fades to draws, it's less natural for me to hit that shot.  It used to be my go-to "trick" shot, not so much anymore.

I'm going to experiment with some low punch hybrids at the range today. :)

[dchoye]

45 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Yeah, so when I want to hit the shot you're describing but with an iron, then it goes back in my stance, not forward.  Although, I will say that as my regular shots have migrated over time from fades to draws, it's less natural for me to hit that shot.  It used to be my go-to "trick" shot, not so much anymore.

I'm going to experiment with some low punch hybrids at the range today. :)

Yes, very different rhythm and sequencing if you are a drawer . Its not really a shot need often so I have a special preshot routine to make me feel comfortable with an out to in swing path. Ball position does go back if Im playing a iron for me. It feels like my left instep