Be An Environmentalist: Use a Hybrid

Today was one of the very rare days I participated in a google chat. The other people with whom I chatted was the one and only Bear. He had asked me maybe one of the most difficult questions ever. When do you chip with a hybrid?

I think this is really a difficult question and something that most people wonder about, but rarely is there an answer. Now, granted my housemates Joel and Meghan would wonder who these people are, but they are people reading this blog, clearly. I was turned on to the hybrid chip by the Short Game Guru Julia Huerta. Her mastery of the difficult nature of the hybrid made me wonder why I had never tried. I decided then that I would try to master this style. And now, I only use my hybrid to chip!

So, first, the proper mechanics of the hybrid chip. You line up the ball off of your back foot. You then move your hands ahead of the ball closing down the club face making it closed. You then swing the club like a putt. Rocking the shoulders and not getting wristy with the shot. The ball will come off low and with no backspin.

So, with all of that backstory behind us... lets actually answer Bear's question. You should use a hybrid shot whenever you want to putt the ball. Let me explain further. If you think using a putter would be a really good idea, but you are afraid of the ball jumping in the air, use a hybrid. It is good to use across long, long stretches of fairway or green. It can even be used out of the rough, if you want to roll it but the ball is down in the rough. Whenever, you want to putt the ball, but do not feel comfortable with the putter, use the hybrid. Its great and safe and quite crafty if done right. There is nothing cooler than showing off around the green with the so called long game clubs.

Give it a try. Practice around the edge of greens and see for yourself. Its a great shot to have in the bag.

Now my question for Bear is, can you even use a hybrid anywhere else?

~ Italian Hogie on Rye