A Lesson From Leadbetter...At Least Online

As you may recall or see by my "What's (Currently) in My Golf Bag" listed on the right, I replaced my 4-, 5- and 6-irons with hybrids earlier this season. While I have generally been happy with the way I have hit them, I have had an ongoing tendency to have shots hang out to the right. While playing this past Saturday, I noticed that I was playing the ball in the middle of my stance like I normally would for an iron. I also noticed the ball would go more to the right than I desired. Finally, I moved the ball forward in my stance and the results were much better.

So, I wondered, what is the proper ball position for hitting a hybrid club? An online search produced an answer from none other than David Leadbetter, teacher of such PGA Tour stars as Nick Faldo, Nick Price, Charles Howell III and Sean O'Hair, just to name a few.

Leadbetter's online tip for hybrids said the following:

HITTING THE NEW HYBRID CLUBS
Where to Position the Ball

Compared with a normal 3- or 4-iron, the forgiveness of a hybrid club is heaven. Though the designs and lofts vary from make to make, the generally small, compact head, wide sole and low center of gravity of a hybrid make it easy to get the ball airborne.

Because there's so much more weight behind the ball, even if you hit slightly behind the ball with a hybrid, the club is going to swing on through.

Some players who have trouble getting a longer iron airborne play the ball farther forward in the stance and try to lift it with a flippy, scooping motion. A hybrid enables you to swing without any manipulation.

For the hybrid, your stance width should be the same as for a longer iron. Your ball position is forward if center, but not quite so forward as it would be for a traditional fairway wood.

When hitting a hybrid from the fairway, position the ball slightly forward of center in your stance. Play it a touch farther back when using a hybrid from the rough.

I found a similar answer on PGA.com:

IMPROVE YOUR GAME: GOLF TIPS
Hello to Hybrids by Rick Martino
Director of Instruction for The PGA of America

"The swing used with the hybrids is different than with the long irons. Typically the ball position is toward the front foot and the swing path is a shallow, sweeping motion, similar to a fairway wood. Then the ball is struck like a fairway wood with no divot."

Hopefully their advice and instruction will help me start hitting my hybrids with the draw that I hit with my other clubs.