Hybrid Golf Club, Can I Use It From A Fairway Bunker (Video) - by Pete Styles
Hybrid Golf Club, Can I Use It From A Fairway Bunker (Video) - by Pete Styles

Now if you find yourself in a fairway bunker, one of your considerations needs to be, “How can I get this ball as far out of this fairway bunker and as far back down that fairway towards the green as possible?” So we’re tempted to get quite greedy, we’re tempted to think, ‘Maybe I can get a 3 wood at this and try and blast it 250 yards out into the green, like I’ve seen them do on the TV.’ But then you might be tempted to think, ‘Well, hang on a minute what about this leap? There’s a leap in front of me around this fairway bunker, it might not be very high, but will a 3 wood, maybe 15 degrees of loft, will the 3 wood have enough loft to clear that leap? And hey I don’t want to look foolish by swinging this great big 3 wood as fast as I can, the ball punches into the leap and rolls back to my feet, I’m going to look a bit daft doing that, but likewise I don’t want to take a sand wedge and splash the thing back on the fairway, gain no yardage and effectively waste a shot.’

So maybe a hybrid club is the perfect alternative, because don’t forget, a hybrid club will give you plenty of distance out of a bunker, but it’s also got a little bit more loft than a fairway would. So a hybrid club might have 20, maybe even 25, 27 degrees of loft, and also the sole plate on a hybrid club perfect for bunkers because it’s not designed to dig in and cut into the grass or the sand. The sole play on a hybrid golf club is quite round and quite smooth, designed to sort of skim over the surface and fly the ball out. Hybrid golf club has one more secret for a fairway bunker as well, hybrid golf club has a lot of weight low and deep, that low and deep underneath the golf ball, you could catch that ball middle of very slightly thin and the club will still help the ball clear that leading edge and get it out there down the fairway as far as possible. So playing a hybrid club from a fairway bunker might be a more sensible option than either splashing outside with your wedge that gains no yardage, or being too greedy with the 3 wood and trying to blast it out and not clearing the lip on the bunker. So sometimes the hybrid golf club and a nice fairway bunker; that could be your secret weapon. 2014-11-12

Now if you find yourself in a fairway bunker, one of your considerations needs to be, “How can I get this ball as far out of this fairway bunker and as far back down that fairway towards the green as possible?” So we’re tempted to get quite greedy, we’re tempted to think, ‘Maybe I can get a 3 wood at this and try and blast it 250 yards out into the green, like I’ve seen them do on the TV.’ But then you might be tempted to think, ‘Well, hang on a minute what about this leap? There’s a leap in front of me around this fairway bunker, it might not be very high, but will a 3 wood, maybe 15 degrees of loft, will the 3 wood have enough loft to clear that leap? And hey I don’t want to look foolish by swinging this great big 3 wood as fast as I can, the ball punches into the leap and rolls back to my feet, I’m going to look a bit daft doing that, but likewise I don’t want to take a sand wedge and splash the thing back on the fairway, gain no yardage and effectively waste a shot.’

So maybe a hybrid club is the perfect alternative, because don’t forget, a hybrid club will give you plenty of distance out of a bunker, but it’s also got a little bit more loft than a fairway would. So a hybrid club might have 20, maybe even 25, 27 degrees of loft, and also the sole plate on a hybrid club perfect for bunkers because it’s not designed to dig in and cut into the grass or the sand. The sole play on a hybrid golf club is quite round and quite smooth, designed to sort of skim over the surface and fly the ball out. Hybrid golf club has one more secret for a fairway bunker as well, hybrid golf club has a lot of weight low and deep, that low and deep underneath the golf ball, you could catch that ball middle of very slightly thin and the club will still help the ball clear that leading edge and get it out there down the fairway as far as possible. So playing a hybrid club from a fairway bunker might be a more sensible option than either splashing outside with your wedge that gains no yardage, or being too greedy with the 3 wood and trying to blast it out and not clearing the lip on the bunker. So sometimes the hybrid golf club and a nice fairway bunker; that could be your secret weapon.