The hybrid club cannot only be used to hit soaring approach shots but can be utilized for chip-and-run shots around the green. This method is common on the professional tours, out of tricky lies around the putting surface, and can definitely help senior players.

Hybrid clubs are generally a little longer than normal irons and have less loft. Because of this, they can only be used effectively on long chip and run shots. Hybrids also have a smooth sole enabling the senior golfer the option of using them from tricky lies. A ball sat down in light rough around the green could be a perfect time to let the hybrid club pop the ball up on to the green. It's a shot many professional golfers use when the ball sits against the fringe. Professionals can use the hybrid in this situation to glide through the grass and bump the ball towards the hole. It makes mincemeat of an otherwise problematic shot.

The technique

The technique used for hitting a hybrid chip-and-run is similar to the putting technique and can be quickly mastered by the senior golfer. By using a putting technique with the added loft of the hybrid, it's possible to lift the ball slightly into the air and get it running towards the target. By using a normal chipping technique, the senior golfer could risk creating a steep angle of attack and a 'squirting' shot which flies off the club face and across the green with no control.

The set up

For a standard putting set up:

1. Start with the feet shoulder width apart, set parallel to the target line.

2. Place the ball just forward of centre in the stance with weight 50/50 on each foot.

3. Use your putting grip, holding the club a little further down the handle to negate the extra length of the hybrid when compared to a putter.

4. Use your normal putting posture (a little tilt from the hips so the eyes are hanging over the ball if possible or slightly inside the ball-to-target line).

5. Aim the club face at your intended target.

The stroke

For the putter stroke with a chipping club:

1. Start the stroke with a very slight forward press, moving the hands ahead of the ball by an inch.

2. Take the club away low to the ground, keeping the hands, arms and shoulders as one unit. The wide sole of the club should keep the club moving and gliding through the grass.

3. The shoulders should drive the stroke, rocking them back and forwards, the club should be moving like a pendulum.

4. The club sweeps through the ball on a very shallow arc, there shouldn't be a divot, brush the turf through impact.

Using hybrid clubs to chip is a great weapon for senior golfers but it isn't a shot to be tried first time during a competition. Senior golfers should experiment with the shot firstly on a practice green before heading out on to the course.

Do Hybrid Golf Clubs Work for Chip Shots?

When you think about hitting a chip shot, you probably think first about getting the ball up into the air. Many chip shots require using loft to carry the ball over obstacles such as long grass, slopes, bunkers, and more. However, not all chip shots have to be of the airborne variety. When you have a clear path to the hole, you can choose to keep the ball down on the ground for safety. This is typically called a bump-and-run shot, and it is one of the easiest in the game to play.

One of the great things about bump-and-run chip shots is the fact that you can play them with a variety of different clubs depending on the circumstances. If you still want a little bit of carry before the ball lands and rolls out to the hole, you could use something like a nine-iron or pitching wedge. On the other hand, if you don't need any carry at all, you can opt for one of your longer clubs, such as a hybrid. In this article, we are going to explain how you can use your hybrid clubs to hit beautiful chip shots that will roll up next to the hole time after time.

So, to address the question posed in the title of this article – yes, hybrid clubs work nicely for chip shots. With that said, your hybrids are only going to be a viable chipping option under a specific set of circumstances. Many of your chip shots will still need to be played with a lofted wedge. As is always the case in golf, shot selection is a crucial skill in the short game. Knowing when the time is right for this hybrid chip, and when you would be better off playing a higher shot, is the key to low scores.

If you are looking for an opportunity to play a hybrid chip shot, you will first want to pay attention to the ball's proximity to the green. Chipping with your hybrid only makes sense when your ball comes to rest just a short distance from the putting surface. Also, you will need to find your ball in the fairway cut as opposed to the rough, and you should have a clear path the entire way from your ball to the hole. If any of these conditions does not exist on a given shot, you will have to opt for another style of shot. This situation will probably only come up once in a while, but when it does, you will be glad you have the hybrid chip shot available as an option.

All of the content below is written from the perspective of a right-handed golfer. If you happen to play left-handed, please take a moment to reverse the directions as necessary.

The Advantages of Using a Hybrid Club

When making your club selection for any shot, you want to pick the club that gives you the best chance of success. Trying to hit a long drive off the tee of a par five? The driver is the right club for the job, of course. Need to make a three-footer to save your par? Obviously, you are going to use your putter. One of the challenges that comes along with chipping is the fact that your club selection decisions are rarely so simple. There are a number of clubs which could work effectively for the average chip shot, so you need to think critically about which club gives you the best chance of a successful outcome.

What is it about hybrid clubs that make them worthwhile options for bump-and-run chip shots? Review the following points for a better understanding of this topic.

• They offer forgiveness. Many amateur players are afraid of chip shots because they feel like they could miss-hit the shot and leave the ball only a few feet in front of its current location. That isn't going to be a problem when you use a hybrid club. Thanks to the size and design of the club head, it will be easy to knock the ball onto the green time after time. You are basically going to be using your putting motion to bump the ball onto the putting surface and towards the hole. There is very little that can go wrong with this kind of shot. If you get into trouble by hitting your chip shots fat on occasion, opting for the hybrid bump-and-run is a great choice. You won't have to worry so much about making a big mistake, and you can focus instead of getting the right read and leaving the ball within tap-in distance of the hole.
• They feature an upright design. You can play the same kind of bump-and-run shot with a three wood that you can play with a hybrid. However, the shot may be a little more difficult with a three wood due to the flatter lie angle. You will have to stand farther away from the ball at address, and you won't be able to use your putting stroke technique as effectively. Most hybrid clubs have relatively upright lie angles – similar to long irons – so you can get in closer and get a good look at the line. With a little practice, you should become rather confident in your ability to send the ball in the proper direction each and every time.
• Just enough elevation. When using a hybrid club, you will have just enough loft to pop the ball quickly into the air before it comes back down and bounces out toward the hole. The ball is only going to carry a short distance prior to landing, but that can be enough to clear the fringe and land on the green in many cases. Also, the loft of the club will help you get the ball up off the ground cleanly if it happens to be sitting down in a little depression in the grass. You don't always have a perfect lie in golf, even when on the short grass, so using a hybrid club will help to make up for any minor lie issue you might be dealing with.
• The possibility of making the shot. When played correctly, this kind of shot is going to roll out like a putt. There will be virtually no backspin on the ball, meaning it will roll up toward the hole without hesitation. If you manage to get the speed and line right, that means you could hole out more frequently than you would expect. Of course, you will never make these kinds of shots on a consistent basis, but they certainly are a nice surprise when one of them decides to fall in.

The hybrid chip shot is never going to be your go-to option around the greens. There are too many obstacles involved in most chip shots to use this play very often. However, it is a good weapon to have available, and it can pay off nicely if you know how to play it. Give this shot some practice time and it can become yet another option at your disposal when the short game comes calling.

A Simple Technique

Learning a new shot in golf usually takes a considerable amount of time. You have to learn the technique, you have to refine that technique until it is comfortable for you, and then you have to practice it over and over again. Fortunately, that story really doesn't apply here. Sure, you are going to need to do some practicing, but the technique is simple – and it is one you already use in your game.

Basically, you are going to be using the same technique that you use with your putter when playing this shot. Of course, it will be necessary to adjust that technique slightly in order to make it work with a hybrid club. The following points highlight the ways in which you need to tweak your technique to hit the hybrid bump-and-run.

• Stand up taller. Your hybrid club is longer than your putter, so you should be standing taller at address. It is still important to have some flex in your knees, so stand taller by having less forward tilt in your hips. This kind of upright stance will give you a great look at the line of the shot, and it will make it easy to swing the club back and through freely.
• Choke down on the grip slightly. In addition to standing taller, you will also need to move your hands down on the grip by an inch or two. This will complete the adjustment required for the club being longer, so you should now be in a comfortable spot that lets you rock the club through the ball with ease.
• Play the ball near the front of your stance. Depending on where you like to position the ball when putting, you may need to move the ball forward a bit in order to find a good spot for this bump-and-run shot. Ideally, you will position the ball near the front of your stance to facilitate a flat hit through impact. Playing the ball too far back will cause you to hit down on the ball, and that is not the goal with this technique. Keep the ball forward in your stance and think about sweeping it off the top of the grass as you swing.

As far as adjustments go, the list of three keys above is all you need to know. Pay attention to those points as you practice and you can quickly whip your mechanics into shape.

The actual swinging of the club should feel exactly the same as it does when you are putting. Your shoulders should be in charge of the action, and your hands should be doing virtually nothing at all. When you get this right, the motion will feel extremely simple, and it will be easy to repeat over and over again. Also, you will have no trouble making contact with the ball on the center of the club face, since there are limited moving parts in this kind of swing.

Making the mistake of using your hands too actively is going to be costly for a number of reasons. For one thing, it will be harder to control your distance when your hands get involved. Also, that hand action is going to manipulate the club face, meaning it will be a little harder to hit your target line. Teach yourself how to make a smooth and quiet stroke with your hybrid club and you can master this shot in short order.

Mastering Distance Control

By far, the hardest part of this shot is learning to control your distance properly. There isn't much to learn from a technical perspective, since you are largely going to be copying your putting stroke. However, this is a different club than your putter, so the feel for this shot is going to be nothing like the feel you have when on the greens. If you are going to be able to use this shot successfully on the course, you will need to learn how to manage your distance control successfully.

As soon as you get started practicing this shot, you are going to notice an obvious pattern – the ball travels much farther than you expect when playing this shot. Why? Simple – the design of the golf club. The hybrid club you are holding has a relatively large club head with plenty of mass behind the ball at impact. Also, it has a 'hotter' face than what is found on your putter. After all, the hybrid club head is hollow, while your putter has a solid head (most likely). As you are making a putting-style stroke to send the ball toward the hole, you will probably feel like you need to swing the club just as fast as you would with the putter. In doing so, however, you are almost sure to send the shot racing past the target.

The best way to get over this problem is simply to practice. As you gain experience with the shot, you will find that you get better and better at controlling your distance. You will learn to make a smaller swing than you would with a putter, and you will become comfortable with the roll out distance you should expect. By working the hybrid chip shot into your regular short game practice routine, you may be surprised to find just how quickly you can sharpen up your skills.

If you would like to spend some focused practice time working on your distance control with this shot, consider using the simple drill below.

• Find a practice green at your local golf course where you are allowed to chip. Some facilities don't like you to chip the ball onto the putting green, so be sure to check on the rules before you get started.
• Once you find a green, you will need to have a hybrid club and five golf balls in order to complete the drill. Also, you should find a comfortable spot to chip from which is just off the side of the putting surface. Place the golf balls on the fairway cut, no more than a couple of feet from the green.
• You are now going to select two holes to use as your targets for this drill. These holes should be relatively in line with one another from your chipping location. There should be at least a few yards between the two holes – the more distance there is between the two holes, the easier the drill will be. You can start out with two holes that are significantly far apart and gradually work your way in as your skills improve.
• To get started, you are going to hit the first chip shot with your hybrid club toward the closer of the two holes. The goal of this first chip shot is simple – you need to roll the ball past the first hole, but only by a short distance. With that task successfully completed, you are going to try to chip the second ball farther than the first, while staying short of the furthest hole. This pattern continues for all five golf balls.
• The goal of the drill is to line up all five golf balls between the two holes. Each shot should wind up between the holes, and each successive chip should travel further than the one previous. If you can manage this drill successfully, you will know you have excellent control over your distances. Be warned, however – this is more difficult than it sounds. It may take a few tries before you are able to work your way through all five shots without a slip up.

You can actually use the drill described above when working on distance control with any of your clubs in the short game. It is always critical to be able to control your distances properly on and around the greens, and this is a perfect drill to help you reach that goal.

Getting Your Read

If you decide to hit a hybrid chip shot during an upcoming round of golf, you are going to want to read that chip shot in the same way you would read a putt. It is important to read this kind of shot even closer than your other chip shots, as the ball is going to spend most of its time on the ground. The slope of the green will have plenty of time to influence the roll of the ball, both in terms of speed and direction. If you hurry through your preparation and fail to get an accurate read, even the best swing in the world won't save you.

To make sure you are getting the right read for the shot, pay attention to these three points.

• Elevation change. This is where you want to start. Instead of focusing first on the side-to-side break, review the elevation change that you are facing. Is the shot uphill or downhill? Are you going to have to hit the shot rather hard, or will you barely need to swing at all? Getting a good idea for the speed of the shot first will make it easier to read the side-to-side break.
• Picking a line. Now that you know how hard you are going to be hitting the ball, you can pick your line based on the side-to-side slope you see in the green. If you are going uphill and will be hitting the ball firmly, you don't need to play as much break as you will when going downhill. Most amateur golfers play too little break both when putting and when chipping, so consider giving yourself a little more room to work with than you might think you need at first.
• Keep strategy in mind. Very few golfers bother to think about strategy when getting a read on a short game shot. However, strategic thinking is important at this stage of the game. While you would love to make this chip shot, what you are really trying to do is set yourself up for an easy up and down. So, with that in mind, where should you leave the ball? Would one side of the hole offer an easier putt than the others? Decide where you would like the ball to end up and then use that information to influence your read.

The hybrid chip shot may not be a play you use all the time, but it certainly can come in handy when it is called for. If you are able to get comfortable with this shot during practice, you will be ready and willing to pull it out of the bag anytime the right situation arises. We hope the information in this article will help you play this shot successfully time after time. Making the short game easier is a great way to lower your scores, and chipping with a hybrid club is rather easy once you put in a little work. Good luck!