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Being able to play different shot types from around the green is an extremely beneficial skill to possess. Having creativity and experimenting with different golf clubs will help you to learn the most effective shots that you can play and will really help you to lower your scores by being able to get the ball extremely close to the hole, if not actually in it. This will help you to reduce the number of shots that you are playing around the green and as a consequence, you will be able to achieve a much lower golf score.

Using your hybrid to play shots from around the green is an excellent shot option when you do not need to get the ball very high from the ground and you have quite a distance to the flag with plenty of green to work with. The shot that you will produce will be a chip and run, where the golf ball lifts slightly from the ground and then once it lands, it rolls a great distance. With a 3 hybrid club, you will tend to get 10% of the shot in the air until the ball lands and then the other 90% of the shot distance will be because the ball is rolling across the green. This is a good general rule of thumb, 10% air, 90% roll, but remember, this will vary with different weather conditions. Plenty of sun will bake the ground and the ball will roll more, whereas a lot of rain will slow the ball down. The gradient that you are playing on will also alter this percentage as when playing downhill, the ball will roll more and when playing uphill, it wont roll as much. Generally, 10% air, 90% roll, should not be too far away.

To play the shot, set up with the ball in the centre of your feet and your stance narrower than usual. This will encourage your balance and help you strike down on the ball. Hold lower down on the handle to give you more control over the club head and stand closer to the ball because of this. Pull your left foot (right handed golfers) directly back by about four inches so rotate your lower body towards the target. This will help you to turn your body towards the target through impact and you will be able to extend your arms and move the club head down the target line to promote accuracy in the shot.

Finally at set up, position your nose just to the left of the golf ball and create a straight line from your left shoulder down your left arm and then extend this on down the shaft of the club to set your hands forward. This will encourage a clean, crisp strike with the club head.

The shot is very simple to play. You have created a “Y” shape between your arms and the golf club at set up. You simply need to swing this Y shape away from the ball and then through it. The action is made from the shoulders moving the arms and the wrists remain passive throughout. However far you swing the Y away from the golf ball on your back swing, ensure that you replicate the same distance as you go through the golf ball on your follow through. You can then control the distance that you hit the shot with the length of your swing back and through.

For shorter shots, make a shorter swing and for longer shots, a longer swing. Ensure the club head brushes the ground underneath where the golf ball is being played from and this will get the ball slightly lifting over any longer grass and then rolling out along the green as a putt would do.

If you only use your wedge around the green, you are playing the hardest shot to hit. You will achieve more accuracy if you land the ball as close to you as possible. Sometimes you have no choice but to hit a high chip if you need to clear a hazard, but if there is no need to hit the ball high, dont. Land the ball close to you and let it run.

Hybrid golf clubs do replace your long irons and are therefore associated with playing long golf shots. But they are extremely versatile and make brilliant clubs to chip with as well. The action is extremely simple, a lot like hitting a big putt so there is very little to go wrong and the shots you produce will be extremely effective.

Hybrid golf clubs are the most versatile club in your golf bag. They can be used to produce full distance shots, recovery shots from the green and then the most delicate of chips. They are the ideal club to use in a whole variety of different situations and produce shots with an effective end result.