Chipping with a hybrid

DonM

This bermuda grass in Texas is making me change my short game. Our course wants to be GREEN, so they water a lot. The greenside soil is always pretty moist and un-solid, for lack of a better word. And then there is the grain growing downhill away from the greens. When I have a short uphill chip where I'd normally use a lot of loft to land on the green, that's too risky now. It's so easy to get the leading edge grabbed. On the plus side, there is no US Open rough around the greens. It's only a fraction longer than the fairway grass.

If you watched the Houston Open last week, a couple of the commentators kept talking about the same thing. So I have started using my 6 hybrid with pretty good results. I'm also finally learning to chip with a mid iron. It's almost the same, but the hybrid sole is even better, I think. Do any of you chip with a hybrid? Any tips?

Some guys here are carrying chippers.

MartinD

I'll hit the occasional shot around the greens with my 19° hybrid - for very different reasons, though. I play most of my golf on a links-type course with relatively fine grasses - this can lead to some bare lies around the green, and the hybrid is a good option if the ground the ball has to cross is a bit too rough to use the putter. I'll use a putting grip and stroke for this shot, rather than my normal grip (which I use for conventional chip shots).

I've found that it does take a few shots to get used to how the ball comes off the hybrid compared to a putter (seems to jump off the face a bit more), so it's worth doing a bit of practice around the putting green - even hitting a few long 'putts' with the hybrid to get a feel for the shot will help.

DonM

MartinD It seems like the trickiest thing is figuring out how hard to hit it to climb a slope. But that's true of putting from off the green too.

Typhoon

MartinD One of our guys here was out on the practice green doing his warm up ritual and he chips with a hybrid when up against the collar. I tried it for the first time and the ball does come off the face fast. Also you really need to hit it like a putting stroke and not jab at it.

fatshot

DonM It seems like the trickiest thing is figuring out how hard to hit it to climb a slope. But that's true of putting from off the green too.

I use a hybrid occasionally, but as MartinD suggested, you have to practice it. I vary the length of my stroke rather than try to "just hit it harder or softer," since I seem to have no "touch!" I encounter this kind of thing lots when we go down to Florida in the winter. Another option that works for me is the Maltby Sand Slider. I tried my wife's one
time in Florida, and had good success with it. Somebody on here sent me the head just for paying shipping, and
I think of it as my Florida club. Ugly as hell, but it works!!

KCee

I use my hybrid to chip once in a while. Usually when the ball is right up against a heavy collar of rough and I need to run it a good distance. For a shorter pop I might belly a wedge. Definitely a shot that needs some practice since the hybrid is way hotter than a putter. I like the hybrid over the fairway since I don't need to choke way down and I think the extra loft helps.

My buddy has a Cleveland chipper type club that is pretty darn effective. Some of our buddies rag on him for carrying it, but he doesn't do well with his wedges. We won a big tournament that had an alternate shot 9 hole finish and twice he left me tap ins with that club so I told him keep it and I will even regrip it when it needs it!

scotts33

fatshot Somebody on here sent me the head just for paying shipping,

You can use it better than I! 🙃

MartinD

Typhoon It's a useful shot to have - I don't use it often, but (for me) it is a good option for bare lies or where you can't get a chipping club to the back of the ball.

I try to find a few minutes to practice unusual shots like this when I can - another that I mess around with is flipping a mid-iron onto its toe to hit some left-handed chip shots (very useful when you can't get a right-handed stance or swing!) I might only use them on-course a few times in a season, but very handy to know you can hit them when you need to.

Typhoon

MartinD I hit that shot where you flip the club over and hit it from the left side. It’s cool to practice it. I actually had to hit a “full” shot one time from an extreme uphill lie with it and it worked!

I wasn’t good with the hybrid chip but I can see how off of bare lies it’s be good too.

azgreg

I've tried chipping with a hybrid. I suck at it.

Rickochet

Just for grins I tried both the Acer XK chipper and the XK flipper. Both are money. The purist will poo poo using a chipper but these are good. I have tried several over the years and the only other one I liked was the Golfworks Frankly Frog chipper. VG has them both. I don't use a putting stroke. I put them back in my stance a bit and make downward chipping like stroke on it.

https://www.valuegolf.com/chipper-heads

ode

I've never/rarely/if ever "chipped" with a hybrid or fairway wood, but then I rarely use a putter from the fringe. I try to make most everything from just off the green, IMO the best approach to make or get to kick in! I use a 56 and am aggressive with it. Also never use pw, 9, 8, 7 etc. to get th ball on the ground quick and rolling, I can do that with my 56 and adjust the weight of the strike. I will use putter if off the green on a really slick/short sided situation on greens that are running super fast, but that's it. IMO taking the quickness out of it with that first bit of check with a wedge is the best way to control a shot like that.

eltigrecda

Before hybrids were invented many people used to "chip" with a fairway wood under certain conditions using a putting stroke - and I was one of those people. Hybrids actually make that shot easier, since they tend to have a shallower face that is closer to the ground. Now I use a chipper (because I suck at chipping) - a club that is specifically designed for that shot.
For most people a good putting stroke is easier to execute than a good chipping stroke. The issue you will find is that people practice distance control with their putter ALL THE TIME, but when it comes to distance control putting with a fairway wood/hybrid/chipper they just "wing it" and hope for the best. You do need to practice this shot once in a while.

rsvman2

I use my 3-hybrid that way all the time. Putting stroke. Works amazingly well. Almost like cheating.
The other thing I do a lot is belly a wedge. This is especially good if there is relatively thick grass but not far off the fringe and if I don't have much green to work with.
I'm honestly surprised by how few golfers utilize these two cheat codes around the green.

sdandrea1

I have used my XXIO 6H for some pretty long (and short) bump-and-runs here in Florida on our tight/dormant Bermuda fairways. 100 yards out sometimes. Pretty effective.