“When I left the course after a round this year, a lady told me my biorhythms were off.  I told her my golf game was off.” -Jack Nicklaus

Practicing more often will allow for your game to stay consistent.  While every round may present a different opportunity for mistakes, practice will help limit how many of these mistakes you make.

Y.E. Yang used a #3 Hybrid to help him clear that huge tree. We’re seeing hybrids in more and more pro bags this year.

Why the switch to Hybrid Clubs?

What’s-up with the new hybrid clubs? Everybody is talking about them.

Are they really the game saver that all the hype seems to say?

The fact is, clubs like hybrid type clubs have been around a long time. They used to go by names like “baffler” and “rescue clubs” or just plain utility woods. So are they really something new? Well, yes and no.

The hybrid as we know it today was actually developed with the help of Gary McCord, the TV announcer and former PGA pro. He saw his golf buddies back home struggling with their long irons, so he thought maybe something could be done to make them easier to hit. He went to his sponsor, TaylorMade and suggested they come up with something new.

The result was the TaylorMade Rescue Club. The first of a new breed. So what the heck did they do to make this new club?

Well, it’s called a “hybrid” because it a combination of a wood and an iron. They basically took an iron shaft and and put a new kind of head on it. That head would have features of a wood. Features like a wide sole, low-back center of gravity, and more mass. So what’s so different about that? Why not just get a 5 or 7 wood.

The big difference is that shaft. The loft of a 2 iron and a 5 wood may be about the same…but the shafts are way different.

The shaft length on a 2 iron for an average height player is about 39 inches. The length on a 5 wood is about 42 inches. Hybrids are somewhere in between. A longer club will always go farther because a longer club will produce more clubhead speed. That extra speed will also tend to make the ball go higher. The problem with that extra speed is it can make the club harder to control.

Iron shafts are also thicker than wood shafts. I bet you didn’t realize that. Not a lot (.03 inches), but enough to make the shaft more stable which adds up to a bit more accuracy.

Starting to get confused? Well here’s the bottom line.

Compared to a comparably lofted wood, a hybrid club is:
- more accurate
- won’t go quite as far
- easier to hit because it’s shorter

Compared to the same long iron, a hybrid is:
- easier to hit because the head has more mass and a lower center of gravity
- will make the ball go higher, carry further and land softer
- better out of sand and bad lies

Hopefully that clears up any confusion.

So which ones to buy?

Today’s hybrid clubs are actually quite varied. In addition to a choice of lofts, you can also get different sole widths and face heights. You can get lengths that are longer than standard irons and shorter or just as long as woods. In short, some hybrids offered are more like fairway woods and some are more like irons. Just remember the basic rules of club design…the lower and farther back the center of gravity, the higher the ball will tend to fly. The longer the shaft the farther the ball will go but that extra length may make it harder to control. Remember to make your selection based on what your game needs not the manufacturers hype.

Price ranges for brands are in the $150 to $250 range. You can find custom clone versions for under $50.

Give those hybrids a try. They’re bound to help your game.

For a great selection of discount custom hybrid clubs check out GigaGolf.

“The average golfer doesn’t play golf.  He attacks it.”  ~Jack Burke

Learning to actually play the game and go against a course is something that requires hours of practice.  By doing this practice in the backyard, it will become much more convenient and cost efficient.

www.RealFeelGolfMats.com The Golf Mat that lets you swing down and through with true divot action.

www.igotthebug.com an online golf shop for Golf Practice Aids, Golf Practice Mats and Home Putting Greens

www.ReviewGolf.com golfers helping golfers - reviews of the latest golf equipment, golf course reviews, and golf vacation packages.

“Professional golf is the only sport where, if you win 20% of the time, you’re the best”- Jack Nicklaus

Understanding that every round will provide you with shots you did not intend on hitting, missed putts, and fairways missed will allow you to have greater success. Learning the ways of the game will allow you to practice with golf training aids like golf driving mats, golf hitting mats, and putting greens, and try to eliminate as many of these errors as possible. By staying patient, however, the inevitable errors and mistakes you do make will not be compounded throughout your round with even more costly mistakes because of a tense stroke.

“If I miss one day’s practice I know it; if I miss two days the spectators know it, and if I miss three days the world knows it.”-Ben Hogan

The more time spent off from practicing, as Hogan suggests, the more your game will struggle. A professional without practice will suffer, and it is likely that an amateur will struggle as well. Without consistently using golf training aids like golf driving range mats, golf pitching mats, or putting greens, your game will not be at its peak. That is why it is important to keep at it while practicing, and maintain quality regimens with proper techniques being practiced.

“The golf swing is a knack requiring the unselfconsciousness and the confidence with which people bicycle or swim. Such skills are only acquired by associating certain movements with particular effects, and only after innumerable falls and swallowing a considerable amount of water.” -Enid Wilson, British golfer and journalist

By constantly practicing your swing, and having it come as second nature to you, your game will certainly improve and your swing will become closer to perfect. Using a golf driving mat or golf pitching mat, multiple aspects of your swing can be improved, whether with a wedge, iron, wood, or driver. Using these golf practice mats will give you an edge over those who do not fully understand what proper practice is.

Unfortunately, as the common golf saying goes,”you drive for show and putt for dough.”

Driving, therefore, is a necessary part of the game, but it is not as essential a part of the game as is putting. Golfers can lay up on a drive or simply put faith in their irons, but their is no logical alternative to a putter. Therefore, it is very important to realize that if putting is your weakness, your practice regimen should largely consist of spending time on a putting green, and spending time with golf chipping mats or golf pitching mats to get yourself in position to have shorter putts. By doing this, your game will certainly improve.