How to Hit a Hybrid Golf Club with Rick Shiels

Tired of topping your hybrid or hooking it deep into the woods? Let’s sort that out, once and for all. This guide delivers clear, practical advice on how to pure your hybrid golf club, using the same simple and effective principles you hear from Rick Shiels. We'll walk you through the proper setup, the right swing thoughts, and the common mistakes to avoid so you can finally turn your hybrid from a problem club into your go-to weapon.

First Things First: Understanding Your Hybrid

Before we can master the hybrid, we need to respect what it is. Think of it as the ultimate utility player in your bag. It was born from a simple need: to create a club that was easier to hit than long irons (like a 3, 4, or 5-iron) but more versatile and accurate than a fairway wood from tricky lies.

Its design is genius in its simplicity. It has:

• The wider sole and lower center of gravity of a fairway wood, which makes it forgiving and helps launch the ball high from various lies - fairway, rough, or sand.
• The shorter shaft and heavier head weight closer to that of an iron, which gives you more control and encourages a more commanding, downward strike.

Many golfers make the mistake of seeing the "wood-like" head and immediately trying to sweep it off the turf like a 3-wood. This is often the root of inconsistent contact. Rick Shiels consistently teaches that to create power, accuracy, and consistency, you need a repeatable action. Trying to use two completely different swings for your irons and hybrids complicates things unnecessarily. To unlock this club's potential, we need to reframe our thinking.

The Great Debate: Swing It Like an Iron or a Wood?

Here it is, the million-dollar question that causes all the confusion. The answer, straight from the Shiels school of thought, is refreshingly simple: swing your hybrid more like an iron.

Let that sink in. We aren't trying to lift the ball. We aren't trying to help it into the air with a scooping motion. We want to strike down on it. Your irons are designed to be hit with a descending blow, compressing the ball against the clubface and taking a small divot after the ball. This is what creates that pure, penetrating ball flight.

Because the hybrid has that wonderfully forgiving, low-profile head, you will achieve the same result - hitting the ball first, then the turf. You don’t need the same steep angle of attack that you’d use with a 9-iron, but the fundamental intention is identical. The goal is a downward strike.

Why is this so effective? For two main reasons:

1. Consistency: By using the same basic swing thoughts as your irons, you simplify your game. You’re building on an action you already practice, not trying to add a new, complicated movement to your repertoire.
2. Power &, Control: Compressing the golf ball is how you transfer energy efficiently. Striking down ensures you hit the "equator" or the back of the ball, using the club's loft to create the height and spin, rather than trying to manufacture it yourself. This gives you command over the strike, the flight, and the distance.

Stop trying to sweep. Start thinking about compression. That one shift in mindset will change your entire relationship with this golf club.

Mastering the Setup: A Step-by-Step Rick Shiels Guide

As Rick often says, a solid setup is the foundation for a good golf swing. If you get this part wrong, you have to make compensations later on, which kills consistency. With a hybrid, getting the setup right primes you for that downward, iron-like strike.

Ball Position: The Goldilocks Zone

This is where many golfers go wrong. They either place it in the middle of their stance like a mid-iron, making the swing too steep, or way up on their front heel like a driver, promoting an upward strike. We need the "just right" spot.

• The answer: Place the ball about two inches inside your lead heel (your left heel for a right-handed golfer).

This position is slightly forward of a mid-iron but slightly back from a fairway wood. It’s the perfect spot because it places the ball just before the low point of your swing arc. This naturally encourages you to hit the ball first and then brush the grass slightly after, creating that perfect shallow divot or "bruising" of the turf.

Stance and Weight: Create a Stable Base

Power and balance come from the ground up. To make a confident swing, you need to feel stable.

• Stance Width: Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart. This is a touch wider than your stance for a 7-iron, giving you the stable base needed to support a powerful body rotation. Going too narrow restricts your turn, while going too wide limits hip movement. Shoulder-width is the sweet spot.
• Weight Distribution: At address, your weight should be balanced 50/50 between your feet. Don’t lean back or favor your lead foot. A centered, athletic posture is what we're after.

Posture and Alignment: The Athlete's Stance

Get into a posture that feels powerful and ready for action. Rick teaches that we don’t stand to a golf ball like we do anything else in life, so it might feel a bit odd at first, but it is correct.

• Lean from the Hips: A common mistake is to slump the shoulders down. Instead, feel like you are pushing your bottom backwards and tilting your upper body forward from your hips. Your spine should remain relatively straight but tilted over the ball.
• Arms Hang Naturally: From this tilted position, let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders. There should be no reaching or pulling the arms in close. This ensures you are the correct distance from the ball and promotes a swing that feels free and unattached from your body.
• Square Alignment: Make sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are all aligned parallel to your target line. It's a fundamental, but it's easy to get lazy and aim the body incorrectly, forcing you to manipulate the club during the swing to get the ball back on line.

Executing the Swing: Simple Thoughts for Pure Contact

With a solid setup established, the swing itself becomes much simpler. The goal is to rotate your body and allow the club to work around you, just as Rick demonstrates in his complete swing guide.

The Takeaway: Wide and Connected

The first move is all about creating width and rhythm. Instead of snatching the club away with just your hands and arms, feel a "one-piece takeaway." The shoulders, arms, and club move away from the ball together, powered by the rotation of your torso. This keeps the club on a good plane and prevents it from getting stuck behind you, promoting that slightly shallow but downward path we need.

The Downswing: Trust the Loft, Hit Down and Through

This is it. This is the moment of truth. Every impulse in your body might be screaming, “This is a low-lofted club, I have to help get it into the air!” You must ignore that impulse. Trust the club.

As you transition from the top of your backswing, the first move is a slight shift of pressure towards your lead foot. Then, unwind your body powerfully - your hips and torso lead the way, pulling the arms and club down toward the ball. This sequence is the engine of your swing.

Your one and only swing thought should be: Hit the back of the ball. Don’t focus on the ground or worry about the divot. If you focus on a clean strike on the back of the sphere, your body will instinctively deliver the club on the correct path. You'll strike the ball first, and the club will continue its arc downward and through, brushing the turf just after impact.

The Finish: Full Body Rotation and Perfect Balance

A good shot is often indicated by a great finish. Don't quit on the swing at impact. Allow the momentum to pull you through to a full, balanced finish position. Your chest and belt buckle should be facing the target, your right heel should be off the ground (for a righty), and almost all of your weight should be firmly planted on your lead foot. Holding your finish is not just for looks, it proves you've committed to the shot and rotated your body all the way through.

Fixing the Big Misses: The Rick Shiels Diagnostic

Even with the right technique, faults can creep in. Here’s how to troubleshoot the most common hybrid problems.

Problem: The Dreaded Top or Thin Shot

• Main Cause: Trying to "help" or "scoop" the ball into the air. This often causes your head and chest to lift up through impact, raising the bottom of your swing arc and catching only the top half of the ball.
• The Shiels Fix: Focus on keeping your chest over the ball as you turn through the shot. On the practice tee, put an object like a tee or a leaf about three inches in front of your golf ball. Your goal is to hit the ball and then drive the club through the extra object. This drill forces you to keep the clubhead moving down and through impact, eliminating the lifting motion.

Problem: The Low, Snipe Hook

• Main Cause: Hybrids are often slightly draw-biased, and an overactive set of hands can easily turn a gentle draw into a vicious hook. If your hands flip the clubhead closed through impact, you'll get that low, ducking shot that dives left.
• The Shiels Fix: Grip the club lighter. Too much tension encourages you to strangle the club and manipulate it with your hands. Secondly, focus on your body rotation. Feel as if your chest is still turning towards the target as the ball is taking off. This ensures your body is leading the swing, keeping the hands passive and preventing that "flippy" release.

Final Thoughts

Hitting a great hybrid shot isn't a mystery, it’s a matter of treating the club for what it is - the perfect long iron replacement. By setting up correctly in that “Goldilocks” ball position and swinging with the simple intention of striking down and through the ball, you allow the club's forgiving design to do all the heavy lifting. Ditch the scooping motion, trust the loft, and you'll soon find your hybrid is the most reliable club in your bag.

Knowing how to hit your hybrid is one half of the battle, knowing when to pull it on the course is the other. That moment of doubt while standing over a long approach shot can kill your confidence stone dead. With Caddie AI, we eliminate that crippling uncertainty. Describe the lie, yardage, and conditions, and you’ll get an instant, smart recommendation for which club to hit and how to play the shot. This removes the guesswork, allowing you to commit 100% to your swing and play with more conviction.