Playing from divots video

Ernie Els shares his wisdom on playing from divots with hybrids and how proper technique can help you attack the pin from bad lies.

Playing from divots video

The wonderful thing about hybrids is the versatility they give you. I can use mine from the tee, the fairway, the rough and even from a nasty divots.

The shallowness of this club is going to help me find a powerful contact. When the lie is really bad, like the one I am faced with here, I need to make a couple of small changes.

For this shot I am going to use my 23 ̊ Adams Pro Mini hybrid because despite the lie, I’m still able to get to the green. But I do need to make some changes to my normal technique.

Firstly, I’ll move the ball back in my stance – towards the centre. I have the equivalent of a 4-iron in my hands but by moving the ball back I am going to be playing it like a 7-iron.

Note the difference between my normal hybrid address position with this club and the one I’m taking for this shot.

By moving the ball back a fraction, I’m really going to be able to hit down on the ball, like I would with a 7-iron. It is this that will ensure I get a clean contact.

Your sternum should be set nicely over the ball at address which again is important for a good strike.

My next move is to open my stance a little bit – as you can see from this photo I am aiming my feet, hips and shoulders to the left of my intended target.

Having already set the ball back I’m hitting down on the shot but by opening my stance a little I should be able to get the ball into the air.

I’m aiming to make a cut swing here so I’d expect the ball to fade a little in the air. By making these adjustments, the ball comes out powerfully and on a good line and that is really the beauty of this golf club, it’s very versatile.

For a lot of golfers, even those on Tour, long irons are a thing of the past. When you see for yourself how well the ball comes out of difficult lies with hybrid clubs, it is easy to see why long irons are used less.

Hybrids enable players to attack the green from a whole range of lies. The great thing is that there are so many lofts - you can have hybrids that are 16 ̊ which would be the equivalent of a strong 5-wood down to a 5-or 6-iron which would be about 28 ̊.

For many amateurs, a hybrid iron set is the ideal option. You get all the forgiveness and power you need at the longer end of the bag but as you move closer to the green you get the turf interaction and added flight control of an iron.