In certain situations, chipping with a lofted club such as a sand wedge or loft wedge isn't the best option. Tight lies and shots with more than 10 feet of fringe in front of you may call for you to pull out your hybrid club. Due to the larger club head and longer shaft, you'll want to tweak your swing a bit to make sure you get off a good chip and give the ball a chance to go in the hole.
Setup
When chipping with a hybrid, setup is the most important element. Due to the elongated shaft, and larger club head than most wedges, the club is going to feel a little heavier in your hands, which can lead to fat, short shots. To reduce the chances of hitting it fat, choke up on the club head a few inches so the top of the grip extends out from the back of your hands 3 to 4 inches. This will give you more control over your swing and keep the club head from coming down too heavy on the downswing. When setting up your shot, move your hands forward just a bit in your address. This will set your arms and body up to swing through the ball rather than down at the ball. Swinging through the ball gives you a better chance of making solid contact with the club face.
Swing
While a hybrid club is used in the fairway to launch the ball over 100 yards, around the green, you're just trying to get it a few inches in the air so it will roll toward the hole gently. When using a full club like a hybrid your arms tend to follow the pattern of a full swing, so concentrate on keeping your arms in a triangle shape to eliminate too much movement of the club. Lock your feet and legs to eliminate lower body movement as you would with a putt. Like putting, chipping with a hybrid is about controlling your upper body and quieting the lower body.
Know When to Use It
Although chipping with a hybrid is forgiving, thanks to the large club face and wide base, using this option isn't the right move for every shot. The key to making hybrid chips work for you is knowing when to use them. Because of the relative low loft you get from a hybrid club, it's not meant for situations when the ball is well below the hole. The hybrid chip is meant for the bump-and-run shot, when you have quite a bit of relatively flat distance between you and the hole. Opt for your hybrid in these types of situations and use a wedge in others and you'll be setting up 2- and 3-foot putts from off the green in no time.
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