Some hybrid are finicky

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carlgo Mar 05, 2016
My Famous Brand hybrids have been a problem for me until I just gave in to the fact that this brand was designed to be hit with the ball in the center of the stance. The company angled the shaft forward so much that if it is brought up closer to the front foot the shaft extends way out beyond the forward leg. No amount of manipulation works at all. It simply requires me to play it back and hit them differently than I hit irons.

This is mentioned because maybe some viewers here are attempting to use clubs that just aren’t right for the Ross method. Perhaps some brands of irons are similarly designed and are hard to hit using the pure Ross method. I think that you want to avoid clubs that have a severe forward shaft angle.

Interestingly, this same brand and design driver is easy for me to play way up front as advised.

[Ross]

Ross Mar 06, 2016
Great post !! Yes, club makers have been “building in” compensations into clubs for years, to try to “fix” setup and swing issues. The problem with that is … “everything is a trade-off”.

Let’s take the “extreme shaft angle” you’re talking about. If the golfer happens to get the shaft in line with the front arm at impact (a good thing), what happens to the club face?… or if it is a closed or open face compensation, and the golfer actually squares up the face correctly?

I loved my old pings, but eventually they had to go because of the offset hosels. As my method developed and I used my rotation for much better contact, I was constantly fighting the ball wanting to go left. I think I was helping in those days with a bit of a flip that had to go too. The two together made for some scary shots.

I’m not suggesting anyone run out and buy new clubs, but you do want to know the characteristics of the clubs you’re playing.

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carlgo Mar 06, 2016
Do competitive brands of irons have a wide variation of all these angles and offsets?

While we are on the subject, I have always wanted to ask about all these “helpful” angles and offsets and all. It seems if you are off a hair at the top, you are way off at the ball, like everything is magnified rather than compensated for. Just imagining, but it almost seems like one of those antique clubs might be easier to hit as they have no offsets or forward lean, only a loft angle and lie angle. I am tempted to weld up a steel iron sort of thing and attach it to a shaft and see what happens.

The advertisements often tout how their new club helps shape shots, something that is years away for the average golfer as far as I can see. We put 100% of our effort into hitting the ball, getting it up in the air, hitting it straight and hopefully for some happy distance. I don’t see many people on the range hitting curve balls on purpose.

[Ross]

Ross Mar 06, 2016
Just about every golf course has an old bag of clubs they acquired over the years. I’ll bet you could find some older clubs to experiment with out on the range. Also, many times you’ll see old (perfectly good) clubs at garage sales or at hock shops or used sports equipment shops. They will be harder to hit if you don’t have a square face at impact, but you’ll learn a lot about your swing if you practice with them.

Now, perimeter weighting can really help the average golfer who does not have (or wants to put in), the time to practice. This helps some with miss hits, but the open/closed faces and offset or exaggerated shaft angles are trade-offs. I’m sure there will be those that disagree (one reason I don’t talk much about clubs).

[Author]

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