At GOLF’s Top 100 Teacher Summit at Cabot Citrus Farms, one of our favorite questions to pose to the on-site instructors is this: What’s one shot that every player should learn how to hit that would make them a better player?
Responses vary by teacher, but a number of them selected learning a reliable and repeatable go-to shot around the greens. And GOLF Teacher to Watch Heather Angell is no exception.
The year’s best-selling hybrid launches high to hold the green
“The hybrid putt is one of my favorites,” she said. “Depending on the kind of course you’re playing — if it’s one of those that has a lot of collection areas around the green, the hybrid is a great club to use because the grass is often a little too furry to putt, especially if you’re several feet off the green.”
Hybrids have degrees of crucial loft that a putter doesn’t, which enables you to get the ball moving on top of the grass, even with a relatively small swing motion.
Tight lies are great for hybrid use too, Angell says, because you can get a smooth roll going with a hybrid instead of potentially blading the ball with an iron.
How can you become more adept with your hybrid around the greens? Hold the club all the way down at the bottom of the grip for maximum control, Angell says. Then make a putting-style stroke. It’s really is that easy.
“I teach that shot in clinics all the time,” Angell says. “It’s just a great shot to learn and to use around the green because you get the ball airborne enough to carry the fuzzy grass, but you never lose that control.”
When you’re trying to break 100 or 90, minimizing mistakes around the green is one of the fastest ways to lower scores. Becoming more friendly with your hybrid on greenside shots is one way to do that. Give Angell’s advice a try, and watch your scores start to drop in 2026.
Golf.com Editor
As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.
