Hitting with hybrids and long irons

Question
Hello,
I've been having trouble hitting with my hybrids and 5 irons. Usually what happens is I hit the ground right before the ball so the ball only goes to about 100 yards. However, when I do hit the ball with a divot before it, the ball goes incredibly high, following the same path as if I hit with a 9 iron. Approximately how far and at what angle should I be hitting my five iron and hybrids? And what am I doing wrong? I hit the shorter irons fairly well I think, but once I got to 5 and hybrids it just goes down hill. Thanks.

Answer
Hello there and thanks for asking... apologies for the delay.

Shorter irons are hit with a more steep angle of approach than the longer clubs.  If you look at the swing plane for each it becomes logical since the short clubs require you to have the ball closer to your body.

Long woods have the most shallow angle of attack, and those are more easily executed because you are trying to sweep the ball or hit on the upswing on a teed ball.  This is hard to do with an iron like the 5i because you still want to take a divot or hit on a decending blow.

I do not know your ability or handicap, but making a guess, you should not try to take a divot with the 5 iron, but try to sweep the ball just like you were using a 3w.  Or practice by teeing up the ball about the height you would a 3w (which is NOT the right way but only for this drill) and try to hit a big sweeping draw.  Then lower the tee, do some more, and then off the ground with the SAME motion/swing plane/angle of attack.

As far as hitting behind the ball, it is a common mistake.  You have a few options without my  seeing your swing:

1. Move the ball position back an inch (but prob not recommended for YOU from what u have told me so far)
2. Make sure you either dont shift back your weight on the backswing or make sure you transfer all weight to your front foot during/after the downswing
3. Relax the dominant arm's elbow (tricep/bicep) as long as you can on the downswing and then straighten and tighten ONLY after you reach the slot
4. Make sure you continuously move/turn your body away from the ball while you swing without getting stuck and without firing as hard as you can... it is just a constant motion

Good luck!