How to Stop Hooking the Golf Ball
You might have heard from other more experienced sources than yourself, that it’s more difficult to learn how to fix a golf hook than it is to learn how to fix a slice. That’s completely wrong in my opinion, the causes of the golf slice are very similar to that of the hook, they’re just opposite.
Why You Hook the Golf Ball
You slice the golf ball when the club face is open at impact, or your swing path is on a out-to-in plane, more often than not it’s a combination of the two. The sharper the out-to-in swing plane the more the ball will slice. The hook is exactly the opposite. The club face on a hook is closed on impact, and the swing is often on an in-to-out trajectory. As a result the balls’ trajectory will lead it out from your body first, and then hook back around.
The first port of call in curing a golf hook is the club face upon impact. The vast majority of hooks are caused by the club face being closed at impact. The reason is most likely due to the wrists’ early rotation. Your bottom thumb may be turning too soon before your club strikes the golf ball. This may be down to not following through correctly, turning your wrists over too soon, or in certain situations, opening up your hips too early.
How to Fix a Golf Hook
The first thing to look out for to stop hooking the golf ball is to make sure your hands and wrists are in the right position before your club strikes the ball, ie. your wrists aren’t turning over before you hit the ball. To find out whether this is causing your hook, take a 7 iron and hit a few chip shots, if your still hooking the ball then it’s your wrists that are the problem, or at least one of them! Keep hitting chip shots until you get the feel for hitting the ball straight.
The next common issue is the weight shift and body movement throughout the swing. Using the a 7 iron again, try a full golf swing. If you’re still hooking the golf ball the issue lies with your hands leading your swing instead of your hips and legs. Your arms are leading the downswing causing your hips and legs to get left behind.
To solve this problem you need to try a slow exaggerated swing, stop at the top of the backswing if you have to. Concentrate on leading your downswing with your hips and legs followed by your arms. It’s a sort of chain reaction, your hips and legs lead first, naturally your arms and hands will follow.
Practice this slow swing as many times as you need to. Make sure your wrists are straight throughout the downswing, and be sure they don’t turn before you hit the ball. Also, be sure your hands follow through to the target after you strike the ball instead of around your body (kind of like a baseball swing).
If you practice this slow swing repeatedly eventually you’ll get used to the feel of a hook golf swing and you’ll start to hit much straighter and more consistently. Good luck in fixing your golf hook!