Cause Of A Hook Shot In Golf

As you can see in the picture; typically a hook is caused by an in-to-out swing, coupled with a closed clubface, creating a strong topspin (right to left) rotation on the golf ball. The closed clubface is the real issue, as in inside to out swing is a good thing, not a bad one. Learning how to square your golf clubface at impact will be crucial in correcting your hook in your golf swing.

Another cause of a hook shot is the stopping of your upper body rotation before impact, and the hands take over, which closes the face prematurely. If you are hooking the golf ball, a great tip is to work your ABT’s. The ABT’s mean…“Always Be Turning”. I can promise you, if you focus on rotating your body (and hips) aggressively through impact, you will not hook the golf ball. If you are, you have a strong golf grip causing it to close to much at impact. Getting the proper left hand golf grip (slightly weaker) will help correct the rapidly closing clubface.

Getting stuck on your downswing is another cause of a hook golf shot. This is something Tiger Woods is notorious of. Getting stuck means, your lower body gets way ahead of your upper body in the downswing, and your hands, arms and club get stuck too far inside, and the ONLY way to make decent contact is to flip your hands through impact.

Learning how to slow down your golf swing is crucial to proper golf downswing sequence. Once you get this right, you will have a perfectly timed golf swing coming into impact. Your lower and upper body will be sequenced to come into the ball with a square clubface, and just a slight in-to-out swing path.

Simple Tips To Correct Hook

1. Square your clubface at impact. Start by making sure it is square at address, and not closed, or even open, which would make you compensate coming down.
2. Weaken your left hand grip. If you’re a right-handed golfer instead of seeing 3 or even 4 knuckles on your left hand, rotate it to your left to only see 2 knuckles.
3. Slow your downswing. If you learn how to slow your downswing, your body’s sequence will be much better. You will come into the golf ball with the face square, and both upper and lower body nearly matched up, and not one ahead of the other.
4. Work your ABT’s. As mentioned earlier, focus on aggressively rotating your upper body through the shot. That way your hands will never want to take over.
5. Get your right should to come out not down. This is for the more advanced player, as the fault is coming inside too much on downswing, and part of that may be an “over-dropping” of the right shoulder in the downswing. So for that player, thinking of the right shoulder coming just a bit out and not down, might be the ticket.

Hope you enjoyed this article on how to correct and/or fix your golf hook shot. If you did, you’ll want to download our FREE Golf Lessons right away!

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When you learn how to start your golf downswing sequence properly, it will change your golf forever! If I got a dollar every time I heard an amateur golfer said to me “your swing looks so effortless and yet you hit it 10 miles”.  OK so maybe they don’t say 10 miles but they are really impressed with how smooth my swing looks.

Well let me say something that might shock you.  Your swing looks smooth when you hit it well also.  I want to stop and share something with you.  The main reason amateur golfers think my swing looks so smooth is because my results are usually pretty good.  If I topped every shot I hit 20 yards in front of me, it would look so smooth. One of my little secrets is the proper golf downswing that I’ve worked on for 50 years.

Let me share with you the number one reason my swing looks smooth.  After you arrive at the top of the backswing, a whole bunch of things have to take place in order for the clubhead to arrive on time into the back of the golf ball.  If you get the sequence of the downswing in the correct order-your swing is going to look smooth more often.

Number 1-Before you even complete the backswing the left hip has already begun to move laterally, parallel to the target line.  It moves about 2-4 inches and then it will begin to turn behind you.

Number 2-As soon as you reach the end of the backswing it is time for your arms to reverse the golf swing.  The next motion is to get the arms to begin to swing back down on the path it went back on.

Number 3-When you were in the address position your right arm was long with a slight softness in the elbow.  It is time to start straightening out the right arm.  Because your left hip has moved down the line it is at this moment that it will begin to turn behind you.  As long as you keep your hip and legs moving you won’t have to worry about casting your arms.  Casting your arms only takes place if you stop the bottom half of your body from moving.

Number 4-While you are unfolding the right arm the right knee has begun to move towards the left knee. And it must move quickly to keep up with the arms.

Number 5-As the arms begin to arrive at the golf ball the chest MUST remain on top of the ball.  When you arrive at impact the right shoulder is back and it has not begun to move.

Number 6-At the moment of impact both arms are long and the right one is beginning to roll over the left one.

Number 7-As the golf club swings around you on an arc it must continue to swing up towards your left shoulder as you left hip turns behind you.

Number 8-When have completed your swing the right heel is pointing towards the sky, belt buckle on target and hands are across from your left shoulder.

Bobby Eldridge has been teaching golf for over 35 years, and has a fantastic golf blog full of excellent golf tips. I would strongly recommend you head over there and bookmark his blog at Bobby Eldridge Golf today!

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It seems like every time the proper golf grip is mentioned we always talk about the left hand. We rarely talk about the right hand. I am going to share with you some interesting things about the right hand that will be of value to you the next time you head out to the practice facility to hit some balls.

Learning how to grip a golf club correctly is something you have got to practice to get it right. Lets briefly cover the left hand and then we can move on to the role the right hand plays.

When you pick a golf club up it has to lay diagonally across the base of the left hand from the bottom of the index finger to the pad of the left hand. Listen carefully, as this is how to hold a golf club. After you wrap your hand around the club you should be able to see anywhere from no knuckles to three knuckles. The more knuckles you see the more the clubface will close in the downswing.

Now lets move on to the right hand. For starters the right hand has to sit under the left hand and both palms must face each other. Let me explain why. When you begin the backswing the right shoulder has to turn out of the way as the golf club swings back. As the golf club swings back on the arc the clubface will role open.

If you start your backswing with the right hand across from or on top of the left hand, the right shoulder will have a tendency to tilt and not turn as the club swings back. If the right shoulder tilts the clubhead will not swing back on an arc, it will swing outside the path and the clubface will not roll open.

If the right hand is not under the left it will get in the way of the backswing. If the right hand is under the club as the club begins to swing up in the backswing the club will stay on plane as the right wrist begins to fold. When the club begins to swing up if the right hand is on top of the left hand the right elbow will move away from the upper body creating the flying elbow effect.

I have a great drill you can practice at home. Address the golf ball with your right hand on your pant leg and then bring it up and under the shaft. The golf club has to swing around your body in the backswing so make sure you place the right hand is under the left at address.

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He averaged 293 yards off the tee on the PGA Tour last year. Not bad for a 49 year old who’s carrying an extra 30 pounds! What’s his secret to hitting 300 yard drives? I can tell you he has a very late release of the club, which is another term for lag in the golf swing. To improve driving distance, wrist lag is a very effective way to do it.

Focus On Your Right Wrist

To get lag in your golf swing, focus on retaining your right wrist angle at impact. One of the biggest “power leaks” is casting the club from the top. You come into impact with a straight right wrist, with no clubhead speed; and actually this is now what we call a flipped club at impact. There is no retention of power, because the clubhead will no “slow down” going through impact, causing a massive loss of speed and power.

Make A Full Shoulder Turn On Backswing

One important key to power and distance is learning how to make a full shoulder turn in your golf swing. This is not as hard as you think, even if you’ve lost flexibility. Remember… it’s not how high you get your hands or club at the top of your swing, it’s getting your shoulders to turn at least 90 degrees, with 45 degrees of hip turn. That’s all you need. This is not that difficult.

I’ll give you a little “secret” on how to easily make a full shoulder turn. Focus on your right shoulder rotating back and around immediately upon takeaway. This will release all the tension in the lead shoulder, which is what 99% of all golfers focus on when they try to make a big turn.

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Even though Ernie is swinging an iron in this picture, his driver swing is no different. Beautiful tempo and rhythm. God gave him this, but you can emulate him and definitely see improvement in the speed of your swing, both on the backswing and definitely on the downswing.

One of the biggest mistakes in swinging your driver is “trying” to swing too fast. When you do this, you lose any tempo and timing you had before. This loss of timing will result in mishits and swing flaws; and even a lack of distance. So your intention of swinging faster (harder) will most likely backfire on you, as this will also create tension in your golf swing.

Some of the below golf tips you might have heard before, but have you consistently applied them? That is the key. You’ve got to do them regularly to see results.

Speed Up Your Golf Swing Takeaway

You might be thinking I’ve lost my marbles on this one, but hear me out! I know when I personally try to take the club back “low and slow”, I innately triple my speed coming down. I defeated my purpose of a good tempo golf swing. When I work on this normal speed golf swing takeaway technique my overall golf swing speed is slower, but not so slow I lose distance. I actually gain distance, because my golf swing sequence was better, so my ball striking improved. So next time you want to slow down your golf swing for better contact, don’t take the club away too slow.

Pause At The Top Of Your Golf Swing

This is a very common tip, but every time I do it on the course, I crush the ball! In my humble opinion, as amateurs we really screw it up in the transition. We get way too quick, and jerk the club down from the top, throwing our golf downswing sequence off, making it nearly impossible to come into impact in the correct position.

If you watch Ernie, Freddie Couples or any of the touring pros, none of them come down fast, with a jerk from the top. Their golf swing transition is smooth and slow. For us mere mortals, we almost need to think of stopping at the top, before we make our move down. It doesn’t actually happen, but it almost feels like that.

Once you’ve done your pause at the top, then don’t rush it. Let your body unwind in the proper sequence. When you do this, you come into the ball powerfully. It’s amazing when you think you’re slowing down your downswing, because in reality, you are just giving your body a chance to unwind properly. We do not ever want a HIT impulse coming down. EVER!

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Since we are mostly talking about indoor golf swing training, there are a couple of critical things you can (and should) do to improve your golf swing.

Swinging A Weighted Golf Club

One of the most obvious ones you can practice in the winter is swinging a weighted golf club in your “heated” garage. If you don’t have a weighted golf club, I would recommend you get a golf swing weight you can insert right on the shaft of any club you have, and it’s like a weighted donut that baseball players swing on their bats.

When you swing this club, you should create a routine, and not just swing it for the heck of it. What I mean by routine is say… 3 times per week, you’re going to swing it a total of 50 times per session. What I would recommend is 10 very slow swings to warm up. Then another 10 at 50%, building up to the third set of 10 at full speed; then here’s where you can increase golf swing speed. The next 10 swings will be at 110% effort, but under control. This is swinging at a speed you would not do on the course, but off the course you are training your fast twitch muscles to swing faster. The last 10 swings are at 50%. Treat it like a cool down.

One last tip with the weighted golf club. If at all possible, do all your golf swings in front of a mirror to monitor your golf swing technique.

Improve The Strength And Flexibility Of Your Golf Muscles

This is a “no-brainer”. You have more time since you’re not playing, and the majority of golfers are greatly inhibited by their current level of physical condition. Focusing on your golf muscles is a very wise decision during the winter golf months. You don’t need to join a gym, nor do you even have to purchase much equipment. You can do your entire golf training routine with a pair of dumbbells; exercise tubing; and an exercise ball. All you need is about 64 square feet in your bedroom, living room or garage and you’re good-to-go.

Exercises for golfers should focus on the specific movement requirements in your golf swing. The easiest way to do that is to break your golf swing down into phases, then add resistance to those phases.

Golf Swing Fundamentals

Working on your golf swing fundamentals is an easy thing to do during the winter time indoors. First off, your golf grip fundamentals. You can have a club at your office, beside the couch in your living; pretty much anywhere. All you’ve got to do is grab it, grip it, and regrip it multiple times to make sure you’ve got the proper golf grip.

You can then work on your golf posture in a mirror. When doing this, make sure you learn how far to stand from a golf ball so that you get the correct distance and space to make a good takeaway.

You can practice the entire golf swing (address, takeaway, top of backswing, downswing, impact and more) indoors, and so you should. I think I’ve covered enough for today.

If you want a head start on your next golf season, you’ll want to download Free Golf Lessons to your computer.

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Learning how to improve your golf swing is a multi-pronged approach in my opinion. To have a consistent golf swing is not just pounding golf balls (although that worked for Mr. Ben Hogan), or taking dozens of golf lessons. With the right approach, your improvement should be steady and quick, but I have to tell you, it will take some effort on your part. If golf were easy, the average handicap would be a heck of a lot lower than 20+ wouldn’t it?

The Physical Requirements Of Golf

Strength

Trying to swing a golf club at upwards of 100mph, but with good technique, takes a tremendous amount of strength in your core golf muscles, legs and even your shoulders. In my opinion the average, high handicap golfer is in poor physical condition. And yet they wonder why they aren’t hitting the ball as consistent or as far as they “think” they should. Hmmm???? Am I missing something here

If your muscles are weak specific to your golf swing they will not only rob you of distance, but it will be very hard to have any consistency as your muscles fatigue during the round. 2X2YN9UY6D2B Muscular fatigue is a huge culprit to mishits later in the round. Implementing exercises for golfers is an obvious must if you’re serious about improving your golf swing.

If you’re short on time, and your main goal is distance, you’ll want to focus on an increase of clubhead speed which involves either core golf rotational exercises, or using a golf swing weight on the end of your golf club.

Flexibility

We all know you’ve got to be flexibile to make a full shoulder turn in golf. How many times have you tried to make a BIG turn only to hit your tee shot shorter? That’s because you did not have the flexibility to make that big turn, so your muscles golf tight, which slows down clubhead speed.

All it takes is a targeted golf stretch or two, to really see an improvement in your ability to turn back fully, and to turn through aggressively, but in control. There are specific areas like your core and the back of your shoulder muscles that can quickly improve your golf swing range of motion. You can even do a rotational golf stretch right in your office.

Golf Swing Fundamentals

I’ve spoken about this many times on this blog, that your golf swing fundamentals, like the proper golf grip, posture, alignment and ball position are critical to improve your golf swing. Even learning how to cock your wrists in golf is so very important. Get any of these wrong and you will struggle indefinitely.

These fundamentals truly dictate your outcome. Take a look around this blog, and you’ll find many, many FREE golf tips to help you improve your golf swing.

Golf Practice

You can’t argue this one either. If you can practice smartly, and not just pound golf balls, then golf practice is a very important component to improving your golf swing. I would strongly recommend having a goal in mind before you get to the practice range. Break your time up into segments, for example, putting for 15 minutes; bunkers for 10 minutes; chipping and pitching for another 15 minutes; then full swing for another 15-30 minutes.

It all depends on how much time you have. If you are short on time, you should practice what’s most needed. So if you are three-putting everything, then putting should be the focus. If you’re slicing your tee shot you should work on your golf driver swing. You get the picture.

Another quick way to improve your golf swing is with our Free Golf Lessons Download!

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But was I was missing was this step by step golf swing approach that I could rely on day in and day out. I am still in search of it, but I think I can help you put one together that is a good starting point to better golf. It’s not rocket science, but you’ve got to stick with it to see results.

Correct Golf Grip

This cannot be ignored. Your grip is your ONLY connection to the club, so you’ve got to get it right! You MUST learn how to grip a golf club to make a consistent golf swing for 18 holes. Your grip should be come automatic, but it’s got to be right.

Golf Set Up (Posture, Spine Tilt, Alignment & Ball Position)

Here’s another critical component of a consistent golf swing. Your golf set up must be automatic like your grip. When you step into your shot, you must do it the same EVERY time, just like the pro’s do. If you need to develop a pre-shot routine… do it. Either way, you’ve got to get your posture, spine tilt, alignment and ball position correct every time you set up to the ball.

Golf Swing Takeaway

You don’t have to get weird about this, you just need to be consistent every time you make a swing. The proper golf swing takeaway is a simple, “one-piece” takeaway with no hands at all. No early wrist cock, or lifting of the club. Just a smooth takeaway with the entire upper body (core).

Top Of Backswing

If your takeaway was good, you should be at the top of your backswing in a good position. Your right arm holding a tray, with your right elbow pointing to the ground. Clubshaft should be parallel with your target line, with your right hand “under” and supporting the club.

Golf Downswing Sequence

This proper golf downswing sequence is so important to the success of your consistency and avoidance of mishits like slices, tops, thins, bladed, hooks and even pop ups. The most common error is to come down too fast with a “hit” instinct, which puts your upper body ahead of your lower body. This is disaster to your golf swing. You will most likely have an “over the top” and hit a slice, or at a minimum hit a block or push. Any of these will kill your score in a quick minute.

Golf Impact: The Key To The Kingdom

Your golf impact position is one of the most crucial issues in your golf swing. You’ve got to get to impact with a square clubface, or you risk hitting most of your shots offline, costing your strokes and distance. Impact is a dynamic, moving part of your swing, so it’s hard to break it down and work on a position. But, I know for me, I do that in front of a mirror, to see the difference between impact and address.

Your follow through to a balanced position on your lead foot and leg is a result of a solid, and correct golf swing sequence.

If you seen value in this article, then you’ll want to get our FREE 25 Golf Lessons right now!

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If you’re having trouble with your shoulder turn, and you want to fix your shoulder turn in your golf swing, keep reading on

The modern golf swing is a “one-piece” takeaway where you move the club back from the ball with your shoulders and core… not your hands or arms. We also call this a “connected” golf swing takeaway, that is simple, and puts you into a near perfect top of the backswing position.

Let’s take a look at Adam Scott’s takeaway. Even though he is struggling a bit this year, his golf swing technique is every bit as good as Tiger. I have drawn yellow lines to show you this “one-piece” takeaway. Notice how his clubhead is several feet away from the ball, and his wrists have not started to cock. He is taking the club back with his upper body and core, not his hands.

The ONLY “takeaway” I want you to have from this article is this “one-piece” move. That’s all I want you to work on. I also want you to learn how to slow down your golf swing takeaway for better sequence. In the next takeaway article, will go further in detail and take the club back a few feet further.

But this is critical to get right! Focus on taking the club away as a whole. Do NOT under any circumstances break your wrists to the point in this picture. Notice the yellow lines look like a y? If you break your wrists earlier, you will not see this y in your takeaway.

If you liked this golf swing takeaway tip, you’ve got to get our Free Golf Lessons Download asap!

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There are two methods to holding a golf club, and both may work for you, but there is one that will give you a nearly 100% chance at hitting great golf shots. One method is the “palm grip” where the club shaft runs high along your palm. This method makes it very difficult to get a proper golf wrist cock. In fact, it greatly inhibits your wrist cock, which will rob you of power and distance.

In my humble opinion, and from doing it one way (in the palm) to the other way in the fingers, I personally feel you need to hold the golf club more in your fingers, to give you a tension-free wrist cock that generates maximum clubhead speed, power and distance.

Step #1

Lay the golf club shaft across the base of your fingers of your left hand if your a right-handed golfer. It goes diagonally from the first joint of your index finger, up through the callus area of your pinky, and then under your pad of your palm.

Step #2

Once you lay the golf club shaft in the proper position as mentioned above, then roll your left hand over (around the shaft). When you look down, you will see your left thumb to the right of the shaft, with 2-3 knuckles showing. Preferrably 3 to promote a square clubface, eliminating any chance to slice or block the golf ball.

Step #3

Now… how to grip the golf club with your right hand. Bring your right hand under the shaft below your left, and place your fingers under the shaft, completely under all the calluses of your right hand.

This is a totally finger grip with your right hand. Take your right picking and put it over the knuckle of your left index finger. With that position, now wrap your right hand over the shaft. The palm of your right hand will completely cover your left thumb. When looking down, you should now see your right thumb on the left of the shaft over your left thumb. You will see a cupping of your right wrist with this grip.

Step #4

This grip should feel very natural, and you should be able to cock your wrists up and down freely with no effort at all. This is the proper way to hold a golf club.

If you liked this tip, you’ll want to sign up for our Free Golf Lessons right away!

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