As far as golf swing problems go, the slice golf shot is more common than the golf swing hook, but if you suffer from a hook you will want to know how to fix a hook. Thankfully, learning how is not as complex as you might imagine.
The secret to overcoming this golf swing problem is to first find out the cause. There are many reasons why your golf ball could curve with exaggeration to the left.
Below are some tips to get you back on the straight and narrow.
A Closed Club Face
A golf swing hook shot happens when the ball spins in a counter-clockwise direction as it is struck with the club-face. The faster the ball spins, the more severe the left curve that causes the hook will be.
A golf ball that spins counter-clockwise is caused by the ball being hit with a closed club-face. A closed face points to the left for right-handed golfers or to the right for lefties. The perfect position for the club-face at impact is square and neutral.
Gripping the Club
The first thing to check is your grip when you want to fix your hook. An improper grip is the most common cause of a hook and luckily it is also the easiest fault to identify and fix. Here are a few golf grip tips that you can experiment with.
When you place the club in your left hand, it goes diagonally across the left palm from the base of the forefinger to the pad above the pinky. If you have a swing hook, experiment with moving the grip more into the palm area.
When you are in your normal golf swing setup position, look down at your hands gripping the club. You should see one or two knuckles on your left hand, which is called a neutral grip. The hook is often caused by a strong grip; if you can see more than two knuckles showing on your left hand then you have a strong grip; experiment by adjusting your grip to a neutral grip by rotating your hands around the grip until you can see one or two knuckles.
The grip size can also affect the ball flight – if your grips are too small for your hands then you will tend to draw the ball or to even hook the ball. Similarly, gripping the club too lightly can cause the ball to curve to the left. The way to grip a golf club is an individual preference and no two golfers will have exactly the same grip. Many golfers, however, simply refuse to experiment by modifying their grip or they will not spend the required time to get used to the new grip – this will result in them falling back into their old habits eventually.
Golf Swing Balance
If everything is fine with your grip, then the next tip is to check your golf balance. When you address the ball, your weight should be on the balls of your feet, not on the toes or the heels. When you swing the club, this will allow your hips to turn smoothly and you will stay balanced throughout the swing.
Some golfers believe that the more they can rotate their bodies in the backswing, the more distance they will get. While rotation is important, an exaggerated twist will cause you to go out of the ideal swing plane and you will have to over-compensate to make contact – this often results in a hook or other swing problem like the slice or topping the ball.
Straight Left Arm
Your left arm ought to be straight as the golf club makes impact with the ball. If your left arm is bent or bending at impact, this will cause the club-face to close at impact, resulting in a hook.
A Closed Position at Address
The proper address position that you will want to adopt is the familiar “railroad track” – which means that your feet, hips and shoulders form a parallel line to the target. However, this parallel line should not be directed at the target, it should be pointing slightly to the left of the target. This is because, even though you are setup parallel to the ball to target line, you are standing back from the ball.
Imagine the right hand track is the ball to target line and the left hand track is your feet / hips/ shoulder line. Try and find an object just to the left of your target and line up parallel to that. Just remember that with your driver, the tracks will be wider apart and so you have to align your feet / hips/ shoulder line further to the left of the target line. If you try to align yourself to the target, you will force your self into a closed position at address – this will result in the golf club swinging too much from the inside in the downswing and the golf ball will curve and hook left.
How to Fix a Hook Summary
Hopefully, one or two of the above tips will solve your hook problem. You should go through them one-by-one, make small adjustments, hit a few golf balls, and see what results you get. Trying to fix any golf swing problem is the same; it is a process of elimination. Learning how to fix a hook is no different.
