Although statistics say 90% of golfer’s slice the ball… that leaves 10% of us that either hook or can hit it straight. Oddly enough, throughout my lessons, I see many beginner golfers who suffer from a hook. Although, yes, on occasion the fix can be as simple as ensuring the player starts with the clubface square at address, or their shafts are too whippy… but this is not always the case. I want to talk about some common causes of a the hook, that specifically affect beginners. For you better players who suffer from a hook… this post will surely help you’re games out as well.
4)Lack of Wrist Rotation
Although over-active wrists are a common cause of a hook, a lack of wrist rotation on the backswing is also a problem. On the backswing, when the club reaches parallel to the ground, the toe of the club should be pointing skyward. If the clubface is pointing towards to the ground, your wrists have not rotated enough.
Backswing faults are usually exacerbated on the downswing. So a fault in your backswing will likely lead to problems at impact. A closed clubface on the backswing, will lead to a closed clubface at impact. Hence you’re right to left ball flight.
Perform a check to ensure that the toe of your club is pointing skyward at the 9:00 position.
3)Early Release & Over-Active Wrists
If you are one of those rare beginner’s who actually suffer from a hook, the most common cause is an early release. An early release refers to a premature release of your wrists from their cocked position on the downswing coming into impact.
On the other hand, lag is the technical term used to describe the proper downswing motion and the retention of the cocked wrists in the downswing.
The sequence of moves that cause your hook are as follows… your wrists release early and rotate prematurely into impact. The result is a closed clubface, your snap hook and a lack of distance.
To fix this fault, you need to work on drills to help you retain your cocked wrist position later in the downswing. The Lag Creator should help.
2)Inside Swing Path
As I’ve described many times before, an inside swing path travels ‘inside’ your swing plane, or ideal swing path. This fault usually begins with an inside path taken on the backswing, which continues into impact. This path increases the amount of wrists rotation into impact. Also, this path leads to a in to out swing path that impart right to left spin on the ball. The end result of the added sidespin and added wrist rotation is your classic hook.
There are plenty of drills on this site to create a more ideal swing path… the best one being the Shaft Drill.
1)Strong Grip
Most commonly a hook is caused by a strong grip… in this case refers not to pressure but positioning. The V’s made by the webbing between your thumb and index fingers should be pointing towards your trailing shoulder. If your V’s point behind you, or worse to the ground… your grip is too strong.
During your swing your hands will want to return to their most relaxed position. If your arms were to hang loosely from your shoulders, they would face each other… this is that position. So with that in mind, when you grip the club with a strong grip and swing… your hands will revert to this relaxed position more times than not. This will drastically close the clubface, causing your hook.
I hope this run down of faults will help you beginners get on your game on track, and help you better players to refine your skills and straighten that hook.