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help me with this duck hook please :(

post #1 of 10
6/24/08 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 
At one point last September I was playing the best golf of my life. I was hitting the ball longer and straighter then I ever had. Over the course of a few weeks my tee shots started to have a little bit of a draw on them, which was nice. Then from one round to the next I developed this hook. Which soon became a duck hook. The duck hook ended with me last year. This year I came out and made a few adjustments to avoid it. This worked at first but its caught up with me again. I seem to hit a power draw with my long irons, and a duck hook with my driver. Im sure many of you may know some of the possible causes as to why this is occuring. My core belief is my grip, i can feel myself rolling my wrists out on the take away, opening the club face, and then rolling closed on the downswing, hence closing the club face. I'm not sure what I should try to adjust to avoid this, maybe a different grip position? Please, anything would be helpful at this point.
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post #2 of 10
6/25/08 at 12:17am

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

can you take a video of your swing? down the line, and face on? this would help greatly with analysis. otherwise its kind of a crap shoot, because somebody might tell you to change something that doesnt need to be changed. but....have somebody stand behind you and watch your swing. make a full backswing and stop at the top. check the club face angle (easiest with your driver). if its pointing to the sky (i would be my paycheck it it) you are closed and this would be a big cause for a huge hook, or huge slice if you dont make a full rotation on the downswing with your hips. let us know!
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post #3 of 10
6/25/08 at 5:03pm

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

i have the exact same problem that you do. For me i think the problem is that my swing plane is too flat. I'm not sure if you have a similar issue but gettin on the correct swing plane has helped in keeping my hands quieter.
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post #4 of 10
6/26/08 at 6:44pm

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

Which way is the ball starting? Pull hook, or push hook? Big difference in what needs to be changed.

Pull hooks mean you are still coming out-in on the ball. The first thing is to get back to in-out, then adjust your timing and grip to release without hooking the ball (release too early, or too violent causing a snap hook).

Push hook is just an accentuated draw. Slow down the tempo and work on your release timing. Try not to snap your release through the ball. Keep it smooth. Focus on maintaining pressures in the correct parts of the grip (left hand last three fingers, right hand middle two fingers). Also keep pressure in the V's of your hands (these are a key feel indicator for sensing clubhead position in the swing). Lastly, check your grip pressure. A lot of people who hook grip the club too hard, then snap the release thinking it will add power. It will just reduce your clubhead speed and cause hooks.

Hope this helps. I had to fight the hook recently as well. Not fun, because mine were pull hooks, meaning I had double trouble to fix.
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post #5 of 10
6/26/08 at 7:29pm

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

I have the same problem with hooking the ball, so I have done everything to play the anti-hook shot. below are things that I was guilty of to create a hook shot:

1) grip too strong
2) take away too much inside
3) not taking a full back swing
4) Hands too close to the body
5) swing plane

You have to find out what you are doing to create the hook and try to correct your hooking problem.

I have tried changing my grip, changin my taking away more outside, hands further away from my body, but I feel that the best change I made is changing my swing plane more upright and down the line.

good luck and happy golfing
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post #6 of 10
6/26/08 at 7:35pm

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

alter your back swing so that it feels you are almost picking the club straight up off the ground. Make sure you feet are flush at address and your grip is neutral.
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post #7 of 10
6/26/08 at 8:57pm

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

Originally Posted by ks8829 View Post
I have the same problem with hooking the ball, so I have done everything to play the anti-hook shot. below are things that I was guilty of to create a hook shot:

1) grip too strong
2) take away too much inside
3) not taking a full back swing
4) Hands too close to the body
5) swing plane

You have to find out what you are doing to create the hook and try to correct your hooking problem.

I have tried changing my grip, changin my taking away more outside, hands further away from my body, but I feel that the best change I made is changing my swing plane more upright and down the line.

good luck and happy golfing
I would vote for #2. It seems to be the root of a lot of problems. Someone had a really good explanation for a check on this on another thread here. Do your takeaway slowly and stop when the club shaft is parallel to the ground. Is the butt end of the shaft pointing down straight down the target line (correct) or pointing to the right of the target line (club too inside). At about the 3/4 mark is the butt end of the club pointing at the target line (correct) or is it point outside the target line (on the other side of the ball from you rather than between you and the ball).

I too have had this problem. When my swing gets screwy that is the first thing I check.

Here is the thread where Kfowler explains this better than I: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13829
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post #8 of 10
6/27/08 at 5:34am

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

IMHO, most hooks are because the hands slow down through the impact zone. Instead of accelerating through the swing, the hands slow down and the club head gets ahead of your hands. This closes the club face and all of a sudden the ball is turning hard left like you're trying to hit a TW recovery shot.

I totally agree with reviewing the initial flight path (left to left or right to left), but the big culprit are those hands slowing down.
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post #9 of 10
6/27/08 at 3:41pm
Thread Starter 

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

Okay guys, thank you very much for all of the responses and advice. I went to the range the other night, and was able to correct the problem by altering the position of my right thumb, its now straight down the shaft instead of overlapping my other fingers. How ever I still had major issues today. I think the problem lies in the take away. During my take away and back swing I can feel my wrists rolling the club face open and then as a reaction it gets snapped closed. What are some things I can do to work on the proper take away? And yes this is most defintley a pull hook. I'll have to look into seeing if im to inside the ball. Thanks again guys.
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post #10 of 10
6/27/08 at 3:51pm

Re: help me with this duck hook please :(

Seems like time for a lesson or to post a video of your swing.
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