Strange (to me), terrible mishit

Hi all -

Great forum. I wish I had come across it long ago!

So, here's my problem. I'm an average golfer, index 13.7, who hits his share of bad shots. But, there is a shot I hit a time or two a round (or even more) that has me totally perplexed. I've had lessons with a pro, but I don't think I've ever duplicated this shot during the lesson, nor on the range in general. It is a course only thing.

The best way I can describe it is "a shank look-alike but with a hybrid or fairway wood". The ball goes to the right at about a 45 to 60 degree angle to my intended path. It is far worse than a "push" (I am a righty). It doesn't slice or hook; its flight path is straight. The ball travels a fair distance, maybe half to two-thirds as far as it would if hit well and on-line. I only do this mis-hit with a fairway wood or a hybrid. I don't do it with my driver ever, and I can't remember the last time I actually shanked an iron (ok, now I have jinxed myself, I know). I've used various different hybrids/woods over the last few years, and I have the same issue with all of them, so I don't think it is the club itself. It is me!

Needless to day, a few shots like this can inflate one's score pretty quickly, as the ball is almost invariably lost in the woods or in a hazard after this shot. And, to make matters worse in my own mind, I've played with all sorts of golfers over the years, from scratch (or better) players to 36 handicappers, and I have never seen anyone else do this. It is downright embarrassing!

Anyone have any thoughts or advice?

Desperate in Seattle,
Frank

Maybe you are setting up differently with your fairyway woods/hybrids without even realizing it? Ball position?

One possibility is that you get too quick and don't complete your backswing.

IMO, it sounds like you're pulling the swing and toeing the ball. your exact description was a shot I had to control this spring getting back into the game and playing hybrids for the first time. basically, look to see if you're setting up on your hybrids like you do your driver, and close in... step in to your stance just a hair, and really focus on keeping your head down on that club - your body wants to swing it like a driver, but with the much smaller club face and tight lie it is very easy to pull the swing without even feeling it and toe the ball HARD off to the right... hope that helps...

It does feel like a toe hit!

A question, if I may - when you say I might be "pulling the swing", what do you mean by that mechanically? I know what a pulled golf shot is (left!), and I know what pulling the ball in baseball means, but I am not familiar with the term "pull the swing" in golf. I think you may be on to something with respect to my problem, so I want to make sure I am getting the right visual for what you are talking about. Thanks! - Frank

I'll check that closely the next round I play. Theoretically, I try to set up my hybrids like I do my long irons, but who knows - it is easy to forget such things on the course!

Thanks! Frank

Another good thing for me to check - I note that in the recent issue of Golf, Harrington writes about hybrids and emphasizes getting his back fully turned to the target in the backswing... it would be easy for me to be quick and anxious on the course and not finish the backswing.

Thanks, Frank

If it is an occasional shot, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just count it as a bad shot. To try and change anything in your swing to compensate may lead to other problems. Sounds like a toe hit to me. Just try to stay more relaxed on those shots, let the club do the job of getting the ball in the air. Fairway woods or long iron shots are difficult. Sometimes we try to hard.

You've been to a teaching professional, so I may be preaching to the choir here. Anyway, here goes:

Hybrids were new to me early this season. Because they LOOK similar to fairway woods, I was treating them as such with my setup. When I figured out that my setup with a hybrid club should mirror an iron shot rather than a fairway wood setup, the hybrids worked much better.

What I'm guessing is that you may be playing the ball off your left heel or even farther up in your stance. When the 'straight right' happens, the swing is finished (in the hitting area) and the club has passed for a center-of-the-face hit and you're getting the toe-third of the club on the ball.

Then again, I could be totally wrong .... Try moving the ball one or two balls ahead of center in your stance and see if you start flushing those hybrids. Sunday, I played a long-ish course and my 3 and 5 hybrids got a workout! Most went high and straight with just a bit of left turn on them. Since moving them back in my stance, I've had more solid contact and much better results.

Hit 'em straight,

dave

Like was mentioned above, be sure when you have that hybrid in your hands, you are thinking "swing like an iron". Take a nice, easy, controlled back-swing and follow through. I had your exact problem when I first started using hybrids. They look like woods, so you automatically swing like you are using one. As far as doing this with a fairway wood from the deck, make sure you are getting your club faced closed and not hitting "across" the ball, like with an out to in swing, or even a severe in to out swing. Good luck!

I probably used the wrong term, sorry if I did, thats just the way it felt to me before I fixed it. I was literally 'pulling' my shoulders away from the ball a hair when I would swing, causing the face of the ball to slide back and I would cathc it off the toe. I wasnt lifting up or picking up my head, so the club sole was still brushing the grass, which made it harder to figure out what I was doing wrong. forcing myself to lean into it all the way through the shot helped me square up, and now I catch my hybrids flush every time. hope that helps!