I Push. Common causes? Common solutions?

[mellojoe]

Lately I've been getting better and better. This is a good thing. Mostly its just being more consistent in getting contact, instead of just hacking. I am, by no means, good or even average. I'm well below.

However, I have found that my #1 most common problem, even if I make good contact, is watching the ball shoot straight off to the right. SHOOOM! Its not slicing or anything, it just shoots off to the right (i'm a right handed hitter).

This is when hitting off the grass, not from a tee. I've done it with my 5-wood. My hybrid. My 7-iron. And even my wedge. I make solid contact, and the ball goes streaking off into the woods (or lake, or the poor guy's golf cart on the previous hole ).

What are the common reasons why people push shots?
What are common things to look for to correct this?

[m11]

well there are a few things.

you might actually be hitting them straight and your alignment is off. When you line up to the ball, because you arent on the target line, an illusion occurs that causes you to aim more to the right than you should be. Solution? Fix your alignment. If you are confident your alignment is fine, then obviously this isnt the cause. If you are shaky on your alignment, i'd be glad to provide tips.

Another cause is your grip. You arent able to roll your hands over properly and are blocking/pushing the shots to the right.

Another one is your equipment. If your hitting clubs with a small offset combined with not being able to get your hands in the right position at impact, the clubface will reach the ball earlier than the club is designed to, and you'll push them to the right. Generally this is why game improvement clubs have more of an offset...they allow you to be a little late and still hit the ball straight.

Another option can be that you are standing too close to the ball. You are coming in from the inside like you should be, but you are jamming yourself and pushing the ball out.

First thing i'd check out is your grip. One day you may be pushing, one day you may be slicing it..and then next you have a hook. A lot of golfers spend so much time trying to find fixes in their swing path, they never check that their fundamentals are sound. Make sure you have a good grip (i know, vague statement) and that your alignment is sound.

[m11]

(or lake, or the poor guy's golf cart on the previous hole

Funny offtopic story completely unrelated to the thread:

Was playing the other day and leaked a drive out to the right...the wind also got a hold of it and it ended up in another fairway. However, it didnt actually end up in the short grass. My ball actually landed in that little basket that holds clubhead covers and stuff like that in another guy's cart. Needless to say, the guy was mad but the situation was hilarious. It was a once in a lifetime shot and definitely made for a good story. So sometimes its not so bad to push a shot at someones cart

[kehanra99]

Strange enough, when I started getting really solid contact with my different clubs I started to push the ball for a while shortly afterward too.

For me it was a timing/power issue. I started getting good contact so I was trying to add more power. I was forcing my turn faster than my arms, which would cause my arms to try and catch up. My arms would tighten, I couldn’t get proper wrist action, and even though my swing was good the clubhead wouldn’t close fast enough to hit the ball straight. So, much like what you describe, I’d nail the ball but it would shoot right of the target. Make sure you’re getting the good contact before worrying about distance.

Golf is funny that way. You can’t be flat out lazy, but the less effort you put into getting distance the more you get…don’t underestimate what the sweet spot of a clubhead will do to a ball on a slightly slower, more controlled swing.

[HytrewQasdfg]

Happens on grass but not on a tee?

My guess is the toe your your club is digging a little deeper into the turf than the heel, twisting you slightly open.

[Nikonut]

Same here, it was becuase:
I had my left hand/thumb grip to much to the right side of the grip.

some slow motion swings, I could see my left hand "straightning up" - back of hand pointing straight - (as it wanted to naturally do in my case), and the club face closed.

regripped, left thumb more on top/just slightly right, and the balls went straight.

well easy enough to try out.

[mellojoe]

Happens on grass but not on a tee?

You know... someone mentioned in passing that I keep my hands too far away from my body. I dismissed it because it was someone that I didn't know, and therefore didn't trust. However.... if my hands are too far away, then I'm pushing the toe of the club down further than regular. If that's the case, I could be hitting the toe of the club deeper into the ground, twisting the club open.

That could be the case. You think?

[Avid Golfer]

However, I have found that my #1 most common problem, even if I make good contact, is watching the ball shoot straight off to the right. SHOOOM! Its not slicing or anything, it just shoots off to the right (i'm a right handed hitter).

The direction your ball starts is related to the direction the clubhead is swing through impact. Since your ball is starting its flight out to the right that is the direction the clubhead is moving as it goes through impact.

you might actually be hitting them straight and your alignment is off.

I agree that alignment

could be related to the problem (dictating the direction of the swing), but I disagree with the grip conclusion. Mellojoe says they are going straight right, even with his 5 wood, if his swing path was toward the target, but the grip was leaving the clubface open then the ball would tend to slice.

Another one is your equipment. If your hitting clubs with a small offset combined with not being able to get your hands in the right position at impact, the clubface will reach the ball earlier than the club is designed to, and you'll push them to the right.

Offset does not have any significant effect on the position of the clubface at impact.

Another option can be that you are standing too close to the ball. You are coming in from the inside like you should be, but you are jamming yourself and pushing the ball out.

For me it was a timing/power issue. I started getting good contact so I was trying to add more power. I was forcing my turn faster than my arms, which would cause my arms to try and catch up. My arms would tighten, I couldn’t get proper wrist action, and even though my swing was good the clubhead wouldn’t close fast enough to hit the ball straight. So, much like what you describe, I’d nail the ball but it would shoot right of the target. Make sure you’re getting the good contact before worrying about distance.

Getting the club stuck (where the body blocks the path of the arms may result in the arms swings out away from the body) is a plausable cause of a block swing path.

[ks8829]

I push my shots when I do the following:

1) My hands are too far from my body at address.
a) my hands should be an open hand distance from my body.

2) When I take the club back too far and I don't return back at contact.
a) I try to rotate around my body and make a compact swing.

[rubbery]

This used to be a big problem for me as well, but it went away after one lesson. I was told to back off the ball and bend my hips a bit more. Then he told me that the first action of my downswing should be to more or less elbow myself in the side (if someone could put that into better words for me, that would be fantastic). That was the simple fix that I got.

[tehdeuce]

I tend to have the same tendency. The only person who has seen my swing and commented said they feel that I don't release my hands on some swings. When I do I get a nice swing and ball flight, but when my release is off, I often push the ball....

Not to mention I strike the ball with the heel of the club often.

[gbk56]

Usually when I push the ball it is one of the following:

1) My swing is too inside out
Fix: concentrate on bringing club back on a straighter path.

2) I look up too soon
Fix: concentrate on watching the club strike the left inside part of the ball

3) I do not get off my right side, either shift weight to the outside of right foot or do not get any weight shift.
Fix: concentrate on keeping weight on the instep of right foot and take a few practice swings concentrating on rotating my body to get a good shoulder turn and not shifting hips backwards to the right.

[mellojoe]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going out tonight, so I'll try to see about working on this.

I played yesterday, but my irons were all over the place. My wedges almost always were way off to the right, but I wasn't making good contact with any of my irons so I'm throwing away that game. I'll concentrate tonight on:

#1) Keeping the handle closer to my body, thus raising the toe of the club off the ground a tiny bit more.

#2) Be sure to take the club straight back. I do this with my drives, and they seem to be going straight. A slow and straight take-away is my driver solution, so I will apply the same take-away mentality with my iron shots.


I'll start with these simple fixes and see if this works. If not, then its a more complicated problem that I may need someone to watch my swing and see where to fix it. I'll start here, and try to add the additional advice as I go on.

Thanks a million, everyone.

[mellojoe]

Played a little yesterday.

I now turned my Push into a Push-Slice.

I'm going backwards. I did find out, though, that the local Pro up here charges very little for member lessons. I think I'm going to take him up on it. We live in a retirement community with a hefty POA board, so they give lots of stuff free to members. So, I think I'll be scheduling some lessons soon. I'm just not consistent and I've lost most of my sense of comfort over a ball. Not that I was good... but I'm just a beginner and its time to get some real lessons.

[kc8kir]

I push shots when I lose the connection of arms and body. As Ben Hogan said in Five Lessons, "The elbows remain tightly glued to the sides." The downswing transition establishes this contact, and they stay there until the release of the follow through.

I push shots when I lose the connection, swing in to out, and fail to compensate and bring the club face square relative to the intended line in time (the club is square to the actual path). If I do it, I would get a draw, but I fail in the compensation and instead push. It's always somewhat more complicated than that, but the connection idea is essential for preserving the desired power while enabling a full release through the ball. The result is straighter shots with fewer compensations.

I hate feeling like I have to steer my hands at the ball to hit it at the target, and that's exactly what good connection helps alleviate. Swinging without that connection is very tiring imho. Hogan once commented to a friend of his that his biggest problem in golf (the friend's, not Hogan's) was not keeping the arms glued to the body through the hit. I have been very guilty of flailing the arms at times, and it is something I am working to correct.

[gbk56]

Played a little yesterday.

Sounds like you are overcompensating from your original swing which gave you the push to an outside-in swing with an open club face. You should probably try to come a little more inside-out and try to get the clubface square on impact.

Lessons sound like a great idea! It is far better to get a pros advice while they are there to actually see your swing.

[Spence17]

I have been pushing lately and the reason is that since I try to keep a really loose grip, I don't set the club at the top. I kind of let it droop which causes a bit of a push. My suggestion is on the range or on the course I guess, bring the club up a little more than 3/4s and make sure you don't feel the club slip close to the meaty part of the thumb/palm.

[LongIron]

I would try standing a little further away from the ball and just focus on your club path.