Pushes and pulls

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

So I usually hit a fairly straight ball, with the occasional severe hook (not sure where that comes from) and the occasional slice when I blade the ball with the bottom edge of the club.

However, the straight ball flight is frequently quite a long way off from the direction I was aiming (pushes and pulls). I'm especially likely to push my driver, woods, and long irons, and pull my hybrid and short irons, although I do the opposite sometimes as well.

It seems like there's a lot of information on fixing slices and hooks, and a lot less information on fixing pushes and pulls. What usually causes these directional problems? What can I do to determine why I'm starting the ball off in very different directions from one swing to the next?

-Andrew

[ks8829]

When I push the shots I usually have my hand too far from my body and my timming is off.

When I pull my shots I usually do not make a complete backswing.

[jambalaya]

Believe it or not the cause for pushes and pulls can be the same as the cause for hooks and slices. For instance, the most common fault, the over the top move can be the cause for all of these. Your degree of compensation for the over the top move can determine what kind of shot manifests itself. If you usually hit the ball pretty straight either you have a certain degree of fault for which you occasionally over or under compensate. Or you have a good swing for which a fault occasionally creeps in. I wouldn't revamp a swing for something that happens occasionally though and I wouldn't give advice unless I knew the possible source and the severity of the fault.

As for me, I am in the pull and shank mode lately.