Snap Hook

[evinkc05]

ok, here is my problem. I normally hit a nice inside out swing that sometimes puts a nice draw on the ball and sometimes hits it long and straight. I drive the ball pretty well, when I first start hitting, but then I get excited and I start trying to hit the ball harder and my ball starts to draw more and more with each swing. Eventually I'm snap hooking the ball out of control and I cannot help it. My question is how can I either stop getting exciting, or find a way to keep it straight when I want to add that little extra to the ball? Thanks for the help.

[denver_nuggs_15]

Does the ball start out on the same line out to the right, start out in the middle of the fairway, or start out left? They are all different to determine what you are doing wrong. I will explain more when you answer these questions, but I have to go to school now...sorry.

[imtomtomim]

start simple, open your clubface a bit and see what happens. lol

[ks8829]

When you try to hit it harder sometimes your right hand takes over and turns the club over too much causing the hook. I will pull hook the shots. It helps to try to diagnosis the problem yourself so that you can make adjustment on the course during the round.

Tiger woods keeps his driver face slightly open and tries not to close the face at all allowing him to hit his driver as hard as he wants with a power fade.

[iluv5pam]

i have the same problem during the course of my round as well. i get too excited, start getting a little quicker, my adrenaline is pumping, etc. As said earlier, i just try to keep my tempo and keep that clubface from snapping shut at the end of my swing or take it back slightly "open." i say "open" because, it may not be open at all and i've just been taking it back too closed. these minor halftime adjustments should help your self-awareness and keep you connected to your swing. cause if i can't "feel" my swing on any given day, i know i'll be lucky to get through the day. cheers

[evinkc05]

Does the ball start out on the same line out to the right, start out in the middle of the fairway, or start out left? They are all different to determine what you are doing wrong. I will explain more when you answer these questions, but I have to go to school now...sorry.

It starts pretty much down the middle, for the most part, but would you mind telling me what it means when it starts right or left as well. Thanks.

[TheLauncher]

ok, here is my problem. I normally hit a nice inside out swing that sometimes puts a nice draw on the ball and sometimes hits it long and straight. I drive the ball pretty well, when I first start hitting, but then I get excited and I start trying to hit the ball harder and my ball starts to draw more and more with each swing. Eventually I'm snap hooking the ball out of control and I cannot help it. My question is how can I either stop getting exciting, or find a way to keep it straight when I want to add that little extra to the ball? Thanks for the help.

Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I know from first hand experience that its hard to not get excited when driving the ball well, and then try to add that little bit more. The distance thing is a bit of an ego trip for me. It's usually when I try to add extra (unfortunately way too often) that I get quick, my hips slide out or rotate too soon, and my hands have to snap across the ball to catch up.

I imagine that I have a stake running through the top of my head, down through my spine coming out of my... ahem, and sticking into the ground. It usually helps keep me rotating my hips tightly and to stay on plane. But if you're content to trade some distance for accuracy, you will improve your scoring. Would you rather be 270 in the fairway, or risk the rough an OOB for 5-10 more yards? Again, I know how tough it is to not get addicted when you decide to add a little extra and then pull it off and really bomb one. But I'm routinely beaten by players who can't hit the ball longer than 220, simply because they keep it in play. When I make a controlled swing it is almost always more accurate, and occasionally it is as long as when I "go after it." But for now my swing it not repeating enough to reasonably justify adding extra.

[mirv]

i faced a similar problem just today as a matter of fact. sunday i was hitting really nice baby draws, so i came out to the course today real excited about how well i'd hit the ball over the weekend, but every single shot today - every last one! - was a hook. it'd usually start out a bit to the right, maybe 10-15 yards right of target, then around the peak of the ball flight it would start curving tremendously left and usually wind up in the left rough, even though i was starting it down the right side. i never did get it straightened out, and eventually walked off the course on the 16th hole out of sheer frustration.

[Jay-Bird]

Snap hooks are usually due to leaving your weight back - on your back leg through impact (not finishing with weight on front foot). Probably also influenced by either too flat of swing plane/too closed club face/improper grip/too tightly gripping club/clubhead-arms may be 'trapped' to close coming down...who knows. All of which are caused by a lack of focus and commitment to the shot.

Oh, I think the reason the pros use a slightly open face is to ensure that they will get the ball to spin a little right - to get the ball to fade. Most pro long drivers still use more of a draw-style swing, but hit the ball with the face slightly open - causing the end result to be a slight fade.

[Titleist Man]

Can shaft flex or any other equipment issue cause hooks?