Downswing - push or pull, or both?

[cold]

At the beginning of the season I had high fades and seemed to struggle a bit hitting my 7-iron 150 yards. Now I still tend to fade on irons but it's much straighter and I hit straight shots as well; 8-iron around 150. My drives were the same - high fades. But now I have a tendancy to really hook the ball.

The change that brought me extra yardages was pulling my irons on my downswing. I do so on my drives and tend to hook or push them (not always).

My question is if my pulling through with left hand is correct, or if it's a sort of compensation for something else (like my casting of the club). What do you guys do or recommend?

[BigAl5150]

At the beginning of the season I had high fades and seemed to struggle a bit hitting my 7-iron 150 yards. Now I still tend to fade on irons but it's much straighter and I hit straight shots as well; 8-iron around 150. My drives were the same - high fades. But now I have a tendancy to really hook the ball.

This may not be similar to your problem but I used to produce the shot you describe with my driver due to a very strong grip with the right hand and taking the club too far inside causing either a very bad hook or a push. Most of the time my right hand would flip over and close the club face and produce some nasty hooks (or if didn't close, look out to the right!). I really had to focus on making sure my right hand wasn't too strong as well as not taking the club too far inside. I also found I had a tendancy to aim my shoulders to the right of the target rather than parallel to my target line (just compounded the problems).

[Ben]

Clearing my hips to the left start my downswing. The arms automatically follow.

[cold]

I have trouble starting the downswing with my hips and can't seem to stay on the same plane with a lot of effort :SSSSSS