from slice to pull

[I KyotE I]

I started playing like most I had a slice and after many a night watching the golf channel and trying to mimic the next day I got it straight. I have always been a arms out not close to the body hitter and now that I started to get to swinging harder and still making good contact(relitive to the club face), I have noticed that I have been making a lot of hooks. I notice that when I get more compact with my swing I don't hook near as oftin. could the combination of having a wide swing and swinging hard cause the hooks. and if it means anything I am also trying to have a little more hip movement in my down swing, coming from playing hockey going to golf using all upperbody and having almost no lower body movement. I don't know if trying to clear my hips a little more could have anything to do with it either. I use a xls with a gold stiff shaft. my irons are pro select with graphite shafts I would say maybe mid-stiff shafts? I have pulls more with my irons but the rare driver pull is bad. any thoughts?

[umpiremark]

Obviously without seeing your swing ... I'm only guessing. Could it be that by swinging harder you're pulling the club around your body like a baseball swing and not finishing "down the line?"

When I swing harder ("Please lord gimme that extra 15 yards") I pull hook bad, because I'm swinging fast around, rather than sweep and through to PGA finish posture.

Just my two and a half cents ... ask a pro, perhaps?

[billm408]

Pull & slice are the same swing. The only difference is the angle of the face at impact. By your description, you're all upper body, which means that you're coming over the top (shoulders rotating more than hips on the downswing). Ideally, the difference between your position at address and what you want at impact is that your weight is on your left side and your hips have rotated left. Your shoulders should still be square to target line. Try this drill;

Hold a club across your shoulders with your left hand... take note of where the club is aimed at address. Make a mock swing and stop at impact. Your hips should be cleared and aiming left, your weight should be primarily on your left side and the club should be aimed back at the same spot as at address (slightly elevated because your shoulders will be uneven at this point).

Good luck.

[becksfan2185]

Pull & slice are the same swing. The only difference is the angle of the face at impact.

Bingo.

I took a series of lessons from a local pro... on the first lesson he asked my most common "misses," which were either a straight pull or a slice. I was coming over the top, off plane on the downswing. Sorry to say, there's no easy fix for that... nothing on the golf channel that will instantly improve this problem. It took me a lot of practice and some lessons to get me back on the right track.