The duck hook is back

[bunkerputt]

So I went to the range today expecting my baby fade, but instead I have a major case of the push-hooks. It shoots out about 20 yards to the right and then zips back about 100 yards to the left. Those were the ones where I would actually make contact, which was rare. About 1/3 of the shots were off the bottom of the heel of the club and would just pop up in the air about 20 feet and land about 10 yards out and about 10 yards left. My guess is that now I'm magically coming too far from the inside and either standing too close to the ball or lifting my arms out instead of back at some point. Any tips?

[denver_nuggs_15]

Swing video?

You could be hanging back on your back foot and just flipping your wrists. Or, maybe you're not coming through enough with your hips and just using almost all arms. A swing video would help though.

[bunkerputt]

Swing video?

Right, right... I always forget people don't know what my swing looks like unless I post a video. My tendency is to take a backswing and let my left knee kick towards the ball instead of in. This does a mini reverse pivot with my lower back and creates too much slack to start down with my hips without a large move to get my spine back in line. I may have been doing that. I guess what would help is if I knew what caused that kind of heel topped shot. I've got a lot of tension today and read that tension can cause topped shots because you lose your measurements somewhere during the swing.

[case31]

Yeah, based on what you're describing, a video is needed...especially since even you aren't really sure of what's going on.
Whenever I'm suffering from the pulls/hooks/pull-hooks, here's what I look at:
1) Setup. Is my stance open or closed? Open stance usually means pull, closed stance usually causes a hook or a slice depending on swing path.
2) Take away. Do I take the club only slightly inside on my backswing? If so, then I'm good.
3) Body movement on downswing. Once at the top of my backswing, my hands should fall, then my body turns to generate power and the hands come through. If I feel my hips turn before my hands fall, I'm in trouble.

What might be happening when you hit the thin shots off the heel is that you are subconsciously trying to compensate for a swing flaw. Your body knows something isn't right, and it compounds the real problem. This happens to me every once in a while.