Duck hook. yuck.

[clonewars222]

I sort of know what's going on, but just to make sure.... I played a match today for high school. ALL my drives were just pulling / hooking like crazy. Everything else was ok. On a few of those shots, I felt like my grip was really strong. What are some things I can do to prevent these hooks/pulls?

[colin007]

weaken your grip a little bit, esp if you feel like the grip is strong as it is. if theres a pull also check and make sure that youre not coming over the top.

[Shindig]

I was doing this recently. I now set my hips a little before I start the backswing, and then proceed as usual. Problem more-or-less solved. Let me know if this works for you.

[Leftygolfer]

For me it is the transition and throwing the club at the top coming over the top with a closed club face.

[deronsizemore]

Quick hooks are usually caused by quick swings. You're likely getting to the top of your swing and just rushing on top of trying to swing too hard which is causing you to come over the top.

Swing your driver with the same type of tempo and speed as you would your 7 iron. I bet you see an improvement.

[goblue107501]

Could be any of the things already mentioned. I will add a couple more.

It could be that your hands are turning over at the bottom of the swing before they need to. Anytime I hit the ball left that is the main culprit. You could have a perfect swing but if your hands turn over too quick and close the face, the ball will go left.

If the ball is positioned too far forward in your stance, it will contribute because the face will be closed by the time the club gets to the ball. Maybe move it back in your stance a little and see if that is the problem.

[deronsizemore]

If the ball is positioned too far forward in your stance, it will contribute because the face will be closed by the time the club gets to the ball. Maybe move it back in your stance a little and see if that is the problem.

True.

It could also be the opposite that the ball is too far back in his stance. One of the results of having it too far back is that your body knows it's too far back but your brain doesn't. So, to not lose the ball right you have to release the club hard to square up the face thus an over release and quick hook. I had this problem at the beginning of the year and was playing the ball way to far back but to me, it didn't look nor feel like I was. Once I got used to feeling like I was playing the ball outside my left foot (not really but that's what it felt like to me) I started hitting some great drives.

[Saint]

I'd take a hook over a slice anyday

[deronsizemore]

I'd take a hook over a slice anyday

You wouldn't take a duck hook over a slice, believe me.

[brotekind269]

You can controll slices by aiming left. Duck hooks go nowhere and can't be controlled. Through out the year (now it's more like the round) I go from one extreme to the other. The whole mind F*** thing about moving the ball up in the stance seems to work for me.

[Yukari]

Lot of times when I hit duck hooks is when I don't shift my weight on the down swing and stay back.

There's been a lot of discussion here lately regarding lateral hip slide/turn. Basically it is reflected on the weight shift. If you don't shift your weight back to the forward foot (left for right handed players), your turning point (i.e., swing) stays behind the ball leading to pulled shots, or duck hooks or worse a double-crosser (pulled hook).

[mhodar13]

I'd take a hook over a slice anyday

No, you definitely wouldn't. Duck hooks are much worse and far harder to correct than a slice. Trust me, if you started hooking your drives, you'd be on your knees praying for that old slice to come back.

[Dub]

You wouldn't take a duck hook over a slice, believe me.

I agree.

I can be bumping along throughout my round.....things working out okay...shooting towards a score in the mid 80's....and I'll get up on a tee box and try to hit a big boy drive and whammo......here comes the hookage. Hooks are nasty affairs that just seem to show up. If I slice the ball there is usually an immediate diagnosis that pops into my head....."Dummy, you sliced because you did this ....or this ....etc." The hook takes me longer to understand. I love the old expression: "You can talk to a slice, but a hook won't listen".....or something like that.

[deronsizemore]

I agree.

Exactly.

I think if you think about it for a second, you'll see you actually know the answer to your hook problem that comes up from time to time. Like I said in my previous post, quick hooks typically come from quick swings. Your trying to hit a "big boy drive" is likely your problem. You get a little quick as you're starting your downswing and in comes the hook. I'll just about guarantee you if you resist the urge to kill the ball, your hook will be all but gone. :)

[Fat Slice]

"Duck hook yuck" - I usually order that with fried rice and a Sprite.

[Dub]

Exactly.

Yeah.....like that's gonna happen.

I'm willing to bet you are dead nuts on it. Here's why: One hole in particular that seems to be where it happens is a par 5 that follows an island green par 3. I'm virtually always steaming mad when I come off this green and approach the par 5 tee box. Straight, center or just a touch of a fade works okay, but there is a lake running down the entire left side and pinches in front of the green. This is where the hook shows up.....7 holes into the round and I'm pissed off and want to kill the ball. Next time I play it, I'll take a few practice swings first and get some decent tempo working first.

[clonewars222]

I found out the problem. It's in my other thread. Basically I had a closed stance and was aiming at the target, which instead was right of it. I was using my hands and was hooking it like that.

[deronsizemore]

Yeah.....like that's gonna happen.

Yeah I think you'd be surprised how far you can actually hit the ball swinging smoothly. I try to swing my driver with the same force that I do my 7 iron. Obviously that doesn't happen as it's a longer club and naturally you swing it a little harder, but that's the feeling I strive for. A slower swing speed with center face contact will be straighter and farther than a faster swing speed and heel contact every time. Although it doesn't feel like it, your "slow" swing and your "fast" swing are likely only a few mph difference in clubhead speed.

This is also why I just put a new shaft in my driver and cut it down to 44.5 instead of 45. It's amazing how much of a difference that .5 makes. Contact with the driver is so much better and my drives are actually going farther with the shorter shaft.