Desperate plea for help

[3 wiggle]

This is the problem that brought me to this forum in the first place. I am a dirty hooker...literally. I have had this problem since i was 13 or 14. I am now 27. Sometimes i can play well enough around it, sometimes i cannot. Its a high right starting hook...almost like a huge draw that ends left of target by 5 to 10 yards. My divots are point out to the right a good bit and are behind the ball. I have no idea how to fix this or what it could be. I know a swing video would help but im unable at this time. Any ideas or drills? Please note...i do have a lesson planned for sunday.

[colin007]

you might be able to set the club face a little open at address.

[JetFan1983]

Yea, without video, it's just a guessing game for everyone. I'll try though.

This is just a shot in the dark, but it seems the most likely reason for your hooks is that your arms (most notably your left arm) is separating from your body on the downswing and/or through-swing. You're coming from inside-out, which is good, but having the left arm separate from the torso through impact can cause a nasty hook, unwanted over-draw or dead right push.

Keep that pressure point in your left armpit constant throughout the swing and into your follow-through and finish. Place a tee there and try to keep it in place during your range sessions. This helps promote the proper pivot.

Film and post your swing though if you'd like a definitive answer to your question.

[3 wiggle]

thx!!! Ill try it as soon as i get home!

[iacas]

Yea, without video, it's just a guessing game for everyone. I'll try though.

Nice job JetFan, that's a pretty good answer. It's either that, his clubface is too square to play the swing path he's got, or a combination. I'm suspect of his weight too if the divots start behind the ball, but...

... 3 wiggle, some video would really tell us, the better quality the better the answer, too.

[normdamarine]

Sometimes you need to dance with the lady you brought to the ball...

[KEEPITSIMPLE]

Well, as noted hard to really know unless their is a video and even if.....I am guessing that you are flat to flatter on your pane which produces an over rotation of the forearm.I use to do and that produces the same divot left and hook that you have. That was like when I first started and I use to shoot mid 80s to high 70s.

Look, the simplest and the best tip I give to my friends and it works for almost anyone is that try to replicate the backswing plane with your downswing except in reverse sequence
and not lose the bow in your wrist. SO if your natural plane is too flat and in. Adjust by taking the backswing more straight and up. You know so you have a slightly inside and up plane on your backswing. Well, how do you square up something that is going up and in on the backswing?? You swing down and out on the downswing except make sure you again maintain the bow in your wrist. Seems kind of intuitive to me but I wonder why people don't do it. I got to be a 2.3 like eight years,the only time I ever kept an official handicap btw, just by practicing that concept without ever taking a lesson or being crazy with reading up on golf stuff.

[Fat Slice]

Try moving the ball closer in to your body - that'll make it harder to go inside-out.

[halcon]

Yea, without video, it's just a guessing game for everyone. I'll try though.

Nice job JetFan, that's a pretty good answer. It's either that, his clubface is too square to play the swing path he's got, or a combination. I'm suspect of his weight too if the divots start behind the ball, but...

I've been working in this issue (keeping the pressure point of my left armpit), and my hooks got worse! I am still trying to figure it out but right now, specially with my driver, my shots start a little to the right or straight, and then go left wildly the entire fairway, deep into the rough. I've tried to open the face of the club, but it very unpredictable because I can hit a straight push or, even worse, a push-fade (since I aim to the right of the fairway, it is a big problem to me). For what I've seen, I am hitting the ball with an in-to-out club path and a fairly square face... What can I do to open the face slightly on contact? Is this a footwork problem? (The main difference I see with my driver is that I move the back foot forward after contact)

[anotherday]

Pay the $$ for a single lesson instead of taking a thousand tips on how people correct their shots. We all know that the last thing we need is one more swing thought. If you've been doing the same thing for 13 years it will take much more then a few bandaids to fix your shot for good.

Good luck! =)

[ks8829]

I have been a hooker and a draw is my natural ball flight what I have done in the pass to control this ball flight is the following:

1) make sure my grip is not too strong
2) take the backswing more straight back to slightly outside
3) try to keep my hands farther away from my body
4) make sure that I complete my backswing
5) try to hit a fade
6) play the ball further back in my stance
7) keep the club face from turning over and square to the target line
8) slightly open my club face at address

[anotherday]

We all know that the last thing we need is one more swing thought.

1) make sure my grip is not too strong

My point exactly... o.O

[BostonSully]

I am a dirty hooker...literally. I have had this problem since i was 13 or 14. I am now 27.

Dude I think you meant to post this on the Maury or Springer Boards hahaha

[alo1984]

Need video, but most of the time bad hooks are caused by the toe of the club turning over too quickly. If your divots are that far behind the ball then that could mean that the heel of your club is digging into the ground and causing the toe to turn over. This would mean that at impact your club face would be closed to the target, thus creating a hook. This was said already, but try to play the ball slightly back in your stance and try to keep the club square to the target line throughout impact.

[anotherday]

I'll say that I had a horrible problem getting into the ground before the ball and the problem was that during my backswing I'd dip my left shoulder down. It threw me all off. You could focus on making sure your shoulders turn correctly on plane. Also, my spine was angled toward the target as opposed to away from the target.

An instructor helped me with this... just saying. If you want free lessons, take your swing to a golf store with a simulator and swing away. They'll try to tweak your swing so you can hit the club correctly and then buy it.