Duck Hook with Woods

[Andrew24]

Hey guys, just need some advice really quick on a duck hook with my woods, driver especially. I might be using the wrong term, but its when it goes straight with crappy ball flight then just has a nasty hook and rolls for like 10 minutes (exaggerating obviously). I'm sorry I don't have any video of my swing, but what could some of the causes be? I just started playing this year and this is just with my driver, 5 wood, 4 hybrid. I play a draw with my irons. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[delofter99]

I have the same problem and when it comes out on the 10 hole when I am playing really well it makes me sick.........

[JetFan1983]

My miss is a duck hook as well.

It happens when I don't push my hips forward. As a result, my shoulders spin out. I'm bowing my wrist usually at impact, so what results is an over the top move with a club face closed to the path.

The fix for me is getting my hips more forward and getting my shoulder to turn downward, on plane -- not above the plane like a baseball swing.

Again, without video we can't really know but I suspect this problem is somewhat common.

In my practice swing, I really need to feel the lateral hip slide -- not a hip and shoulder spin out with no spine tilt/axis tilt. My trail foot is a good indication if I did it right (besides the resulting ball flight of course). If it's on its toe, I spun out. If I can push forward laterally and not bank my trail knee towards the ball, my foot stays planted and rolls nicely on its instep. And of course, the ball flight is a nice high push draw.

Hopefully you knew those terms I'm using. If not, feel free to check them out. They're clearly defined (unlike advice like "release the club" for example, which has multiple meanings to many different people).

Closing my shoulders slightly at setup can also help prevent a spin out somewhat. But I still need to push forward so my spine tilts in the correct manner. Maintaining side-tilt/spine angle/staying down on it/keep your head down is critical for me to not duck hook my shots. I usually always hit a solid shot if at the finish, my spine is tilting. When my spine is vertical at finish, I usually hit a duck hook....or a big block to the right.

[Harmonious]

Could be a lot of things.  Alignment, ball position, grip, over the top downswing, etc.  It's impossible to say what causes it in your instance without seeing you swing.  Any suggestions here would just be wild guesses without something to look at.

[The Recreational Golfer]

It is possible that the clubhead is getting to the ball before your hands do and you're closing down the club in the process. The cause is trying to whack the ball with your hands instead of sweeping it along with your swing.