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Leading with Heel to Stop Hooks?

dak4n6

By dak4n6,
in Instruction and Playing Tips

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dak4n6 Great Member

dak4n6

Just curious, what is your take on this swing thought: From the top, lead the heel of the club into the ball.

I'm interested especially from the perspective of a persistent unrelenting hooker...

dak4n6

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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If it works for you, great.

It could also lead to shifting the path MORE to the right, worsening a hook.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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dak4n6 Great Member

dak4n6

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Why might this move lead to a more in-out path?

OK, I'll add more detail. In the past I would use these to mitigate my hook:

- more vertical swing plane

- slow down a bit

- hold off the face

- weaker left hand grip

These all work for me with varying degrees of consistency however when I'm in a bad hook phase I have to focus pretty hard to execute them. So, a couple rounds ago, I can see I'm entering into another hookey round, but these fixes weren't really working - it wasn't that bad most shots started slightly left with a draw, and only a couple into the trees left. However, I was getting tired of this shot shape.

So, after 18 I played another 9 to see if I could work through it, and I recalled this swing thought from the past (I think it might have been Johnny Miller doing a slow-mo analysis of someone). I had never really paid it much mind, but now I decided to try it, and I REALLY like it. The thing I like the most is it seems to be a one thought fix as opposed to a multi-thought fix as above. So I've played it 1.5 rounds now, and I'm making some really nice contact and hitting a lot of dead straight shots. It's not perfect (I shot a meh 84) as I'm working on the feel and coordination, but I think I'm gonna put this one in my bag.

dak4n6

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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Originally Posted by dak4n6

Why might this move lead to a more in-out path?

Because in trying to "lead with the heel" you could uncock the club and delay the rate at which your forearms roll and thus the elbow trajectories, thus sending the path right.

I'm not saying it is going to happen, just that it could.

Originally Posted by dak4n6

OK, I'll add more detail. In the past I would use these to mitigate my hook:

- more vertical swing plane

- slow down a bit

- hold off the face

- weaker left hand grip

The thing I like the most is it seems to be a one thought fix as opposed to a multi-thought fix as above. So I've played it 1.5 rounds now, and I'm making some really nice contact and hitting a lot of dead straight shots. It's not perfect (I shot a meh 84) as I'm working on the feel and coordination, but I think I'm gonna put this one in my bag.

The problem as I see it is that they're all "fixes." You are prone to hooking, and a "quick fix swing thought" is not the long-term solution. You can "put that one in your bag" and then you'll be searching again in a week or so when it stops working, or maybe you start block-cutting the ball…

I can't recommend enough putting swings on video and actually diagnosing things, then working on fixing them. Feels change - I've gone through many working on the same mechanics over the years. They come and go, and if you constantly have a reliable source of information (like video) then you can keep improving instead of jumping from one "quick fix" to another.

And if your ball is hooking because the path is too far right, the "quick fixes" may be very, very different than hooking because the face is not right-pointing enough.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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