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What Is The Difference Between A Hooked And A Drawn Golf Shot?The differences between a hook, draw and straight shot might not seem that important to some people but it can tell a golfer everything they need to know about swing path and club face at impact.


The first thing a golfer needs to understand is what the different ball flights are and how they can be achieved. The three ball flights considered “best” by the majority of golfers are straight, draw and fade.

When hitting a straight shot (assuming alignment is correct), the club face will travel on an inside-to-square-to-inside swing path with the club face square to the target line at impact.
To hit a fade, the club will have to travel on an out-to-in swing path with the club face open to the swing path but slightly closed to the target line, moving the shot left to right in the air.

To hit a draw, the club will have to travel on an in-to-out swing path with the club face closed to the swing path but slightly open to the target line moving the shot right to left in the air. In each of these examples the ball will finish on the intended target.

The difference between the draw and hook is that with a hook although the ball starts right of the target it will move left and finish left of the target. For this to occur the swing path could remain the same but the club face position must change. A hook requires that the club must move on an inside to out swing path with the club face closed (pointing left) of both the swing path and target. This combination produces a high amount of counter clockwise spin to be imparted in the ball.
A draw and hook can be separated by judging the ball flight purely on target line.

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This is a classic draw shot produced by an in to out swing path with the club closed to the path but open to the target. A draw shot is traditionally considered the best ball flight to master as it gives a better combination of accuracy and power.

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If the ball starts left and hooks more through the air this is known as a pull hook. Critically it differs from a normal hook because the club moves through the ball on an out-to-in swing path with the club being closed to both path and target.

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This ball flight is known as a pull and requires the club to be swung on an out to in swing path with the club square to this path. This ball flight is distinct from the hook and draw because it has no shape through the air.