Natalie Adams – PGA Teaching Pro

Here we are going to look at what a pull hook is a golf shot, and the cause of it and how to correct it. So a pull hook golf shot is a shot that starts on the left of the target and then swings and curves in the air even further left, finishing even further left of the target. Okay, the main reason that you are hitting a pull hook, if you are struggling with that shot, is two part. One is the angle of the clubface as the club is connecting with the ball and the second is the path that the club is traveling along, also as you are hitting the ball. So I am going to take this alignment pole just to represent the target line here. Okay, if you are hitting a pull hook, we just said that a pull hook, the ball starts left of the target and then curves even more left.

So the first thing is that the clubface is actually closed, okay, it’s aiming left of the target. As you strike the ball, that’s why the ball is starting left of target. With a pull hook, you have got an out-to-in swing path that means that as you are swinging back down, the club head is traveling to the far side of that alignment pole on the floor there, which represents a target line. So it’s gone to the outside of the target line, so your swing path or the direction of movement of the club head is going from the outside to the inside of that line. Okay, now the reason you are getting the curve with the pull hook, is that when there is a difference between the, where the clubface is pointing and where the club head is traveling, it will impart tilted axis spin to the golf club.

And it’s that tilted axis spin that is making the ball curve and swing in the air as the ball is spinning in the air. So what's happening here is, your club head is traveling from the outside of the target line, it’s got an out-to-in swing path and the clubface is closed, the clubface is aiming left. But the clubface is not aiming in the direction that the swing path is traveling in, there is a difference between clubface is aiming left of target and actually how much the club head is traveling left of target. And that’s imparting the curve, so now we know that, we can work on correcting it, we need to straighten up the swing path, so the swing path moves down the target line and get the clubface in the correct position.

So to help you do this, what I would suggest you do, is take an alignment pole and place it about three, two to three feet to the left of you. If you look at where your target line is, before you hit, so place the club on the floor, we are just going to move down that target line and we are going to place the alignment pole into the ground. Or here we are going to use a range basket and instead of having it vertically in the ground, we are just going to tilt it back about 45 degrees or the angle that your club is setting itself up, the shaft up, as you address the ball. So I am just going to place this into the range basket here and I would put this into that area there. So we are going to use that angle now, if you are hitting a pull hook, the club head is traveling to the left of the target line, to the left of the target and your clubface is turned left.

So you are going to find that you are going underneath that pole. So the first thing we want to work on to correct that shot is to practice swinging the club back and swinging down so you swing the club to the outside of that pole and as you do that, keep on the outside and the upper side of the pole, but allow the hands and the arms to rotate and stay together. That will ensure that as you swing on the outside of that pole, the club head — the clubface is pointing at the target and you will start hitting much straighter golf shots with that move. So to correct to that pull hook, set your alignment pole into the ground, three feet to the left of the ball, at the angle that you would set the club to stop to swing. And then work on swinging the club head on to the upper side of that pole and as you are doing that, keep the club head pointing at the target as you go through the impact. That’s going to get you hitting straight shots in no time.