Draw that turns into a hook

Hi Brett,

Thanks for your Q.

First up- there's nothing wrong with playing with a draw.  Having a controlled draw is something a lot of golfer's would envy.  However I agree there is nothing more frustrating when your steady draw turns into an ugly hook.  As Lee Trevino once said, "you can talk to a slice but a hook won't listen!"

Here's a few things you could try.

1. If you are drawing the ball and sometimes getting hooks it won't be fixed by simply opening your stance and trying to swing more outside the line on the backswing and across it at impact.  Believe it or not- that's probably making your hook even worse.

Start at home with some work in front of a mirror with your alignment and setup. Check your shoulders and hips are in line (relatively) with your target line.  This is the starting point for all good swings.  A lot of the world's best players carry alignment sticks in their bags for practice everyday.  

You say your grip is 'excellent' - then you have to make sure that you start each shot with a square clubface as well.  A lot of golfers who draw the ball and then 'over-cook' it tend to start with a slightly closed clubface and compound the problem by over-doing the hands the impact .

Finally the best advice any one can get is from their local PGA Professional.  Sometimes it can take less than 15mins working with someone with a trained eye to spot your faults and correct you for good.  Your PGA Professional will not only find your fault but be able to recommend some drills and practice routines that will keep the dreaded hook out of your game.

Hope this helps.

Dave

 

one week I had a beautiful draw that was easily controllable then next week I had a hook that I cannot fix. I live in the country so I do not have a professional at my club to help me. I need some tips to help with this.

Hi Will,

As discussed with Brett above, a hook can be caused by by many things you do both pre shot and in swing.  Without seeing your swing and what you are doing at address I'm afraid it will be very hard to advise you on what to fix.

We will get in touch with you off line and try and help you out to fix that hook!

Thanks

Team Titleist

Thanks David,

That was quite a while ago and yes I have had some lessons. I was gripping the club too tight and also not releasing my hands. Since then the draw has been ok but I have been blocking it. It is a fine line between hands first then body (hook) and body first then hands (block). Anyway if I could hit it great every time I would quit my day job!

Brett M

Hi Brett and Will,

Check out this great Tip From The Tour from Titleist Brand Ambassador John Peterson - Controlling Your Driver;

http://www.titleist.com.au/teamtitleist/au/b/weblog/archive/2014/07/30/tips-from-the-tour-john-peterson-on-controlling-your-driver.aspx

Hope this helps your game!

Team Titleist