Hooking the ball can be a major issue for a lot of golfers. It can be frustrating when you can’t figure out why it’s happening but it can happen to the best players at times. Turning a hooked shot into a smooth draw is what every golfer desires. PGA Professional Jack Backhouse, discusses what a hook is, what causes it and how to improve your swing to tame the hook.
What is a Hook in Golf?
A hook is an exaggerated draw, meaning that for a right-handed golfer the ball curves dramatically to the left of the target.
With the dramatic shaping of the ball it can reduce distance as well as accuracy.
What Causes a Hook?
A hooked drive comes from the club getting stuck underneath/behind a player. This means that the club path is too much in-to-out. In simple terms, the club head starts by moving behind you. This movement can result in the hands being close to the body. If this happens, the arms become trapped as there is no where to go. With no room to work with the arms have to work away from your body, moving out towards the ball.
Another, potential cause of a hook is the club face getting too closed. If this happens in relation to the path, it will cause the ball to go left.
How to Cure a Hook?
Grip
Most players who struggle with a big right to left tend to have a strong grip. A strong grip for a right handed golfer is where the left hand rotated over with a lot of the back of the hand on show. The right hand is then positioned under the grip, this can cause it to take over and flip the club. This can lead to a more exaggerated left shot.
Weakening the grip slightly can help with this. To neutralise the golf grip, the left hand thumb should be sitting more straight down the shaft. The right hand can then move more on top, rather than sitting under the grip.
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There are grip training aids available to help improve your grip, some options are below.
Swing Path
As golfers with a hook tend to have an in-to-out swing path, it is important to try and add some width into the golf swing. Starting the take away, feeling like the driver head is getting further away from the body is one way of feeling this.
If the club face gets too closed at impact, from the top of the back swing, the club needs to work more in front of the body. Feeling like the hands are out in front, gives the shoulders chance to turn properly.
Ball Position
The ball position with a driver is typically further forward than any other club in your golf bag. However, if the ball gets too far forward in your stance, it can promote a greater in-to-out swing path, leading to a hook. By moving the ball slightly back in your stance, it means the club face will be more open at impact. This will reduce the chance of the ball going left.
If you’re still struggling with ball position, check out the training aid below that can help.
Conclusion:
Figuring out how to stop hooking the ball with driver, can leave a lot of golfers baffled. Off the tee a hook can be an especially destructive for golfers. It is typically a sign that the club face is too closed at impact, or that the swing path is too far in-to-out. Making some simple adjustments to your grip, set-up and mechanics, can stop you hooking driver in no time.
There are other factors that can affect what the ball does, such as equipment. A lot of drivers now have adjustable weights on the back. This can change the weight distortion in the head which helps with shaping the ball. So, turning to a fade bias setting can help to reduce the right to left curve.
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Check out our driver buying guides to see what could best help you.
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