Hooking

[snowman]

Just back from the range. I was working on staying centred, watching my divot and not allowing the outside back foot to come up off the ground until after impact. Hit the first few balls fine, long and straight, but then started to hook.

I examined my divots and they were pointing either straight or very slightly to the right, so my path seems fine. I guess I am contacting the ball with a closed face.

I was slicing on the course this weekend so this is all rather perplexing to me as I feel I had the same grip today as on the weekend so why the variation in club face rotation?

I wonder if all those slices in the past have caused me to stop opening the face on the way back and then when I make a good release I am closing it before impact.

Perhaps I am swinging on a decent enough path and on the course I am holding off the release = push slice, but on the range I am less anxious so make a good release = hook/draw.

This must all come down to my grip right? Would too strong a grip (3 left hand knuckles showing) cause this problem? i.e I make a decent swing on the range but the strong grip stops the rotation going back and then I release through the ball and hook, but when anxious on the course I slice even with the same grip as I hold off the release?

I did hit a bunch of pushes on the course as well, so that would support the in-to-out swing path.

Just thinking out loud here folks, maybe some of you have had this problem and solved it. Any help would be appreciated.

[BrianW]

Re: Hooking

I think you have evaluated the problem well.

Start with your grip, if it's strong it will inhibit hinging but will release well. Try a more neutral grip to start with and see what results you get.

[snowman]

Re: Hooking

I think you have evaluated the problem well.

Start with your grip, if it's strong it will inhibit hinging but will release well. Try a more neutral grip to start with and see what results you get.

As usual I went through one by one, checking set up, alignment, etc etc. When I got to the grip I tried a less strong grip and couldn't get comfortable taking the club back and miss-hit a few, once I had got more comfortable I only had 2 balls left and hit them quite well (a slight draw/big loss of distance) as I was swinging rather tentatively by then wanting to leave the range on a good note.

I wanted to bounce a few ideas of you smashing folks before hitting the range again. I think I will grab an iron and adopt a more neutral grip and swing it in my yard until I am comfortable with it and then go to the range and let it rip.

Cheers Brian.

[oldwease]

Re: Hooking

If you normally have an active hip turn, trying to keep your right foot grounded through contact will inhibit that hip turn and you're likely to hang back more to the right side thereby closing the club face through impact.

I don't like the idea of keeping the feet too planted (well, the right foot anyway). Just make sure that any raising of the right heel doesn't make you lunge to the left or throw the right hip forward.

[snowman]

Re: Hooking

If you normally have an active hip turn, trying to keep your right foot grounded through contact will inhibit that hip turn and you're likely to hang back more to the right side thereby closing the club face through impact.

I don't like the idea of keeping the feet too planted (well, the right foot anyway). Just make sure that any raising of the right heel doesn't make you lunge to the left or throw the right hip forward.

That's a good point there. Keeping that back foot down was something that I had changed from the weekend. You could be on to something there. I will experiment with that too.

Cheers.

[bdbl]

Re: Hooking

That's a good point there. Keeping that back foot down was something that I had changed from the weekend. You could be on to something there. I will experiment with that too.

Cheers.

Just make sure you only experiment with one thing at a time though - nothing worse than not knowing which change has brought about the improvement or, more often in my case, stuffed it up.

[BrianW]

Re: Hooking

I will have to say no. Hooking comes from many different things. It can come from the hands or grip, or other things like rotation too.

now you say your divots are strait so i wont get into swing path...

I noticed you mentioned you try to keep your head down to watch the divots. That could lead to a hook, with your head down your body will rotate faster and your shoulders rotating around will rotate around your club head causing a hook. You also might have changed you rotation. John daly speaks of this. when ever he wants to hit a bit of a fade, he will add a bit of slide in his turn so slow down his rotation leaving th face a bit open at impact. having a a tight drip can lead to a slice it retards your naturaul hand rotation and causes the face to be open. so you maybee you were sliceing because of a tight grip on the course (thought having a tight grip and being tense on the course never happens right?) and you chaged your grip to go along with your tight grip and so that you would hit strait, then when you were relaxed at the range, having that same grip catored to the tight grip but now relaxed led to hooks.

I don't think there is many things that can makes you hook but there is many things that can make you slice and if you make an adjustment to fix that slice, but then go back to hitting corectly, you start hooking when you should be hitting correctly, but you if you still use the swing changes that made the slice go strait that caused a hood when you hit correcfly. like sliding the hips can cause a slice picking up the head and not letting the body swing around it can cause a slice, gripping too tight can cause a slice. so if you make changes to help band-aid that slice, when you learn to hit correctly, you might be hooking then.

basically i am getting at, band-aids are bad, if you are slicing, try to find out why you area slicing, vs. making swing changes and grip changes ect. until your slice turns strait.

hope one of those helps.

Hooking is often caused my the same basic problems as a slice. One is an out to in path but the wrists are more active in the hook. Grip and release of the clubface are others they can cause slices or hooks depending whether they are keeping the clubface open or closed.

One thing at a time would be my advice and the best place to start is with grip, posture and alignment. When they are tested and OK then start looking at swingpath.