What is a Hook in the Golf Swing?
An example of a hook shot in golf is where the ball travels to the left one direction but quickly transitions to the right. A hook can be considered as a severe draw and the reverse of a slice. It happens when the clubface is or closed at impact.
If you swing your club on an outside/in path, the result is a pull hook. On the other hand, if you swing the club on an inside/out path, you encounter a true hook.
- For a right-handed player, the golf ball tends to curve from right to left and vice versa for a left-handed golfer.
- When a ball starts straight before a severe landing to the left, it’s referred to as a snap hook or a duck hook.
- Creating a hook intentionally can be advantageous for a player who is looking for ways to strengthen his/her grip.
- Setting up the golf club in such a way that the clubface is squared at the time of setup will promote a hook.
- To overcome a true hook, a golfer should pay attention to several aspects such as posture, grip, alignment, club release and swing path or plane.
Why am I Hooking my Hybrids?
You’re likely hooking your hybrid because you swing the club on an inside-out path. Furthermore, most hybrids are designed so that that their clubfaces are closed at impact which can cause hook shots to hook.
With such hybrids as mentioned above, you’re likely to position your golf club in such a way that its face is directed to the left of the target at the time of impact. One other reason your hybrids are hooking is that you are not swinging them smoothly without jerks or as steep as you should be doing.
- You may be hooking hybrids because you don’t have the required clubhead speed.
- It’s likely you’re not releasing the club properly, especially if it has a shaft over 38 inches long.
- Hooking with hybrids can occur if you’re keeping the ball too far ahead of your swing, and also standing too far away from the ball.
A very strong grip can cause hook shots while playing golf. You may hook your hybrids because these clubs are designed to cause the ball to go high up in the air.
Alternatively, hybrids with too flat or upright lies also produce hooks. A large angle between the shaft and the top of the club head of the hybrid also results in hooks because this causes the club to rotate more than what is needed. As a result, the ball moves from right to left and produces a hook.
How to Fix a Hook in Golf
One of the easiest ways to fix a hook in golf is to adjust your grip style. If you have a strong grip, weakening it can help you fix your hooks.
When you have a strong grip, your right hand is directed to the right as well as under the golf club.
How to fix your golf hook:
- Keep your golf club and arms right before your chest when you start your swing.
- Shift your weight forward as well as off your back foot when you turn.
- Make sure that the club does not trail along your upper body as you move it downwards.
- Avoid stopping or slowing your turn towards the left when you hit with the golf club. Doing so will actually cause the clubface to get closed at impact and produce a hook. It’s essential that you turn through the swing until the center of your chest faces forward.
- Adjust the position of your right hand in such a way that it’s towards the target like in a neutral position. To get this right, turn your right hand towards the grip until your left thumb is not visible when you complete your grip.
- Assess your stance and check for correct alignment from head to toe. In other words, your head, forearms, shoulders, knees, hips and feet must be perfectly squared.
- Adjust your clubface to open it up by about 2 to 5 degrees. This can lessen your hooks or in some cases help to get rid of them completely.
- Hitting more fade shots can result in your hooks actually help in overcoming the hook problem.
It’s a good idea to practice all the above as many times as you can until you achieve perfection. If you do so, you’re sure to notice a lesser number of hooks and you’ll eventually have no hooks over time.
How to Stop Hooking your Hybrids
- Consider getting the lie of your hybrid adjusted to a lesser angle. If the lie is such that the toe of the club is upright or well of the ground when you make an impact, the chances of over-rotation of the face and the ball starting from the left are higher resulting in a hook. It might also help to put some lead tape on the outside toe of the club.
- Opt for a shaft replacement. Replace the existing shaft with one that is slightly stiffer. A hybrid with a soft shaft produces hooks for some golfers because of its whippy nature.
- Check your swinging style and ensure that you swing it like an iron. This is typically an outside-in swing. One common mistake players do is to swing their hybrid like a fairway wood because it looks like one.
- Examine the hybrid for excess offset and a closed face. You might consider getting another club without these two features.
- Weaken or relax your grip on the hybrid and try hitting the club in such a way that it’s a bit more neutral. A strong grip has more often than not been associated with hooks. You may also want to open your right hand at the time of impact so that you don’t turn it over through impact. As a result, your hands will be before your face and not around your body.
- Work on increasing your clubhead speed and squaring up or releasing the clubface properly without closing it at impact, especially if you have a long shaft.
- Analyze your stance and determine if you’re setting up the right stance like when you use amid-iron instead of a fairway wood. Ensure that the golf ball is not too far away from you because this will cause your hands to turn too much using a sweeping style.
- The best position for the golf ball is the center of the stance and hit down on the hybrid with a steep inside-out swing. When you position the ball this way, the clubface will be more open and minimize occurrences of hooks.
- There are situations where players have been successful in stopping their hooks by playing it back in their stance like a 6-iron and bringing it down so that the club creates a divot. This position also promotes a slightly open clubface at impact.