Learning how to stop hooking the golf ball is crucial for any amateur golfer who notices this devastating swing fault creeping into their game, as without an effective remedy you can quickly see your handicap and your scores soar.
Understanding how to start the backswing and the downswing can make all the difference by embedding strong fundamental positions that are synonymous with some of the best and biggest hitters in the world.
In this video and article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coaches Alex Elliott and Trey Niven share their expert tips on how to stop hooking the golf ball for good...
How to Stop Hooking The Golf Ball: Alex Elliott's Top Tips
What causes a hook in golf?
The direct cause of a hook can be linked to a few different factors at, and through, impact. If you swing the club on an in-to-out path, with a clubface that is also closed to that path and is pointing left of target at the point of impact, you are almost certainly conjuring up the dreaded hook shot.
There is often a misconception among club golfers about the differences between hitting an untimely hook and intending to hit a controlled draw. Simply put, when trying to deliberately shape the ball from right to left, you need to swing in to out still, but with the clubface pointing slightly right of target at impact instead of left.
How do I prevent a hook in golf?
To prevent a hook, your grip needs to rotate slightly towards the target side to find a more neutral position as above. A good checkpoint for this is that, when you look down at your grip, you should be able to see two-and-a-half knuckles on your lead or upper hand. You also want to see the ‘V’ created between the index finger and the thumb of your trail hand point directly up to your trail shoulder (right shoulder for a right-hander) - the textbook signs of a perfect golf grip. This will help reduce how much the face is closed at impact, and limit the chances of a hook.
How to stop hooking the golf ball?
To banish the hook for good, you must address any faults with your swing plane. If you’re drastically under plane, you’ll swing too much out to the right. Many club golfers who do this also struggle to transfer weight effectively, with both errors combining to send the ball miles left.
This split-hand drill will help you feel like the club stays more in front of you. Take your set-up but with a gap between your hands. At the start of the backswing, imagine resting the club on a table in front of you. If you’re under plane with the clubhead way behind you, you can’t lay it flat on the table. Try to keep the shaft parallel to the ground with the clubhead on a straight line to the target.
Finally, sticking with the split-hand drill, I want you to feel like the club is moving more across you and to the left after impact (as show in the image below). This should be pretty much the opposite of the position that your are getting into when you hit a hook, where the toe of the club has turned over and the hands have exited away from the body, as shown in the main image of this piece.
If you can find a happy medium between these two positions when swinging the club for real again, you will notice a drastic improvement in your ball-striking, achieve a powerful centred strike and a reduction in the frequency of that destructive hook shot rearing its ugly head.
How to Prevent A Hook In Golf: Trey Niven's 3-Step Plan
It's more common for golfers to struggle with cutting across the ball and hitting a slice, but a hook is arguably more dangerous. For right-handers, a hook occurs when the clubface points well left of the club path at impact. The start line is mostly dictated by the club, so the wider this face-to-path relationship is, the more the ball is going to curve in the air.
The irony is that players who hook the ball tend to aim further right, which only increases this gap and makes matters worse. Below, I outline some of the main problems I see amateur golfers face when the dreaded hook sets in.
Step 1: The Grip
The majority of players who hook the ball have a strong golf grip, with their hands rotated away from the target (to the right for right-handers). In simple terms, when the club is released under motion and the hands return to neutral, the clubface points left.
To adopt a neutral golf grip, put the lead hand more on top of the club, so the 'V' created between your thumb and index finger points roughly towards your trail shoulder. Then slot the other hand on top so it feels comfortable. Give both hands a little squeeze together to develop an understanding for how this should feel. You should see between one and two knuckles on the lead hand when looking down.
Step 2: The Takeaway
The next fault occurs in the golf swing takeaway. Lots of beginners hood the face, and whip the club away on the inside. This combination causes the clubface to shut, meaning you need to compensate elsewhere in the swing to square it back up. This ultimately sacrifices consistency and could be the reason you are hooking the golf ball.
Try out this practice drill. Get into your driver setup position, aiming towards your target with a neutral grip, and then put your trail hand out as if you're shaking hands with someone standing to your right. Begin your swing, and bring your lead hand into position until it meets your trail hand. Through doing this, you will notice the clubface is much more square.
Imagine the swing like a chain, if you make a change to something at the start of the chain, it will impact on everything else along the way. Dedicate some time to practising these two steps and your ball flight will improve.
Step 3: The Fix - Tommy Fleetwood Drill
So many golfers stop rotating through impact and that inevitably leads to hooks. The body stalls, and the hands flip over quickly, making it really difficult to control the clubface, especially when swinging at speed with the driver.
A great way to improve your pivot is to channel your inner Tommy Fleetwood. Start by taking a full backswing, and focus on really trying hard to hold off the follow-through, sort of as if you're hitting a low punch shot with an iron. Check out the video above to see how I do it.
Build it up slowly, starting with some slower swings to get a feel for the drill before increasing the pace when you feel more comfortable. With practice, this improved pivot will allow for better clubface control and have you hitting straighter drives more consistently.
