How to Fix a Pull Hook in Golf

Nothing sours a great day on the course faster than the dreaded pull hook. One moment you're striping it down the middle, and the next, your ball starts left of the target and takes a sharp turn even further into trouble. This article will show you exactly why that shot happens and give you practical, straightforward checkpoints and drills to get your ball flying straight again.

What Causes a Pull Hook? The Simple Ball Flight Laws

Before we can fix it, we have to understand the mechanics behind this frustrating shot. A pull hook isn't one single fault, it's the result of two specific things happening at impact. All your ball flight is determined by two factors: your swing path and your clubface angle.

• The Swing Path: Think of this as the direction your club travels through the hitting area. It's what dictates the initial starting line of your ball. To hit a pull, your club is swinging "out-to-in," meaning it's moving from outside your target line to inside it as it strikes the ball. This path forces the ball to start left of your target (for a right-handed golfer).
• The Clubface Angle: This is the direction your clubface is pointing at the exact moment of impact. The clubface angle relative to your swing path is what creates spin, or curvature. To hit a hook, your clubface is "closed" relative to your out-to-in path. A closed face means it's pointing even further left than the path you're swinging on, causing that aggressive right-to-left spin.

So, a pull hook is simply the combination of an out-to-in swing path and a clubface that's closed to that path. The good news is that we can attack both of these issues with a few simple adjustments and feels, starting with the easiest fixes at address.

Step 1: Get Back to Basics with Your Setup

More often than not, swing flaws start before you even take the club back. Your body instinctively reacts to how you're set up to the ball. A faulty setup can put you in a position where a pull hook feels like the only possible outcome. Let’s check two fundamental areas: your alignment and your grip.

Check Your Alignment: Are You Aiming Left?

This is a common issue for golfers who have fought a slice in the past. To keep the ball from slicing into the right woods, you may have developed a habit of aiming your entire body well left of the target to compensate. As your swing improves and you begin squaring the clubface, that old alignment habit remains, sending the ball directly where you're aimed: left.

Your body then tries to redirect the swing back toward the actual target, forcing an out-to-in path almost by default. It's an instinctive correction that sabotages your swing.

The Alignment Stick Fix:

The best way to see the truth is with alignment sticks (or any two golf clubs).

1. Place one stick on the ground pointing directly at your target. This is your target line.
2. Place the second stick parallel to the first one, just inside of it, where your feet will go.
3. Step into your stance so the line across your toes is parallel to the target line. Now check your hips and shoulders - they should also be parallel to this line.

Many golfers are shocked to find their feet and shoulders are aimed 20-30 yards left of the actual target. Stand like this for a few moments so your brain can register what "square" actually feels like. This alone can go a long way in eliminating the need for an out-to-in path correction.

Neutralize Your Grip: Is It Too "Strong"?

The term "strong" grip is a bit misleading, it doesn't mean you're holding it tighter. It refers to how your hands are rotated on the club. A strong grip is one where your top hand (left hand for righties) is rolled too far over to the right, and your bottom hand is slid too far underneath the club.

This type of grip makes it incredibly easy to shut the clubface through impact. The hands will naturally want to return to a neutral position, and if they start too rotated, that "return" will over-rotate the clubface, slamming it shut. A good indicator of a strong grip is seeing 3 or 4 knuckles on your top hand when you look down at address.

The Neutral Grip Checkpoint:

1. Hold the club out in front of you. Place your top hand (left hand) on the grip so you can see a maximum of two knuckles. Two knuckles is the standard for a neutral grip.
2. The "V" formed between your left thumb and index finger should point roughly toward your right shoulder or right ear. If it's pointing outside your right shoulder, your grip is too strong.
3. Now, add your right hand. The V formed by your right thumb and index finger should mirror the left one, also pointing up toward your right shoulder.

Changing your grip feels incredibly awkward at first, but it's essential for quieting down your hands and preventing them from shutting the face too quickly.

Step 2: Correcting Your Swing Path from Out-to-In

If your setup is sound but the pull hook persists, the next cause is a faulty swing path. The out-to-in move, often called "coming over the top," happens when your shoulders and arms lead the downswing aggressively from the top. Instead of letting the club drop into position, you lunge at the ball, throwing the club outside the target line and cutting across it.

To fix this, we need to retrain a new downswing sequence, one that starts from the ground up and allows the club to approach from the "inside."

Feel: Start the Downswing with Your Lower Body

This is less of a drill and more of a core feeling. The downswing is a chain reaction, and it shouldn't start with your arms or shoulders. From the top of your backswing, the very first move should be a slight re-centering of your hips toward the target. It's a subtle but powerful move.

Imagine a pro baseball player taking a swing. They don't start the swing with their hands, they stride forward and start rotating their hips first. This creates a lag where the bat (or in our case, the golf club) naturally drops into the "slot" behind them, positioned to attack the ball from the inside. Try to feel that same sequence: hips shift, Torso turns, and then the arms and club follow. This sequence almost guarantees an in-to-out or neutral swing path.

Drill: The Headcover Gate

This is a an excellent drill for visual feedback that makes it impossible to ignore an over-the-top move.

1. Take your normal address.
2. Place your headcover on the ground about a full clubhead's width outside of your golf ball and slightly behind it.
3. Your task is simple: hit the ball without hitting the headcover.

If you have an aggressive out-to-in path, you will smack that headcover on nearly every downswing. It's instant, undeniable feedback. To avoid hitting it, you'll be forced to let the club drop more to the inside on the way down. After a few reps, you'll start to develop the proper feel for attacking the ball from an inside path.

Step 3: Squaring the Clubface, Not Closing It

Fixing the path is half the battle. If you swing from the inside but still have an overly active, shut clubface, you’ll just trade your pull hook for a straight block or a snap hook. We need the face to be square to the new path.

A closed clubface is often caused by an overactive hand-and-wrist release, sometimes called "flipping" it. Your body stops rotating, and your hands take over, flipping the clubhead shut. The goal is to feel like the rotation of yourbody is squaring the clubface, leaving your hands much more passive.

Drill: The Body-Powered Release

This drill helps you feel the connection between your body's rotation and a square clubface.

1. Take a half-swing, stopping when your lead arm is parallel to the ground.
2. From here, start down by rotating your chest and torso toward the target. Feel like your sternum is going to be pointing at the target at impact.
3. Hit small, easy punch shots while only thinking about turning your body through the shot.

The feeling you want is one of connection. Your arms, hands, and the club should feel "attached" to your torso. As your body rotates, the club gets delivered to the ball without any extra manipulation from your hands. This is a very powerful feeling that helps you use your big muscles to control the face instead of your twitchy small ones.

Check Your Follow-Through

Your finish position tells the story of your swing. A player who hits pull hooks often has a low, left exit, where the arms wrap around the body quickly and the club points to the left shortly after impact. This is a hallmark of the out-to-in swing and a closing face.

As you work on the drills above, focus on extending your arms out toward the target for as long as possible after you hit the ball. Imagine shaking hands with your target. This encourages a fuller body turn and stops the hands from flipping over prematurely. Aim for a high, balanced finish where your chest is facing the target and you're holding your balance effortlessly.

Final Thoughts

Beating the pull hook comes down to diagnosing and correcting two distinct issues: an out-to-in swing path and a face that's closed to that path. By first ensuring your setup and grip are neutral, you create the foundation for a good swing. From there, working on syncing up your body to produce a more "inside" attack on the ball will help you get that path straightened out for good.

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