Seeing your golf ball sail dead-straight but end up yards right of your target can be one of the most maddening feelings in golf. That’s a push shot, and it’s a sign that just one or two small things are slightly off in your swing. This article will walk you through exactly what causes a push and provide the practical, on-the-range fixes you need to start hitting the ball straight at your target again.
First, let’s be crystal clear about what a push is. Unlike a slice that curves aggressively from left to right, a push starts right of the target and flies on a relatively straight line. If your target was the 12 on a clock face, a push shot would fly directly toward 1 or 2 o'clock.
The physics behind this are actually quite simple. A push is caused by two main factors working together:
When the path is in-to-out and the face is square to that path, the ball has no choice but to start straight right and stay there. Many well-meaning golfers try to fix this by rolling their hands over to close the clubface, but this often just leads to a nasty push-hook. The real solution lies in fixing the root causes, which almost always begin before you even start the club back.
More often than not, a persistent push originates from flaws in your setup. If you build your house on a crooked foundation, the whole structure will be crooked. Golf is no different. Go through this checklist methodically, the answer is probably here.
This is the number one cause of a push. Many right-handed golfers unconsciously align their feet, hips, and shoulders to the right of the target. They then have to make a compensation in their swing to try to get the ball back to the target line, but their natural swing path simply follows their body alignment - out to the right. It feels like you made a good swing, and you did! It just wasn't aimed correctly.
The Fix: Use an Alignment Aid
If your ball position is too far back in your stance (too close to your trail foot), your club will strike the ball while it's still traveling on its in-to-out path. The low point of your swing will occur too far in front of the ball, forcing the push.
The Fix: Know Your Landmarks
A simple way to check this is to set up and then bring your feet together. The ball should be right in the middle. Then, take a small step with your lead foot and a larger step with your trail foot to establish your stance width. Thisnaturally places the ball in the correct forward position.
Standing too close to the ball can jam you up, preventing your body from rotating properly. This forces your arms to swing out and away from your body on the downswing, pushing the club onto an in-to-out path. Likewise, poor posture where you don’t maintain your spine angle leads to the same issue.
The Fix: Hang Your Arms Naturally
If your setup is solid, the next place to look is the swing motion itself. A push often boils down to a problem with sequencing - how your body parts move and in what order.
A common error is getting "stuck" by rolling the clubhead too far inside the target line on the takeaway. When the club gets that deep behind you, your body’s only realistic way to get it back to the ball is to loop it even *further* on an in-to-out path.
The Fix: A “One-Piece” Takeaway
Feel like your hands, arms, chest, and club all move away from the ball together as a single unit. For the first few feet, the clubhead should stay outside your hands, tracking just inside or along the target line. Don't let your wrists roll the club inside immediately. A great feel is to imagine you are pushing the club straight back with your chest.
This is the moment of truth. Many amateurs start the downswing with their shoulders and arms, spinning their upper body. This action drops the club way behind them and gets it "stuck," forcing an extreme in-to-out path to save the shot.
The Fix: Start with the Lower Body
The very first move from the top of the backswing should be a slight-shift of your lead hip toward the target. Think "bump, then turn." This small lateral move does two great things:
You can't just think about turning. You must have that little slide or bump first, which then allows you to aggressively rotate your hips and chest through the impact zone.
Reading about it is one thing, feeling it is another. Take these drills to the driving range to make the right moves second nature.
This drill gives you instant feedback on your club path through impact.
This is a fantastic drill to prevent getting stuck and promote proper rotation.
Fixing a push shot doesn't require overhauling your entire swing. It’s about correcting your geometry - start with your setup, ensure your alignment and ball position are correct, and then work on sequencing the downswing by letting your lower body lead create the right path to the ball. Be patient and use drills to train the correct feelings.
For those moments when you're at the range or on the course and the push reappears, having an expert opinion can be invaluable. We created Caddie AI to be that on-demand coach you can consult anytime. If you feel stuck, you can describe your shot, or even snap a quick photo of your ball lie, and get instant, smart analysis and a recommended fix or drill to get you back on track right when you need it.
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