Watching your golf ball start right of the target and stubbornly stay there is one of the game's bigger frustrations. It feels like a solid strike, yet the result is always a miss. This shot, known as a push, can wreck a scorecard, but the good news is that it’s often caused by simple setup mistakes or a path issue that is very fixable. This guide will walk you through exactly what causes a push and provide clear, actionable drills to start hitting the ball straight at your target.
First, let’s be clear about what we’re trying to fix. A push shot, for a right-handed golfer, is a ball that starts to the right of the target line and flies on a relatively straight path. It doesn't have the significant rightward curve that defines a slice. Understanding this difference is important because the fixes are very different.
A slice comes from a clubface that is open to the swing path. For most high-handicappers, this happens with an out-to-in swing path, which sends the ball starting left and curving sharply right.
A push, on the other hand, is almost the opposite. It’s caused by a club path that comes from the inside traveling out to the right, combined with a clubface that is square to that path. Since the face isn't pointing at the target at impact, the ball starts right and keeps going. In a strange way, you can almost think of a push as a good swing that's pointed in the wrong direction.
Most pushes can be traced back to one of three common areas in your setup or swing. Let's break down each one so you can diagnose your own miss and apply the correct fix.
This is the most common cause of a push, and thankfully, it's also the easiest one to check and fix. Many golfers develop a push simply because they are unconsciously aimed right of the target before they even start their swing. Your body - specifically your feet, hips, and shoulders - dictates your swing path. If your entire body line is pointed right, you will naturally swing along that line.
You may be making compensations to try and get the ball back online, but often, the most natural motion is to swing right where you’re aimed. That's why the first thing you should always check is your alignment.
Many golfers are shocked to find that what feels "square" to them is actually aimed significantly right. Training with alignment sticks creates a powerful visual reference and helps recalibrate what square actually feels like.
Your golf swing moves in an arc. On the downswing, the club approaches the ball from the inside, reaches the bottom of the arc (ideally perfectly at the target line), and then swings back to the inside. If your ball position is too far back in your stance (closer to your trail foot), your club will make contact with the ball while it is still traveling on the "in-to-out" portion of that arc.
The clubface simply doesn’t have enough time to return to square relative to the target line. The result? A push to the right. This is especially common with longer irons and hybrids, where golfers mistakenly play the ball back in their stance as they would with a short iron.
Check your ball position in a mirror or have a friend take a photo. You might be surprised to see how far back it has drifted.
This is a more dynamic swing flaw, but it’s a big-time cause of the push. Getting "stuck" happens when your lower body outraces your upper body and arms during the downswing. Typically, a player will start down by turning their hips very aggressively, but their hands, arms, and club get trapped behind their body.
From this stuck position, the only way to get the club to the ball is to throw the arms and club "out" at the ball, away from the body. This creates a very aggressive inside-to-out swing path. The hips stall their rotation, the body stands up (a move called early extension), and the club shoots out to the right. Since your hands are desperately trying to get squared up, the face often can’t catch up, staying square to that severe in-to-out path and pushing the ball dead right.
This feeling of being trapped or out of sync is a classic reason for the dreaded push, especially under pressure when players tend to get "quick" with their hips.
Now that you know what causes the push, here are three practical drills you can do at the range to get your swing path and alignment back on track.
This drill gives you instant feedback on your club's path through the hitting area. It forces you to swing down the target line instead of out to the right.
1. Set up your alignment stick on the ground pointing at your target as a reference.
2. Place a headcover (or a rolled-up towel) on the ground about one foot behind and one foot outside your golf ball. This is the "outside gate."
3. Place another headcover about one foot in front of and one foot inside the ball's position. This is the "inside gate."
4. Your goal is to swing the club through this "gate" without hitting either headcover. If you are pushing the ball, you'll likely hit the "inside gate" post-impact because your path is going too far out to the right.
5. Start with slow, easy swings to get a feel for the correct path swinging down the target line and then back to the inside.
This is a classic drill for anyone who gets stuck in the downswing. It physically makes it easier for you to rotate your body and get your arms and club back in front of you.
1. Set up to a golf ball as you normally would.
2. Now, pull your trail foot (your right foot for a right-handed player) straight back about 6-8 inches, so your toes are now in line with the heel of your lead foot. You will feel more "open" to the target.
3. Hit balls from this modified stance. You may feel slightly unbalanced at first, which is normal.
4. By dropping your right foot back, you have given your right hip more room to rotate through the shot. This encourages your entire body to unwind properly, discouraging the hips from stalling and preventing your arms from getting stuck behind you. It synchronizes your body rotation with your arm swing, which is the perfect antidote to the "stuck" feeling.
This drill helps correct the early extension that often accompanies a push. "Early extension" is when your hips thrust toward the golf ball on the downswing, forcing you to stand up out of your posture.
1. At address, get into your proper setup with a good forward bend from your hips.
2. As you swing, the feeling you want to have is that your chest stays "covering" the golf ball as long as possible through impact.
3. Imagine you have a logo on your chest that you want to keep pointing down at the ball through the hitting zone, rather than allowing your chest to lift up and away from the ball prematurely.
4. This promotes maintaining your spine angle, which allows the club to follow the proper arc and shallow out correctly instead of getting steep and stuck. This feel keeps your lower body from thrusting forward and throwing your swing path out to the right.
Fixing a pushed golf shot is a matter of properly diagnosing the root cause - whether it’s a simple setup issue like alignment or ball position, or a more dynamic problem like getting “stuck” in your downswing. By methodically checking each area and using these targeted drills, you can correct your swing path and start hitting the ball directly at your intended target.
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