Seeing your golf ball start right of the target and stay there is a frustrating sight, a shot that feels solid but ends up nowhere near your aim. This shot is called a push, and it’s a clear signal that your golf swing's path is off track. This article will show you exactly why the push happens in simple, straightforward terms and give you actionable drills and setup corrections to get your ball flying toward the pin again.
Before you can fix the push, you have to understand what it is. In golf, the initial direction your ball starts on is mostly determined by your swing path - the direction the clubhead is moving at impact. The curve of the ball is then influenced by the club face angle relative to that path.
A push happens when your swing path is traveling "in-to-out" relative to your target line, and your club face is square to that path. Think of it like this: the club is approaching the ball from behind you and moving outwards towards the right (for a right-handed golfer) as it strikes the ball. Since your club face is pointing in the same direction as this path, the ball has no choice but to start straight and fly in that rightward direction without curving.
This is an important distinction. Many golfers see the ball go right and immediately blame an "open club face." They try to fix it by closing the face (often by rolling their wrists), but that's a dangerous compensation. When you combine an in-to-out path with a closed face, you don’t get a straight shot - you get a hook. The real problem isn’t the club face, it’s the road the club is traveling on. For a better understanding of proper hand placement, check out this explanation of how to grip a golf club.
So, if an in-to-out path is the villain, what causes it? It almost always comes down to a few key issues in setup and the downswing. Most of the time, it's not one single thing but a combination of factors. Let’s look at the most common ones.
Your golf swing often does what your body is telling it to do before you even start the takeaway. If your alignment is off, you’re making the swing path problem almost unavoidable.
The most frequent setup error I see is golfers aiming their bodies (feet, hips, and shoulders) well to the right of the target, while pointing the club face directly at the pin. They feel like they're aimed correctly because the face is right, but their body is primed to swing "down the line" of their feet and shoulders - which is out to the right. To hit your target, your body and club face need to be working together.
Another setup issue is ball position. Playing the ball too far back in your stance, especially with irons, can force an in-to-out path. The club has not yet had time to bottom out and return to the center of your arc, so you catch it while it's still traveling from the inside. For your mid-irons, the ball should be in the center of your stance, directly under your sternum. Mastering your ball position and swing with these clubs is key to improving your game, learn more on how to hit golf irons.
This concept of getting "stuck" is something I see with established golfers just as much as new players. It happens when your lower body outraces your arms in the downswing. Your hips spin open aggressively from the top, but your arms and club get left behind, or "stuck," behind your torso.
From this trapped position, you have no space to swing the club down in front of you. The only path available is to throw the club out to the right to make contact. So, your lower body spins open, your arms get stuck, and the club is forced to swing heavily from in-to-out to save the shot. This is a sequence problem, not a power problem.
This goes hand-in-hand with getting stuck. Many golfers have heard they need to "hit up" on the ball to get it in the air. This is a huge misconception with irons. In an effort to launch the ball, a player will often tilt their upper body and spine away from the target on the downswing. This drops the right shoulder down significantly, which shoves the club path even further to the inside.
While a slight amount of secondary spine tilt is natural, overdoing it is a certified push-producer. This dropping-back motion leaves you swinging up and outward, when with an iron, you want to be hitting down and through. Your body's desire to "help the ball up" is actually forcing the club onto a path that makes a straight shot impossible.
Understanding the causes is the first step, but doing is where the real change happens. Here are three simple, effective drills to neutralize your swing path and get rid of the push.
The gate drill provides immediate, unmistakable feedback on your swing path. It forces you to swing the club down the correct line.
If you're still pushing, you'll find you hit the inside object on your downswing because your path is coming too far from inside. If you have a tendency to come over the top (the opposite problem), you’d hit the outside object. This drill is fantastic because it gives you a clear visual and physical constraint, training your mind and body to deliver the club on a more neutral path.
This is my go-to drill for any golfer whose body gets out of sync. It directly addresses the issue of getting stuck by preventing your lower body from spinning out too fast.
Because your base is so narrow, you physically can't spin your hips wildly without losing your balance completely. This forces you to keep your arms connected and "in front" of your body's rotation. It promotes a feeling of your chest, arms, and club turning together gracefully through the ball. After a dozen swings, go back to your normal stance and try to recreate that same synchronized feeling. You’ll feel a massive difference in how connected your swing is.
This is another great drill for defeating the "stuck" position by improving your connection between your arms and body.
If you get stuck, your trail arm will separate from your body and the towel will fall. Keeping it in place promotes a swing where the arms and body move as a single, powerful unit. It will help your arms stay wide and in front of you, giving you the room you need to swing down the line instead of out to the right.
At its core, stopping a push means neutralizing your swing path. It requires you to address your setup, ensure your body and arms are working in sequence during the downswing, and avoid the common mistake of tilting back to try and lift the ball. With diligent practice of these checkpoints and drills, you can retrain your swing to deliver the club squarely down the target line every time.
Fixing a deep-seated swing habit is about getting clear, targeted feedback. This is precisely why we built Caddie AI. When you're making a change on the range, you can use our app to analyze your swing in real-time, helping you confirm if your path is actually improving. And if that push shows up on the course, you can even snap a photo of your ball's lie or the result of your shot and ask for an instant diagnosis. We give you that immediate, expert insight to help you understand a shot and get back on track on the very next swing, without the guesswork.
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