A golf ball that starts right of your target and keeps going dead straight in that direction - without any slice or curve back toward the flag - is one of the most confusing and frustrating shots in golf. That’s called a push, and if it’s plaguing your game, you’re in the right place. This guide will walk you through exactly what a push shot is, the major reasons it happens, and most importantly, deliver practical, on-the-range drills you can use to get your shots starting on target again.
In the simplest terms, a push shot is a ball that starts to the right of the target line (for a right-handed golfer) and continues on a straight-line path, never curving back. The opposite, a shot that starts left and flies straight, is called a pull. It’s important to understand the ball flight: the ball is not slicing or fading. It’s flying like an arrow, just an arrow pointed in the wrong direction from the very beginning.
Imagine your target line is a set of train tracks running from your ball to the flag. A perfect shot travels straight down those tracks. A push shot starts on a track immediately to the right and follows that new path perfectly. While a "straight miss" might seem better than a nasty slice, a consistent push makes it almost impossible to score well, as you're constantly aiming left to compensate and praying your miss is predictable.
Many amateur golfers use the terms "push" and "slice" interchangeably, but they describe two very different ball flights and usually point to slightly different swing flaws.
Understanding this difference is the first step to fixing the problem. If you’re truly hitting a push, your clubface is likely square to your swing path, but the entire path is misaligned to the right. We want to correct the path, not radically change what your hands are doing with the face.
A push rarely comes from a single mistake. It’s usually a chain reaction of small setup errors and swing movements that combine to send your club traveling too much from inside-to-out. Let's break down the most common culprits.
This is the most frequent and simplest cause to fix. Many golfers who think they have a major swing flaw are simply aimed incorrectly at the start. Your body acts like the launcher for your swing, so if your feet, hips, and shoulders are aimed right of the target, you're encouraging your swing to follow that line.
The Fix: Before every shot, especially on the driving range, lay two alignment sticks on the ground.
Building this into your pre-shot routine trains your eyes and body to recognize what proper alignment feels like, making it second nature on the course.
This is the engine of the push shot. An "in-to-out" path means your clubhead is approaching the ball from behind your body and traveling out toward the right (for a righty) of the target line through impact. It’s as if you’re trying to hit the ball toward first base instead of straight down the pitcher's mound.
This path can be caused by a few things:
A good golf swing is rotational. A bad swing often involves too much lateral movement, or "swaying." If you sway your hips and upper body to the right (away from the target) during your backswing without properly rotating, you shift your entire swing center behind the ball.
From here, it's very difficult to get your weight and swing center back over the ball in the downswing. What usually happens is you get stuck on your back foot and your path is forced out to the right. Think of staying more "centered" over the ball as you rotate your shoulders and hips in the backswing, as if you're turning inside a narrow barrel.
Power and path control in golf come from continuous body rotation. Sometimes, a player will make a great backswing but then stop rotating their body (hips and chest) through the hitting area. When the body stalls, the arms and hands have to take over. Since the club has built-up momentum, they will often "fling" the clubhead away from the body and out to the right, leading to a push or even a dreaded block-slice.
The goal is to feel your belt buckle continuously rotating toward the target all the way through to a full, balanced finish. If your body stops, your arms don't have a guidance system.
Reading about causes is one thing, but fixing the push happens with targeted practice. Here are three simple but incredibly effective drills to implement in your next range session.
This is the best drill for providing instant feedback on your swing path.
This drill helps correct the feeling of getting "stuck" by synching up your body and arms.
This rehearsal movement trains your body to lead the downswing and allows your arms to fall naturally into position in front of you, eliminating that "stuck" feeling that leads to a push.
A good finish position is often a mirror of a good swing. Players who push the ball frequently end up with their weight hanging on their back foot, unable to fully rotate through.
For this drill, your only swing thought is to finish your swing completely balanced on your front (left) foot, with your chest and belt buckle facing the target, and your right heel completely off the ground. You have to be able to hold this finish for three full seconds without wobbling.
By forcing yourself to get to this balanced, fully-rotated finish, you are automatically encouraging your body to do what's necessary in the downswing to get there: shift your weight forward and keep rotating. You simply can't end in this position if your swing gets stuck and moves excessively from in-to-out.
The push shot in golf is a straight ball flight that starts right of the target and stays there, caused almost entirely by an in-to-out swing path. By checking your alignment and using drills to correct your path and body rotation, you can retrain your swing to start the ball on line and find more fairways and greens.
Diagnosing the root cause of a specific fault like a push can be tricky when you're on your own at the range. Visual feedback is a powerful part of the learning process, which is why we’ve built features into Caddie AI to help. With our app, you can upload a video of your swing, and its AI analysis can immediately identify swing path issues or setup flaws that could be leading to your push, giving you a clear starting point and personalized drills so you can practice with purpose.
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