Seeing your golf ball sail perfectly straight but land frustratingly to the right of your target is one of the most confusing misses in the game. You feel like you made a good swing, the contact was solid, but the result still isn’t there. This shot is called a push, and while it's a common struggle, it’s also completely fixable. This guide will walk you through exactly why you're pushing your golf shots and provide clear, actionable drills to get your ball flying at the pin again.
First, let's be clear about what we're talking about. A push shot is a ball that starts to the right of the target line and flies in a relatively straight path. It doesn't have the significant rightward a (for a right-handed golfer) that defines a slice. A slice might start on target (or even left) and then curve dramatically right. A push, on the other hand, starts right and stays right.
This is a an important distinction. The path of your club face determined the starting direction of the ball, while the relationship between the club face and club path creates the spin. With a push, your club face is likely square to the path you are swinging on, but the entire path is directed to the right of your target. Fixing a push is about correcting that path, not just squaring the clubface.
A push rarely comes from just one area. It's usually a combination of a few factors in your setup or swing. Let’s break down the most common causes so you can identify which one (or ones) might be affecting your game.
This is the most common and simplest reason for a push. Many golfers are incredibly diligent about aiming their clubface at the target but completely neglect where their body is pointing. Your swing naturally follows the line created by your feet, hips, and shoulders. If these are all aimed 15 feet right of the pin, your arms and club will instinctively swing along that line. You’ll hit a fantastic shot - just to the right of where you intended to go.
The Fix: Use Alignment Sticks for True Aim
This drill is fundamental for a reason. You can't fix a swing flaw if you're not aimed correctly in the first place. You don’t need anything fancy, a couple of extra clubs or driveway markers work perfectly.
Do this for 10-15 balls at the start of every range session. What feels "square" to you might be significantly off. This drill trains your eyes and body to understand what proper alignment actually feels like.
A push is the classic sign of a swing path that comes too much from the inside. Think of an imaginary line that runs through your ball toward the target (the target line). An "in-to-out" path means your clubhead is approaching the ball from well inside that line and is still traveling outward, to the right of the line, at the moment of impact. The club feels like it's swinging out towards right field.
This often happens when golfers get their arms and club "stuck" behind them on the downswing. Your body moves forward and rotates, but the arms get left behind, forcing them to take an excessively inside route to the ball. This disrupts the rounded, rotational swing we're looking for and turns it into a movement that's disconnected and hard to time.
The Fix: Drills to Straighten Your Path
Here are two easy-to-implement drills to help you neutralize your swing path and feel the club working down the target line instead of out to the right.
This drill gives you instant feedback on your club's path through the hitting area.
If you're swinging too far from in-to-out, you will hit the inside gate ball before you reach your golf ball, or you'll hit your golf ball and the outside gate ball simultaneously. This drill forces you to shallow the club correctly and swing it down the target line through impact.
Sometimes, feeling the correct motion is more powerful than a mechanical thought. After striking the golf ball, your focus should be on extending your arms and the club towards the target for as long as possible. Many golfers who push the ball fold their arms or pull them across their body immediately after impact. Instead, feel like you're shaking hands with the target with your clubhead after the ball is gone. This encourages your path to continue down the line instead of veering right.
A powerful and consistent golf swing relies on a specific sequence of movements. Ideally, the downswing starts with a subtle shift of the hips, followed by the torso turning, which then pulls the arms and club down. Golfers who push the ball often initiate the downswing by spinning their hips and shoulders open as fast as possible. This is a common attempt to create power.
The problem is, when your lower body and torso open up too early, your arms are left behind. They have no choice but to drop to the inside and take that severe in-to-out path just to catch up. Your timing is off, and the push is the unfortunate result.
The Fix: Syncing Up Your Swing
Improving this sequence is all about reconnecting your body and your arms.
Your golf swing moves on an arc. The club starts on the inside of the target line, travels to the ball, becomes square at the low point of the arc, and then moves back to the inside on the follow-through. If your ball position is too far back in your stance (closer to your trail foot), you are making contact with the ball while the club is still on the "in-to-out" part of that arc.
This is especially true with longer clubs. A 7-iron placed where a pitching wedge should be is almost guaranteed to be struck while the club is traveling out to the right, even with a perfect swing.
The Fix: A Simple Ball Position Guide
Keep your ball position simple and consistent. This removes a major variable and allows you to build a more repeatable swing.
Check this at the range. Use a club on the ground perpendicular to your body line to see where the ball truly is in your ancsest. You might be surprised that what feels like "middle" is actually pretty far back.
A push shot can feel complex, but the root causes are very straightforward. It almost always comes down to an issue in one of four areas: your alignment, an excessively in-to-out swing path, a body that's getting ahead of your arms, ou an incorrect ball position. By working through the drills for each of these potential faults, you can effectively diagnose and correct your swing to start hitting the ball directly at your target.
Working on swing changes by yourself takes patience, and sometimes what you feel isn't what's actually happening. That’s why we designed our app, Caddie AI, to act as your personal coach. If you're on the range struggling, you can get instant feedback and suggestions for your ball flight issues right on the spot. Better yet, if you’re on the course staring down a tricky shot that could easily turn into a big number, you can snap a photo of your lie and we’ll provide instant, smart strategy about the best way to play it. Our goal is to take the guesswork out of golf, so you can play with more confidence and enjoy the game more.
Thinking about hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is the first swing, executing it successfully is what gets the ball in the hole. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from laying the initial groundwork months in advance to watching your happy golfers tee off. We’ll cover everything from securing sponsors and setting your budget to planning the on-course fun that makes an event unforgettable.
A golf handicap does more than just give you bragging rights (or a reason to demand strokes from your friends) - it’s the game’s great equalizer and the single best way to track your improvement. This guide breaks down what a handicap is, how the supportive math behind a handicap index a is, and exactly how you can get one for yourself. We’ll look at everything from Course Rating to Adjusted Gross Score, helping you feel confident both on the course and in the clubhouse.
The compression of a Pinnacle Rush golf ball is one of its most defining features, engineered specifically to help a huge swath of golfers get more distance and enjoyment from their game. We'll break down exactly what its low compression means, who it's for, and how you can use that knowledge to shoot lower scores.
Figuring out which spikes go into your new (or old) pair of Puma golf shoes can feel like a puzzle, but it’s much simpler than you think. The key isn't the brand of the shoe, but the type of receptacle system they use. This guide will walk you through exactly how to identify your Puma's spike system, choose the perfect replacements for your game, and change them out like a pro.
The Golf Genius app is one of the best tools for managing and participating in competitive golf events, but figuring it out for the first time can feel like reading a new set of greens. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you exactly how to use the app as a player. We’ll cover everything from logging into your tournament and entering scores to checking the live leaderboard so you can enjoy the competition without any tech headaches.
Walking onto the first tee with sweaty palms, worried you’ll be a good partner to paly wtih...or even asked back again ...We’ve all been there - trust me! The real trick of feeling confortable... is about how you handle you’re ready to plsy. THIS guide explains the simple rules of the rode to show you hnow t play golf while staying calm relaxed and focused... an having much morse fun while you,',re aat it? You'll also play with confidence a dn make fiendsa while you're at i
Just ask a question or share a photo and Caddie gives personalized guidance for every shot - anytime, anywhere.
