Nasty snap hook help please....

[mumuland]

Was finally able to get out and play as the weather was a little warmer. Somehow, with the time off, I have developed a snap hook and cannot figure out what the cause is. Ball flight starts straight and hooks severly. Trajectory is also low. This is more severe in the driver and long irons. My swing became pretty consistant towards the end of last year, got my handicap down to a 8. Now, my backswing does not feel comfortable at the top and maybe that is leading to a poor downswing and hooks. Can anyone please provide some suggestions or advice on what the cause might be and what I can do to fix it? Thanks in advance.

[mikpga]

Starts straight and snaps left...Trajectory is low...

 

 

 

Your clubface is closed at impact, and your swing path sounds pretty good...

[vinnyv20032003]

You could possibly have the club way behind you on your downswing, to compensate for it coming in late you release early, causing the hook. Take it from a man who had it for 3 years.

[Constantin]

this somewhat sounds familiar. Once my swing is off I know it is because I start casting the club in that way.

[Slugsy]

You could possibly have the club way behind you on your downswing, to compensate for it coming in late you release early, causing the hook. Take it from a man who had it for 3 years.

 

I've got this very problem, if you don't mind me asking, how did you fix it???

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

i have the same problem, and posted the same question. some people responded, i suggest you check that out

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71685

 

Brian

[Mud]

When this happened to me it was due to the fact that I was hooding the club face at the top.

One video lesson picked that up and it was an easy cure from there.

 

Not sure if this is your situation, but a video would help determine it.

[jportz]

We could all speculate a million different ways to hit a snap hook (poor alignment, reverse pivot, casting, etc) but I agree that a video camera will save you countless hours of trial and error.

 

My personal tip...anytime I'm doing something I don't like, for instance, a snap hook, I'll go to the range and try to do the opposite....so in your situation I would go and set up to hit a big old slice and then once you're doing that you should be able to find a good middle ground. It will usually show me what I'm doing wrong within a few swings.

 

Chances are, it's something in your setup. 90% of swing issues are from setup issues.

 

Take a good look at your alignment, are your feet and hips open while your shoulders are closed??? This is what will cause me to hit the snapper.

 

Good luck, make sure to let us all know once you get it straightened out.

[shook23]

I had the same issue, and basically it was what Mud said, I was closed at the top. I had gotten so obsessed with hitting the ball higher with my irons, that I shortened my backswing to make me accelerate through impact better.

 

A video camera would have picked this up instantly, instead I got frusterated at the range, and luckily read an article about "finishing the backswing"

 

Jportz gave some good advise as well; trying to do the opposite. Think about what you would have to do to hit a low slicer under some trees, and find the happy medium.

[Grimace45]

I fought this same problem last year and my index went from a 2.1 to a 7.6 in two months. A quick grip fix that corrected a closed club face at the top and I am back to an index of three. My advice would be to start with the basics and check your grip.

[bignose]

In order to diagnose this, you need to ponder over whether you have a body hook, a hand hook, or a a little bit of both (like me!).

 

A body hook is caused by movement of the body, generally too fast of rotation of the hips and/or shoulders. Basically, you get out of sync. The video cameras should be able to spot this pretty quickly. An improper weight shift could be to blame, too, since if you leave too much weight on the back foot, you in effect turn about your back hip rather than your spine. This usually leaves the shoulders open and then closes the club face at impact.

 

The hand hook is easier to fix, but harder to pick up on the tape. Basically, you will have to learn to become more conscious of what your hands are doing to diagnose this. The hand hook is your right or left hand closing the face and/or trying to roll the right hand over the left too much/too quickly. A weaker grip may help this, sometimes using a double overlap grip (two fingers of the right hand over the left hand) will help weaken just the right hand.

 

I had a lot of hand hook in my grip when I started. Way too strong of a grip, and way too much poke-the baseball-into-right-field in my swing, which I did by rolling the right hand. Good for oppoiste field singles... bad for golf.

 

Here is the good news: In general, a player with a hook is in pretty good shape. Usually it means that the mechanics of the swing are there, just not quite timed right. This is as opposed to a slice, which is usually the result of improper mechanics.