How do you hook a ball?

[Justsomeguy]

Very typical mid cap here. Been all over the place over 5 years of play. Wrong side of 40. Inside out, but trouble closing the face.

Surely grip and backswing issues, etc, taken lessons, etc, never been fit but for a 90mph 5'9" guy, standard hasn't treated me badly.

Ok - so my struggle is with a push. Some days I hit a straight ball, most days the miss is a push that loses a lot.

Previous iterations of my typically bad swing were at times a draw, but that's been a while.

To be blunt - I want to learn how to hook the ever loving s*#t out of it.

I wanna get the feel of that for variety if nothing else.

Suggestions?

Edited March 7, 2021 by Justsomeguy

[EddieEdwards]

My go to is a fade,but I'll try.   I swing inside to out and try to hit the ball on a line that is inside the line of the club path.

[golfsticks]

Inside move with toe to gaining on lead arm,  really gaining via forearm rotation.   Or if a right handed,  go to far right end of range, hopefully a range that has barrier netting and work ball away from netting.

[puttingmatt]

Address  ball with square stance,

Move trail leg back, not widen ,so stance is more closed, swing away.

Can adjust closed stance for amount of draw you want, keep going and you will hook it.

[rkodavey]

Trust me...you don't want to hook it. The hook has plagued my golf game for the past 10 plus years. It's not fun or glamorous in any way. There is nothing worse than hitting a shot on the dead center of the clubface and looking up and seeing the ball go careening into the trees up the left, then hit the ground and roll another 100 yards further left. For the 8th time that day. What Lee Trevino said is certainly true: "You can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen." Be content with your one-way miss, my friend. 

[Krt22]

1 hour ago, Justsomeguy said:

 

To be blunt - I want to learn how to hook the ever loving s*#t out of it.

 

Why in the world do you want to do that? Do you want to go from a mid cap to a mid to high cap? Because that almost a surefire way to do that

[hoselpalooza]

7 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

Why in the world do you want to do that? Do you want to go from a mid cap to a mid to high cap? Because that almost a surefire way to do that

 

nah, this is not true.

[Justsomeguy]

14 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

Why in the world do you want to do that? Do you want to go from a mid cap to a mid to high cap? Because that almost a surefire way to do that

I want to feel the other direction. Sometimes I hit a rare pull and I'm excited bc I get to shake hands w the neighbors on the other side of the fairway for a change.

Theory is that to correct something a lot of people practice the opposite extreme. I just want to feel a shot shape I've never really hit to see if it feels different or if a light bulb goes on.

 

[Krt22]

1 minute ago, Justsomeguy said:

I want to feel the other direction. Sometimes I hit a rare pull and I'm excited bc I get to shake hands w the neighbors on the other side of the fairway for a change.

Theory is that to correct something a lot of people practice the opposite extreme. I just want to feel a shot shape I've never really hit to see if it feels different or if a light bulb goes on.

 

Most ams who "teach" themselves this shot, do so incorrectly, with excessive tilt and/or EE to shallow the shaft (to shift path right), which becomes very hard to undo (speaking from experience). The path can get extreme and the end result is hooks, off the planet blocks, shanks, thins, etc. I would buy monte's efficient swing series, there is a hook drill in there, but it's part of the larger picture of building a fundamentally solid swing. 

[Itsjustagame]

If you play tennis or ping pong you probably know how to fade/draw a ball with spin.

Golf balls, tennis balls, ping pong balls, soccer balls all move because you spin them.

It's a bit more complicated in golf due to your relationship to the ball, but you have to do something to impart counterclockwise spin (assuming you are right handed). 

So the club head has to be moving in way that will accomplish this.

If you swing over the top or too steeply it can be hard to do.

Think about the inside quadrant of the ball as where you want the club to strike.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Itsjustagame

[ColoradoMike]

Easiest way to hook a ball is when there's OB or hazard down the left side of the fairway....tell yourself "don't hook it" and let er rip

[golfsticks]

48 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

 

nah, this is not true.

 

Yep.

[golfsticks]

41 minutes ago, Justsomeguy said:

I want to feel the other direction. Sometimes I hit a rare pull and I'm excited bc I get to shake hands w the neighbors on the other side of the fairway for a change.

Theory is that to correct something a lot of people practice the opposite extreme. I just want to feel a shot shape I've never really hit to see if it feels different or if a light bulb goes on.

 

 

...and nothing wrong at all feeling out the other side of the town by knowing how to do so.     Those who own both sides own a very large middle.

[nsxguy]

You know how to do this.

 

Red is path, blue is face angle, yellow is target. Ball starts where the face is pointed and due to that being slightly left of the path line the ball will curve gently to the left to the target.

 

Strengthen your grip just a tad and swing the same should do it. Block turns into a draw. Better still though, unlike the guy in the pic, line up with the path line. 👍

 

 

[jomatty]

I close my stance and strengthen my grip.  Takeaway is a little more inside and then I make sure to release the club.  It always moves from right to left but sometimes it’s a nice draw and sometimes it’s a variety of hooks.  I try hard not to have to do it on the course and much prefer my natural left to right ball flight, but I th8nk it’s nice to be able to move it the other way if you need to.

[Cwebb]

The easiest way is the Jack Nicklaus' method.  Grip the club with the face more closed than you usually do.  Then make your normal swing.

 

The great thing about this, is that you're not incorporating any other "moves" or positions in your swing, that could really screw up the rest of your shots, when you don't want to turn it over

Edited March 7, 2021 by Cwebb

[Justsomeguy]

I find strengthening the grip weird in a way I didn't used to.

Anybody else feel like it hangs the head awkwardly?

[nsxguy]

2 hours ago, jomatty said:

I close my stance and strengthen my grip.  Takeaway is a little more inside and then I make sure to release the club.  It always moves from right to left but sometimes it’s a nice draw and sometimes it’s a variety of hooks.  I try hard not to have to do it on the course and much prefer my natural left to right ball flight, but I th8nk it’s nice to be able to move it the other way if you need to.

 

2 hours ago, Cwebb said:

The easiest way is the Jack Nicklaus' method.  Grip the club with the face more closed than you usually do.  Then make your normal swing.

 

The great thing about this, is that you're not incorporating any other "moves" or positions in your swing, that could really screw up the rest of your shots, when you don't want to turn it over

 

1 hour ago, Justsomeguy said:

I find strengthening the grip weird in a way I didn't used to.

Anybody else feel like it hangs the head awkwardly?

 

One can't deny physics. So long as the face is closed-to-path the ball will draw. The question is how to get there,,,,,,,

 

IMO, purposely altering your PATH is asking for trouble as your sub-conscious/mind simply may not cooperate.

 

I love Nicklaus and his book "Golf My Way". He clearly tells the reader this is how HE does it and may not work for everybody but maybe it's worth a try.

 

So if one doesn't change their path, what then ? They have to change the face angle at impact. How best to do this ?

 

Others have espoused the same method as Jack. But I ask you - how exactly do I keep the face closed-to-path if I take my normal swing (path) ?

 

IMO my normal swing, steered by my sub-conscious, will want to return the face to a "normal" position and NOT the closed position I addressed the ball with.

 

How do I tell my sub-conscious to return to where I was instead of what it tells me to do on all my other swings ? Don't know.

 

Strong(er ?) grip feels weird ? Tell me about it.

 

I used to have a very weak grip. First thing the instructor did when I went to golf school was tell me to strengthen my grip. A lot. I literally did it, held the club up towards him, and said to him "You don't really expect me to hit the ball this way, do you ?".

 

Well, it worked. Instead of my block rights I started getting regular straight shots. With the "same" swing. I found it much easier to "accept" the slightly stronger grip than trying to change the path.

 

Point is, I'm not suggesting anything near as radical as the grip change given me in correcting my fault(s) - very weak to rather strong. Just a slight movement clock-wise (assuming you're a righty of course). Baby steps.

 

May be worth a try.

 

[Cwebb]

3 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

 

Others have espoused the same method as Jack. But I ask you - how exactly do I keep the face closed-to-path if I take my normal swing (path) ?

 

IMO my normal swing, steered by my sub-conscious, will want to return the face to a "normal" position and NOT the closed position I addressed the ball with.

 

How do I tell my sub-conscious to return to where I was instead of what it tells me to do on all my other swings ? Don't know.

 

Strong(er ?) grip feels weird ? Tell me about it.

 

 

 

You don't necessarily have to change your grip.  Just grip the club with the face more closed than you normally do.  It will take experimenting and practice to find out how many degrees closed you need to grip it.

 

 The first step is to go to the range and simply get the ball to turn over, with no real target in mind.  Once you can do that, then you can figure out your alignment in relation to a target.  

 

It all tarts with a more closed or 'less open' face

[nsxguy]

5 minutes ago, Cwebb said:

 

You don't necessarily have to change your grip.  Just grip the club with the face more closed than you normally do.  It will take experimenting and practice to find out how many degrees closed you need to grip it.

 

 The first step is to go to the range and simply get the ball to turn over, with no real target in mind.  Once you can do that, then you can figure out your alignment in relation to a target.  

 

It all tarts with a more closed or 'less open' face

 

I think I covered that.

 

IMO, my sub-conscious is more likely to ignore the stronger grip and swing "my swing" (path) thereby initiating the face closed-to-path draw.

 

Rather than keeping a normal grip and trusting myself to return the club face to said abnormal/unusual position. YMMV

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

I typically hit the ball pretty straight.  However, it's easy to draw or hook with both 620 MB n CB series.  Using my neutral grip and 5 iron, slightly closed stance, and club face pointing right of target, inside to out swing path, ball goes right then turns over left, with the help of quick rolling hands though impact, it can turn into a smothered hook.  That's how I do it at least, and see the ball behave down range.

 

Back in 2005 I had a set of 2-PW Titleist 735CM blended clubs with 6.5 Rifles.  They were beauties too, except 2 iron to 5 iron had deep CBs.  The rest of the set were great clubs, but the long irons lead me to sell them.  The long irons would fight me every time I wanted a draw or baby fade.  So it's my opinion, deep CB heads will fight working the ball, as they are designed to help prevent hooking and slicing.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[coops]

2 hours ago, Cwebb said:

 

You don't necessarily have to change your grip.  Just grip the club with the face more closed than you normally do.  It will take experimenting and practice to find out how many degrees closed you need to grip it.

 

 The first step is to go to the range and simply get the ball to turn over, with no real target in mind.  Once you can do that, then you can figure out your alignment in relation to a target.  

 

It all tarts with a more closed or 'less open' face

 

As above - especially if you are currently consistent with the face angle at impact. Don't change your grip (i.e. number of knuckles visible from a front on view), just hold the club more closed than usual. If you're curing a slice/push... then this should look more closed at address for you.

 

I'm the opposite, as i  had excessive hook/pull hook - keep my same 2-1/2ish knuckle grip, and hold onto club with the face a bit more open... and get a nice draw. I know my clubface should look open at address  for me, although being left eye dominant and swinging right handed, this is maybe partly an optical problem ( so a truly square to target line clubface at address will look to me to be a bit open).

 

I'll add that the  best way to monitor and achieve that change in how you hold the club... is with a ribbed grip. You can use any grip and install the rib underneath - and the rib can be anywhere you like. Mine is on top, so i can feel where that rib should be in the V of my left hand.

[MonteScheinblum]

Quote

-

There is a problem with all of the suggestions made so far.  They aren’t addressing the root case of your ball flight issues.

 

Hypothetically your shaft is vertical in transition and you excessively raise the handle (very common in the description of your issues).  Changing grip would be a problem.  Didn’t mean to pick on anyone that said that.  The point is all of the proposed fixes are likely to make you worse.  Fix wh your face is open, etc.

[golfsticks]

41 minutes ago, MonteScheinblum said:

There is a problem with all of the suggestions made so far.  They aren’t addressing the root case of your ball flight issues.

 

[aenemated]

Easy. Don't set your wrists properly going back, rush a float load then BOOM - instant snap hook.

 

Ask me how I know. 

[MonteScheinblum]

5 minutes ago, aenemated said:

Easy. Don't set your wrists properly going back, rush a float load then BOOM - instant snap hook.

 

Ask me how I know. 

LOL....touché 

 

well played sir

[Bocaji]

26 minutes ago, aenemated said:

Easy. Don't set your wrists properly going back, rush a float load then BOOM - instant snap hook.

 

Ask me how I know. 

I feel personally attacked 

[DaveMc82]

Show us a video of your swing and you’ll get a proper answer. If you’re in a bad place at top of the backswing and follow some of the advice you’ll hit fats/thins/shanks/push fades/push slices. You’ll only hit a hook from certain positions by timing a flip 1/10 at best. 
 

If you get to a good top of the backswing the way I do it is by cupping the right wrist (extending I think) to the point the pizza slides off the tray by my right heel. From here I rotate hard whilst feeling like my right palm is tracing a line inside of a good hand path. All I concentrate on is maintaining that cupping of the right wrist all the way to finish. 
 

The above is all feels for me. In reality I still release but with a stronger clubface throughout. I use a watered down version of this for my full swing as I play in the wind a lot. Depending on ball positions you can hit a low fade with this too. 
 

BUT you must be in a good place at the top especially with hip turn. Without this you’ll get in your own way and be early extending etc to try and flip round your right hip with a very steep shaft. My money is on this is where you are now. 
 

 

[scooterhd2]

How I hook the ball.

 

Tee it up. 

Water on the left.

Aim well right. 

Tell myself do not hook it.

Bam. Duck. Hook. 

[nsxguy]

16 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

There is a problem with all of the suggestions made so far.  They aren’t addressing the root case of your ball flight issues.

 

Hypothetically your shaft is vertical in transition and you excessively raise the handle (very common in the description of your issues).  Changing grip would be a problem.  Didn’t mean to pick on anyone that said that.  The point is all of the proposed fixes are likely to make you worse.  Fix wh your face is open, etc.

 

I expect, as virtually all of us do, he has some swing issues.

 

But he didn't post a video and/or ask for swing help. He simply asked how to draw the ball,,,,,,, presumably with the swing he owns now.

 

That's what some of us gave a few small suggestions for.