Pull yourself together - Golf tuition

Lately I have been pulling the ball, usually quite low. I think I have sorted it out now, though! The ball starts left and continues along the same line. It is a horrible shot, not just to hit, but to look at.

Through some analysis of my own swing I hope I can help you out if you also want to prevent a pull shot. Without seeing your swing, it is hard to pinpoint an exact reason, but I will give a run down of some things to look out for.

First of all, if you are hitting a straight pull that does not have sidespin, it means you are releasing the club properly, in other words, squaring the clubface at impact by rotating the wrists correctly. A pull slice would start left then curve back to the right, meaning you have not correctly released the club. A pull hook is ugly, not only does the ball start left but curves even further left. You have over released the club and might want to check that your grip is not too strong.

The 9 ball flight laws in golf. We are focusing on the 3 left arrows, which show an over-the-top swing path.

 
But with the straight pull, there is one important thing you should check - how do you start the downswing? With your arms of lower body? This is where the problem lies. When a person starts the downswing with their arms, the shoulders will open early and the arms will come over-the-top, that is, the arms and the club go outside the line of the ball. The swing path is out-to-in and therefore the ball with start left of the target. Also, during this movement, the body will tend to tilt to the left.


Solution: start the downswing with the lower body, in particular the hips. Here is what you can do - take your normal backswing, and start the downswing by turning your hips toward the target. DO NOT start by moving the arms. If you start by turning the body, the club with tend to drop "in the slot." By that I mean the club will drop down slightly inside the target line, which is exactly what we want to do when curing an over the top swing. You will also feel that when you make this move, the body will tilt slightly to the right, decreasing the chance of a low pull.

If you do not have alignment rods ... get them!

It never hurts to check your alignment. Who knows, your swing might be alright, and you just need to shift your feet and close your stance or shoulders a little. Important: ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH AN ALIGNMENT ROD!!!


Do this - hold your arms out in front of you, parallel to the ground. Swing the arms back, then rotate your hips to the left. You will find that your arms follow naturally. This is the feeling we want when you hit the ball.


Another drill for practice - place something, like a club head cover or tee, outside the ball. Your goal is to avoid hitting this object on the downsing. If successfull, it means your club is approaching the ball from an angle that will prevent a left-starting shot, assuming you are not using a super strong grip position. You now have a flatter downswing.
club to promote a flatter downswing.

Hopefully through hundreds and hundreds of reps (repititions) (yes that's right, it takes hundreds of these to engrain the feeling ... BE PATIENT!!! ... I will post another entry on how I changed my swing late last year) you will now be confident to hit the course again.

Know this - the starting line and sidespin of the ball are directly affected by the angle of the clubface in relation to the path of your swing. In other words, always check your swing path and position of the clubface at impact.

These tips are from my own knowledge of golf that I have gained over the past six years. I hope these tips helped. If they didn't, remember, I'm just an average amateur who is trying to help you with your golf game. Pay someone if you want reliable, professional help :-)