Pulls and Hooks

[steven]

I have just finished day 19 of the program and I have been able to play a couple of rounds. I am finding my misses have been either straight pulls or worse- pull hooks. I think I am having a problem extending down the line on my downswing. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any suggestions?
Steve
New Jersey

[Thomas]

I tend to think of punching my right arm down through the impact. It fully extends my right arm and sort of takes my right and controlling (I’m right handed playing righty) out of the mix so I so don’t overwork my wrists and close or fail to close the club face. Through impact, with the swing dynamically occurring, the punch ends up down and out the front of you.

[steven]

Thanks, I’ll give that a try…

[Les]

Hi Steven. Were you an over-the-top swinger prior to Tathata? A straight pull basically means that you are swinging left of the target line. This could be hitting outside in with a square face or could be you’ve been pushing right for so long that you have been aligning left of target all along and are now straightening out your swing. The draw/hook comes in when you swing left with a closed face.

The pressure chapter will probably help with stabilizing the face and take care of the hook. The pull is either an alignment issue or club path issue. Lay down a club along the target line and check your body alignment against it when you’re at the range to verify aim.

[steven]

Hi Les, thanks for the input. For me it is still over the top…my alignment has always been off in the opposite direction, actually aiming more to the right of the target, almost closed. I am constantly checking my alignment to be more square or parallel to the target line. You are correct, my issue is still swinging over the top…I’m working on it!

[David]

Les – Would practicing surfing to level with his shoulders 5 to 10 degrees closed help Steven retrain his body?

[Stephen]

Hi guys, I had a couple of awesome rounds at about the start of the speed and strength section. I was flushing it straight and longer than ever with every club. “I’d finally cracked it”. What could go wrong? Well this is golf!

I started pulling and hooking it. I think one of my issues was that in adding speed I started to overcook the baseball swing. Not stopping below the right shoulder and not maintaining the 45 degree angles long enough leading to a closed face and path going left too soon. I know one of our forum members has talked about not adding speed too early ( in answer to a fatting it issue). That is certainly traditional golf wisdom and seems plausible. I don’t recall Bryan talking about where in the sequence to pour on the power although it’s obvious from the lessons that he emphasises busting up with speed out of the ground after surfing to level. However, Bryan also talks about driving the feet and ankles quickly during Surf To Level.

I’d love some further clarity from Tathata staff about when in the sequence to apply the “afterburners”. Although in my case (pre Tathata) the speed of my downswing has been likened to watching a polar bear come out of hibernation it was so slow!

[Christopher]

I would love to hear more on this topic from the Tathata staff. The pulls and hooks have been a very large issue for me.

I played a round after starting the body routine and have been really trying to keep my body together and fire up through impact, but I feel at times I am swinging to the left and pulling the ball or hitting behind it.

I try to warm up with the thrust to target, but when I get in my full swing is doesn’t seem to work.

[Tathata Staff]

Hi Team,

Thank you for the questions here. To make a completely accurate assessment of why some of you would be pulling or chunking golf shots the best remedy is to seek feedback through our swing submission.

However based on what you’ve shared the first place to look is going to be the “surf to level” movements. Typically amateurs hit the ball fat because they do not surf to level in the way we see the greats surfing. In this movement you will want to feel as if you are moving slightly down say an inch and slightly toward the target say an inch or two. This will get your center of gravity to the bottom of the arc. Think of your center of gravity as your belt buckle and the button on your shirt. If you surf proficiently your center will move to the bottom of your arc which is the “low point” of the divot.

Students that are chunking it and pulling the ball tend to begin over rotating from the top of the swing without surfing to level. Their center of gravity never gets to the bottom of the arc so they either bottom out early (hitting it fat) or over rotate while bottoming out early hitting fat shots and pulls.

Focus on the surf to level getting your center of gravity a little more down and forward, this should clean up those misses!

[David]

Stephen and Christopher,

Have you guys been able to get this swing flaw fixed? Just curious how your progress is coming along. I’m very excited about the warmer days that will hopefully arrive soon.