How To Stop Hooking The Golf Ball

It can be frustrating when, despite your best efforts, you can't work out how to stop hooking the golf ball. This fault is something even the world’s best golfers struggle with from time to time, but there is a simple fix. 

In the video and article below, PGA pro and Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Trey Niven explains how this destructive shot happens and shares a couple of simple steps that you can follow to banish the hook for good...

What Is Causing My Hook?

It's more common for golfers to struggle with cutting across the ball and hitting a slice, but a hook is arguably more dangerous. For right-handers, a hook occurs when the clubface points well left of the club path at impact. The start line is mostly dictated by the club, so the wider this face-to-path relationship is, the more the ball is going to curve in the air.

The irony is that players who hook the ball tend to aim further right, which only increases this gap and makes matters worse. Below, I outline some of the main problems I see amateur golfers face when the dreaded hook sets in.

Step 1: The Grip

The majority of players who hook the ball have a strong golf grip, with their hands rotated away from the target (to the right for right-handers). In simple terms, when the club is released under motion and the hands return to neutral, the clubface points left. 

To adopt a neutral golf grip, put the lead hand more on top of the club, so the 'V' created between your thumb and index finger points roughly towards your trail shoulder. Then slot the other hand on top so it feels comfortable. Give both hands a little squeeze together to develop an understanding for how this should feel. You should see between one and two knuckles on the lead hand when looking down.

Step 2: The Takeaway

The next fault occurs in the golf swing takeaway. Lots of beginners hood the face, and whip the club away on the inside. This combination causes the clubface to shut, meaning you need to compensate elsewhere in the swing to square it back up. This ultimately sacrifices consistency and could be the reason you are hooking the golf ball.

Try out this practice drill. Get into your driver address position, aiming towards your target with a neutral grip, and then put your trail hand out as if you're shaking hands with someone standing to your right. Begin your swing, and bring your lead hand into position until it meets your trail hand. Through doing this, you will notice the clubface is much more square.

Imagine the swing like a chain, if you make a change to something at the start of the chain, it will impact on everything else along the way. Dedicate some time to practising these two steps and your ball flight will improve. 

The Fix: Tommy Fleetwood Drill

So many golfers stop rotating through impact and that inevitably leads to hooks. The body stalls, and the hands flip over quickly, making it really difficult to control the clubface, especially when swinging at speed with the driver. 

A great way to improve your pivot is to channel your inner Tommy Fleetwood. Start by taking a full backswing, and focus on really trying hard to hold off the follow-through, sort of as if you're hitting a low punch shot with an iron. Check out the video above to see how I do it.

Build it up slowly, starting with some slower swings to get a feel for the drill before increasing the pace when you feel more comfortable. With practice, this improved pivot will allow for better clubface control and have you hitting straighter drives more consistently.

Trey Niven

After enjoying a successful men’s amateur career, during which time he played for Shropshire and Herefordshire’s first team, Trey turned professional in 2018, and he now teaches from a number of locations in the Midlands. He enjoys coaching players of all abilities, from county players, to club golfers and beginners.