The Hook

The good golf swing is an evolution. Too many people try to skip the steps. The steps are necessary because the next
step is a reaction to the previous step.

Let me explain. The really good player has a hook swing that doesn’t hook. The hook swing puts the body and hands
in the proper position to hit the golf ball solid. But, that position can lead to a hooked shot – not fun. So the really
good player has found a way to keep the hook swing and yet not hit hooks.

Hogan’s book “The Five Fundamentals” is all about what Hogan developed not to hook the ball. Great for Hogan,
but not so great for most golfers.

Most golfers have two natural ways to hit the ball. One is to pick the club up and to beat the ball like it’s a snake –
thus the term hacker. Or, the other way is to try to scoop the ball up in the air with the wrists. Most people are a
combination of the two styles. Ironically, most people use each style in its least effective way. For example,
scooping the driver off the tee is better than beating down on it. And, beating an iron down on a fairway shot is
better than scooping it. But most people scoop their irons and beat down with their drivers – that’s why they hit pop-
ups off the tee and scar the top of their driver. And trying to get under the ball with their irons is why they top their
iron shots.

But neither of these techniques is very good. The golf club needs to rotate through the shot. Swing a club waist high
like it’s a baseball bat. See how the club rotates. The golf swing should do the same thing. Most people don’t rotate
the golf club. They don’t understand the concept of the golf swing. The body positions that everyone worries about
are a result of how the club is swung. Here’s an example: Lots of people make a reverse weight shift… a reverse
weight shift is a result of trying to scoop the ball up in the air. Try it – you’ll see how it happens.

What people need to practice is a waist high golf swing. They need to rotate the club on the backswing so that the
toe of the club is straight up when the club is waist high. The left arm should have naturally straightened (not stiff)
and the right arm should have folded. From that position, the golfer should slowly swing the club down and rotate
the clubface so that the palm of the left hand faces up in the air and that the clubface is completely closed. And, the
right arm should have straightened (not stiff) and the left arm should have folded. The golfer should practice doing
this half-swing back and forth without stopping… making sure that the clubface is rotating. This is the heart of the
golf swing.

This is also why the good player hooks the ball. Obviously too much rotation will hook the ball. But the beating
snakes swing and the scoop do not rotate the golf club.

Let’s talk about the grip. If the hands are turned to the right (a strong grip) they have more leverage to rotate the golf
club through the hitting zone. Most people do not have a “strong” left hand. They need to turn the left hand so that
the thumb is on the right hand side of the grip. Most people have the thumb on the middle of the shaft. For most
people this isn’t a strong enough position to rotate the golf club. Later on in Hogan’s career he turned his hand to the
left so the clubface wouldn’t close even if he rotated the club very severely. That was one of the ways he beat the
hook. Arnold Palmer held the golf club through the ball – he tried to stop his rotation… but already had a powerfully
rotating swing.

You hear a lot about taking the hands out of the swing. That is advice for TOUR players to minimize their chances
of hooking the shot. But they have already developed fantastic hand rotation. This is the worst advice for the average
player.

This same TOUR action of taking the hands out of the swing relies on the body rotation to square up the club. Again
– this advice is disaster for the average player. Why? Because the average player does not rotate the golf club with
their hands – they swing the club with their shoulders… that is not a good way to hit the ball. The shoulder swing
cannot get the club into the slot. The shoulder swing means coming over-the-top.

Think about this. If at the top of your backswing you try to hit the ball with your shoulders… what’s going to
happen? Well, you’re going to chop down on the ball. How else are you going to get down to the ball? The secret of
the golf swing… is to pull the club down to waist high from the top of the backswing. From there, you can rotate the
club into the ball with your hands like in the drill we talked about earlier in this article.

That is the secret of the really good players. They get the club into the “slot” on the downswing so that they can
rotate the club through the ball. That’s how you build a consistent golf swing.

So, as a golf instructor, what do you teach first? The slot or rotation? I believe rotation. Practice swinging that waist
high rotation drill. And hit balls at the range with that waist high drill until you can hook it every time (with your
hands – not shoulders). Then practice pulling the club down waist high from the top of your backswing… your right
elbow should drive into your right hip. Then combine the two drills – swing up to the top of your backswing, pull the
club down, and then rotate the club into the ball. That is the correct way to hit the golf ball. And soon you’ll be
hooking it.

Then, you can spend the rest of your golfing life trying to keep that hook from hooking. Good luck.