The Pull-Hook: The evil spawn of a hook and an out-to-in swing path

It feels powerful, but it's completely out of control. It's the sign of a swing where the club path and the clubface are in a major disagreement, and both are pointing in the wrong direction. Like its ugly cousin, the push-slice, the pull-hook is a combination fault.

1. The Path: Your swing path is travelling from out-to-in. This is what makes the ball start to the left of your target (the "pull").
2. The Face: Your clubface is closed relative to that path. This is what imparts the aggressive sidespin that makes the ball hook so viciously.

You're essentially cutting across the ball with a shut clubface. It's a recipe for disaster, but the good news is that it comes from a very specific and fixable set of swing characteristics.

How do small flaws collide into a pull-hook?

This shot is almost always born from an "over the top" swing path combined with an overly active set of hands. It's a fight between two wrongs.

• The "Over the Top" Move: The sequence begins with an out-to-in swing path. This is typically caused by starting the downswing with the upper body-the right shoulder and arms-which throws the club out and over the proper swing plane. This path wants to produce a slice.
• Aggressively Active Hands: Here's where the conflict happens. To counteract the slice that this path should produce, the player often has a very "strong" grip (hands rotated too far right) and an aggressive, "flippy" release through impact. The hands and forearms rotate at an incredible speed, slamming the clubface shut.
• The Result: The over-the-top path sends the ball starting left, and the rapidly closing face overrides the path's slicing intention, adding severe hook spin. The two flaws don't cancel each other out; they combine to create a destructive miss.
• Stalled Body Rotation: Often, this fault is accompanied by a stalled lower body. The player comes over the top, their hips stop turning, and the arms and hands are left to fly past the body, flipping the club shut with no resistance.

How to Get Your Path and Face Working Together

To fix the pull-hook, you must first address the root of all evil: the out-to-in swing path. Taming the path will make it infinitely easier to control the clubface.

• Neutralize Your Path: You have to stop coming over the top. The best swing thought for this is to feel your back stay facing the target for a moment longer at the start of the downswing. This encourages the lower body to lead the way, which allows the club to drop "into the slot" on a more neutral, or even inside, path. Get the ball to stop starting left. That's step one.
• Calm Down Your Hands: A pull-hook is often a sign of a grip that is too strong. Neutralize it by rotating your hands slightly to the left. You should only see about two to two-and-a-half knuckles on your lead hand. This will feel weak and strange, but it will dramatically reduce your ability to snap the face shut.
• Feel a "Quieter" Release: Instead of feeling like your hands are flipping over at the ball, try to feel a more passive release. The club should be released by the rotation of your body, not by an independent hand action. A great feeling is to have your chest "win the race" to the finish. When the body leads, the hands follow, and the release becomes much less violent and much more predictable.

Need help turning the pull-hook into a playable draw? A hook feels as bad as a slice. Here's how to fix it lays out the full rebuild once the start line is neutral, and Pushes and Pulls: Why That Straight Miss Is Still a Problem helps you monitor straight starts without curve.

What are the quick questions golfers keep asking?

Q: Why does a pull-hook feel worse than a regular hook?
A: Because both face and path are left. It starts left and stays there, so there's no room for a bailout.

Q: What's the quickest mid-round feel to straighten it out?
A: Aim the face at the target, swing the path toward right field, and keep turning. Neutralising both pieces instantly straightens the flight.