The point of every golf swing is to send the ball to a specific target. Quite often, however, the target is not at all where the ball ends its journey. Two of the most common unintended results for a golf shot are the "push" and the "pull." A ball is pushed when it travels straight right of the intended target (for a right-hander). A shot is pulled when it goes straight to the left.
The Primary Cause
A shot will be pushed or pulled because of problems with the swing path and/or face angle. The swing path is responsible for a wayward shot when the golf club is not moving toward the target through the "hitting zone." The hitting zone is regarded as the 18-inch span at the bottom of the swing within which contact with the ball occurs. A swing path angled to the right or left through that space will make it impossible to hit to the target. The angle of the clubface through the hitting zone is also crucial to success. If the swing path is correct, but the angle of the clubface is oriented either right or left, the ball will fly offline.
Hooks and Slices
There are other types of shots that can take an errant line. A slice is a ball that travels off course to the right (for right-handers) and a hook is a shot that ends up left of the intended line. Slices and hooks occur, however, because of excessive spin taking the ball off line. A push or pull happens because that is the angle at which the ball is launched. Consequently, these are different issues. Slice and hook are not interchangeable with push and pull when describing a shot.
Swing Path
The most common issues with swing path that will cause a push or pull often originate in the backswing. If the club is not taken back on the correct plane, it becomes difficult to find the correct swing path coming through the hitting zone. When the club is taken back too far inside--that is, a swing plane that is too flat--or too far outside and too steep, the correction that must occur going into the downswing is physically challenging and beyond the skill of most golfers.
Clubface Angle
Face angle is influenced in part by swing path, but also feels the effect of the orientation of the hands. Some golfers are frequently referred to as "handsy." This means that they typically have too much hand action in their swing and have a difficult time controlling the angle of the clubface coming into the ball. "Handsy" players are prone to hitting pulls. Face angle, therefore, cannot be viewed as either solely a swing path problem or hands problem.
Release of the Hands
What complicates acquiring the proper clubface angle is that in a fundamentally sound golf swing, there will be some action with the hands. Hands and wrists must release through the hitting zone in order to generate power. Golfers who tend to hold on to their swing too much and avoid letting hands and wrists release will be unable to square up the clubface at impact. This will result in a pushed shot.
The Solution
The best solution to pulled or pushed shots involves spending practice time shoring up issues with swing path and face angle. One good technique involves hitting shots with half a backswing, concentrating on an optimal swing path. It helps to use the turn of your body to set the club in place on the backswing--try to take your arms out of the equation. Limiting yourself to half a swing will give you a simpler task to accomplish with swing path.
Once you feel that you have mastered the proper swing path, begin taking full swings applying the same principles. If problems persist, there is another approach that involves taking full practice swings in slow motion. Slowing the swing down helps you to be aware of where the club is at every stage and how the face angle is oriented.
A well-established drill features five or six slow motion swings, followed by a full speed swing. The full speed swing should be executed with thoughts still centered on swing path and clubface angle.
References
- "Golf For Dummies"; Gary McCord; 2006
- "Golf My Way"; Jack Nicklaus with Ken Bowden; 2005
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