Where the hell did that come from?

[thekid65]

If there's been one consistent part of my game over the last couple of years, it's been my driving. Not necessarily very long (240-250) but I consistently hit fairways, and if I miss, it's not very far off.

Enter the dreaded snap hook.

It's killing me right now. Not so much that I snap hook every drive, but once it rears it's ugly head, I spend the rest of the round trying to prevent it, which inevitably ends up with a push to the right 20-30 yards or so off the fairway...as I'm focusing on trying to keep the club head open. I think yesterday I managed to hit only 4 or 5 fairways, where I'll normally hit 12 or so on this particular course.

And of course, this is also translating into missed greens, and a lot of scrambling, with the end result being higher scores (shot an 82 yesterday, the round before, a freaking 89!! I'm normally in the low-mid 70's on this course).

This crap (snap hook) appeared out of nowhere about 3 weeks ago. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed about my swing, or stance...but obviously something has.

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

That's been my miss too, but I've had this problem my whole life. And like you, once I snap one, I spend the rest of the round trying to avoid it. I have a go-to shot when my usual draw is duck hooking and that's a straight block. I know I can hit it, so I open my stance and play for it. My stock swing is in to out, so I just hold the face open and bang, 20 yards right of where I'm aiming. I've just learned to trust it. If it gets really bad, I'll start trying to fade the ball.

Since you just started doing this, there is probably a logical quick fix, like your grip or ball position or stance even. When you're hitting fairways, are you hitting, a draw or fade?

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Here's how the club is interacting with the ball to produce a hook.

The path of the club is not perpendicular to the face. In fact, relative to the path of the club, the face is very shut. Or, the face is square to the target, but the path is very inside-out.

To be more specific, the ball will always start in the direction that the club face is pointing at impact, regardless of the club path. The ball will always curve relative to the path of the club, as this imparts side spin. The ball will never behave in a manner outside these rules unless it is structurally compromised or it is acted upon by a force of nature, like wind.

I usually start to hook it when I am not finishing my swing. Even with a strong grip I hit it pretty straight as long as I turn all the way through. I come into it normally, but just don't get all the way through. When I commit to finishing the turn, I hit it much straighter, and I hit it miles.

So, I don't know you're making the club interact that way, but that IS what's happening. You should be inside to inside if you want to hit it straight. The problem with hooking is that the cure is usually finishing your turn to the left. Seems like more left turn can't cure a miss to the LEFT, but it does.

 

[thekid65]

When you're hitting fairways, are you hitting, a draw or fade?

Neither. Dead freaking straight. Every once in awhile I'd hit a beautiful draw, but I havent figured out how to repeat it consistently (nor did I put much effort into it, as I'm happy with the straight shot down the fairway...although when I managed to hit a draw, I got more roll/distance after the ball hit the ground)

My normal miss (prior to this hook problem) was usually the result of a pull which would typically end up 10-20 yds left of the fairway...but still dead straight. Now it seems as if that pull has transformed into the 150yd snap hook

Here's how the club is interacting with the ball to produce a hook.

The path of the club is not perpendicular to the face. In fact, relative to the path of the club, the face is very shut. Or, the face is square to the target, but the path is very inside-out.

To be more specific, the ball will always start in the direction that the club face is pointing at impact, regardless of the club path. The ball will always curve relative to the path of the club, as this imparts side spin. The ball will never behave in a manner outside these rules unless it is structurally compromised or it is acted upon by a force of nature, like wind.

I usually start to hook it when I am not finishing my swing. Even with a strong grip I hit it pretty straight as long as I turn all the way through. I come into it normally, but just don't get all the way through. When I commit to finishing the turn, I hit it much straighter, and I hit it miles.

So, I don't know you're making the club interact that way, but that IS what's happening. You should be inside to inside if you want to hit it straight. The problem with hooking is that the cure is usually finishing your turn to the left. Seems like more left turn can't cure a miss to the LEFT, but it does.

Thank you for that. I'll pay attention to my finish..as I said before, I don't think I'm doing anything differently in my set-up.

Edit: My stance on the tee is somewhat closed, with my right toe lined up to approx the midway point of my left foot. I'm hesitant to change that too much, as that was one of my early corrections many years ago battling a slicing problem..I certainly don't wanna go through that again! My grip is rather neutral. One thing I did notice on the last round, was that if I loosened up the grip pressure a bit...no hooky...but always had that push to the right.

 

[warbirdlover]

This helped me...

How to Fix a Golf Swing Hook | GolfLink.com

Duck Hook Problem

 

[thekid65]

Played 27 holes yesterday.....not one snap hook...a few pulls, but nothing like I was experiencing. The only change I made was focusing on my grip pressure,,,kept it nice and loose. Almost too loose on a couple of shots, as the club twisted in my hand.

Anyhoo, the end result was 13 fairways out of 19...and a total of 4 over for 27 holes.

I feel better.

 

[dunagan15]

Played 27 holes yesterday.....not one snap hook...a few pulls, but nothing like I was experiencing. The only change I made was focusing on my grip pressure,,,kept it nice and loose. Almost too loose on a couple of shots, as the club twisted in my hand.

Anyhoo, the end result was 13 fairways out of 19...and a total of 4 over for 27 holes.

I feel better.

I wish I could acquire this problem, lol.

 

[thekid65]

Hitting fairways is defo a huge key for my game. My iron shots out of the rough generally suck, and I need a lot of work on that aspect of my game. It's a hard thing to work on, as driving ranges around here are all closely mowed, or the dreaded mats.

I'm consistently amazed at how well the pros hit the ball out of the rough.

 

[warbirdlover]

I'm consistently amazed at how well the pros hit the ball out of the rough.

I agree. I was at the Milwaukee US Bank Open (no longer exists) and Camilo Vallegas and Bubba Dickerson were paired. Dickerson hit one in the rough right in front of us. It was a par 5 and he had 250 yards in and the ball was so deep in the 6" tall grass you couldn't even see it. He took a hybrid (we were only six feet away) and put it on the green. Unreal. And Dickerson isn't that good.