Arched left wrist???

[Squishband]

Brian

Sorry if this is a little long. This may sound weird but it feels natural to me. I have fought it too long... What I want to know is how to prevent or guard against my bad shot which I am sure you will figure out reading the description.

On the take-up I bend my right wrist back, this arches my left wrist (a lot) I also roll my left wrist (knuckles to the ground) a touch. It feels like my takeaway is really inside. My backswing is just less than 3/4 and on the downswing I have to keep my right shoulder "behind" my left so no shoulder turn "feel" until impact.

My downswing "feels" very straight line and "underneath", I take a nice straight bacon slice divot. On video my left wrist is still arched at impact but not nearly as much as the takeaway. I get a lot of lag but not a lot of clubhead speed. My ballflight is pretty damn straight and sometimes a very slight fade; trajectory is on the low side but pretty piercing.
I set up very closed and aim right and pull the ball back to the target. As you probably guessed my bad shot is the huge disappearing pull hook that goes forever (unfortunately the wrong direction)

I have fought this tendency for years and have tried all sorts of gizmos to keep my LWF but I get pure contact and reliable distance with this method. I have decided to stick with it because I can repeat it without thinking.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Goosen plays this way with a lot of success....so did Sam Snead. If it works for ya i'd stay with it.

However if you really wanted to setup more square and not hit pull/pull draws/pull hooks all the time you need to learn how to hit the inside back corner of the ball.

Read brian's article on "Don't hit it at the target" as well as his "setup for success."

Learn to do BOTH of those things the article describes and you probably won't even have to change your swing, just where you're aiming

 

[Squishband]

Hmmmm.... So you are saying when I hit the pull hook it is because I am hitting the back of the ball not the inside aft quadrant?

I aim there but I guess if I rotate to soon I'll hit the back.
Not something I concentrate on but I'll see what happens.
My approach line is in-to-straight but if I move my right shoulder out instead of down it will be more straight hence the lefts.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

quote:Originally posted by Squishband

Hmmmm.... So you are saying when I hit the pull hook it is because I am hitting the back of the ball not the inside aft quadrant?

Sorta....you are hitting the pull because you are aiming right and NOT hitting the inside back corner. You are hitting more towards the outside upper back corner; where towards that quadrant? Well we'd need the CBS Swing Vision for that LOL. We'll just say its somewhere "higher" than the inside back corner ok?

So when you hit the ball in that "area" the ball clubface is going to be slightly open (not enough or it'd go right) at impact and then SQUARE at separation which is left of where you're aiming. Make sense? So thats why you aim right and yet still pull the ball back left.

The pull hook comes from having a "more" square face at impact and during compression the face is closing so at separation the clubface is more than likely closed. So the ball starts left and CONTINUES left resulting in your hook.

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I reccomend you doing some more things as well i just thought of:

1) purchase the "never hook again" video short brian posted. Some EXCELLENT information on that for you.

2) before you go experimenting with a lot of things with your swing...try very hard to make your swing very inside-out through impact with an OPEN FACE. If you do it right you are going to get a BIG DRAW. Meaning ball starting RIGHT and then coming back towards the target.


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Also how strong is your grip? I didn't even think of that. If you have a very strong grip and try and achieve a flat left wrist you are going to hit big pulls because of clubface alignments.

 

[Brian Manzella]

I really think "Never Hook Again" would help a lot.

 

[self-mastery]

Sometimes I fall into a similar swing sequence. Can you play a fade with this technique? This is how I learned to play a trevino fade.

 

[Squishband]

Generally it is very straight to a slight fade, but every so often I will spin to the left too early and the ball will disappear leftwards.

I have been using Jim's suggestion of making sure I hit the inside quadrant of the ball with an open clubface and I think I am better controlling the direction.

I also watched the never hook again video and I have at times swung like that.

 

[jazzyshan]

Squishband,

Sounds exactly like the way I swing. I'm personally trying to rid myself of that arch and swing more conventionally, but like you I'm able to get consistent results with that method.

Not sure where your left hand is on the grip, but I basically eliminated the left side of the course by weakening my left hand so my thumb points down that shaft at 12:00. This produces dead straight shots for my shorter irons, and some movement to the right as the clubs get longer. Occassionaly I do pull, but I never hook with this method.

Don't know if this addresses your problem or not, but that's what worked for me.

 

[self-mastery]

i've been doin' a j. miller; weak left grip, forward press, pre-cock w/ left hand at halfway up type of swing with a super bent uncocked righthand. It works great.