Pulls are a common occurrence for most golfers. We occasionally reach back for a little extra and find our ball headed left toward who knows what rather than the intended target. If this is a frequent experience for you then you must either struggle to score well or you’re an expert at getting out of trouble.
Did you know that a pull and slice are related? That is to say that they are the result of the same fundamental golf swing flaw. With so many of us suffering with this issue the golf industry continues to develop technologies and techniques for its cure. The often cited “over the top” or an “outside to inside” swing path.
So the solution is very similar to that which fixes a slice. The golfer needs to develop an inside approach to the golf ball. While there are several suggestions and techniques to make this happen, I’ve found that they only serve to confuse most of us even more so than we might already be.
Our hope here is to simply to clear up the confusion and provide you with the easiest (for most) way to correct a pull swing fault.
To correct the flaw it helps to understand the cause. While there are a few different causes the most common is that the club head approaches the ball from outside the intended target line with the club face closed to that same line.
The cure will seem counter intuitive to keeping the ball from going left but I promise it will work to create an inside to outside swing path. And that swing path will prevent the pull. Give it a try sometime on the range if you doubt it will work just to test my point.
How to cure a pull
Set up with your body aligned slightly closed to the target line. That means dropping your back foot away from the target line an inch or two.
Close the club face a bit. Rotate the club face a bit toward the inside of the line.
Strengthen your grip. Rotate the hands away from the target just a bit.
Make a full shoulder turn. Turn the shoulders as close to 90 degrees as possible.
Drop the hands from the top. Once you’ve completed the backswing your next move should be to bump you hips forward slightly and drop the hands straight down toward the ground.
As the swing continues to flow smoothly the upper body turn will bring the club back from the inside to meet the ball on a square swing path.
There you have it. Practice this until it becomes a normal part of your golf swing. Whether you are dealing with a slice or a pull these swing tips will work to help correct it in no time.
By: Wayne Hudler
About the Author:
Find help for your golf swing here: Golf Swing Instruction
Wayne Hudler is an avid golfer of over 30 years and golf writer.
He partners with Dooley Duffer over at Dooley Duffer Golf where they are devoted to helping ordinary golfers (duffers) improve their games.
