Help me stop pulling the ball!!

[jsttaylor]

Looking for some of those "Tips" rather than heading for a lesson. Recently purchase a set of TM Rac LT's. So far I have been nothing but frustrated. 90% of my iron shots I now pull left. I can't seem to hit any greens. I have been out 5 times and have broken 100 once. A 99. I usually play mid 80's. I love the feel and look of these babies so I am not willing to give them up yet. I am making what feels like solid contact, but everyting goes left. I've probably hit 5 greens in my 5 rounds. I have been to the range 6-7 times and at the range I seem to be able to control the draw, somewhat. Not enough to make me confident though. Does anyone have any tips? I am almost willing to try anything!! HELP!!

Jeff

[KickerOfElves]

Jeff,

What were you playing before the LTs?

[jsttaylor]

I used to play a set of Goliath Omega's. They were about 6-7 years old and I figured I'd upgrade. Hmmmm...... Maybe I should have stuck with what worked but I have been shooting around the same score for 4 years and hoped to improve with some new clubs. I did replace everthing in my bag over the winter and these are the only ones that don't work. Too bad. It would be a lot easier to replace my Driver!

["Richard"]

put the ball back in your stance a 1/2 and inch if your closing your club face to fast (I wish I had your problem) or hold the club face open a degree or two at adress with the ball position where you keep it right now. OR just do exactly what your doing and hit the ball with a sqaure club face (hard to do if you are already pulling, might screw up your shots in an effort to try to fix it). You also might be gettign to much roation about the waist and when you oncoil you are aiming left

[el tigre]

Looking for some of those "Tips" rather than heading for a lesson. Recently purchase a set of TM Rac LT's. So far I have been nothing but frustrated. 90% of my iron shots I now pull left. I can't seem to hit any greens.
Jeff

I realize you're probably exaggerating a little, but if 90% of my shots all went in the same direction I would simply play it - at least until I could go for a lesson.

I know it looks a little weird lining up to hit into the right rough all the time, but I've seen a few guys with a banana slice who shoot in the low 80's on a regular basis. So if you're pulling left consistently, why not go with the flow until you can get a professional to fix it?

[jsttaylor]

I have considered aiming 20 yards to the right but because the pull is inconsistent, between 5 and 30 yards, I'll never get it right. Maybe just for the hell of it I'll give it a go tonight and see what happens. Thanks

[Hank Hill]

Pulling the ball is due to swinging the club on an out-to-in path with a closed clubface. Perhaps in your excitement with the new sticks you have been guilty of hitting from the top (in a effort to power the ball) and hence leading with your shoulders producing the out-to-in path. Go back to the range and swing a bit easier, try to lead with the lower body (left leg) and not with the upper body. Your shots should come back on line with an improved path and once there you can swing at your normal speed.

[jsttaylor]

I did figure that was what I was doing. I have tried to correct it and it does seem to help sometimes. I'll keep working on this,,, in to out, in to out!!

[Txxxxxxx]

I did figure that was what I was doing. I have tried to correct it and it does seem to help sometimes. I'll keep working on this,,, in to out, in to out!!

Not "in to out". Keep your swing inside. In fact, and outside in swing causes you to cross the ball and fade it or slice it. That's if you have the clubface square at impact but an outside in swing path. If you swing inside out and roll your wrists, you'll end up with a draw or hook when done too extreme.

[allanhouston90]

Try to get the back of your left wrist facing squarely at your target at impact.

Test that out and report back the results.

[jsttaylor]

i shall try these suggestions and see what happens. Played 9 holes last night trying to overexagerate and inside swing.....shot a 49! I love to hate this game!!!
Guess I keep working on it.

[BC MIST]

90% of my iron shots I now pull left. I have been to the range 6-7 times and at the range I seem to be able to control the draw, somewhat.

If you PULL, the ball flies STRAIGHT, left of your target line. If you DRAW, the ball starts right of your target line and gently curves back too the target line. You likely are pulling.

Your club head path is outside/in and your club face is closed to your intended target line. Therefore, you must learn to swing the club into the ball on an inside path with a club face that is slightly open. Curing an outside path will take time and a professional lesson is encouraged. Or, at the range on a mat, draw a chalk line from the ball back to the right on an angle of about 25* toward your stance line. As you swing down you MUST imagine the club head following or make the club follow this inside path to the ball. Secondly, you must look at the inside quadrant of the ball, NOT the back of it. Thirdly, go to the top of your backswing and stop. In slow motion, push your hands away from you or in the opposite direction of your target. They will move BACK, DOWN and then OUT to the ball. This is the correct path that your hands MUST follow. Most golfers move them OUT and then DOWN without any BACK, causing an outside swing path. When you do this you will find your right elbow hugging your right hip shortly after you start the down swing.

Now, repeat all of this correctly, 10,000 times.

[jsttaylor]

Thanks Misty. I am getting the impression that I am swinging over the top. Don't know how this started as I never used to be a puller of the ball. Hopefully I can fix this with a few sessions on the range now that I have a better Idea of what I am doing wrong. Thanks to everyone!!

[sharkhark]

Are you so sure you are pulling the ball and not making a proper swing?
During fitting last yr for irons, my balls drifted right (ok that just sounds wrong) and I ended up with 2 degrees upright adjusted.
The result the shots went straight. I currently have a draw/hook problem but not the clubs fault, they went straight for a yr.
Maybe you need a couple degrees flatter to move ball to right. If you, as you say, are making solid contact, maybe your swing is fine.

[wvphenomkid]

I had this same problem place your back foot back in your stance that inforces a inside out swing. I have been knocking the ball dead straight since I started doing this.

[Chambokl]

Use a lie board... form a fitter or at Golftown... You probably need your irons to be 1 or 2 degree flat... usually it is worse with the high irons (wedge, 9 and 8 iron)... the lower the irons (4 or 5) the less you pull...

I went for a MATT system fitting and that is what I was told... after the adjustment it was night and day...

If your clubs are too upright the heel will touch the ground first and close your club... that will create a pull...

[mberube]

Best way to actually know if you are pulling or something else is causing this is to set a club on the ground pointing to your target then setup parallel to the club and hit a ball. Back away and compare your divot to your target and to the shaft on the ground. If it’s pointing left of your target then you are pulling. If it’s straight then it might be the lie or you are closing the face at the ball probably because you ware used to compensate with your old clubs.

Your divot is the best tool you can use. Your divot tells you your swing path (where the ball starts) and the face angle tells you the affect the ball has.

Conclusion is this, don’t change your swing until you know exactly what is causing this left ball flight. If the lie on the clubs is causing this issue and you are trying to compensate or correct your swing you will lose consistency and confidence and your game will suffer greatly. It’s hard for anyone to diagnose a swing issue by reading a post.

[nokids]

Is the OP (Jeff) still pulling the ball? It's been 4 years since he made this thread.

[jsttaylor]

Funny you should ask. I do still have a tendancy to pull the ball. And when I step back after hitting and look at my divot, it is left of target. The lower the club, 3 iron being the lowest, the more I tend to pull it. It has gotten better over the years but is still there.
Thanks everyone for the help.

[mberube]

Now that is funny. I did not realize the date of the original post. I guess someone was searching for a fix to his problem in the archives.....

Nonetheless, your divot is great to help self diagnose swing issues. If you tend to pull with longer club it's surely because you are trying to hit it too hard. Relax and swing with tempo. Imagine that you are swinging a wedge and not a 3i.

[jsttaylor]

Thanks. I have gotten better and now I am only pulling it half of the time.

[Chambokl]

Thanks. I have gotten better and now I am only pulling it half of the time.

Jeff... this is the drill I use last year to correct the problem... believe me it works great. I told a few people during the winter on this site and TGN and was surprise to find it in the May 2010 Flagstick mag... Kevin Haime explains it...

Here it is:

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1nl...sources/78.htm

[Bill Wood]

Thanks Misty. I am getting the impression that I am swinging over the top. Don't know how this started as I never used to be a puller of the ball. Hopefully I can fix this with a few sessions on the range now that I have a better Idea of what I am doing wrong. Thanks to everyone!!

Jeff - most would agree on the point that you're hitting from the top. Sometimes new clubs will feel a bit different - perhaps lighter, and sometimes heavier - both I've found can produce hitting from the top - which I've fought most of my life.

There's all kinds of drills but I like to let my hands go as they may in the swing, and make sure I've got good footwork. If you forget about your hands AND arms and play with your feet - the club will automatically lag and follow the weight shift of your hips - it's impossible to hit from the top if your hands and arms are just going along for the ride. To feel your footwork play a few shots with your bare feet. That's how I stop hitting from the top. That hook and pull can really put that ball out of play quick. Good luck and - don't dump the clubs if you like them.
-Bill-