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The Tips and Drill to Cure Push shots
There are basically two types of push shots.
1) A shot that goes straight to the right
2) A shot that goes right and curves left (hook)
You may see a push slice, but I like to talk about that later.
Those two types of push shots are related to each other. There are some common points you see with those types of shots.
1. Ball position too far back in the stance
2. Swinging inside out on the downswing
If you constantly hit push shots and hooks, you have to fix your grip and ball position to cure it completely.
To cure it completely, you need to work on your swing path and the clubface angle.
First, let's fix your swing path. To fix your swing path, I want you to move the ball forward in your stance. With a 7-iron, place the ball one to two ball length left of center.
If you hit shots from this ball position, you may hit a hook to the left. But that's fine.
By putting the ball more forward in your stance, you will fix your inside out swing path. So the ball starts at the target but quickly curves to the left. It curves to the left because your clubface is closed at impact.
When players see the ball going left, they try to compensate by swinging too much from the inside. The ball creeps back in the stance as you swing too much from the inside. The ball starts right of the target and come back.
But you will never hit it straight with this type of swing.
So no matter how much you hook it, move the ball forward in your stance.
After changing your ball position, try to weaken your grip so that the clubface won't close as much at impact.
Try to rotate both hands to the left until you see 2 1/2 knuckles of your left hand. If you still hook it, try 2 knuckles or check your right hand to see if it's not too strong.
The V formed by right thumb and forefinger should point more toward your right ear.
The Drill to Fix Your Push Shots
Here is a simple drill to fix your push shots.
Use 7-iron for this drill.
1) Set up to hit the ball
2) Next, Pull your left foot back about 10 inches
3) Hit shots from this open stance
When you hit shots like this, make sure your shoulders are parallel with the target line.
By hitting shots from this open stance, you can fix the sliding of your hips toward the target during the backswing.