How to Stop Pulling the Golf Ball (Causes, Fixes, & Tips to Stop Pulling Shots)
A pull is a golf shot that starts left of your target and stays on that line until it lands. Pulled shots often feel good and travel a long way, but they aren’t going to give you the accuracy you need to get the ball close to the hole.
Sound familiar?
If you struggle with a pull, I’ll show you how to stop pulling golf shots using some of my best tips and tricks. Most importantly, you will learn why this pull happens so you can better understand your game and make better on course decisions.
Pulling Golf Shots (Key Takeaways)
If you need to save this guide to read the next time you are out on the range with a club in your hand, I completely understand. For now, here are a few of the key points to know about pulling a shot and how it can be fixed.
- A pull shot is caused by the clubface being closed to the target; in addition, swinging outside to inside for right-handed golfers is what will cause the pull to the left.
- The pull can be caused by improper alignment, a grip that is too strong, the ball position too far forward, or improper wrist angles throughout the golf swing.
- A pull shot can also include a pull slice or a pull hook.
- To fix a pull, you must match your clubface to the proper path; clubface direction is influenced by the angle of the wrists at impact.
Contents
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What is a Pulled Shot in Golf?
To fully understand the pull, you have to know a bit about the ball flight laws.
A pulled golf shot starts left of the intended target (for righties) and continues to go left. There is no curve to the shot. Instead, it flies on a straight line, left of your intended target. Variations of the pulled shot include a pull slice and pull hook.
For a very long time, golf instruction was almost exclusively driven by the “Old Ball Flight Laws”. Before what we now know, the ball was thought to have started its flight based on the club’s path. The face would then just determine the curve of the ball.
The “New Ball Flight Laws” have now shown, thanks to tech like Trackman, that the exact opposite of the old ball flight laws is true.
The clubface at impact, in relation to the target line, determines the start direction of the ball. The swing path, in relation to the clubface, will determine curvature. Therefore, the clubface becomes very important.
- Pull Slice – Face is closed to the target and open to outside to inside path.
- Pull Straight – Face is closed to target, and square to outside to inside path.
- Pull Hook – Face is closed to target and closed to straight path.
Notice with the pull shot, the clubface is always closed to the target.
What Causes a Pulled Shot in Golf?
As you can see from the new ball flight laws above, the primary reason why pulled shots happen is a clubface that is closed to the target line.
Additionally, having a path that is outside to inside, or “over the top” combined with that closed clubface, will dictate what kind of curvature the ball will have.
So why would a golfer have a closed face at impact? Why would they have a swing path that is from outside to inside?
Closed Clubface at Impact
Let’s look at a few definitions in relation to what your wrist and forearms could be doing in the swing.
Flexion and Extension
- Flexion, in its simplest definition, is when your wrist is bowed. Your palm moves down towards the ground.
- Extension, in its simplest definition, is when your wrist is cupped. Your pam moves up towards the sky.
Radial Deviation and Ulnar Deviation
- Radial Deviation, in its simplest definition, refers to the cocking or hinging of your wrist up towards your radial bone.
- Ulnar Deviation, in its simplest definition, refers to the cocking or hinging of your wrist down towards your ulnar bone.
Pronation and Supination
- Pronation, in its simplest definition in golf, refers to the lead forearms rolling over toward your target. Your palm will move up, facing the sky.
- In its simplest definition in golf, supination refers to the forearms rolling under away from your target. Your palm will move down, facing the ground.
When the clubface is closed on the downswing and on through impact, the lead wrist will be in flexion. Although flexion can be a positive in, you still need to match your clubface angle to the club path.
You want a flat lead wrist at impact. Check out the following video below from HackMotion.
Additionally, your lead forearm could be moving into pronation too soon as you move into impact.
Check out the video below from Eric Cogorno. He talks about lead arm supination and the how, when, and why behind it.
Strong Grip
If your grip is too strong, it could be the reason for your clubface closing too soon. You want to ensure that you have a neutral grip.
More importantly, the neutral grip is where the trail and lead hands can return the face of the club into the ball squarely at impact.
To obtain a more neutral grip, you want the V’s created with the thumb and index fingers on both hands to point over the center of your trail shoulder.
Poor Ball Position
When a golfer’s ball position is inconsistent or incorrect, the consequences include poor contact and offline shots.
When that ball position gets too far forward, pulled shots are often the outcome.
This happens because, at impact, the face of the club is already starting to close in its journey to the finish of the swing.
Poor Alignment
Sometimes, what is considered a pulled shot may be a straight shot. How can that be?
You may be aligned too far left of your target. Alignment, like all other pre-swing fundamentals, is critical.
Many golfers know this to be accurate, but unfortunately, they spend far too much time and energy focused on the swing mechanics. Many problems, such as pulled shots, can be eliminated by keying in on your pre-swing fundamentals.
Even the professionals go back to these components of the game.
Outside to Inside Path on Downswing
As noted above, in my breakdown of the ball flight laws, an outside-to-inside swing path will start the ball left of your target. The ideal swing path in golf is one where the club moves from the inside to the outside on the downswing.
The culprit, often for a path that comes from the outside, is a takeaway that goes too far to the inside. Instead, you want to focus on the club starting back square to your target line, with the face square.
Another cause of an over-the-top swing is your swing getting out of sequence as you transition down from the top. Remember, the proper sequence of events on the downswing is – hips first, chest second, hands next, and the club last.
How to Stop Pulling Shots in Golf
Focus on Pre-Swing Fundamentals
As noted above, and as the best players in the world know, many issues in the swing start with poor pre-swing fundamentals.
Therefore, you must hyper-focus on the following to ensure that your game’s swing issues, such as pulling the ball, are lessened.
- Grip – Neutral grip with proper grip pressure. Make sure the hands are working together.
- Posture – A good athletic posture with good balance and weight distribution.
- Alignment – A massively critical component to playing good golf. In general, your body must be parallel left of your target line (for right-handed golfers).
Pre-Shot Routine and Checklist
Having a pre-shot routine is non-negotiable. If you want to hit good shots, you need to have and use a pre-shot routine. Period.
Making a great swing starts with setting yourself up to do it.
Padraig Harrington talks about this below.
Work on Wrist Angles
We established earlier that the hands, particularly the wrists, play a significant role in how the clubface comes into the ball at impact. Therefore, when trying to combat the pulls, having better control of the clubface will likely be something to work on.
One of the best ways to do this is to work on your wrist angles. The best way to work on those wrist angles is by using the HackMotion wrist sensor.
Not only is having a better understanding of what your wrists are doing throughout the swing essential but having a tool that offers good biomechanical feedback is huge.
Getting and working with a HackMotion wrist sensor is well worth the investment!
The Justin Rose Drill Modified
PGA Tour star Justin Rose has been seen many times rehearsing his transition down from the top. When he does this, he wants to ensure his lead arm stays close to his chest; his hand path steepens, and his club shallows.
Clearly, coming over the top and having the arms move away from the body at the start of the downswing is not something only amateurs try to avoid.
This Justin Rose rehearsal or drill helps the club come into the ball with an inside-to-outside path.
When making this rehearsal move, you want to feel as though your lead arm stays close to your chest and almost brushes down it as you work your hands down from the top of your swing.
When you are practicing on the range, my modification is to stick an alignment stick in the ground, a few feet right of your target line, to use as a visual.
That visual is used to help you get a sense of swinging out to the right as you come into the ball at impact. That contrasts with that over-the-top move that’s made when you pull it.
Have a look at the video below for more on this.
The Two Ball Gate Drill
This final tip is something you can do on the range, and it doesn’t require a training aid or anything else except a couple of extra golf balls. This simple yet effective drill gets you swinging on a better downswing path and helps you stop pulling the ball.
Put one ball just to the right of the ball you will be hitting, about an inch outside from the toe of your club. Next, place a second ball slightly ahead and on the heel side of the ball you will be hitting.
You are setting up a gate that your clubhead must follow as you move into the ball at impact. The more comfortable you get with this, the closer you can place the outside and inside balls.
Towel Under Arm Drill
For this drill, you can use a headcover or a towel. The goal is to keep the towel or headcover in place (tucked under your left arm for right-handed golfers) while you swing. This position will help ensure your club does not get too far out and away from you and come over the top.
The over-the-top golf swing is one where the arms are disconnected from the body. Combine this with a closed clubface, and you’ll have your pull. While you swing with this headcover and towel in place, make sure you are also wearing your HackMotion and recording wrist angles in your golf swing.
Take control of your golf game by learning wrist mechanics with our FREE online resource.
Summing It All Up
Hitting pulled shots in golf can indeed be frustrating. Hopefully, you understand what a pulled shot is and why it happens. Now, get out to the practice range with your HackMotion and see what you can do to fix your pull shots and improve your wrist angles and path.
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