How to stop hitting hooks with one quick trick

To hit your irons solid and straight you have to deliver the clubhead to the ball with the clubface square to your path. Your success here has a lot to do with the way you release the club, especially for better players who often make the mistake of over-rolling their wrists through impact. You’ll hardly ever slice, but if the clubface is closing too fast relative to your path, you’ll consistently fight hooks.

Sound familiar? Try this: Place an alignment stick diagonally in the ground just outside your target line and approximately five feet in front of the ball. (You can slide a swim noodle over the stick like I have for extra safety, but it’s not critical for the drill.) Start making slow-motion practice swings. Use the alignment stick as a guide—motion the club inside the stick, which will guide your right arm more around your body.

Let your right wrist go from extended to flexed (like when you shoot a basketball) so the clubhead releases up and around without that excessive wrist roll. This is important, because it means the clubface isn’t closing or moving in a different direction to your swing path. Instead, it’s releasing up and around—and staying square to the path! Groove these moves and your accuracy will skyrocket. Better yet, you won’t sacrifice any distance.