Can’t stop pulling the ball? Check on these 2 things, says Top 100 Teacher

Hitting the ball offline is always frustrating, but pulling it can be especially aggravating.

Pulls tend to feel more solid than slices, so watching a shot that feels good veer wide of your target can be confounding.

Luckily, if you struggle with pulls, there’s a quick remedy you can employ, and at GOLF’s recent Top 100 Teacher Summit at Talking Stick, instructor Tina Tombs suggested a helpful two-step checklist you can do to fix your issue.

How to stop pulling the ball

Ball position is key, Tombs said, and it’s the first thing that should be checked.

“Look at the fundamentals,” Tombs said. “Always reset before you go play.”

Tombs said if the ball position seems sound, the next step is to check on your alignment, and think about what kind of shot you are trying to hit when you pull it.

Instruction

“It’s a sequencing thing,” Tombs said. “When you’re pulling, generally the upper body is moving faster than the lower body and you’re spinning out. But depending on who the student is, even if it’s a professional, I’m checking ball position and alignment systems before I go into anything deeper.”

If you’re wondering how to ensure your alignment is in good shape, Tombs recommends checking whether you’re set up with the right foot flare, your clubface is aimed where you want it to be (and is square at address), and your body is aligned correctly according to the kind of shot you want to hit.

“A lot of people who think they’re pulling it are aiming over there,” Tombs said. “If they don’t know where they’re aiming — or their ball position’s forward — they’re aiming there. So those are the things to check first, before getting more technical.”

So there you have it. To fix a pull, try checking your ball position and alignment first. If that doesn’t solve the problem, it might be time to enlist the help of a local professional.

For more tips from Top 100 Teacher Tina Tombs, click here.

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As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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