THAT Is What an Iron Shot Looks Like When It's TRAPPED/COMPRESSED All to Hell

THAT is what an iron shot looks like when it's TRAPPED/COMPRESSED all to hell.............that particular picture and the "Shady Oak's driver swing" are my two favorite Hogan still pics of all time........the 18th @ Merion is up there too, but, it doesn't show what went before that beautiful finish.......the aforementioned duo do 100%........another thing, he could just as easily have hit a DRAW as a fade from "there".....hehehe the KEY is he's NOT holding the face open...........it's simply releasing LEFT and LATE.........but you CAN hit a draw, in fact a "draw with no hands," and look in the throughswing EXACTLY as Mr. Hogan is in the pic.........all depends on the clubhead's PATH/ARC relative to the target line and his body lines.........another thing, in his prime Mr. Hogan didn't really hit all that many true fades with his irons.......he didn't fade it as much as he hit a shot that "resisted hooking"......meaning it looked like it would draw, but, just didn't...at least to any great amount........but, believe you me, he could EASILY draw the ball WITHOUT swinging from "inside-out".....or "rolling his wrists"......or 'swinging to right field", etc. etc. etc.......ALL of which won't work consistently for anyone........even if you get REALLY good at that "stuff" you'll be forever a "pusher-hooker-snap hooker" for the rest of your day's........ Yep, that one and the one taken from the same tee box but from about 45 deg to his right front........out in front of him...........same spot at Shady though........just an unreal impact photo........as is that one.........WHAT a great pic........look how his entire core is opened up and rotating left with the arms taggin' along for the ride, and it's a quick un'.... So much for "square" shoulders at impact being a requirement to strike a golf ball well........ Odds are that you are attacking the ball from too far inside the target line with too weak a grip which requires you to manipulate the clubhead with your hands to square the face at impact......I'd also guess that your arms/club are out of synch with your trunk in the backswing.....ie. the club/arms continue on or "run-off" when your backswing trunk rotation has been completed.....ideally you want the arms/club to stop at the same instant that the shoulder rotations stops in the backswing......that is they are "in synch"......when the arms/club continue after the shoulder/torso have completed their backswing turn/windup the arms get behind the trunk.....ie. right elbow gets waaay too close to the body or, in a worst case scenario, behind the body.....the left arm breaks down at the elbow in which case the arc the clubhead is following collapses.....etc. etc. etc......When these things occur it will be necessary for your arms/club/hands to make up the "gap" in the downswing to square the face at impact.......in other words if your arms/club continue on for 10 "frames" after your shoulders have completed the backswing turn (as viewed from video footage) then you have a 10 frame "gap" ....your 10 frames "out of synch".......this "gap" must be made up in the downswing or by compensating with either an excessivley strong grip or excessive hand action through impact.......remember that a compensating move is nothing more than an error for an error.......very difficult to time and always inconsistent...... There are any number of techniques/drills/feels to elimnate, or at least reduce, a hook. Try the following until you find one that works for you..... Increase the grip tension in the last 3 fingers of your left hand (assuming that you are right handed)...."feel" as if the vast amount of your grip pressure is located in these 3 fingers......Make SURE that the club is being gripped in the fingers of the left hand......NOT in the palm......your DOA if your grip is too weak......DOA Speed up the rotation of your torso to the left in the downswing....."clear out" the left side.....using an Impact Bag is VERY good at ingraining the feeling of clearing the left side while hitting with the right side......with passive hands/arms Try the hooded face drill.......set up normally with a 6 or 7 iron except the face of the club is closed......up to 45deg......make sure your grip is normal just as if the clubface was square........then try and hit shots straight from this exaggerated closed clubface position........when you can do it you will be trapping the ball against the turf from a highly "leveraged" position.......in order to hit straight shots from this closed clubface position your arms must be connected and in synch with your torso and the torso must be clearing/rotating left with tremendous speed.....ALL attributes found in powerful golfswings..... You can try the image of the toe of the club never catching the heel......in other words the heel of the club is leading the toe at impact......a great drill using this image is to place a glove/washrag under your left armpit......way up in the pit......then try and hit "punch" 7 irons with the image of the toe never catching the heel....... A drill I use quite often with my students who come to far from the inside on the downswing is the "box" drill.....I take an old golf club shipping box and set it down on the ground parallel to the target line and approximately 6" or so inside the target line (between your toes and the target line.....) Then the student trys to hit shots with their driver without hitting the box and while trying to hit a fade/pull......they THINK they are going to pull or fade the ball but they rarely do in actuality........usually their ball flight straightens out and they learn to quite the hands/forearm rotation...... Another "image" you can try is the feeling of "pulling" the handle/butt of the club to the left with your left side through impact.......this is a tricky drill that I usually on use with tour players/excellent players......works like a charm with them to eliminate hooking........ You could also try placing lead tape on the toe of your driver......you'd be surprised what 3 or 4 strips of lead will do to temper the rotation of the clubhead through impact........I set up all of my good players drivers this way........at least D-4 up to E-0.......set the driver up anti-hook so that they can rotate their bodies as hard as they want without the clubhead "over-releasing".......depends completely on the characteristics of the shaft and your swing as to how much tape to apply...... Gosh, I could go on and on.....but I'll stop here.......hope something in this post helps you........I KNOW how frustrating fighting the duck hooks can be......ruined my college career and took me several years to completely eliminate.......hang in my friend! The face is shut at impact and/or the path is too steep...... Could be one or more of several things......ball too far forward.....too strong a left hand grip and no L forearm rotation in the backswing.....too weak a L hand grip resulting in either a spin out of the body or casting (or both) of the club on the downswing in an attempt to square the face at impact.....VERY hard to say without more specific information......ie. direction of your divots? depth of your divots?......toe deep divots?.....heel deep divots?.....Is the shot a pull....pull hook......or a true hook? Try this...... After checking to see if your fundamentals are sound....grip/posture/stance/ball position (could be the problem if its too far forward)/alignment........allow your left forearm to rotate on the backswing......this opens up the clubface and helps to get both the shaft and the clubface on plane at the top of the backswing........On the downswing simply try and hold the angle of your R wrist that you set in the backswing all the way through impact by aggressively driving and rotating your left side out of the way.....rotate your trunk left on the downswing.......your body rotation will square the face at impact.......IF your arms are in synch with your trunk/core in the backswing......I find with my students that placing a glove under the left armpit and keeping it there while focusing on the right wrist/rotation eliminates the "lefts" immediately.....especially with the lower handicap players..... I'd bet this will result in a much higher trajectory......thinner more uniform divots......and a ball that won't go left........ Your arms are getting "trapped" behind your trunk.....more than likely by taking the club away independant of your trunk.....starting the swing with the arms/hands which sucks the club straight inside.......DEAD....... when the arms and trunk are not synchronized the arms/hands will have to make up the difference to square the club at impact.......one time their late......slice/pull......one time their early.......fat/hook.......one time their dead on and you hit a good shot. What I do to get my students out of this problem is lay a golf club shipping box on the ground aligned towards the target.......I then place a ball on the inside of the box closest to the player......I then try and get the student (once they are set up on the correct address angles) to feel as if their right shoulder/hip are turning "backwards" (maintain the flex in your right knee) while the clubhead is working down the target line for the first 12' - 18'......then the left forearm begins to rotate and the right arm/elbow begins to fold opening the face and setting the shaft.........the key is that at NO time during the backswing should the arms be working independantly of the torso......they work together......when the torso completes its backwards "turn/wind" then the hands/arms/club stop at EXACTLY the same moment.......then everything is "in synch".........hit a lot of wedges short distances to get use to the feeling of synchronization........GOOD LUCK! It SOUNDS like the classic "spin out".......

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