Pull shots are the most frustrating ones in the world of golf. A pulled shot leaves the ball at left when it leaves the club. Instead of curving to the left, a pull shot goes straight to the left. It makes the ball behave in three ways, which always negatively impacts it. Nevertheless, some golfers consider it a good shot that can yield big numbers on the result board.
However, that might only sometimes be the case, especially if you are hitting shots to the left or double-crosses. If it happens more often, you would want to fix this shot by replacing it with a straight shot. To stop pulled shots, consider learning about the controlling starting line of your ball shot. If you gained control of your starting line, you would soon learn to hit your desired images.
Continue reading below to learn more about pulled shots and how to stop them for better results.
How to Stop Pulling the Pull Shots?
1. Where Are You Aiming?
Instead of pulling the golf ball to the left, you are simply aiming to the left. You’ll need a second club or golf gaming stick to check. Next, choose a target at a driving range and aim to hit it. Finally, you can place the second stick or golf gaming stick at your feet.
Step back to observe where the stick is aiming, as it should be around 10 yards left in the target direction. If it’s pointing 30 yards to the left of the target, then it’s probably not the aiming problem but the pulling issue.
2. Your Grip Might Be Too Strong.
Having a too-strong grip might also be the cause of having a pulled shot. On the other hand, a strong grip will most likely cause a strong impact on the clubface resulting in a pulled shot. You can check your grip by checking your knuckles at hand.
Grab a club and check how many knuckles you have in your left hand. If they are around 3 or 4, it means you have a strong grip and need to adjust it back to 2 knuckles to gain chances of avoiding pulled golf shots.
3. Poor Ball Position
The ball’s position can also play a vital role in a result of a pulled shot. It means where the ball is located from your foot’s side. If you are a right-sided golfer, your left foot will be the front, while the right foot will be the back stance.
If you are struggling with a golf pull shot, it’s probably because the golf ball is way too forward for you. Try moving the ball at the back stance next time you practice; this might reduce the chances of pulled shots.
4. Downswing
You initiate a downswing with your lower body instead of the upper body or arm. It starts with the first step of shifting the weight at the leading leg. If you fail to move at the target without going weight, the chances of increased weight on your trail leg will likely increase.
It will result in you swinging around your spine and your shaft wobbling outside the swing path. Moreover, it can lead to a dreaded pull shot, especially when the clubface is square or closed-shaped.
5. Backswing
Your backswing plays a key role in your shot; therefore, initiate a backswing with your upper body and arms. You can avoid swinging the club flat back if you tuck your leading shoulder under your chin for a correct position and weight balance. In addition, keep your elbows in close contact with your body. It will help prevent the swing from becoming too steep, resulting in pulled shots.
6. Adjust Your Swing Shape
Adjusting your swing shape can help avoid the ball from swinging too much. Start with changing the golf clubface at an address angle. Next, hit a draw by opening the club face at the address and closing it. Then, swing it the same way you produce a straight shot by adjusting the golf clubface at the start. It can make some difference in improving the swing to prevent pulled shots.
7. Adjust Your Angle Club
You need to adjust or fix your club angle to fix the pulled shot. The easiest way to do this is by slightly changing the strength of your grip. In most cases, all you need is to weaken your grip at hand, which will do the job of adjusting the angling club for better swing shots.
8. Hit the Inside of the Ball
Try hitting consistently at the inside part of the ball, as this will help make a successful impact. This impact will get you good swings to keep the ball focused on the target hit area. The shots may go differently than you want but keep practicing them for better results. You can start by getting your main palm behind the golf club opening shaft by pointing at the inside of the golf club.
How to Stop Pulling the Golf Ball with Drivers?
Sometimes you can control pull shots by using drivers that help you play straight and distanced shots. There are many reasons why golfers need to use different drivers to stop pulling the golf ball. For example, you can hit a 4 tee or 5 tees shot by using a driver with a smaller club head.
The Reasons You Are Pulling Golf Shots?
1. Swinging Over the Top
Over the top is the most common mishap that most disabled golfers face. If you overuse the upper body on the downswing, it will result in the club being overthrown outside the desired swing plane, and the club head will approach the ball from outside, leading to a pulled shot.
2. Incorrect Ball Position
Another reason for a pulled shot is the incorrect position of your ball. It occurs when the ball has a stance too forward, making it hard to release the club. Therefore, move the ball back in the stance and position it properly for each club for better shot results.
3. Body Misalignment
You must also keep an eye out for your body alignment. For example, you might aim for your target’s left instead of hitting over the top. Therefore, this can lead to a dead straight shot instead of a pulled one. To avoid that, use two clubs to ensure you set up a square for the target. Even though you aim left, sometimes it can become 10-30 yards right aim for the ball to pull back towards the target.
4. Tight Grip
After body alignment, ensure you don’t have a tight grip, as it will promote the strong and active release of the golf club and can lead to a strong hit or pulled shot. Adopt a weak or neutral grip position to see if it makes any impact over the hit.
Types of Pull Golf Shots
The pull golf shot has below three impacts on your scorecard.
1. The Good – A Pull Cut
You may not need to learn to stop a pull shot golf if you are consistently hitting Pull Cuts. This shot is a perfect fit for scratch and professional golfers. Here, being a right-handed golf player, you pull the ball to the left for it to cut back to the target. You have hit a perfect shot if your approach shot is pulled 10 yards left with a 10 yards right curve.
2. The Bad – A Pull Straight Ball
It’s one of the most common when golfers pull golf shots. With this shot, the ball starts at the left at the target but does not curve. If your pull starts 20 yards left, you can miss greens and fairways, putting you in serious shot-playing efforts.
3. The Ugly – A Pull Hook
This shot is the worst scenario where you pull it left, but it tilts even more left side. If you are at this stage, stop playing pull shots without delay.
3 Swing Tips To Learn How to Stop Pulling the Golf Ball
1. Low and Slow
Pulling golf shots start at the beginning of your golf swing. It can further lead you to a position that can make it harder for you to recover. Therefore, a simple and quick fix will be a low and slow swing thought. All you need to do is start your swing with the club’s back low and slow to the ground for a better approach.
2. Drop the Club from the Top
During their golf swing transition, most golfers try and cover over the top, and that’s where they get the pull shot. So, allow your lower body to do the job, and instead of using your arms, you can kick with your legs by clearing your hips. This way, you can let your arms and club follow each other to prevent it.
3. Investigate Your Divots
Investigate your divots to understand what shot you have played, how far they are from the target, and which way they are headed. If the divot has a direction straight toward the target, it’s not your swing pulling the golf shot.
For right-handed golfers, a divot pointed at the left will mean the problem is with their swing. Therefore, you can use your divots to find out and fix the pull shot issue.
How to Avoid Pulling Your Putts
1. Don’t Choke Your Putter
You need to pay attention to the pressure of the grip when putting. The goal is not to squeeze the club but control it softly. You will get more putts with less pull to win a good scorecard, so focus on that with more practice.
2. Accelerate Through Impact
We all sometimes play a nervous stroke that decelerates our impact, which will ultimately shut the putter’s face and lead the ball toward the left of your target direction. Therefore, don’t be nervous. Take a deep breath and make an aggressive stroke by staying focused on your line.
FAQ’s
The most common reason for that is most golfers cover over the top at the transition of the swing ball. Try dropping the club from the top of your swing to avoid a pull shot.
Try adjusting the shape of your swing with correction in the alignment of sticks to avoid pull-shots.In addition, you may want to try placing the ball in the correct position and not too far for a better shot and hitting the inside of the ball.
Keep your spine aligned with your belt buckle and keep it straight without a hula hoop to make a straight upward shot. It will prevent it from targeting left and a pull shot.
It could be because they have too much hand action in their swings. It can be to avoid tight holding, which most golfers do with the clubs.
You must stop coming over the top to prevent golf drive, as it makes the ball swing extra. Probably the clubface is too close to the point of contact despite a proper aim that gives a pull.
Stop leaving too much weight on your back leg at impact. The club turns too quickly because of the effect, which leads to a pull in golf.
The most common reason is placing the ball too far forward, which results in a fat shot, and you hit the ground before the ball falls.
Conclusion
There can be various reasons for you to be hitting a pulled shot in golf. All of this can result from your wrong or improper play action that needs either avoidance or correction. Therefore, you must diagnose WHAT is causing you to play pulled shots in golf and HOW to stop them. You can consider the above suggestions to see if they impact your improvements, which we hope will.
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Matt Stevens is the founder of Golfrough.com. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf since he was four years old. Having experienced every high and low golf has to offer, his writing helps the average golfer avoid the mistakes he has made in 28-years on the course.