A pulled golf shot happens when the ball starts left of the target (for a right-handed golfer) and continues to fly left. This common problem usually points to an issue with your golf swing path or how your clubface aims at impact. Fixing a pull often involves small tweaks to your setup or how you move the club.
Pulling shots is frustrating. It ruins distance and accuracy. Many amateur golfers face this challenge. They want to know how to stop this unwanted golf shot shape. Let’s break down the main causes and offer simple fixes to straighten out your ball flight.
Deciphering the Mechanics Behind the Pull
A pulled golf shot is a direct result of the clubface aiming left of the target line at impact, combined with a golf swing path that is also moving left of the target line (out-to-in). If the clubface is pointing left, but the path is straight, you get a pull. If the path is very far left (a severe out-to-in cut), and the face is slightly left, you get a pull that might turn into a slice. If the face is shut (pointing right of the path), but the path is still way left, you might get a pull-hook.
The key to golf troubleshooting here is locating the source of the leftward deviation. Is it the setup? Is it the takeaway? Or is it the downswing transition?
Path Versus Face: The Core Relationship
The direction the ball starts is dictated primarily by the clubface angle at impact. The curve of the shot (the spin) is determined by the relationship between the clubface and the swing path.
| Scenario | Clubface Direction (Impact) | Swing Path Direction (Impact) | Resulting Ball Flight |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pull | Left of Target | Left of Target (or Neutral) | Starts left, flies straight or curves slightly right. |
| The Slice | Right of Target | Left of Target (Out-to-In) | Starts straight or right, curves sharply right. |
| The Hook | Left of Target | Right of Target (In-to-Out) | Starts left, curves sharply left. |
When you pull, both the path and the face are generally aimed too far left of your intended target line.
Common Causes and Simple Solutions for Pulls
Fixing a pull requires looking at the whole picture, from how you hold the club to how your body moves. We will focus on three major areas: Setup, Takeaway, and Downswing Sequence.
Setup Issues: The Foundation for Error
If your stance is wrong, it is hard to swing correctly. Golf setup issues often force compensating movements later in the swing.
Ball Position
If the ball is positioned too far forward in your stance (too close to the front foot), it can make it harder to square the face on time. The club might drop too far behind you, leading to an overly in-to-out path or, if you try to adjust, an early release that pulls the face left.
- Fix: Check your ball position relative to your stance. For a driver, it should be off the inside of your lead heel. For mid-irons, place it near the center of your chest. Move it back slightly if you suspect it’s too far forward causing an aggressive swing path change.
Grip Influence: Holding the Key
The golf grip influence is massive on face control. A grip that is too strong can easily pull the clubface shut too early or cause the path to swing too far left.
A strong grip means the lead hand (left hand for a righty) has many knuckles visible at address. This promotes early release or rolling of the hands.
- Fix: Weakening your grip slightly can solve this. Ensure you see fewer than two knuckles on your lead hand at address. Try to have your hands work together more, rather than having the left hand dominating the release. This small change can stop the face from snapping shut too soon.
Alignment and Stance
If your body is aligned left of the target, your swing path will naturally follow that line, leading to a pull, even if you feel like you are swinging “straight.”
- Fix: Use alignment sticks religiously on the practice range. Place one stick aimed directly at your target. Place a second stick parallel to the first, aimed where your feet are pointing. Are your feet pointing left? If so, you are aimed left, and you will pull the ball. Adjust your feet so they point down the line created by the target stick.
Takeaway Troubles
The first few feet of the swing set the stage for everything that follows. A bad takeaway often leads directly to an out-to-in path.
Lifting vs. Rotating
Many golfers pull the club by picking it up too quickly with their hands and arms, instead of letting the large muscles (shoulders and core) rotate the club back. This steepens the swing plane immediately.
- Fix: Focus on the “one-piece takeaway.” Feel the triangle formed by your arms and chest staying intact as the club moves away from the ball. Your shoulders should turn away from the target, pulling the club with them.
Inside Takeaway Trap
If you pull the club too far inside on the takeaway, the swing plane becomes too flat. When you transition, you have to bring the club “over the top” to avoid hitting the ground too early. This over-the-top move is the classic cause of an out-to-in swing path, leading to pulls or slices.
- Fix: Make the takeaway wider. Feel like you are taking the club straight back initially, matching the line of your target line for the first few feet. This promotes a shallower, more neutral plane.
The Downswing Sequence: Where Paths Get Crossed
Most pulls are created during the downswing transition or impact. This is when the body rushes ahead of the arms, causing the dreaded “over the top” move.
The Over-the-Top Syndrome
This is the number one reason for pulling shots, especially when trying to fix a slice. When the upper body starts down before the lower body unwinds, the arms swing outside the body line. This creates an out-to-in golf swing path.
If your path is out-to-in, and your clubface is slightly left, you get a pull. If your path is out-to-in, and your face is open to that path, you get a slice. When golfers try a golf slice fix aggressively, they often swing even harder from outside, making the pull worse.
- Fix: Focus intensely on the lower body initiating the move. Feel your lower body shift toward the target before your arms descend. Imagine dropping the club down from the inside slot.
Rushing the Release
When the hands flip too early—trying to “help” the ball get airborne or square the face—the clubface often snaps closed too soon, pointing left of the target, even if the path is decent. This results in a pull or a pull-hook.
- Fix: Focus on holding the lag (the angle between your wrist and the shaft) as long as possible. Feel like the hands stay ahead of the clubhead deep into the downswing. The squaring of the face should feel natural, resulting from the body rotating, not a conscious flipping motion.
Practical Golf Practice Drills for Pull Correction
Consistent practice using focused drills is essential for changing ingrained motion patterns. These golf practice drills specifically target the path and face relationship to promote straighter shots.
Drill 1: The Gate Drill (Path Focus)
This drill forces you to swing on a correct inside path.
- Place two objects (like headcovers or alignment sticks) just outside the ball, creating a narrow “gate” that the club must pass through on its way to the ball.
- Place the objects slightly in front of the ball and slightly outside the target line.
- The first object stops an outside takeaway. The second object stops an outside swing path.
- You must swing through the gate, forcing an in-to-out path relative to your body, which should bring your overall path closer to the target line.
Drill 2: Towel Under the Armpit (Sequencing Focus)
This addresses the over-the-top move by keeping the arms connected to the body rotation.
- Place a small towel or glove under your lead armpit (left armpit for righties).
- Make half swings. The goal is to keep the towel wedged there throughout the backswing and well into the follow-through.
- If you move the club “over the top” or let your arms separate, the towel will fall out immediately. This promotes a connected swing, which generally fixes the out-to-in path that causes pulls.
Drill 3: Face Awareness Drill (Contact Focus)
This drill helps you feel the clubface aiming correctly at impact, addressing face-to-path issues common in pulling.
- Take your normal setup.
- Place your normal golf ball.
- Place an empty headcover or alignment stick about one foot past the ball, aimed slightly right of your target (for a righty).
- Your goal is to swing through impact and have the clubhead graze or pass just to the left of this stick, indicating you are not swinging violently left across your body. This encourages a neutral or slightly in-to-out path with a square face.
Golf Equipment Adjustments That Might Influence Pulls
Sometimes, the equipment is working against your best intentions. Certain golf equipment adjustments can unintentionally promote a pull.
Lie Angle
If your club has too much “toe-in” (the toe of the club is pointing too far down toward the ground at impact), it forces the face to close too quickly during the swing. This promotes a pull or a pull-hook. This is common with clubs that are too long for the player, causing them to stand up too tall.
- Fix: Have your clubs professionally fitted. For irons, a club that is too upright (heels too high relative to the toes at impact) can lead to pulls. Adjusting the lie angle flatter might help square the face.
Shaft Flex and Weight
A shaft that is too soft or too light can cause excessive flexing or lag. In the transition, a very light shaft can lead to the hands releasing too early, snapping the face shut prematurely, resulting in a pull.
- Fix: Ensure your shaft flex matches your swing speed. If you are a quick swinger using a senior flex shaft, you may be generating too much speed in the wrong sequence, causing rapid closure of the face.
Fathoming the Result: Reading Your Golf Ball Flight
To know if your fixes are working, you must accurately read your golf ball flight. Does the ball start left and stay straight? Or does it start left and curve further left?
If the ball starts left and flies straight: Your path is too far left, but your clubface is aimed slightly right of that path (square to the target line, or slightly open to the path).
If the ball starts left and curves further left (Pull Hook): Your path is too far left, and your clubface is significantly closed relative to that path. This is often due to an aggressive hand flip.
When working on a golf hook correction, you must slow down the hand action and ensure your body rotation is leading the swing.
Focus on the Swing Path to Solve the Pull
For the majority of golfers pulling the ball, the issue resides in the path being too far left (out-to-in) due to an early release or over-the-top move.
Here is a summary of key focus areas for long-term correction:
| Problem Area | Symptom Leading to Pull | Primary Fix Action |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Body aimed left. | Align feet and shoulders parallel to the target line. |
| Grip | Too strong (too many knuckles). | Weaken the grip slightly; neutralize the lead hand. |
| Takeaway | Club lifted steeply or too far inside. | Focus on a wide, rotating takeaway using the chest. |
| Downswing | Arms dropping outside the body line. | Initiate transition with the lower body shift first. |
| Impact | Hands flipping early. | Focus on delaying hand release; keep hands ahead of the club. |
Advanced Drills for Deeper Inside Swing Path
If standard drills aren’t cutting it, you need to exaggerate the feeling of an inside path.
The Trampoline Drill (Feeling the Drop)
This drill uses visual feedback to force an inside delivery.
- Set up facing slightly away from your target line (aiming your feet 10-15 degrees right of the target).
- Takeaway as normal.
- In the transition, feel like you are actively trying to swing the club toward the target line from the inside.
- If you swing over the top, you will miss the ball entirely because your body is aimed right. This drill forces the right path mechanics.
The Step Drill (Lower Body Timing)
This is excellent for synchronizing the lower and upper body during transition, which prevents the arms from throwing the club outside.
- Start with your feet together, club in the top of the backswing.
- Begin the downswing by stepping your lead foot toward the target, just as you would in a normal weight shift.
- Only once the foot lands should the arms begin to descend.
- This sequential movement forces the lower body to initiate, keeping the club on the inside track.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Pulling Shots
Q: Can I fix a pull just by changing my grip?
A: Sometimes, yes. A grip that is too strong promotes early closure, which often pulls the face left. Weakening the grip slightly can often square the face better for your path.
Q: Does having a steep swing plane always cause a pull?
A: Not necessarily. A steep swing path (over the top) combined with an open or square clubface causes a slice. A steep swing path combined with a closed face causes a pull or pull-hook. The face angle relative to the path matters most.
Q: What is the difference between a pull and a straight shot that starts left?
A: A pulled shot is one that starts significantly left of the target and either flies straight left or curves further left. If the ball starts left but curves back toward the center, that is usually an early release or a gentle hook, not a pure pull.
Q: How long does it take to see results when trying to fix a pull?
A: Small setup adjustments (like alignment) can yield immediate results. Swing path corrections take time, often several weeks of focused practice, because you are retraining muscle memory. Focus on feel over result for the first few sessions.
Q: What is the relationship between an open clubface and a pull?
A: An open clubface (pointing right) combined with an out-to-in path usually causes a slice. If the face is slightly closed (pointing left) while the path is also out-to-in, the result is a pull—the left start dominates.
By methodically checking your setup, refining your grip, and drilling the proper sequencing in your downswing, you can eliminate those frustrating pulled golf shots and enjoy a much straighter golf ball flight. Consistent focus on the inside golf swing path is your ticket to success.