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Is a Hook better than a Slice?

GolferDad66

GolferDad66

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Was wondering about this. If you hook is that a sign that you are closer to hitting 'em straight, or are you just as bad as when hitting a slice. Used to hit slices with my irons, now they go more straight but I do pull them or hook them per se.

Someone once said first you slice, then you hook then you hit draws. makes some sense as a hook is just a draw gone bad. lol. Any one buy this?
 
Ball flights are just a pendulum. Just need to catch lightning in the bottle when the ball goes straight.
 
I'm not sure that the hook is better than a slice since they're both probably not ending up on your intended line. That said, if your quote on progression is accurate, I'd say that a hook is better than a slice since it likely means you're learning something.

As for me - I definitely sliced regularly, then I hit horrible hooks, and now I'm mostly straight with a draw when I try. But, I'll still hit the odd slice when things don't line up right!
 
The slice for me was an over the top move with an open face. The hook became almost straight with a closed face. Ideal (almost straight) is feels like I'm hitting to right field but club is square at impact
 
They both suck. A hook is a wild, uncontrolled shot that curves to the left while a slice is a wild, uncontrolled shot that curves to the right. What you're looking for is a fade or a draw. A fade is a controlled slight curve to the right while a draw is a controlled slight curve to the left. Master those 2 shots and you'll be golden.
 
Frankly it depends. If you have adequate distance then I think a fade is more dependable than a hook/draw. It definitely delivers less power to the golf ball though.

I played between 0-2 handicap for a long time hitting fades. I knew where they were going, I was long enough and I could depend on them. I could draw a 3W or an iron if I had to but unless there was no other option I would hit a fade. That is still my dependable ball flight.

Misses for hooks can be trouble. You can talk to a slice but you can’t talk to a hook.

I do think the mechanics for a draw are more efficient than for a fade but for some reason they have never fit my swing.
 
Famous Lee Trevino quote - "You can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen!"

I used to hit a huge slice. I corrected it, but then my usual miss if I go after it hard became a hook or pull hook. If everything is working well, I hit a baby draw, which I can live with.
 
As I understand it, that with a hook swing, the golfer has more of correct swing than they do if they have a slice swing. They are doing more things right in their swing when hooking the ball. Less to fix.

Also hooked ball flights, all things being equal, will travel farther than a slice will. It's the same with a draw vs a fade.

I tend to pull hook balls, more than I push slice them. My problem is usually ball location in my stance being too far forward. I get lazy, and don't pay attention to the little things.
 
I never hit a hook in my short golfing career until my last lessons. Told the instructor I wanted to eliminate my slice, I got rid of that but, now I can get a ugly snaphook when I get lazy! 😔
 
Short answer, no. Longer answer, is that it all depends on why you’re getting the slice or hook. Some people just have bad mechanics and are still very far off from doing anything right. Others might be just doing something they don’t realize and can be fixed realitively easily. With them, it doesn’t matter if it’s hooking or slicing. Neither are good and neither are closer than the other to hitting straight or consistently
 
If we are talking full slice vs hook, the hook will travel much further. That could be good or bad depending on the course.

I would much rather hit a hook versus a slice
 
For over a decade, the slice was my biggest fear. Have put in a lot of work with an instructor and now a slice will get me in some trouble, but a hook is damn near death (to my golf ball).

They are both related I would guess, both are the result of coming over the top. Slice face is wide open, hook face is shut.
 
I struggle with what I want here. I know slices fall shorter and tend to land softer. With that said I currently draw my irons and fade my driver. I prefer a wipey right miss over left because the hooks tend to be a lot more unpredictable.
 
During my brief golf experience I prefer the feel of a slice off a club. :D
 
Obviosuly it depends, but my first instinct is that the average hook tends to get into more trouble on most courses than the average slice. I also feel like the average slice starts on line and kind of drifts further and further off line, whereas the average hook starts left and gets further left very fast. It also rolls when it lands and it never rolls anywhere good.
 
Having suffered both, I’ve always found a hook to be far more destructive than a slice.
 
I play a slight fade or a low power cut into the wind. I find the slice is more controllable. I've fought hooks the past few years and the ball rolls forever. If you are looking for distance than go be a hooker. If you want a chance at finding your ball take slicing it all day.
 
I hate the hook. It runs away from you and is difficult to control. The slice at least has some backspin and will usually stop. To be fair I am talking about medium sized misses here - I think a big slice or a big hook are both equally destructive.

Now if we're talking fade vs draw (so more subtle), I prefer the fade as a stock shot. It stops on greens and if you overdo it, it stays in play usually. A very slight OTT move of a couple degrees isn't going to really take any power away, and can easily be shifted slightly inside if you need to hit a draw with a couple small adjustments.
 
I'm guessing that a chronic slicer would dream about hooking the ball and vice versa with the chronic hooker. An old golf pro told me 40 years ago that the ideal is to have the feeling that you have hooked the ball but it goes straight. At the time my normal ball flight was a strong right to left shape which started to the right. I found it extremely difficult to move the ball from left to right.
It was only when we moved house to another area that I was forced to learn a fade shot. Our new house had a vacant strip of land almost 200 yds in length at the rear of the property, which required a left to right shot shape to avoid hitting our neighbours' homes.
The fade became my normal shot shape and the tendency to draw the ball disappeared. My problem then was loss of distance probably through a hold-off release without the correct pivot technique to power the swing and a hold-off release.
40years ago we were taught a lateral pivot with a rotational release (scissoring the firearms).which increases clubhead speed if there is clubhead lag through contact with the ball.
In retrospect I would favour a strong draw shape over the fade for the distance factor and that the draw penetrates into a head wind and holds up better into a wind from the left for a righty.
 
GolferDad66 said:
Was wondering about this. If you hook is that a sign that you are closer to hitting 'em straight, or are you just as bad as when hitting a slice. Used to hit slices with my irons, now they go more straight but I do pull them or hook them per se.

Someone once said first you slice, then you hook then you hit draws. makes some sense as a hook is just a draw gone bad. lol. Any one buy this?
Click to expand...
Id say it is because you are almost there with a great swing. It means that you are coming from the inside and releasing the club pretty well. All you have to do is slow down your face rotation a bit from there and you'll be hitting bombs.
I know that for me, I usually to always hit blocks, which people told me too is a good sign in the journey of building a great swing. Now, Ive learned how to close the face better and release the club and I hit perfect draws when Im hitting it well and I hit hooks when Im off. It allows me to just aim for the right side of the hole and I either miss to the right a bit, hit it perfectly or miss it to the left a bit. Thats a dispersion that I can live with.
 
I don't think one is better than the other, Either one can get you into trouble.
 
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