Pressure is something we put on ourselves. Other people just take advantage of it. I hit a pull hook not long ago, and my playing partner said in front of two golfers I didn’t know, “Pro, how much would you charge to teach me that shot?”

That hurt like the dickens. I couldn’t believe my ears. Yet, there was some good news in his insensitive question. He had used the word Pro, so I decided to sound like one even if I didn’t feel like one. I answered, “Sorry, that shot should be tried by trained professionals only.”

The two guests laughed and one of them, an excellent golfer, followed me over to a water cooler later on in the round. Handing me his business card, a card that had the PGA insignia on it, he said, “Thanks for that tip on dealing with people, Pro.” I felt ten feet tall.

Returning to my cart with tears in my eyes, my playing partner (knowing I have some health issues) asked, “Are you in pain?”

I answered, “Not anymore.”

As hard is it is for the golfer who hits pull hooks to believe, a golfer who has never hit a hook of any kind would gladly trade their banana slice for the pull hook. I wouldn’t venture a guess at how many times I’ve heard, “He’s a pretty good golfer. He can hook the ball.”

If you want to be a club hero, just learn to hit a draw or planned hook with your driver, and the rest of your game will not matter.

“If only God would show me a sign. Like making a large deposit into my checking account.” Woody Allen

This has nothing to do with golf, but I thought it might take the edge off those pull hooks for a second.

Here’s a snapshot of the pull hook.

Common set-up errors:

• Check to make sure that your grip is not too strong. After taking a normal grip, look down at your hands; the little “V” formed by the thumbs and forefingers should be pointed just slightly to the right of your chin. Slightly is the key word here.
• Notice that the ball position in the drawing is too far back. Again, slightly forward of center usually works fine. When using a driver, a couple of inches more forward than the setup for an iron shot is recommended.

Common swing errors:

• An inactive lower body.
• Swing plane is too flat producing a severe inside-out swing path.

I suspect that most pull hooks are caused by the player not trusting their swing. Therefore, sometime during the swing, this mistrust slows whatever lower body action they may have and their upper body and arms just keep on turning.

There may be hope for those of us who hit pull hooks. "Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation." Oscar Wilde.