Fix your hook

Hooking the golf ball is a disaster for most golfers because golf course architects generally create more issues to the left of the fairway to accommodate for the vast majority of golfers, generally slicers. Tending to hook ensures many a lost ball or harder escapes than your counterparts that miss the fairway to the right. 

But the biggest problem with a hook, compared to a slice, is the changes that you need to make to get rid of the habit that is killing your golf game. 

A slice is easily turned into a controlled fade, but the trouble with a hook is that by turning it into a draw, there is no guarantee that you will be able to control the draw spin that influences the shot. 

Instead, the best method is to try and alter the swing so that a fade or a straight shot is achieved. 

This will first require a complete check-up of your posture to ensure that you can make a more on-line golf swing. 

The posture is the base to all golf issues and especially so for those that hook the ball. 

So check through your posture to ensure good balance, equally distributed through your feet (target and non-target and also through each foot) 

Create an athletic knee flex to aid rotation and stability and a correct spine angle. Your arms should hang straight down under your shoulders to ensure a relaxed position from which to begin your swing. 

As with all issues regarding ball flight you also need to pay very close attention to your clubface alignment in relation to your intended target line, it will almost certainly be closed to the target line. 

Learn to square the clubface correctly using tiles on the floor at home or the edge of a driving range mat. 

Onto the swing change that you are going to have to make if you want to rid yourself of that devastating hook. 

You are taking the club too far inside the intended target line and this is creating a problem of both space (as you swing through) and consistency. 

When you take the club away it should move on a natural curve around the body, this means that for about 12 inches either side of impact the club will be moving along the intended target line, not across it. 

Couple this movement with a closed clubface and you have a hook. 

Place two alignment sticks, shafts or golf clubs on the ground perfectly parallel to the intended target line. Start by making small, deliberate swings back and through the impact area ensuring that the club head stays between the two shafts. At the same time become aware of what is happening to the clubface, is it staying square to the intended target line or is it rotating. If you see a rotation then you need to reduce the amount of hand rotation that you employ during the swing. 

Once proficient at the exercise start to hit golf balls. Only 50 meters, watch the ball, does it still curve to the left? If so then you need to go back to the exercise until you notice no deviation in your shots. 

As you build up your swing to a complete swing you will see a marked improvement in your ball flight and control.