The flight path that all golfers are looking for is typically straight. Once you can learn to hit the ball straight, a right-to-left or left-to-right shot becomes more feasible. For golfers that find their irons go right to left, it may feel as though they are losing control of some of their shots.

As a golf professional, I can help you fit your right to left shots, or better yet, control them so that you can hit them when you need to the most!

Why Do My Golf Club Irons Go Right to Left?

Golf iron shots go right to left because your clubface is closed or pointed toward the left when you make contact with the ball. The key is to determine why this is happening and then make the necessary adjustments.

Some golfers hit right-to-left golf shots because of an issue with their swing path. Others have problems with setup and ball position that can cause this ball flight. I have noticed that one of the other reasons some golfers pull the ball is because they are using equipment that is not properly suited for their game. 

I highly recommend having a friend take a video of your golf swing so that you can determine exactly what is causing the issue and make shots go right to left. Take a down-the-line video and one that is face-on as well. 

Then continue on with some of my ideas for how you can stop hooking to the left. 

How Do I Stop My Iron Hooking to the Left?

The right-to-left golf ball flight creates a shot that travels a long way, but it is not going in the direction that you want it to. To stop hooking your irons to the left, you must learn to get the clubface to the impact position so that it is square. 

Here are some of the best ways to stop hooking to the left and to ensure that you hit the ball straight again. 

Check The Setup and Grip

One of the most common reasons that golfers hit the ball right to left is that their grip is too strong. A strong grip usually comes about when a player is struggling with a slice, so they choose to strengthen their grip to fix it.

Although this is a good temporary fix, sometimes it ends up creating an even larger problem, and the ball starts hooking. 

Try to ensure your hands are in a neutral position and your setup is appropriately aligned with the target.

For some golfers, the pull can come from having your feet lined up one way, and your shoulders and hips lined up another. In order to fix this, you can use alignment sticks when you practice, as they give you a general idea of how to setup.

Look For Proper Ball Position

Ball position becomes another issue in the swing for some golfers that causes the ball to go right to left. Most of the time, the ball position is too far forward, and this is what causes the ball to go to the left. 

Ball position placed too far forward in your stance causes the golf ball to be rotated a little too close, and the ball goes left. 

If you are hitting an iron shot, keep the ball in the middle of your stance, and the results will be much more consistent. 

Is The Path Too Far Inside

Most golfers have trouble taking the club too far outside, and it creates a slice spin on the ball. However, there are some players that also take the ball too far inside. An inside swing path shallows out the plane and can often cause the ball to hook. 

If you are struggling with a path that is too far inside, work on a low and slow takeaway where you feel the club extends out a little straighter on the way back. Once you have this feeling down, you can then start swinging with no fear, as the rest of the swing will stay on this better path. 

Body Needs to Keep Rotating

Some golfers are able to rotate their body back in their backswing, but they never get the body to rotate forward on the follow-through. This rotation is difficult for players to feel sometimes, but you can see it on a video of yourself.

Make sure when you get to the top of your swing, you make the switch to rotate your body towards your target. If you leave it hanging back on the right side or just swing through with your arms, the club is going to go to the left.  

Weight Should Transfer Forward

The weight in your golf swing should start off balanced; on the way back, it is going to transfer to the back leg, and on the way forward, it moves to your front leg. 

If your weight is hanging back and you are falling backward, chances are the ball could end up to the left. Of course, if you have an open clubface, the ball could slice. 

Work on weight transfer by practicing with a medicine ball. Hold the medicine ball in your hands and swing back and forth to feel that weight moving back and then through the shot. 

Don’t Let The Arms Take Over From The Top 

Last but not least, I would recommend working on your transition from the top of the backswing to the downswing. When you get to the top of your swing, you will want to feel a slight pause. This pause gets the golf club into the proper position and allows for much better timing. 

So many golfers rush this transition from the back to the follow-through, and it results in a shot that travels a long way but is well left of the target. 

I like to think about giving my body a second to catch up. If I stop the swing at the top, it sort of gives my lower body a head start and results in a significantly improved timing at impact. 

Read Also: Why am I shanking my irons?

FAQs 

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about the best ways to stop golf irons from going right to left. This is a very common miss in golf, and if you can control it, your course results could be greatly improved.

Conclusion

At this point, you should have some great ideas for how to stop your irons from going right to left. For many golfers, this is as simple as changing the ball position in your stance; for others, it involves much more work with getting the swing plane on track and ensuring that the timing in the swing is correct. Regardless of how you fix the problem, getting to hit your golf irons straight again is a welcome relief and should lead to lower scores.