The Harmon Hook Fix Might Fix Your Slice Too

Yes, on Saturday Tiger made news by announcing his new "swing consultant" Chris Como and Suzy Whaley made history by becoming the PGA of America's first-ever female officer (and ultimately first female president). But everybody's talking about those things so why don't we look at some swing help today?

I saw this golf.com video by the Harmon brothers and immediately went, "WOW! Why don't more teachers stress this swing basic?" First take a look at this lesson on how to stop a duck hook -- which I know doesn't trouble most of you -- and then I'll point out the important lesson that may help you slicers as well.



Okay, here's the simple thing that you may not have caught the first time through: Your wrist position at address should match your wrist position at the top of your backswing. Flat wrist at address, flat wrist at top; cupped wrist at address, cupped wrist at top.

Let's use this to troubleshoot things a bit. First, the extremes:

• If you have a strong grip and a flat (or bowed) wrist, you're going to get a hook shot shape.
• If you have a weak grip and a cupped wrist, you're going to get a slice shot shape.

But many of you are changing in the midst of your swing:

• If you have a flat wrist at setup and a cupped wrist at the top, you're OPENING the clubface and will likely hit a SLICE.
• If you have a cupped wrist at setup and a flat (or bowed) wrist at the top, you're CLOSING the clubface and will likely hit a HOOK.

If you're having trouble getting the shot shape you want, check these wrist positions. And of course, you want to keep the same wrist position at setup, at the top, and at impact. Get all three to match and you'll have a much better chance of figuring out how to get the ball to curve the way you want... and do it consistently.