How to Stop Pulling the Golf Ball

Updated October 12, 2026 · Written by the Your Golf Plan team · Written for right-handed golfers; if you play left-handed, flip left and right.

A pull is a straight shot that starts left of the target and stays left. It is different from a slice or a hook because there is little curve. The ball goes exactly where the club was travelling, and the club was travelling left.

What a pull tells you

The face was square to the path, but the path itself was aimed left of the target. So either your swing path moves from outside to in, or your body and aim are pointing left and the swing followed them.

Common causes

Aim and alignment: feet, hips, or shoulders aimed left with the face aimed at the target.
Over the top: the upper body starts the downswing and the club moves out and across. See our guide to the over-the-top swing.
Ball too far forward, which opens the shoulders and sends the swing left.
Open shoulders at impact because the upper body has rotated ahead of the lower body.

How to check

Lay two clubs on the ground, one along your toes and one along the ball-to-target line. They should be parallel. Many pullers find their feet and shoulders point well left of the target.

Then check your downswing on video from down the line. If the club moves outside your hands at the start, that is the over-the-top move.

Drills that help

Alignment sticks

Lay one stick on the ground along the target line, just outside the ball.
Lay a second stick along your toe line, parallel to the first.
Check that your shoulders and hips are parallel too before every shot for a practice session.

What you should feel: Square can feel like you are aiming slightly right of where you usually look.

Inside approach feel

Make slow half swings feeling the club return along the inside of the target line.
Let the trail elbow drop to your trail hip before the shoulders open.
Hit short shots with that feel.

What you should feel: The club approaches from behind you, not from over the ball.

Not sure this is your problem?

Drills only work if you are fixing the right thing. Film your swing from down the line and face-on, and a PGA coach will tell you what is actually happening and give you one drill to work on.

Get a coach to look at your swing · $35

What a coach looks for on video

Alignment of feet, hips, shoulders, and face to the target line
Ball position relative to your stance
The start of the downswing and shoulder timing
Swing path and face angle at impact
Whether the upper body opens before the lower body

That is the difference between guessing from a guide and knowing from your own swing. Two short videos are enough for a coach to check all of this.

Keep going

Common questions

What is the difference between a pull and a slice?

A pull is straight left. A slice starts on line or left and curves right. Both can come from an out-to-in path, but the face is square to the path in a pull and open to it in a slice.

Is pulling the ball a grip problem?

Sometimes, if the grip is very strong and closes the face. Most of the time it is alignment and path.

Have a coach look at your swing

Send two short phone videos and tell us what you are working on. A PGA coach sends back a video review and a drill built around your swing, usually within 24 hours and always within 48.

Get your swing analysis · $35