I had my swing videotaped this last year (face-on), and was amazed at what I saw when the impact frame was paused. My hands were behind my club head and it appeared I was flipping at the ball (the wrists had already become slightly unhinged). This explained why I consistently hit the ball too high and often hooked the ball.
Any time the trailing arm (the right arm for right handers) becomes too dominant, there is a tendency to release the club too early, which causes the 'flip' at the ball and promotes the toe of the club head passing the heel of the club head before it has reached the ball (thereby sending it to the left). It also discourages the descending blow that is necessary for good contact and it does not keep the club face square through impact as long.
The right hand should not play an overly active role in the golf swing. The majority of grip pressure should come from the pinky, ring finger, and middle finger of the left hand, and just the middle finger of the right hand. As a right hander, it does feel more natural to grip the club more firm with the right hand, but this must not happen, especially on the downswing. When the left hand grip is not firm enough, the grip actually separates from the hand at the top of the swing, which throws the club off of the proper plane.
My coach (USGTF Master Instructor Jim Perez) gave me a great drill to help get the left hand more involved and get the right hand less active. Simply take your normal grip then move your right forefinger to the top side of the grip so that the tip of the finger touches the tip of the thumb (mimicking an 'OK' sign). Hit some balls and be aware of how the left hand feels when it is forced to carry more of the load (you'll likely be surprised at how well the ball flies, especially if you've been losing them to the left previously).
These days, when I find that I'm pulling or hooking the ball, I just remove all grip pressure from my thumb and forefinger of the right hand. This is a modified version of the above drill, and it really helps me lead with with my left arm and hand, thereby discouraging the right hand from excessively rolling over the left through impact.
Another easy and very beneficial drill to help train your left arm to lead is to merely hit chip shots with only your left hand on the grip. You'll find that it's very difficult to try and flip the club head at the ball when performing this drill, and it also re-trains your muscle memory to make the correct 'down and through' move.
A great swing tip I read recently stated that "it should feel as if you're getting ready to throw a Frisbee with your left hand during your downswing." This is wonderful advice, as it gets the mind to focus more on the pulling motion from the left side of the body and less on the forced pushing, or 'flipping' with the right.
It's no wonder that many left handers find success golfing right handed, as their left hand and arm are naturally more dominant when they swing. For the rest of us though, it takes some work. I wonder if right handers wouldn't benefit from learning to golf left-handed? Something to think about.
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