Playing partners treat the hook as a compliment. "At least you're releasing it." Try telling that to your scorecard after two of them dive into the trees on the same nine.
Here's what's actually going on. A hook means the clubface is closed to your swing path at impact — the ball starts near your line, then turns hard left and keeps turning. But the face isn't closing itself. Something is closing it, and it's almost always your hands making up for a body that quit.
The stall and the flip
A sound downswing is led by the lower body: pressure shifts into the lead foot, the hips move slightly toward the target and keep rotating, and the chest and arms follow. When that motion continues through the ball, the club squares up gradually and on time.
The hook pattern breaks that chain. Your hips start well, then stall — they stop shifting and stop turning. The arms are still carrying all that speed with nowhere to go, so the hands take over the steering. They flip the face shut. On a day when your timing is sharp, you'll hit a lovely draw and feel like a genius. On a normal day, the face slams closed early and the ball dives left.
This is why weakening your grip often disappoints as a fix. The grip isn't flipping. The stalled body is what makes the flip necessary.
What the camera sees
By impact, your hips should have shifted slightly toward the target, with pressure clearly into the lead foot. This forward shift at impact is something CoachVision measures from a face-on phone clip — when your lower body quits early, it shows up plainly in the frame.
The drill — Step-Through Drill
This one rebuilds the ground-up order your hands have been covering for.
Take a mid iron. Start with your feet together, ball positioned just ahead of you. Swing to the top, and as the backswing completes, step your lead foot out toward the target and swing through, letting the momentum carry you into a walking finish — like the old films of Gary Player striding after his drives.
The step is the whole lesson. You physically can't flip and stall while your lower body is stepping toward the target; the step drags your hips into the lead, and your hands fall back into their proper job, which is holding on and delivering.
Do 10 reps with a mid iron at a smooth pace. The first few may feel like a dance move. By the last few, notice how the face squares up without you doing anything about it.
Once your body leads again, your hands stop rescuing every shot — and the hook you've been timing your way around becomes a draw you can actually aim.