Good players hate the hook and beginners typically cant make the ball curve left. Golf is an odd game where you need to learn how to start the ball right of your target and curve it left of the target. It is not an absolute but this is a basic necessity in the improvement process.
When I worked for Jim McLean we had hooking stations set up solely to teach people how to hook the ball. The idea is to take a half back swing and then a 3/4 follow through. While doing this the key is to learn to rotate the face of the club by using your forearms to rotate. One way to feel this is to try to touch your forearms shortly after impact as shown below.
The facts are the way to hook the ball is to have the club face pointing left of the path of the golf club at impact. Most of us will first hook the ball left and then learn to make our path migrate towards the target of right of the target to start the ball to the right. Once you have this down you can then move on to other swing fundamentals. Do not move on to other swing mechanics until you can hit a hook or draw on command.
Jim Hartnett, PGA
www.myhome4golf.com
