A push is one of the most frustrating shots in golf. Your ball starts right of target and stays right—no curve, just straight into trouble. Unlike a slice (which curves right) or a pull-slice (which starts left then curves right), a push feels like you made good contact but still missed wide.

The good news: a push usually means you’re close to a great swing. Small adjustments can turn that push into a straight shot or even a controlled draw.

What Causes a Push?

A push happens when your clubface is square to your swing path, but that path is pointing right of target. In other words:

  • Swing path: Going right (inside-out)
  • Clubface: Square to that path

The ball goes exactly where the face is pointing, which happens to be right because your path was too far inside-out. There’s no sidespin, so the ball flies straight—just in the wrong direction.

The Key Differences

Understanding ball flight laws helps you diagnose the problem:

Shot Path Face Relative to Path Result
Push Inside-out Square Starts right, stays right
Draw Inside-out Slightly closed Starts right, curves left
Push-Slice Inside-out Open Starts right, curves more right
Straight Neutral Square Starts at target, stays straight

A push is actually one step away from a draw. If you can close the face slightly relative to your path, you’ll turn that push into a controlled right-to-left shot.

Common Causes of the Push

1. Standing Too Far from the Ball

When you’re too far from the ball, your swing naturally flattens and comes more from the inside. This creates that inside-out path.

The fix: At address, your hands should hang naturally below your shoulders. The butt of the club should point at your belt buckle. If you’re reaching, move closer.

2. Ball Position Too Far Back

When the ball is too far back in your stance (toward your trail foot), you catch it before your swing path has returned to neutral. The club is still traveling right.

The fix: For irons, ball position should be roughly center to one ball forward. For driver, it should be off your lead heel. Use alignment sticks during practice to check your ball position.

3. Early Hip Slide

If your hips slide toward the target before rotating, your hands get trapped behind your body. This pushes the swing path to the right.

The fix: Feel like your lead hip rotates rather than slides. A good drill is to put a chair or alignment stick just outside your lead hip—if you bump it on the downswing, you’re sliding too much.

4. Hanging Back on the Trail Side

If your weight stays on your back foot through impact, your swing bottoms out behind the ball and travels more inside-out.

The fix: At impact, 80% of your weight should be on your lead foot. Practice swinging to a full finish where you can lift your trail foot off the ground.

5. Overtaking Arms with Body

When your body rotates too fast and your arms can’t keep up, the club gets stuck behind you, creating that inside-out path.

The fix: Feel like your arms and body work together. A good drill is the “pump drill”—swing to the top, then pump your arms down halfway three times before completing the swing. This syncs arms and body.

Practice Drills to Fix the Push

The Gate Drill

Set up two alignment sticks or headcovers about 6 inches apart, just outside the ball. If you’re swinging too inside-out, you’ll knock over the outside stick on your downswing. Work on swinging through the gate cleanly.

The Trail Foot Back Drill

Drop your trail foot back about 6 inches and close your stance. This makes it nearly impossible to swing inside-out. Hit balls from this position to feel a more neutral path, then gradually return to your normal stance.

Impact Bag Work

Hit into an impact bag focusing on keeping your chest and belt buckle facing the bag at impact. This prevents early rotation that gets the club stuck.

Video Analysis

Record your swing from the down-the-line view. Check:

  • Does your club drop inside on the downswing?
  • Where is your weight at impact?
  • Is your swing path going right of target?

Many pushes are easier to see on video than to feel.

The Quick Checklist

Before your next round, run through these setup checks:

  1. Distance from ball: Hands hang naturally, butt of club at belt
  2. Ball position: Center to slightly forward for irons, lead heel for driver
  3. Alignment: Feet, hips, and shoulders all parallel to target line
  4. Weight distribution: 50/50 at address, 80% lead foot at impact

When the Push Isn’t Bad

Here’s a secret: many great players actually play a slight push as their standard shot. A ball that starts slightly right of target and stays there is predictable and controllable.

If your push is consistent and you can aim for it, you might not need to fix it—just adjust your aim. A repeatable miss is more valuable than an inconsistent straight shot.

Technology Can Help

Modern launch monitors and swing analyzers can show you exactly what’s happening with your path and face angle. What feels like a big change in your swing might only be a 2-3 degree path difference—impossible to see with the naked eye but clearly visible on data.

If you’re working on fixing your push, getting objective feedback on your swing path can speed up the process dramatically.

Summary

The push is caused by an inside-out swing path with a face that’s square to that path. To fix it:

  1. Check your distance from the ball—don’t reach
  2. Move ball position slightly forward
  3. Rotate your hips rather than sliding
  4. Transfer weight to your lead side
  5. Keep arms and body in sync

With these adjustments, you’ll turn that push into a straight shot—or even better, a controlled draw that your playing partners will envy.