Pulling the ball left, Stance becoming more and more closed

Question
Hi Eddie

I play off a 6 Handicap.
I am pulling every club left, and hitting all clubs with a draw (even my 9 Iron).
I hit the ball very high in comparison to other golfers, I don't get the penetrating ball flight with my short irons like other low handicap golfers and I know my swing has become very flat.
I have tried to swing out to 1 o'clock without any luck so far. My misses are huge duck hooks or great big powerless pushes. (rarely) I often hit the ball fat when my timing is off. My divots are shallow and point left of target. My grip is slightly weak.

Please help.

Answer
Hi Leigh:

Yep, you said it perfectly.  Now let's picture what you just said.  Your swing is too shallow, coming too much from in to out (1 o'clock), hitting thin shots that are pushed straight right or are hooking to some degree (sometimes duck hooks).

Now let's picture the opposite (which is what you need to do).  As you approach the ball, the club is swinging more down the line and towards 11 o'clock, the shaft is leaning more forward delofting the face a little bit through impact and you have the feeling as though you are swinging to the left.  IF you were doing this, your divot would be better, the contact would be more solid, you would impart less spin on the ball (sidespin) and you would hit a more penetrating shot.  

The club tells the ball EXACTLY what to do Leigh, so picture how your club is moving to produce the spin on the ball that you do.  If it is coming too far from the inside (that is a shallow angle of attack), then if the face stays square to that line, it will just go to the right (a push), but if you try to release or roll your hands and close the face, then the ball is being struck on the outer side with a closing clubface, thus putting right to left spin on it, and curving it to the left.  If you do that with a driver, you will get a duck hook (not enough loft on the face).  Shots will always seem pulled and you will then just start aiming further out to the right or worse yet, swinging more towards right field.  

Instead, the club must tell the ball to do something totally different.  Picture your club moving into the ball more down the line and swinging towards 11 o'clock.  What kind of spin if any would that impart?  

Most of the time in fixing golf swings, you literally have to do the opposite of what you think you should do to produce a different result.  Now, go practice and start changing the path of the club moving through the ball to change the results.  Let me know how you are doing.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member