Blocking
Also known as: push-block, holding off the release
Blocking is when the arms and club fail to fully release through impact. The face is held open, so the ball flies straight right (for a right-hander) with no draw.
In golf, a block is a shot that starts right of the target (for a right-handed golfer) and continues right. It travels in a straight line or draws slightly, but does not return to the intended line. It is the opposite of a pull or hook. A block and a hook both involve an in-to-out club path. A pull starts left because the path is out-to-in. A block starts right because the path is in-to-out and the face is open relative to that path. Understanding the cause of blocking requires separating path from face angle. Neither alone determines the result; the combination does.
Blocking is most commonly caused by one of two mechanical patterns. The first is a stalled rotation. The lower body leads so aggressively that the body stalls or hangs. That leaves the arms and club stuck behind the rotating body with no room to release. The club exits the impact zone pointing right, and the face, unable to close in time, goes with it. The second is a manually held face. A golfer who is trying not to hook, perhaps after overcorrecting from a flip, may consciously hold the face open. That produces a block even with a correct path.
Blocking is common at higher swing speeds. That is because the centrifugal forces in a fast swing require more active forearm rotation to close the face. Recreational golfers who suddenly add speed, perhaps through a driver fitting or a training program, sometimes hit blocks. Their existing forearm rotation is no longer enough to close the face at the new speed. The technical solution is usually to adjust the release timing, letting the forearms start rotating earlier and more aggressively. It is often combined with a stronger grip to reduce the rotational demand.
If you are blocking shots, check your finish. A blocked shot often produces a finish where the club wraps behind your neck and your hands end up on the right side of your head (for a right-hander) — a full, high finish with the club wrapping to the left side indicates better forearm rotation and less blocking.
Use a box or headcover placed just outside the ball on the right side (target side) of your stance as a path reference — if you are blocking, your club will miss the box to the right. Practice clearing the box by starting the face closing earlier in the downswing. This forces the forearms to rotate rather than the body stalling.
Example
A player under pressure who "stiffens" through the shot and watches the ball fly dead right has blocked it — the release was cut off.
How it shows up on video
From a face-on camera angle, a block often shows the hips rotating aggressively while the arms appear to lag behind the body rotation and exit the impact zone to the right. The lead shoulder may remain low or the body may appear to "hang back" slightly at impact, with the arms pushing rather than swinging freely. From a down-the-line angle, the club path of a block appears in-to-out. But unlike a draw, the face appears open relative to the path, pointing to the right of where the club is traveling. This face-to-path relationship is what produces the straight-right trajectory.
Common mistakes
- Aiming left to compensate for blocks — this reinforces the open face delivery by reducing the pressure to close the face. Fixing the root cause (stalled rotation or held face) is the only sustainable solution.
- Adding more in-to-out path to try to fix the block — if the face is open relative to the path, more path to the right makes the block worse, not better. The face needs to close, not the path needs to change.
- Mistaking a block for a push. A push and a block can look similar (ball going right). But a push usually comes from an out-to-in path with a square face pointing right. At the same time, a block comes from an in-to-out path with an open face. The fix is different for each.
- Over-rotating the forearms to fix the block (creating hooks) — the opposite of the block problem. Adding forearm rotation is the right direction, but calibrating the amount requires monitoring ball flight to find the point where neither block nor hook dominates.
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
Motion Lab does not read club path or face angle, so it cannot tell a block from a push or a draw. It does read whether your hips peak in speed before your shoulders and hands, and how far your hips slide side to side. Start direction and face-to-path come from a launch monitor you import.
Related terms
- ReleaseThe release is the natural unhinging of the wrists and turning of the forearms through impact. It squares the clubface and delivers maximum speed.
- PushA push flies dead straight and finishes right of where you aimed, for a right-hander. Nothing curves — the head was simply traveling rightward through impact with the face pointing the same way.
- Early ExtensionEarly extension is when the hips thrust toward the ball during the downswing. The golfer stands up out of posture and has to compensate at impact.
- Hip ClearanceHip clearance is the rotation of the lead hip out of the way through impact. It creates room for the arms and club to swing freely past the body.
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