Right after the praise, the most common comment on the GOAT whip video was some version of: “How do you hit a fade with this? That whip results in a thunder-hook!” Another golfer noted his miss is a hook whenever he gets “more handsy.” It's a fair worry — but it comes from confusing two different hand actions.
Where the Hook Fear Comes From
When golfers hear “release the club faster” they picture aggressively rolling the hands over — trail hand flipping over lead hand — which absolutely does shut the face and produce a hook. But that flip is exactly what the whip is not. In the smiley-face glove drill, the flip is the “sad face” you're trying to avoid. The whip is lead-wrist supination, which is a different motion entirely.
What Actually Causes the Hook
A hook is a face that is closed relative to the path at impact. The usual culprits:
- Trail hand over-flipping — the trail hand actively rolling the lead wrist over (the sad face). This is the real hook machine.
- Body stalling so the hands take over and flip to catch up.
- An overly strong grip combined with an active trail hand.
- Path too far in-to-out with a face that releases past square.
Notice that none of those is lead-wrist supination done correctly. The whip, properly executed, keeps the trail hand passive — which is the single biggest hook-prevention move there is.
Supination Squares the Face — It Doesn't Slam It
Lead-wrist supination rotates the lead forearm so the clubhead can overtake the hands while the face arrives square. Because the body has run out of rotation and the hands are decelerating, the release is governed by the wrist guiding the supination rather than the trail hand muscling the face shut. The clubhead actually travels what looks like a straight line for a moment before releasing — that's a squared face holding through the ball, not a slamming gate.
Key: If you're hooking, the diagnosis is almost always an active trail hand, not “too much whip.” Quiet the trail hand and let the lead wrist do the supinating. Full release breakdown: how to whip the golf club.
How to Hit a Fade With the Whip
You can absolutely shape a fade with full whip speed:
Keep the trail hand passive
Let the lead wrist supinate and the clubhead release without the trail hand flipping it over. A passive trail hand naturally holds the face a hair more open.
Favor the body clearing
Let the body keep rotating through so the path is neutral-to-slightly-left while the face stays just open to that path.
Adjust setup, not the release
Aim the body slightly left, ball position neutral. Change the geometry, keep the same effortless release.
This is exactly how elite players hit cuts at full speed: same whip, slightly different path-and-face relationship set up before the swing — not a decelerated, steered hand action.
What About a Strong Grip?
A viewer asked what happens with a stronger grip. A strong lead-hand grip pre-sets the face more closed, so with an active release it will hook more easily. If you play a strong grip and the whip, you must be even more disciplined about keeping the trail hand passive, and you may want to neutralize the lead-hand grip slightly. The whip and a strong grip can coexist — you just have less margin, so let the supination square the face rather than the hands flipping it.
“My usual miss is a hook when I get more handsy, but I certainly create more speed.”
— YouTube viewer on the GOAT whip video (the fix: less trail hand, more lead-wrist supination)
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Start Free Live Lesson →Frequently Asked Questions
Does the whip release cause a hook?
No — not when done correctly. A hook is caused by the trail hand actively flipping the face closed (the 'sad face' in the glove drill). The whip is lead-wrist supination with a passive trail hand, which squares the face rather than slamming it shut. If you are hooking, the cause is almost always an over-active trail hand, not too much whip.
How do I hit a fade with the whip release?
Keep the same effortless release but quiet the trail hand so the face stays a touch open to the path, let the body keep clearing for a neutral-to-left path, and aim your body slightly left at setup. You change the geometry before the swing rather than steering or decelerating during it, so you keep full clubhead speed.
I hook it when I get handsy — is the whip for me?
Yes, and it may fix the hook. Getting 'handsy' usually means flipping the trail hand over, which closes the face. The whip replaces that flip with lead-wrist supination and a passive trail hand. Train the smiley-face glove drill so you feel supination instead of the flip, and the handsy hook tends to disappear.
Will a strong grip make the whip hook more?
It can. A strong lead-hand grip pre-sets the face more closed, so an active release will hook more easily. Pair a strong grip with the whip by keeping the trail hand especially passive and letting supination square the face, or slightly neutralize the lead-hand grip. The two can coexist with disciplined hand action.