Fairway Support
EN FR
Fairway SupportIrons & ApproachPush (starts and stays right)

Push (starts and stays right)

The shot flies straight, with no curve, but it starts right of your target and stays there.

Why it happens

A push with an iron happens when your swing path and clubface are matched to each other (so the shot flies straight, with no side spin), but both are aimed to the right of where you're actually trying to land the ball.

Possible causes in your swing, and how to fix each one

Tap any cause to see its fix. Work through them one at a time, usually one or two are the real culprit.

1Lower body stalling through impact

If your hips and legs stop rotating just before the club arrives ("stalling"), the arms and club get left behind, delivering the face and path together, but aimed to the right of target, a miss often called a "block".

Fix: Focus on continuing to rotate your hips and chest all the way to a full finish, rather than letting the lower body stop moving as the club arrives at the ball.
2Ball position too far back in your stance

Catching the ball earlier in the swing arc, before the club has fully returned to the target line, sends it right even on an otherwise solid strike.

Fix: Check your ball position for the specific iron you're hitting, generally just ahead of center for shorter irons, moving slightly further forward for the longer ones.
3Alignment aimed right of target at setup

Feet, hips, or shoulders aimed even slightly right of your actual target will send a well-struck shot in that direction without anything going wrong in the swing itself.

Fix: Lay an alignment stick along your toe line during practice. It's easy to drift right without noticing, especially hitting off mats or tee boxes that aren't perfectly square to the target.
4Weight staying on the right foot through impact

"Hanging back" keeps the swing path moving too far from the inside through the ball, aiming the shot right of target.

Fix: Practice finishing every shot with your weight fully on your left foot and your right foot up on its toe, a classic full-finish check.

When to stop self-diagnosing

If you've genuinely worked through two or three of these causes over several range sessions and the miss keeps showing up, that's not a failure since it usually means the real cause is something you can't feel or see in your own swing. A single 30-minute lesson with a certified instructor, who can watch you hit balls, will find it faster than any website. Bring this page along and tell them what you've already ruled out; it'll save you both time.