Ridiculous Hook-Please help!

I have been playing golf for nearly 15 years now, and this year has been by far the worst and most discouraging. According to those I play with most often, my swing has become drastically shorter and I'm far more inside on the backswing than I ever have been or should be. The result has been a substantial loss of distance, and an uncontrollable snap hook that, on my driver and long irons, doesn't get more than 20 feet off the ground before it hooks and dives into the ground. In fact, my swing is so shallow and to the inside that it is literally impossible for me to even take a divot on my shots. EVEN MY SANDWEDGE APPROACH SHOTS ARE PICKED CLEAN FROM THE FAIRWAY! The worst thing about this is that I know I need a more verticle and longer swing, but I can't make it happen no matter how many balls I hit. Even when it feels as though I'm taking the club straight up the line, I'm told my swing looks no different and the results are no different. I do spend quite a bit of time in the gym working out which could explain some of my loss of flexibility, but I've lifted weights for years and have never experienced this debacle with my golf game before now.
I've tried everything...leading the swing with the left hand, trying to swing only with the right, loose grip, strong grip, greater shoulder rotation, etc...nothing works. PLEASE HELP!

Hi Pal
I have 2 pieces of advice for you and i think these will help you a great deal.
First: Never alter your grip to compensate for a bad swing, you will if anything, make matters worse..Develope a neutral grip and stick to it.

Second: Try the wall drill, its excellent for steepening the backswing.
Take your normal posture with your back to a wall so that your backside is barely touching it. Now, slowly take the club back to the top of the swing without touching the wall ( do it slowly, i wouldn't want you to damage your club ) .At the top of your swing, pause and get a feel for the position. Once you can reach the top of the back swing without touching the wall you will have steepened your backswing .
Keep doing this drill and stopping at various stages of the backswing to develope a feel for the clubshaft position.Remeber to do this drill at a slow speed, this will help to engrain the positions into your subconcious.

You are making quite a big change to your swing so please give it time.
have patience mate and it will work , i promise.

cheers .
aft

__________________
the dog wags the tail....the tail dosn't wag the dog

sounds like right elbow may be getting stuck because of your inside take away. Just a possibility,
try this drill
http://www.nethandicap.com/instructi...icing0946.html