Tuesday 14th September 2010
3 ways to fix a slice
The cause for a slice is an open clubface at impact. Here are three quick and easy fixes for your slice.
Flatten your swing out
Slicer’s commonly have upright swings. This mean they come over the top which leaves the clubface open at impact. To counter this you need a flatter more horizontal swing plane. Think of hitting a golf ball with more of a Baseball like swing – slightly more around your body than vertically up and down.
Relax your grip, shoulders and arms
Reduce the tension in your arms before you swing. Tension throughout your up-body will reduce your ability to square the clubface at impact thus leaving it open causing a slice. Grip your club in a scale from 1-10 & 10 being the hardest you can hold it, 1 being the softest, hold the club at around 3-4. Give your arms, hands , and shoulders a little shake before you strike the ball as this will help to ease tension levels, then focus on a smooth and controlled swing.
Stronger Grip
This refers to hand position on the club and not grip pressure. Most slicers grip the club in to weak a position. Rotate your hands to the right on the club. The V’s created by the webbing between your thumb and index fingers should point to your right shoulder or towards your right ear (for right handed golfers). By doing this your hands will be able to rotate around more thus squaring the clubface up at impact.
I would recommend going to the driving range to practice these three suggestions. Try out all three to the extreme and find the middle ground where you feel comfortable with the swing, the tension levels in your upper body, and the type of grip position that helps you to hit the ball down the middle. Then groove this in as your common swing so that it becomes second nature on the golf course.
