The banana ball flight off the tee makes it difficult to keep the ball in play and can drastically reduce the ball flight. A straight shot results from an “outside-in” swing plane. A sliced shot may start left of the target line and then bend dramatically back to the right of the target. Take a look at the photo to the left. The proper shoulder tilt at address will promote a good shoulder turn on the backswing. The banana ball flight off the tee makes it difficult to keep the ball in play and can drastically reduce the ball flight. An open clubface means the clubface points to the right of the target at impact. Roger Gunn is the Director of Instruction at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark, CA. You may be sure that the clubhead is turning over soon enough, but if the ball is still tailing to the right in flight, then you'll have to feel the club close sooner still. A slice shot is caused by a poor grip and setup, an outside-to-in downswing path and an open clubface. For the ball to do this, it must be spinning in a clockwise direction. A good grip is the simplest golf slice fix. There is a parallax effect that takes place on the tee that most golfers are unaware of. Using any club longer than a 6-iron, place a plastic range ball basket (or similar object) about 18 inches behind the ball, and just outside the target line. You should look to bring the ball closer to your stance. Checking your stance and grip can often eradicate any slice without changing the hitting motion at all. If the ball still has a tail to the right, you can add this sensation: Try to get the feeling that the club is closing a bit too soon. Then practice hitting the ball with the clubface perpendicular to this line. Balance your weight properly and transfer it correctly from back to front foot while swinging the golf club. Grips can be very individualized. Note that this is one in a series of articles by Gunn on diagnosing the causes of different types of ball flights or mishits. On the course, the divot produced by a slice swing is often pointing well left with the ball ending up well right of the divot's direction. Feel as though the clubface is closed by the time it gets to your right leg. Advertisement. The slice. Set your right-hand grip to compliment the left. Striking the ball with an open clubface, or with the clubface angled outward, is a common cause of a slice. Golf tips: Why you slice the ball, and how to fix it Published on Monday, May 2, 2016 For most new golfers, the first frustration to overcome is usually … Some practice should give you the feeling. This can often be confirmed by looking at the divot. The side spin that creates a slice is the result of a downswing path that travels across the target line from outside to in with a clubface that points right of the target at impact. The below video summarises some of these steps on removing your golf slice. You can lay a club on the ground, parallel to your target line, to check your aim. 5 easy steps on how to cure your golf slice. If the first few areas discussed so far check out, you're 90-percent of the way to eliminating that slice. Dealing with a slice can be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf for amateurs. A slang term for a slice is " banana ball." Just make sure that your feet, knees, hips and shoulders are parallel to that club on the ground and to your target line. Rotate the clubhead's toe over the heel after impact. This is a classic slice. If your backswsing is too much up and not enough around, then the club is going to approach the ball on an angle that is too steep. The grip has little to do with the direction of the swing, but everything to do with where the clubface looks at impact (e.g., open, closed or square clubface position). Or the ball can begin on the correct target line before swerving right. by Golfweek. To fix this issue, take a look at your backswing at the top. To begin the downswing, make sure you start down without any lift or push forward with your arms. An outside-to-in path occurs when the golfer reaches too far on the downside, bringing the club down to the right of the ball (outside), relative to the target line. After making these corrections you can enjoy a slice-free golf game. How to Correct Your Slice in Golf. Here are a few tips to help eliminate your pesky slice and hit it further and straighter off the tee. Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. With the proper setup, the correct left-hand position, staying connected on the backswing and downswing and a square clubface anything is possible. To achieve this position, you may have to feel your left arm cross your chest just a bit, creating a flatter or more rounded backswing. Or you can have a friend check your alignment. Focus on having your ball inside the left heel, especially with driver clubs. Now, reverse pivot is a term that we use to describe whether the body weight is moving in the right way or not. Swing the club back until you see your left shoulder under your chin. To eliminate the slice you need the proper grip and setup, an inside-to-out downswing path and a square clubface. Dealing with a slice can be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf for amateurs. Most beginner golfers and many seasoned golfers slice the ball frequently. The "V" formed by your left index finger and thumb should point toward your right shoulder. The grip. When the trail hand is placed too far on top the face will almost always open on the backswing. The banana ball flight off the tee makes it difficult to keep the ball in play and can drastically reduce the ball flight. How to Correct your Slice in Golf by Golfweek. With your head behind the ball and your right hand grip below the left, you'll have a natural tilt in your shoulders at address. Alignment plays a big role in the sliced shot. When you are making your backstroke, just hold on to the club. Here are a few tips to help eliminate your pesky slice and hit it further and straighter off the tee. This article is written from the right-hander's perspective, so lefties should reverse any handedness or directional elements in the following discussion. The Split-Grip Drill One great drill to feel this motion is called the “split-grip” drill. Initially, you may feel some discomfort with it but it will help your swing improve and remove the golf slice. Knowing what causes a push in golf, all you would need to do is correct the position of your club face at impact and the ball would start on line with the target. True, the clubface should "open" on the backswing, relative to the target line. But aiming to the left will cause the swing's circle to be too far to the left, exacerbating the slicing motion. The next important element of the backswing will be the clubface position. Here are a few tips to help eliminate your pesky slice and hit it further and straighter off the tee. There's good news about working on this, or any other swing problem for that matter. With slicers this is, in fact, the case. Doing so can have an immediate impact, and repair your slice. These should point up to somewhere near your right shoulder. This drill focuses on the takeaway, because that’s where you’re probably losing that square club face. This is the position that produces the slice. You may feel a bigger turn this way too. At address, golfers assume the club is directed to the target when in fact they are aligned right of the target. By Golfweek. The Grip. When you take your golf stance and adjust your grip, you should see 2-3 knuckles on your left hand. The dreaded slice is the most common mishit for recreational golfers. The banana ball flight off the tee makes it difficult to keep the ball in play and can drastically reduce the ball flight. You'll want to remember that you are improving if your 30-yard slice is now a 15-yard slice. This should be done through softness in the wrists, with a feeling of letting the club swing. Dealing with a slice can be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf for amateurs. Dealing with a slice can be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf for amateurs. LiveAbout uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. We told you club face is key for how to fix a slice in golf. Although it is not overly difficult to straighten out your shots in theory, the ability to do so on a consistent basis is difficult. In an effort to hit the ground a bit lighter, the golfer with this problem often opens the face on the way through, causing a slice. This movement feels like the club is going around properly, creating a good turn. 1. Dealing with a slice can be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf for amateurs. However, this natural opening is done with the turning of the shoulders and torso, not because of a twist in the hands. How to Correct a Slice in Golf. Square the clubface by rotating the toe (outside edge) of the club over the heel (inside edge) as you swing through impact. A tip here would be to “overdo” it just to end up somewhere in the middle. Do you struggle with slicing? Most slices with the driver result from a downward angle of attack, which produces weak distance and a slicing spin. Make sure the shaft is over your shoulder at the top, not over your head. Position the Ball Properly. How to grip a golf club: Fix your slice. 2. Assume your grip, but simply move your right hand about 3-4 inches down the shaft so there is a gap between your hands. If you've fixed a problem or two and now have a good grip and stance as well as a good backswing position, I'd be surprised if your slice is still here. HOW TO FIX A GOLF SLICE WITH DRIVER IN 2 MINUTES! John Wagner is a certified golf instructor and professional golfer with more than 10 years of experience. - YouTube Golf Digest: Saturday Morning Tip: 3 Ways to Fix Your Slice, Privacy Notice / Your California Privacy Rights. In the first installment of his “Instant Fixes” series for Golf.com, Top 100 Teacher Tim Mahoney has three tips for correcting a slice, including grip and wrist position at the top of the swing. The image to the far right demonstrates what an open club face at impact looks like. By doing this, your grip will be … With the proper shoulder turn you can swing the club down on an inside-to-out path. How to Control Your Slice in Golf. Let's start by making sure you're clear on the type of impact that causes the slice. Grip the club with the left hand first (again, for a right-handed golfer). We are going... – VOTED #1 GOLF SITE! Now we’re going to teach you a great drill that will help you prevent the most common error in face orientation. Take your lead arm and raise it up. Golfers with a big slice should strive to see three knuckles of the left hand. The takeaway is the beginning of the backswing. In an effort to hit the ground a bit lighter, the golfer with this problem often opens the face on the way through, causing a slice. Good! To hit the ball with a square clubface, visualize the flight path you want your ball to take as a line. The feel can trick you, but the ball won't. No matter how strange a new move feels, always listen to what the ball tells you. So, here is another great tip on corrections that could be related to a sliced golf ball. Position the ball off the inside of your front foot, about even with your heel, to promote an upward strike of the golf ball. Download our instruction app from iTunes or Google play A sliced shot -- the dreaded banana ball that curves severely right -- is a problem that affects most amateur golfers at nearly one point or another. A slice is a result of a swing path through impact that is moving from outside to in, or from right to left as viewed from behind the golfer. Watch ‘The Golf Fix’ Mondays at 7PM ET. If your hands are turned too far to the left on the club, it's much more likely to return with the face looking to the right at impact. In other words, the back of your left wrist should be straight. This leads to an “open” clubface at impact in relationship to your swing path, which, as demonstrated in our Golf Science piece on ball flight laws, causes the ball to slice away from the target. If you see three or even four, that's fine—but at least two. It certainly seems logical that if a golfer is missing often to the right, then before too long he or she would aim more to the left to compensate. To fix this issue, take a look at your backswing at the top. When the ball is slicing to the right, that means it's curving in a left-to-right motion across the sky. A grip that produces a perfectly straight shot for one player can cause a huge hook or a slice for another. Swing the club down on an inside-to-out path. It’s the segment of your swing … The slice is one of the main problems golfers face. If it's flying straight or curving left, then your slice is cured. Taking Aim in the left woods and hoping for the best is not the way to golf for the rest of your life. This trick will allow you to swing much more naturally, thus, correct your slice. If you start with a slice, just investigate whether the slice is caused by a reverse pivot. Golf Swing- How to Fix a Slice. The slice shot with the driver is a common shot among amateur golfers. A proper golf grip can help cure your slice by forcing the club face to remain square at impact. Let the ball's flight be your guide. The banana ball flight off the tee makes it difficult to keep the ball in play and can drastically reduce the ball flight. Unfortunately, this opening of the club simply creates an open face at impact. Properly Position Your Golf Ball. If your experience with a slice is that it’s just not worth trying to correct, you are wrong. Make sure the shaft is over your shoulder at the top, not over your head. Golfers who tend to slice the ball often grip the club with their hands turned too far toward the target — commonly known as a “weak” grip. Many golfers do. Not until you curve the ball to the left have you closed the clubface too soon! The position of your grip. This will give you the feeling that you're approaching the ball by way of your right pocket. Imagine that the ball is on a peg, and that all it can do is spin one way or another. The banana ball flight off the tee makes it difficult to keep the ball in play and can drastically reduce the ball flight. In other words, too sharply toward the ground. What these two setup changes will do (especially for driver slicers) is promote a swing path that works more toward the curve of the golf ball. How to Fix a Slice in Golf: Practice the Takeaway. The "V" formed by your right index finger and thumb should also point to your right shoulder. Your weight should shift to the front foot and your body should turn toward the target. Michael Breed, host of ‘The Golf Fix,’ has a simple drill to help you eliminate your slice. Perhaps the most difficult part of controlling a slice is retraining your body to abandon its bad habits when swinging. How to Correct your Slice in Golf September 26, 2019 / in News / by Stephanie Carey. This eliminates an open clubface at impact, which contributes to a slice. Rotating the toe of the club over the heel will straighten out your ball flight or produce a slight right to left flight. Here's the guideline: In your stance, with the clubface square to the target, you should be able to look down and see at least two knuckles on your left hand. A slice is any shot that curves hard to the right in the air (for a right-handed player). The "V" formed by your left index finger and thumb should point toward your right shoulder. Dealing with a slice can be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf for amateurs. If it's curving less to the right, then you're on the right track. Here are a few tips to help eliminate your pesky slice and hit it further and straighter off the tee. Our discussion of the grip, stance and swing will revolve around the different elements that can cause this type of impact. (And How to Fix It), Golf Shots That Curve Right During Flight, Explaining the 'Open Face' (or 'Open Clubface') in Golf, How to Fix Golf Shots Going on a Straight Line, but to the Left, Mishit Tip Sheets: Fixing Common Faults in Golf, Hitting Golf Shots Right of the Target But On Straight Line, 17 Quick and Easy Tips for Beginning Golfers and High-Handicappers, The Pull (or Pulled Shot) in Golf and What Causes It, The Hook Shot in Golf, and How to Use It or Lose It, Clubhead Lag: What It Is In Golf Swing + Drills to Help You Feel It, "V's" formed between the knuckle and thumb. It should not be done by forcing the club to turn over with your hands. To spin the ball clockwise, the club has to swing more to the left with the clubface pointing slightly to the right. The slice is the opposite of a hook shot. Striking the ball on the upswing will help promote a straighter flight and greater distance. Rickie Fowler and Butch Harmon show you how to fix that drive slice. 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