Got a problem with your swing? You’re not alone, almost 90% of golfers do.
If you’re a right-handed golfer, your ball may be flying too far to the right, and for left-handed, to the left. The instinct is the clear solution: if it’s going to the right, I’ll aim left.
We hate to break it to you, but that causes a sliced ball too. A combination of an outside-in swing path and open club face is the perfect recipe to the horror of a slice.
Though, don’t worry, we have a fix for you! Here are some tips and ideas on how to fix your golf slice problems once and for all to get that great golfing experience.
Fix Golf Slice: Tip 1
While there are many, many possible causes of slicing the ball, one of the most common suspects is an improper setup.
When you address the ball, you must align your body properly along the target line. Additionally, your left shoulder should be aimed directly at the target line. Even a slight deviation from the line increases the chances of the ball slicing hard.
Work on that alignment! A squared stance at address is the key, conduct the checklist of aligned and squared feet, shoulders, and hips.
Fix Golf Slice: Tip 2
Before taking a swing with any club, pause and take a moment or two to observe your grip. As a right-handed golfer, if you cannot see two or three knuckles on your left hand, or any knuckles at all — your grip is incorrect. You may be placing your left too far under, and It indicates a call to readjust your hands and see if that eliminates a sliced ball.
In addition to that, make sure that you are not holding the club too tightly, most new players do this. A tight grip restricts your ability to release at the time of impact and leads to an open club head.
On the other end of the spectrum, holding the club too lightly and loosely, can and will cause the club head to wiggle as it meets the ball. If you could not guess, this causes the call to fly off course on an undesirable swing path. In some cases, a loose grip can lead to either slicing or hooking.
It’s never a bad idea to return to the basics, such as a proper, neutral grip.
Fix Golf Slice: Tip 3
Aside from proper alignment with hips, shoulder, and feet, what’s another common reason to hitting to the far right or far left as an experienced player?
As you come through the strike zone, you may not be achieving a full hip turn. In order for a ball to fly straight, the club face must strike the ball squarely. With an emphasis on ‘squarely,’ the lack of a full, proper hip turn through and at impact makes a straight flight path, impossible.
Finishing high causes the hips to turn completely, which you need. By training yourself to finish high, you will alleviate this problem — complete that hip turn to one hundred percent.
Fix Golf Slice: Tip 4
Another key tip is to concentrate on slowing down your motions. It’s a common misconception, but it isn’t all about the speed.
All too often, a player attempts to speed up their swing to generate the result of greater distance. However, what happens instead is, the hands get too ahead of everything else — it does not work as it disrupts the flow of motions.
With the missing synchronicity, the club face opens at impact with the ball. As defined by what a slice is, the opened club face causes the ball to veer too far to the right as a right-handed golfer.
A flaw of many players is placing full dependency on their hands to create power for their swing and maximize distance. Though, truly it is about the execution and smoothness of your swing — not speed, not power.
Fix Golf Slice: Tip 5
You’ve probably heard this a million times before, but it is worth repeating.
Keep your head down until you have completed the swing. Regardless of skill level, many players have the bad habit of lifting their head right at the point of club-to-ball impact. More often than not, it results to very poor shot quality and potentially, slicing.
We get it, you’re curious.
Majority of golfers simply lift their head out of curiosity: they want to watch the ball and its flight. On the other hand, some players may not even realize that they are victims of this head-lifting habit.
With that said, if you constantly hit the ball to the right and cannot find the culprit, ask someone to watch your head as you take a few shots. Let them break the bad, or good, news to you. And of course, adjust accordingly.
Aside from pure curiosity, it may just be a reflex that you do not notice. When your right shoulder comes through at impact, your shoulder can come in contact with your chin and cause an automatic response to lift your head out of the way. To prevent this reflex, keep the right shoulder where it belongs and avoid breaking stance and form even at impact.
Final Thoughts
I hope these golf slice tips have been of use to you and your golf experience.
To achieve positive results, it is crucial to head to the driving range and apply these five tips. Go through each one, and observe for positive differences. Remember, the time and patience is worth it!
It may be frustrating but you must work through the problem, instead of avoiding or ignoring it. By taking your time and observing carefully, you can make minor adjustments as needed to get to that desirable address, grip, turn, swing, and head placement. Aside from these tips, there are slice-specified drills to help you out.
Soon enough, your ball will take flight high and straight!
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