A golf slice can be devastating and very frustrating to a golfer. There are many factors that could cause you to slice the ball. If you find you slice the ball quite often then you will need to fix it.
If you want to improve your overall game and add distance to your shots. Imagine how far the ball would go if you could just straighten out your shot. A golf slice occurs when your club is open upon impact of the club and relative to the path of the club head.
A wayward left hand is one of the common factors that can cause you to slice the ball far to the right. This happens more often than you would think. When a wayward left hand occurs the back of your left hand will be aligned to the right of the ball and the clubface will be open. This will cause a slice to happen.
If you want to repair a wayward left hand it is important to focus on the back of your hand. The back of your hand should be facing the target at impact. You should at least feel that the back of your hand is facing your target. This will allow you to have a strong grip for the shot so your hand doesn’t slip.
It is important to square your left hand. One of the best ways to do this is by practicing without using a club at all. You will stand with your right arm to the side of your body and rotate your left forearm. Then you will cock your left wrist and swing back. In order to be sure your hand is square practice your swing repeatedly without your club in your hand.
A weak grip is a common factor and cause of a wayward left hand causing the ball to slice far in one direction, usually the right. A weak grip will cause you to turn your hands too far to the left in your swing. You might have a square backhand and find that you are still slicing the ball. This is common for golfers who have a very weak grip.
You must tighten your grip on the club when you swing with all of your might on a long driver. You can fix this also by turning your hands to the right on the club while you are maintaining a good position with the club in your hands.
One of the things to remember is that when you focus on maintaining a strong grip you will also have a hard time with the way you turn the club. This is because it is very easy to turn your left hand over. This will make it easier so you don’t have to go far for the club to be square. But it is the wrong position. You must keep one thing in mind while you are attempting to maintain the right grip and square. If you are attempting to square your left hand and you find that you are unable to it will mean something else.
Although you are trying to fix your slice you are looking in the wrong place. Not being able to correct the slice by squaring your wrists can mean that you have something wrong with your swing instead of the grip.
Another thing that can cause you to slice the ball is when you have far too much of a steep plane in your swing. This can definitely cause the ball to go in the direction you didn’t mean it to.
Swinging the ball too steep makes it far too difficult for your hands to have the ability to turn over. This also means you will be unable to turn over and square your club with the impact of the ball.
If you have a very steep plane in your swing and the tendency to slice the ball because of this then you can fix it. This type of swing is a natural consequence from things that force you to hit downward. Don’t hit the ball downward. That is what causes the slice.
If you are a golfer that swings the club straight up and then straight down it will cause you to block the open face. This is because you will reverse rotate through the impact. The importance is to swing the club around the body as if you are swinging a baseball club.
You might even pretend you are swinging a baseball club outward. Now, take your club and pretend your baseball is down on the ground. You are only changing the swing plane when you swing the club versus the baseball bat. Many instructors will teach you this and you can try it. This is a good technique for amateur golfers to try because it really helps.
The shoulder tilt is another thing that can cause you to slice the ball. If you have an embarrassing slice then you need to look at the way you are moving your shoulders. The problem is not stemming from your arms moving up and down. This is a common mistake people think when they try to correct it. When a shoulder tilt occurs the body is not tilting and not turning as it is supposed to be. Your arms have nothing to do with it. In order to correct a shoulder tilt you want to swing your arms around your body.
One way to get the swing right is to cross your arms around your chest and turn back and forth in a pivot. Once you have your shoulder swing down then you can place a club in your hands and practice swinging the club properly.
Some golfers have a really good golf swing. They look at all of the factors and cannot figure out what is causing the problem. The final thing you want to look at is if you are rotating the clubface too much when it is moved away from the ball. This happens often and it causes you to open the face of the club too far and then you have a further distance to square the ball again upon impact. It is important to be sure the club is square in your back swing. Instead of rotating the club open verify the club is square. If you are unsure where in your swing to verify this, check your club when your swing is at two o’clock. The club should be square when you are holding the club in this position.
A problem slicing the ball can stem from many different factors. Every step of a swing could have a problem that could cause you to slice to ball. The way to determine what it is causing your slice is to check out your entire swing from the way you are gripping the club, opening the clubface, shifting your weight, and more. You might even find something wrong that will help you even more.
Repairing a slice in the golf game can make a big difference to the score at the end of your round. Not only will you gain serious distance with the shot but you will have hit a straight ball. This means you won’t need to hit the ball again just to recover it out of the sand or rough either.
Golf grip has a serious effect in a game. Good thing you highlighted the points to know. Practice makes perfect right?
I have horrible trouble slicing and pulling my shots. It has gotten so bad I started scoring my games my how many balls I lose instead of how many shots I take. I have been to three coaches and I do fine while I’m with them at the driving range, but as soon as I am back out on the course, it’s back. They all see to focus on reviewing the basics instead of telling me what’s wrong. I am going to try focusing on the back of the hand. I hadn’t heard that one and it makes sense that it might help. Thanks!
Great post. I look forward to reading your tutorials moving forward. I’m with the guy above, great on the range and on the course I’m hooking it like crazy.
Perfecting your golf game is a process that takes a lifetime, and that is why I love the game of golf so much. To truly be great at golf you need to put in the time and effort it takes to become great. You might have a golf prodigy every once in a while, but for the most part the world’s greatest golfers became who they were because they put in the effort. Great Read! Your tips are quite helpful.