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Hello Golf Gurus! :D

 

Just wondering if you guys have any useful tips for slicing with the driver and fairway woods.

 

I'm shooting around 90-100 with tons of OBs and lost balls in the rough. Iron play, short game and putting is OK.

Usually have like 10 strokes of penalty per round due to the dreaded slice.

 

I used to hit it dead straight when I first learned to use the driver. Then took a lesson with the pro to increase my distance and he told me to cock up my wrists on my back swing. Since then, I've been slicing non-stop. Bad thing is I can't recall how I used to keep the ball straight.

 

I've tried all the tutorials, drills and tips I could find on youtube, but no help :)

 

I should be swinging around 90mph, playing a stiff shaft (in case you guys need the info).

 

Any magic tricks or solutions are very well appreciated!

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Make sure that you aren't rolling your wrist on the takeaway. I just straightened my friend out this weekend. He was told to "extend his arc to get more distance". While trying to get more extension, he was rolling his wrist open. When he got back to impact the clubface was WIDE open. My simple tip to him was to try to keep the logo on his glove facing the target for as long as possible on the takeaway. If you start hitting pull hooks, like he did, then it's an easy fix, as you are just coming over top of the ball. In my opinion, Steve Stricker has one of the best and easiest to replicate swings. Notice how square his hands stay on the takeaway, until the natural motion causes them to turn.

 

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Thanks for the reply JBones.

 

When you say "don't roll the wrists", do you mean keep the forearm and the back of the hand on the same line? Is this the same position you would achieve if you stick 2 pens in your gloves (1 on the back 1 on the palm) to avoid bending the wrist?

 

I'll try it on Friday when I go to the range again. Winter came prematurely in Germany and there isn't enough sunlight after work :)

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What I mean by "rolling", is basically rolling/rotating your wrists/forearms so that your left hand will be on top of your right (if you're a righty)immediately on takeaway. If you do this, when the club is parallel with the ground on the backswing, the toe of the club will be wide open. If you keep your hands square on takeaway, then the toe should be pointing directly up, when parallel with the ground. If I had a video camera, I would show you exactly what I am talking about.

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I thought you rotate the wrists, so that the club can go on a 45* angle during takeaway to induce a more inside-out swing path. Or is 45* too flat?

 

If I do what you suggest, then the toe should be pointing up and the club face pointing to the front (where I'm facing), correct?

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One simple thing to check is your ball position. Depending on your swing, either too far back, or too far forward can cause issues.

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I thought you rotate the wrists, so that the club can go on a 45* angle during takeaway to induce a more inside-out swing path. Or is 45* too flat?

 

If I do what you suggest, then the toe should be pointing up and the club face pointing to the front (where I'm facing), correct?

The wrists do rotate, but it's caused by the swing, not by forcing them to rotate. It's something I struggle with, when I roll/over rotate my wrist, it causes me to hit weak slices. Take some slow motion swings and see what the clubface looks like at impact.

 

Go to the :07 mark on that Stricker swing and look at the postion of his hands and the club.

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One simple thing to check is your ball position. Depending on your swing, either too far back, or too far forward can cause issues.

 

I usually hit it inside my left foot. I've tried positioning the ball a little more to the center and I get lower ball flight.

 

I used to hit it damn straight with the ball inside my left foot. Just don't know what has changed.

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I'm not even going to try to guess at what might have changed, because there are SO many variables it COULD be... but I'll suggest this. Get back to an instructor (possibly a different one if there is one available), tell them the problem and how it has happened, and get them to fix whatever has caused the slice.

•Never argue with an idiot. First, he will drag you down to his level. Then he will beat you with experience!•

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The wrists do rotate, but it's caused by the swing, not by forcing them to rotate. It's something I struggle with, when I roll/over rotate my wrist, it causes me to hit weak slices. Take some slow motion swings and see what the clubface looks like at impact.

 

Go to the :07 mark on that Stricker swing and look at the postion of his hands and the club.

 

I think I got the picture now. Will try and let you know.

Haha when I do slow motion swings, it all looks perfect xD obviously it's not the case during a full swing :lol:

 

:07 mark

That's very clear. Logo of the glove facing forward (just like the club face) and the toe pointing up. After trying it a few times I think I might have been hinging the wrists too much.

Looks OK in my living room, I'll let you know after range session this weekend.

Thanks!

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I'm not even going to try to guess at what might have changed, because there are SO many variables it COULD be... but I'll suggest this. Get back to an instructor (possibly a different one if there is one available), tell them the problem and how it has happened, and get them to fix whatever has caused the slice.

 

LOL only 2 pro's at my home course, the one who brought the slice to me and the other one who makes fun of my clone clubs. If I can't fix it with JBones suggestion, I'll look into going away for a weekend and find some pro on another course.

:cobra-small: SpeedZone 9* w/ Aldila Rogue Silver 60 S
:callaway-small: X2 Hot 3 Deep 14.5* w/ Aldila Tour Green 75 S
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:mizuno-small: JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S
:titelist-small: Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge
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It starts pretty straight on the fairway, half way up it starts going to the right, landing on the high rough or OB ;)

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:callaway-small: X2 Hot 3 Deep 14.5* w/ Aldila Tour Green 75 S
:taylormade-small: JetSpeed 5W 19* w/ Matrix Velox T 69 S OR :adams-small: Super LS 3H 19* w/ Kuro Kage Black 80 S
:mizuno-small: JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S
:titelist-small: Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge
:EVNROLL: ER1 34" w/ SuperStroke Fatso 2.0
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You're lucky (in terms of the slice)! Mine is currently in the starts a bit right and then goes wicked right once it hits the 175ish mark state.

 

And wow, that's really a downer about the local pro options. I'm willing to bet the tips from JBones goes a long way. This site is great for giving simple tweaks to straighten you out.

I laught at your claims to fight a zombie apocalypse when most of you can't stand up to a Spider

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My latest report:

 

Friday after work went to the range hit 2 buckets... half straight, half sliced (using your tip)

Saturday played 18 holes tournament (managed to reduce my handicap from 29.x to 28) no slices at all

Sunday went to a brand new course with my boss, same old slice back in every single freaking hole

 

Golf can get so frustrating... the worst thing is I don't even know what makes the ball go straight and what makes it slice

I foolishly believe I do the same swing all the time haha

 

Maybe I can go to the range again and film myself slicing some balls... maybe you guys can see something I've missed all along

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For me, and according to my instructor, slicing with the driver is down to two reasons (generally).

 

A: Grip

- Gripping the club too strong, won't allow your hands to flip over on the shot, they'll get stuck and this will turn a straight shot to a slice. Maybe try shifting your grip to the left a very amount and see if that makes any difference

 

B: Open Face

- This is the biggie with me and it's one I have to do a drill every couple of sessions to bash it out. I start in my standard set up then pull the club back until it's level with my waist and stop. At this point the club face should be straight up and down or slightly to the left (if you're a righty and depending if you consider a flush face to be straight or follow the curve of your spine), then swing through until the club is again in line with your waist to the front and check for the face alignment again. I do this a number of times to lock in the face direction, then wack a couple of balls with the half swing to make sure I've added solid contact to the alignment. If you do this, assuming you do everything else right, there's no way for the ball not to go straight. After this, it's increasing the speed and the rest of your back swing while keeping said alignment.

 

(Side note, might also want to check if your driver is a standard face. I have a Diablo Edge which promotes a fade which only makes my slice worse. When I use a neutral driver, results improve dramatically)

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thanks Awincey

 

A. Are you saying a stronger grip makes the slice worse? I thought stronger was to promote a hook (therefore reducing the slice?)

 

B. I've tried this one the past 3 days with JBones tip... take-away until the club is waist level and look at the club face. In this position, I try to have the face pointing to where I'm facing, the toe pointing to the sky and the butt of the club pointing to the target, while maintaining a flat wrist on the left hand.

 

So assuming A and B are correct, I guess the cause should be the outside-in swing path?

I'll film a couple of clips for you guys to analyze.

 

Cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Haha I wish it was that easy to just grab a driver to fix the slice :P

 

I haven't had time to film myself swinging the driver, BUT after so much research on the internet, I found a guy's blog (no link at the moment) with a fix for my slice.

 

The key is to do the following 5 things at the same time during the swing:

 

1. strong grip (clock wise rotation)

2. closed stance (pull the right foot 1 or 2 inches further back, back as in the direction your ass is pointing, not behind the ball)

3. don't open your left foot that much, since it will release your hips sooner than needed

4. flatten the swing (for me it feels like a 45* angle of the club on take away, maybe even less)

5. brush your right elbow over your right hip on the down swing (this was for me the most important step, as it makes me do the inside out swing path)

 

Additionally, when the club is parallel to the ground, pay attention to the video JBones posted earlier. Toe to the sky, club face to the front.

 

I tried these tips at the range on Saturday and even had to aim a little RIGHT of the target, because I was pulling some draws!!!

If you start hooking, then reduce the extent of the strong grip, the closed stance, etc etc... little by little adjustments until you reach the ball flight you want.

 

One thing I noticed though, it seems I lost some distance with this swing. I used to hit it around 275 and now it's around 240. Since I flattened the swing plane, it could be that I'm not doing a full rotation on the take away, therefore gaining less coil/power.

But it was very foggy and rainy this past weekend, so I'm sure that also affected the carry and roll (fairways were wet and muddy).

 

So after 18 holes with my boss yesterday, I shot my lowest score ever: a 98 on a par 73 course! :)

 

I hope this is a long-term thing and just a quick fix, I've been struggling with the dreaded slice for months and it sometimes takes the fun away from golf.

 

Let me know if these tips worked out for you.

 

EDIT:

 

This is the course we played yesterday. Click on the map to take a look at each hole.

 

http://www.golfclub-groemitz.de/html/par_73_platz.html

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:mizuno-small: JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S
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:EVNROLL: ER1 34" w/ SuperStroke Fatso 2.0
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Good on ya mate!

 

Interesting that the elbow to the hip works for you. I find that when I do that I end up opening the club face up even more and turn a push slice into a shot that can almost do a 90 degree turn in mid air.

 

Side Note 1: Also, Hole 8 looks tough for a short hitter. Yick.

Side Note 2: I slice even worse with a K15. It clearly can't fix everyone :lol:

I laught at your claims to fight a zombie apocalypse when most of you can't stand up to a Spider

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Good on ya mate!

 

Interesting that the elbow to the hip works for you. I find that when I do that I end up opening the club face up even more and turn a push slice into a shot that can almost do a 90 degree turn in mid air.

 

Side Note 1: Also, Hole 8 looks tough for a short hitter. Yick.

Side Note 2: I slice even worse with a K15. It clearly can't fix everyone :lol:

 

Please note that the distances are in meters, not yards... so you should add 10% to get the equivalent in yards :P

 

Surprisingly, hole 8 was one of the holes where I shot par! :P

 

I haven't looked at the club face while trying this, but the elbow to the hip definitely helps me hit the inside quarter of the ball. If I hit it too softly, it creates a push, if I hit it hard enough it creates a draw.

 

Here is a another drill the nice guys at DiamondTourGolf gave me... I tried it and it worked wonders:

 

When you address the ball, split the ball in 4 sections:

 

1 | 2

-----

3 | 4

 

If you are right handed, start using a 9 or 7 iron hitting 50% swings on section 4. At 50% the ball will most likely be pushed to the right, since you are not hitting hard enough to spin the ball back and create a draw. Keep doing that and increasing your power little by little so once you reach 90% your ball should be drawing to the middle.

 

I started with a 9, then a 7, then a 5 and then a hybrid and tried to draw the ball with every club. If you fail, then slow down the swing until you get the feeling again.

 

Once I was done with the hybrid, I moved on to the driver and the slices were gone!

 

If you want to hit the ball on section 4, you must do the elbow to hip thing, otherwise I don't see how you can hit from inside.

 

Hope it helps!

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