Among the most wearisome problems plaguing amateur golfers is the golf slice.A slice occurs when a shot violently swings away from the golfer after impact, often bypassing the fairway and landing far to the right of the area of play for right handed hitters.
The slice can peel yards off of your driving distance, and can add strokes in a hurry as you find yourself constantly hitting out of trees and obstacles or from out of bounds. There are common fixes that beginner golfers can attempt to cure their slices.
Tips For Fixing a Slice
Close your club face slightly from the square position when addressing the ball. Leaving your club face closed will allow you to open the club face to a less drastic position on your back swing, and will allow you to restore it a square position on your down swing, instead of leaving it open for the slice.
Straighten Out Your Swing
During a slice, one of the major reasons why the ball is traveling from one side to the other is because of the side spin on the ball. Side spin is produced when a swing is outside-in. That is, when your swing starts away from you and moves closer to your body, you are sending the ball off with side spin, and dooming it to a slicing path.
Correct this by keeping your swing on a plane parallel to your body. Swing with a notepad under your back arm to make sure that you are not extending it out for your swing, forcing you to bring it back in on your downswing.
Hitting a Golf Ball Straight
Just as straightening your swing out will help to produce a straighter ball, so too will swinging from the inside-out. This kind of swing begins with you coiling the club around your body more tightly, and keeping your back elbow pressed against your body.
Make this kind of swing by sweeping at the ball from close to your body to an angle away from you. The ball’s natural inclination will be to travel to the right at first, giving it side spin in that direction, but on a level swing, it will hook back around to the left.
Golfing Without a Slice
To prevent yourself from pulling out on your swing and creating that outside-in swing movement, keep your front foot planted firmly.
Make sure you are not bailing out on your swing and that you are seeing your back, your shoulders and your lower body pushed forward throughout your entire swing. If not, you will inadvertently create the outside-in movement that is the most guilty of creating your unfortunate slicing drive or tee shot.
Just as these methods can help you lower your score, so too can the following:
