Forum > Technique, Tips & Tuition

Thomas Gould

I know this is a fairly common problem but I cannot seem to rectifiy my slice.   I have had some tuition and after a few lessons my swing and grip had changed.  I can hit the ball well but whenever I get the woods out I end up hitting it 200 yrds forward and 100 yrds to the right.  The ball arcs straight off the tee so I think I am putting quite alot of spin on the ball.

I have tried the making my swing more eliptical but this has helped me to hit it more consistantly but not erradicated the problem.

Any tips I can try out on the range or am I best to invest in some more golf lessons?  I have a baby on the way and the missus is  keen to see a reduction in golf costs.  :-(

Wayne Santorini

One thing to try is your Alignment Thomas, it's never just one thing however.

Has this ocurred since the lessons and are you still having them??

Jonny P

go to the range and try to hook the hell out of it - that'll sort you out.

No need to know specifics of hows and whys.

Thomas Gould

I have tried changing my footing, somone suggested I move my backfoot further behind the front.  Also tried playing the ball further off the front foot.  I have also tried changing my grip to open the club face out abit more, I did get some sucsess with this but I am worried about getting into bad habits that could affect things as i progress.

 I always had a slight slice to my shots but it got worse with the lessons, as I said other areas did improve so I am not complaining.  I haven't had a lesson for about 6 weeks but I have played about 10 times in that time frame.

My iron work is getting pretty good as a result of not using the woods, but some long par 5's I am falling 50-100yrds short of my fellow golfers causing me to sacrifice some accuracy for power with my second and third shot.

If i hit 100 balls 75 will go 200yrds straight and 100 yrds right 20 I will miss hit and  5 might straighten out but never as straight as i would like.

I know there are no quick fixes but any sort of tip that could help would be welcome.

Jonny P

As above, go to the range and try to hook the hell out of it - that'll sort you out.

No need to know specifics of hows and whys.

Have you tried this?

Thomas Gould

Jonny,

No I haven't it does seem logical, I suppose if the end result is right then who cares about the complexities.

I will give it a go this week.

Matt Holbrook

I had the same problem once.......I started by trying not to hit it as hard as I was.

When you see the pro's on TV hitting 300+ you sometimes automatically assume its down to power......its not.....more often than not its technique.

Get it right with a 3/4 swing (or even half swing) then start increasing it from there.

If all else fails take up cricket ;-)

Patrick Moore

David Marshall

When I first started playing golf, I used to slice the ball like crazy.

It was mainly caused by turning the shoulders first, which caused a massive out to in swing. This action promotes a slice. Although there are other factors to consider.

Your hips and arms should start the down swing. Don't turn your shoulders off the target line. 

Russell Middleton

I've got the same problem at the moment.

One thing I have noticed is that if I slow my swing do, which keeps everything in sync then I hit a good straight(ish) drive. 

When I try to swing harder I get out of sync with my body and arms and the slice follows.

It's already been suggested but get down the driving range and only swing 3/4's, you'll be amazed at how far the ball will go with a shorter backswing, but they will be much straighter.

Once you're getting solid shots then you could try lengthening the backswing.

Russ

Thomas Gould

I am heading out for a round and some practice tomorrow. 

I have tried slowing it down but i wll try incoorporating this with hooking it and I will pay attention to my shoulder position.  A 3/4 swing also makes sense as it forces you to slow the shot down.

Thanks to all for you help, any further insight is welcome, I will let you know how it comes off tomorrow.

John Payne

Hi Thomas,

            &
nbsp;   My slicing was just as good!! as yours. I have changed my grip by really turning over my left hand, so that I am looking down at the back of my hand, it does feel uncomfortable, sort of pulling your shoulders together, and my right thumb is about to the right of centre. I make sure my upper body is parallel to the target line, and I take a real slow, low take away to my backswing, and it's worked for me.    Saying that it oviously won't work for everyone . But, whatever you do----enjoy your golf.  

John Pettitt

John, you have just given yourself a fault to correct a fault, that is not the way to go.

You have now given yourself a hookers grip over which you will have no control whatsoever.

Learn to grip the club correctly and then learn how to swing on the correct path and a slice will be gone forever.

To play this game to a decent standard the basics must be correct or you will be like the multitude who could not give  damn about their game and will be forever frustrated.

John Payne

John Pettitt

Loud Mouth b.a.

Come on lads don't squabble. Most religous wars start because  leaders don't get out to have fun on the golf course. We get out, but then turn sport into a religion. 

I was accidentally doing some combined push / fades tonight on the range. When attacking the ball acutely from the inside it's a disaster if one fails to follow through fast and high. It hard to do that when one's left knee is not 100.% It's easy to ignore it in comp. but not on the driving range.

Slicing can be caused by so many things. I think it's one of those insolvables on a forum without first seeing a swing film. Sadly, it's possibly the most asked question in golf and always tempting to have a shot at giving an answer. 

The enquirers are often beginners failing to understand the complexities of golf, but it's nice to try and imagine that everything is simple. Unfortunately it is not.

But try and be friendly lads. Us old timers need to set an example.

Chris Perry

Mr Payne, Mr Pettitt,

Simple statement.  Stop it.  If you want to start sniping at each other do it somewhere else or I'll start hitting delete.  Don't care who started it, don't care who said what.

Thank you for reading

John Pettitt

Mr Perry (moderator) this is my original post in which you will find nothing derogatory in any way.

John, you have just given yourself a fault to correct a fault, that is not the way to go.

You have now given yourself a hookers grip over which you will have no control whatsoever.

Learn to grip the club correctly and then learn how to swing on the correct path and a slice will be gone forever.

To play this game to a decent standard the basics must be correct or you will be like the multitude who could not give  damn about their game and will be forever frustrated.

Mr Payne responded in a rude manner and I am afraid I treated him with the contempt he deserves.

Chris Perry

John,

I saw your original post and whilst it was not intended to be rude, I can understand why the other John took offence at it. 

My statement stands.  It takes the bigger man to rise above and ignore it.  I suggest you both prove you are the bigger man

John Pettitt

I would like you to clarify your understanding of my post, Chris, where you feel that I was rude.

This man made a statement to Mr Thomas stating that by moving his left hand over the shaft so that when looked down on the back of the hand is clearly visible, I know ,and you should know what this grip would achieve. I pointed this out and then suggested that the correct way forward was to take the time to learn these basics correctly. Not anywhere in my post is  anything that could be construed as advice on curing a slice. I never offer advice on this forum unless asked personally by PM.

His response was very cutting in his sarcastic reference to my  current handicap of 16.6 following up with another snide remark which you can read for yourself.

If any beginner were to read his response to Mr Thomas and because Mr Payne says it works that it is the way forward then this is not the kind of advice that should be bandied about on a golf forum.

Chris Perry

Your initial 3 paragraphs were fine.  Factual statements and helpful. 

"To play this game to a decent standard the basics must be correct or you will be like the multitude who could not give  damn about their game and will be forever frustrated."

That one, however, came across as condecending.  I thought so on first reading it but knowing you as I do I know it was not intended this way.  However, had someone said this to you John, you would have reacted in exactly the same manner.

I do not want to get into a lengthy debate on this, it's unnecessary.  All I ask is that, as per the acceptable use policy, both parties refrain from personal attacks of any kind. 

Can we please draw a line under this now and get back to topic

Loud Mouth b.a.

The topic was never a goer.

Do moderators get paid?

Do you work a shift system?

Do you have senior moderators and junior moderators?

Who owns this site?

Do some of the contributors who write articles get paid?

Can you see what I'm typing before I press the 'Submit' button?

Can you see exactly who is on line at any given time?

Life has so many mysteries far more interesting than golf slices!

Chris Perry

Do moderators get paid?  -  Only in pain and suffering

Do you work a shift system?  -  Only shifting uncomfortably in our seats

Do you have senior moderators and junior moderators?  - Yes but it's a secret.  Even Darren deosn't know 

Who owns this site? -  Darren Ramowski.  Well, he thinks he does....

Do some of the contributors who write articles get paid? -  Knowing Darren, you'd have to pay him

Can you see what I'm typing before I press the 'Submit' button?  -  Yes, but only because I'm stood behind you hiding behind the curtains

Can you see exactly who is on line at any given time?  -  Not at the moment, but it is something that's on Darren's very long list

Loud Mouth b.a.

Wayne Santorini

David Marshall

Chris Perry

David Marshall

Like John Pettitt has said a thousand times, and we have all been guilty of it.

Forum posts can come across as aggressive, even though they are not meant to be.

Did it myself with Ivan a couple of days ago.

The thing is John Pettitt is right in what he said. I read his reply and didn't see any offensive remarks.  You can't correct one fault by using another fault to correct the first fault. You won't and can't improve as a player if you do. 

David Marshall

Thought you would be a Rocker Perry.  Could just imagine you on a motorbike.

Nah... thinking about it you would be more at home on a Scooter...A Pink one  

Colin Coote

good morning all, some members are a little tetchy on this thread i see.

I hope this helps.

Mr Pettit is of course correct and it is not good practice to fix a flaw by adopting another flaw to counter it.  Keep everything simple and basic and you should not go far wrong.

The questions you need to ask yourself are how keen are you to play this game and lower your handicap to a reasonably yet attainable  handicap mark around 10.  if you want to play consistent good average golf then it is best that you adopt good practices and do not haveserious flaws in your swing, they will let you down and above all that they will make it extremely difficult for you to maximise your potential and fix errors that creep into your game.

I believe that you need a Base Line to work from that covers all the bases from ball position, grip, stance, posture. I had to go back to basics and start from scratch and it was the best thing i've done.   I went to a neutral overlap grip,took a square stance to target, optimum ball position is 2 balls inside my left heel for all my basic shots from driving to wedges subject to other conditions.  For my 8 iron the back of the ball is positioned approx. 1 full ball in front of the centre of my stance. I just widen my stance for the longer clubs but the ball stays relative to my left heel.  i try to keep my chin up and head still behind the ball focusing on the back of the ball.  My knees must always retain the same flexion at the top of the back swing as at address and my left knee must move toward the ball as i rotate on the back swing, my left heel should hopefully stay touching the ground on the backswing,  my stance needs to be firm enough to prevent me from swaying in any direction on the back swing.   I try to keep a nice relaxed 3/4 back swing with even tempo and push the club head back after addressing the ball and on striking the ball try to imagine the club head following the ball towards the target before allowing a full follow through over my left shoulder.

Sometimes if i am fatigued or lose concentration i play a little too relaxed and i sway on my backswing and get out of shape.  I can quickly assess why i have messed up and can easily correct it.  

I reckon all golfers need to understand their own game, and not to expect any one-off paid lesson to fix any problems,  Understand, whoever is giving you instruction will not be doing so based on your body mechanics and your techniques, it will be most probably based on the assumption that you have the basic set-up correct.

As i have a short right leg and before i made necessary adjustments, when i played with a basic set-up and stood square to ball to target i would consitently hit the ball fat and sometimes just roll the turf over the ball, and if i did make contact it would not be straight.  To counter this problem you can adopt a closed stance and yes striking the ball better is achieved but this give a natural  draw on the shots, if you do not understand your own body mechanics, requirements and limitations the problems you encounter will multiply.  With having a shorter right leg you also have to endure the reverse pivot.  Until i understood the reasons for my problems i could never hope to improve, i went from one fix to another as i came across problem after problem.  I took plenty of advice of fellow golfers and not one piece of advice was look at your body mechanic, it was usually your grip is wrong, balls in the wrong place, you swing to hard, your stance is wrong.  No one pin-pointed what i now believe should have been pretty bloody obvious.  The lowest point of my downswing was well behind the centre of my stance, question should have been, how can this be?

So getting back to how to fix your slice, you need to ask yourself questions and try to breakdown your problem yourself.

Is your slicing problem  just limited to your woods and is this limited to off the fairway or is it off the tee also?

have you ever been able to hit your woods straight?

have you tried  a different wood?

Are the slices low/high or of variable heights?

is your swing plane steep/flat or in between the 2?

Is your grip overlap or interlocking?

Do you rotate without swaying when you swing? 

Do you strike the ball consistently well?

Where in your back swing do you break your wrists for all your shots?

In your stance at address, how would you best describe your balance, is it on your heels, balls or toes of your feet?

Your physique, nothing personal is meant by this, are you tall/short/medium height, lightweight, medium or heavy weight, big beer belly, slight gut or sleek? Fit, slouch or in the middle? 

How long have you played?

There are many more questions that can be asked that may explain your slice, but this is a start.

Good luck with whatever course of action you take.

David Ross

Colin Coote

whatever course of action you take to remedy your slice, good luck what i would recommend you do additional to anything else is that you take particular attention to your back swing, break your back swing down into stages and try to implement a good back swing.

At address keep your wrists firm and push the club backwards and do not cock your wrists early, do not allow your elbow of your bottom hand get tucked into your body, try to keep it away from your body all the way on your back swing, Don't allow this elbow to flex below 90 degrees, practice your swing in stages, from half back swing building upto 3/4 back swing.  Practice your back swing at a very slow speed and get your clubs shaft, clubhead, wrist cock occurring in the right positions, and gradually increase the speed when you know your setup is good. Make sure your bottom hand grip is light, do not allow it to be dominant.

Consider gripping down your grips to shorten the shaft lengths, this should benefit your timing the strike and a better chance of getting your hands in the right position at impact.

At address where are your hands positioned when you align your club face square.

Do you have a forward press to start your back swing.

Mally Grief