out-to-in swing path

hi, i have always had an out-to-in swing path which used to carry with it a terrible slice. The slice is more controlled as i have gone from average scores of 125 to 95.

Recently, in an effort to swing from the inside, i started bringing my backswing extremely inside so that when i made the over the top movement, my swing was on a good plane.

Should i keep with this ' Jim Furyk in reverse' style swing, or try to come from the inside the conventonal way (proving very difficult)?

Also, any tips on swinging from the inside?

Giving yourself a fault, to correct a fault, is not the way to go, John.

The path of the hands on the downswing must be inside the path made by the hands on the backswing.

The most probable cause of your slice , like the majority of high handicappers, is that once the top of the swing is reached, even if on a good plane, the brain takes over by thinking power and the right shoulder is immediately moved forward, thus creating an outside to inside swing path on the way down.

Also it is highly likely that at address you are aligned to the left of target - check your shoulder alignment, this is crucial as the arms are attached to the shoulders and will naturallly swing the way they are facing.

In simple terms, just get that right shoulder back and keep it back, don't hit round it, but under it.

John - my suggestion is to look to your hands/wrists as the best place to find your solution (I'm convinced this is where most people like us go wrong without realising it). Quite simply, with or without a club in your right hand only, take the action you would use to hammer in a nail and pretend you're hitting a nail at a slight angle into the centre of the ball. Work on this feeling and you will find that you hit more powerful shots getting 70% of your power from your hands/wrists rather than 70% from your shoulders. This should naturally lead to you WANTING to keep your hands/arms closer to the correct inside path (it will feel better to be here than throwing them away from you). You may be surprised that your hands/wrists now release with no conscious effort. You will, at this point, WANT to start hitting the ball between 3pm and 4pm (the right hand side of the ball and slightly closer to to you). Using these swing thoughts, my ball striking has REALLY improved in the last 6 or so rounds and I actually look forward to drilling a 3 or 4 iron rather than block fading/slicing it! The following book is very good for working on these things (although simple): NAILIT with 3skillsgolf: A Revolution in Golf Instruction by Joe Hagan. I would also recommend making swings with left and right hands separately to assist the leearning process. You may find yourself wanting to change your grip. Good luck! Hugh

I agree wholeheartedly with John when he says that an out to in swing comes from high handicappers looking to put that extra bit of power into the swing ( sort of casting) . I found that with the driver I can pull my right foot away which closes the stance. I then find I can swing confidently at the ball knowing I am coming from the inside. I agree that one should not give oneself a fault to correct a fault, but this minor adjustment is working wonders for me. Good luck I hope you sort it soon.  

John, you may wish to check the following book out too: The Negotiable Golf Swing: How to Improve Your Game Without Picture-Perfect Form. It shows how even all the pro's swing differently at various points in their swing, which areas can be "personal preference" (e.g. swing plane, grip) and which bits must me "standard" (impact). Michael's suggestion is a good one which I have used during a round if things are going wrong! But I would recommend correcting the underlying fault on the range between times. Swing Like A Pro is also an excellent book. as is How to Feel A Real Golf Swing (although this takes longer to make sense and lots of work). All the best, Hugh

Michael, what you are doing is not a fault, but the correct way to produce a draw, so you are doing it correctly.

I saw a good tip to prevent you hitting over the top.

All you do is get a sleeve from some golf balls and stand it up 6 inches behind and just outside the target line.

If you swing over the top then you will hit the sleeve before the ball, if you come from the inside you will hit the ball and the sleeve will stay where it is.

Try it, it does work.

Russ