Wicked slice that won't go away

[Wes Herman]

So, as with so many golfers out there, I have a horrible slice. I would love to purchase the DVD's, or even do the apprentice program, but sadly there is no point right now. I'm deploying in less than two months now. I finally got the wife to try the game though, and she loves it so far. So that means I actually get to play now. I'm mainly just asking for tips that can help sooner, rather than later, so I can enjoy a few more games before I'm stuck in the sandbox.

I've tried everything that I can seem to find online, and even a $120 Medicus hinged iron and they're working... kind of. For the most part, it has improved. I mean, now it's only going 20 yards to the right 3 out of 4 times instead of 30-50 (literally) every time. I can hit it straight, or at least playable, about half the time if I barely hit the ball. I mean 150yds with the driver barely, that's 100yds shy of a drive with the slice.

Any ideas on what I may need to do? Thank you.

[John V.]

Wes,

The reason the ball slices is because the face of the club is not square to the path it is taking. That and that alone is what causes slices.

So the question is: how do I make sure my club face is square to the path?

Ball setup: is it too far forward and the club has begun closing (yes that can cause a slice), or is the ball too far back in your stance and the face of the club has not been given a chance to close?

First and foremost, you must determine where is square to path "for you".

Is your club release early or late? Either one can cause a slice. I believe this contributes more to the slicing issue than an "over the top" swing. You can also slightly close the face of the club at setup, so that the face of the club is closing or closed when the club meets the ball.

Yes, there is the issue of over the top, where the "driver" shoulder begins turning too early, thereby forcing the club path to be out to in. The following video is worth viewing if you have that problem: [url]http://bit.ly/k7mib[/url]

I have found something that I am working with and it is worth trying for yourself. It involves your setup to the driver and how to improve that.

Go to the local hardware store and buy a roll of masking tape - either 2" or 3" will be fine. Take it to where you practice.
Put the masking tape on the face of the club, setup, and swing. Look at the face and see where on the face you are making contact with the ball. Adjust setup accordingly until you get more ball marks in the center of the face than anyplace else.

You should be seeing that hitting on heel or toe can cause the ball to "slice". Other ball flight abnormalities will also show where on the face you are hitting the ball. We all think we are hitting center mass on the club, but actually, our setup (to include grip) is not allowing this to occur. Yes our swing path contributes, but knowing where on the face connection is made should help setup and help reduce the "open or closed to swing path" problems a lot of us suffer with.

Doing this at the range and hitting more in the center of the face resulted in about a 30 yd pickup, and more consistent ball flight for me.

No guarantees except learning how for yourself, your setup has to be for better ball contact. That alone is worth the time invested.

John

[Tony S. Tolliver]

Hey Wes...

I was once a cronic...and I mean cronic...slicer myself. I spent so much money on the next best

gadget that was going to rid me of this horrible habit for good. I finally realized that the only

way I was going to get rid of the slice from my swing was to chuck all the gizmos and concentrate on

my swing itself.

The first thing I did was buy a video camera tripod. And you know what? It as the best golf investment I've ever made! I took it to the driving range with a camera and probably recorded over 100 hours of my swing.

My slice did not come from gripping the club too tightly or from having the wrong stance. I was clear as day when I began noticing that I was "coming over the top" on every single shot! I am so right-hand dominant that I wanted to smash the ball. It wasn't until I first identified what was causing my slice that I was able to concentrate on how I could get rid of it.

So, if you ask me, the best place to start would be to get yourself on tape first. If you can't detect the flaw yourself, I'm sure any advance player will be able to see it right away.

Start there...and swing better!

[RViR]

Hi Wes,

I always keep one thing in mind when my swing falls apart and that is SETUP AND GRIP MAKE YOUR SWING!!!Slicing occurs due to 2 main reasons:

1) An open club face at impact.
2) Swinging accross the line of the golf ball.

Check the following:

1) Ensure you do not have a weak gip, make sure when you grip the club with your left hand you can see at least two to three knuckles, then stretch out the club infront of you to check if the club head is square.

2) Ensure your shoulders are pointing parallel to the line the golf ball makes with the target. This can be checked by placing a golf club on the ground and then setting up ensuring your shoulders, feet and hips are all in line with the club on the ground.

3) Ensure your body rotates fully in the back swing and ensuring your shoulders turn in later in the down swing and are square at impact will ensure that your golf swing plane in more in to out, hence reduce the chance of hitting a slice.

Hope these tips are helpful.