curing a dreadful SLICE

[rbfoley]

how do i cure a slice before it becomes a habit?

[muskegman]

I'm going to start sounding like a broken record here... but I would say lessons are the way to go. If you are just starting out, as I was a year ago, and don't take lessons you can get into some bad habits pretty fast just like I did. I've had three lessons and feel like I'm playing a different game now. Even if I didn't go back for the other two I payed for, I feel like I'm way ahead of where I was for a year. Lessons give you sound fundamentals.

In other words, you might fix your slice but do it with poor mechanics and that wouldn't help you long term. Hope that is encouraging to you... just a couple lessons could have you on the right track for a lifetime of golf.

[iacas]

how do i cure a slice before it becomes a habit?
A slice is the result of one thing, and one thing only: the clubface is coming outside-to-in in relation to the clubface.

In other words:

your clubface is open
you're cutting across the ball
all of the above

That's what physics can tell us, anyway.

One of the common tricks I've seen is to put the golf ball on the tee so that you can hit the logo. There's more on this here (http://thesandtrap.com/archives/playing_tips/position_the_logo_to_hit_it_straighter.php). Give that a try, then as Jeff said, get a lesson.

[NCGolfer]

how do i cure a slice before it becomes a habit?
Pray.

Just kidding. What Erik says is probably the best way to put it. You need to attack the ball from the inside and keep your clubface square to your target.

Experiment on the range. This will achieve two things. First it will allow you to see what types of changes will affect the ball flight. Also, this will let you get comfortable with your swing. Just going to the range and beating balls (no comments from the peanut gallery) till you are blue in the face won't help unless you are trying to groove something good into your swing. Some of the most rewarding sessions on the range I've had were when I was just trying to hit a different shot every time...low fade, high draw, punch shots, etc.

Remember to have fun too.

[Saint_Viper]

Im slowly starting to get on top of my slice now. What helped me is.

1. Stay connected - Arms working with your shoulders in one motion
2. Stiff arm - Keep my left arm straight and not letting the elbow bend (On back swing)
3. Wrist break - Im now learning to break the wrists at the right point (Not sure if this is the right term), but your right wrist needs to get ontop of your left wrist. Easiest way i found to do this was have a imaginary line between my left foot and the ball position. When you left arm hits this position do your best to try to stop your left arm (You cant stop it but dont worry), what it does though is helps to roll the right wrist over the left.

This method after 2 sessions on the driving range has got me hitting them straighter than ever, some times i even hook it!!!!!

[who00knows]

Im gonna go with Muskegman on this one. Lessons are def the way to go. I have played golf off and on for about 12 years and I recently started taking it really serious. I have seen the best most improvements in the last 4 weeks because of my lessons. I cant tell you how much lessons have helped....its so incredible.

[hig4s]

What cured my slice (and it's been a habit for many years) was a combination of lessons working on the inside/out swing, and watching the old Bobby Jones "How I play golf" Videos..

I now start my downswing with my lower body instead of my hands and I try to make sure I fully shift my weight to my front foot BEFORE contact.

I now can fade anytime I want and can draw about 50% of the time I want.

If I swing too hard I will still fade when I don't want to, and when I ease up too much my hands get in front of my weight shift and I will hook or pull, but very, very seldom do I now fall back to the many year old habit of slicing.

[skrumple]

Over the Top is another problem for A LOT of golfers

[You're Away]

As everyone else has already said, take a lesson or three. You'll feel very uncomfortable for a while until you get used to a different swing, but it's worth it.
I will offer one tip for chronic slicers: drop your rear foot back after you address the ball. This mentally messes you up because you're now aiming right, just the direction you're trying to avoid, but the over-the-top move now becomes a down-the-line swing. Unfortunatly this is a bandaid for something that your really need a cure for so see a pro!