I'm a beginner and I always seem to slice the ball. Please help!!!

[selks13]

hi there all,

I've just started playing golf (about two months now) and I'm always seeming to slice the ball when I hit with the longer irons and driver. I could completely naive but as a beginner, I thought I may as well ask the question...

Is there any obvious things I should check for? Or could it be a combination of a lot of things?

Thanks for any advice that you can give me.

Many regards,
selks13

[aquacooled]

its allot of things.. most everybody who starts golf has this problem.. spend sometime with a teaching pro..

[golfchief]

Best advise is see a pro and get started right before you get bad habits that are hard to change. Don't know where you live, here in the north the snow is moving in and it's time to move into the domes for weekly practice.

[cdriver]

Best advise is see a pro and get started right before you get bad habits that are hard to change. Don't know where you live, here in the north the snow is moving in and it's time to move into the domes for weekly practice.

Don't listen to these guys... It is much better to make bad swings long enough so that you ingrain it into your muscle memory. Then you can achieve the same level of frustration as the rest of us. If you go to a pro first and stop making those mistakes, you will not have any friends to golf with because they will get nauseous watching your perfect swing and ball flight. Your life will be awful.

[Big Don]

hi there all,

Slicing is caused by hitting the ball with an open club face and is exacerbated by an "out to in" swing path.

If the ball initially heads left and then curls to the right (a pull-hook) then you have a swing path and open club face problem. A possible cure to this problem is to check your grip, which might be too weak, and practicing an "in to out" swing path which should sort the pull. If the ball goes initially straight but curls right (a straightforward slice) then the primary problem is an open club face at contact. Again check your grip which may be too weak.

[Big Don]

Slicing is caused by hitting the ball with an open club face and is exacerbated by an "out to in" swing path.

I meant "Pull-Slice" not "Pull-Hook" in the above reply.

[narshadda]

selks13,

I started at about the same time as you I think (2monts or so) and I am currently getting over the slice little by little. I hit 2 out of 10 with a slice as opposed to all of them. :)
First off, take at least one lesson from a pro - there are a few fundamentals that need to be engrained in our mids that help build a solid foundation. If you miss any of these your end result will be horrible.

Here are a few things that I tinkered with to help mitigate the slice:

I am a RH by the way...

1. Check your grip: Hand positions, too stong or too weak, fingers not aligned etc.
2. Keep your elbows tucked in - no chicken arms
3. Make sure your left hand is flat on the backswing, you don't want to cup your wrist.
4. When you start your downswing, swing from the inside out, you want your right elbow to feel like it is sliding down and across your body.
5. Make sure you turn your wrists over at impact. Kinda like a baseball swing where you roll your wrist over at impact with the ball.
6. Maintain your knees slightly bent and keep balance at all times - don't over swing.
7. Keep your eye on the ball

These few points aside from the other basics I left out helped big time! The biggest changes were seen/felt when I checked my grip and rolled my wrist at impact.

Hope that helps out - and try to get your hands on "The Five Lessons: By Ben Hogan" I got this book at the recommendation of one of the guys on this site and it is awesome.

Take care and don't get frustrated, apparently we all go through this at some point.

-Enrique

[Dminn23]

The golf swing is a complicated thing, especially 2 months into the game. Talking about inside-to-out and outside-to-in swing paths might not make sense to him. Neither would weak or strong grip.

Before you start working on all these other things, you need to make sure you do get a proper grip. Research the strong, neutral, and weak grips on the web, I would suggest a strong grip.

Now you can read about this or you can get a weighted club with a molded grip like the momentus swing trainer. I'm going to suggest the momentus so you can feel it, I think thats your best bet. Without a proper grip the other things won't fall into place, you won't get the proper wrist cock, etc.

[selks13]

Thanks for the advice guys! I actually tried a stronger grip and sure enough, hitting them MUCH straighter. I'm RH, so on my left hand, I have my thumb off-centre on the side of the shaft. What I did differently was press a little harder (but not too hard) with my thumb against the side of the shaft (if you can picture that). I also make sure that I snap my wrist upon impact. Makes a world of difference. My driving is now straighter and further (consistenly hitting around 250-260m when i was doing around 200m previously).

This game is great! I'm addicted now!!!! :)

[BritBoy]

Welcome to golf......... please leave your sanity at the door

[aquacooled]

Welcome to golf......... please leave your sanity at the door

Dont forget the ego at the door too..

[pcourtney]

let me add one more thing, start working on strengthening your wrists, a lot of people ovelook this fact, but trying to swing a golf club with a neutral grip ( the correct grip in my opinion ) and trying to swing it with weak wrists is a sure fire way to slice the ball. I have given the Powerball to many ladies I teach, and they have spent 5 to 10 mins a day using it, after a month they have started to see how useful it is to have stronger wrists, I am not saying the wrists should be overly active in the swing, but weak wrists are often why golfers slice, getting the right wrist to snap upon impact is not the swing thought you should have ( it can lead to many other problems doing that) , but having wrists that are strong, and that flow through the impact area in a momentum kind of way is the better thought to carry in your mind. Eventually you will just do it, and then it becomes one less thing for you to worry about.

http://www.powerballs.com/powerball_benefits.php

[selks13]

I've had one lesson - with instant results! The big point I took out of it was that i) keep your feet planted to the ground and ii) be relaxed and for now, don't try to power the ball off the ground.

It's actually worked. The weird thing (which I'm sure you all know - but it still something I have to get a grip on) is that the less I try, I better I hit it. The coach says that I have good hand-eye co-ordination due to playing sport all my life so that always helps. Plus I'm tall with long arms so again, it all adds up.

Next step, make sure I take the learnings and practice, practice, practice!

[ApplebyFan]

hi there all,

My golf instructor cured my slice by changing my grip, and my swing. Nobody can really tell you over the internet howw to cure a slice. I'm gonna go with everyone else and say get an instructor.

[seattlemudder]

Seriously, get lessons from a qualified PGA pro and don't listen to any of your well intentioned buddies unless you don't want to improve - many people already claim that golf is a game for masochists - don't add to the sterotype by not taking lessons.

[RX Phoenix]

let me add one more thing, start working on strengthening your wrists, a lot of people ovelook this fact, but trying to swing a golf club with a neutral grip ( the correct grip in my opinion ) and trying to swing it with weak wrists is a sure fire way to slice the ball. I have given the Powerball to many ladies I teach, and they have spent 5 to 10 mins a day using it, after a month they have started to see how useful it is to have stronger wrists, I am not saying the wrists should be overly active in the swing, but weak wrists are often why golfers slice, getting the right wrist to snap upon impact is not the swing thought you should have ( it can lead to many other problems doing that) , but having wrists that are strong, and that flow through the impact area in a momentum kind of way is the better thought to carry in your mind. Eventually you will just do it, and then it becomes one less thing for you to worry about.

I'd agree with this emphasis, when the wrists get tired you don't have much of a chance, all sorts of problems creep in and the train wreck starts. When my wrists get tired I start using too much right hand, then its time to use a little secret . . . change the right hand grip so that only 2 fingers are on the club and the other two are overlapping the left. This almost always prevents the right hand from overpowering the left which is what happens when the wrists get tired, the right being your stronger hand and side in most cases.

You will find that you can hit it just as far using this grip, if you are tired, are slicing it, use this grip and it's like a miracle cure. For example if you just hit 200 balls in the evening and are playing the next day, you may have a miserable day because your wrists are tired, go to this grip, I may have to do that tomorrow LOL, I'm so tired from practicing I was shanking a few on the range this evening and am playing tomorrow . . . :)

[jrbechthold]

ESPN 3 Club Tour
I recently attended this "workshop" if you will, and couldn't be happier.
As the name implies, the focus is on the 3 clubs, but the real benefit is the swing plane analysis. I had a 25 yd or so fade (I know I am being generous, but slice is just such a flithy word ) and it is all but gone. Plus the free club incentive you get from Nike is worth the price alone. Almost $600 worth of clubs for $500.

This is one of the best kept secrets in professional golf education. I highly recommend it!
Feel free to IM me if you want any more info.
I just attended the Dec class down in Vegas.

[ApplebyFan]

ESPN 3 Club Tour

I've heard of those, everyone I've talked to has really liked it.