slicing and topping

I'm new to the game, and I slice the ball.. alot. If I don't I top it or hit a grassburner. Any help?

Start with basic lessons, its the fastest way to improve and start enjoying golf. You are very lucky because your learning curve will be very fast.

Yes. Definitely at least pick up an instructional video if you can't get lessons from a local course pro. You will be in much better shape than those of us who developed every bad golf habit possible when learning with our Dad's clubs in the back yard.

Topping the ball is usually a sign of pulling your head up. I had that problem bad so I took a silver Sharpie and wrote "HEAD DOWN" on the tops of my woods just so it was the last thing I saw before my take away.

There are a billion possible causes of a slice, and if you get some instruction it should help clear it up or at least identify your problem.

Thats what most people tell me, I pull my head up. I'm getting a golf net in a week for my birthday, so I'm hoping that will help me. It's a natural thing for me to pull my head, I do it in baseball, also.

I've been told to close my club face, but I don't know what that means.

That means rotating the face (part facing ball) towards you. ie for right handers it would mean rotating your club face slightly left. Opposite direction for lefty's. I wouldn't recommend doing this until you get a lesson. It would just compensate for the problem instead of correcting it.

first of all welcome to the game.

secondly, lessons are definitely a great investment. I'd recommend GolfTec. checkout their website. www.golftec.com They are able to get you on film and connect you to a machine that analyzes your turns and angles. My opinion is that its the most effective way of learning the game, however its certainly pricey. If their rates dont work for you, just go to your local course and get lessons from the pro. Again, pro's charge anywhere from 60-100 an hour..so its also relatively pricey...however lessons are a worthy investment. I'd also mention that golftec is generally dont in 3month 6 month or 1 year packages...however they offer individual lessons at 95/hour. Its much more effective than just having a pro give you feedback...but as a beginner...just having a regular pro show you the basics will give you a huge improvement. Either way, skipping a few rounds of golf and using those green's fees for lessons is definitely a worthy investment.

Now to answer your question....because you are just starting out with the game...i can almost guarantee that on your backswing, you arent turning your shoulders....instead you are lifting your arms straight back. A good way to test this is to go to the top of your backswing, and notice if you have dipped your left shoulder downwards at all en route to the top of your backswing (this is if you are right handed). If you have not turned properly, its almost impossible to make your downswing come from the inside...and an improper turn will force you to come "over the top" off the ball. Generally, thats the first problem that comes up with probably 95 percent of golfers. This can also cause you to top the ball....and that is only aggravating by an improper setup. The ball may be too far forward, the sole of your club may not be on the ground properly, you may be leaning on your backswing. Theres a whole lot of things that can be happening...and this is completely normal for a new golfer.

My advice is get somes lessons...and as a baseball player...you are probably reasonably athletic and have above average kinesthetics and therefore you'll probably excel in this game.

Topping and slicing the ball is what new golfers do. m11 said it all I think. Keeping the head down won't fix much if you don't have a good swing. If you had a good swing you could hit the ball with your eyes closed. Just one lesson on the basics of setting up properly will do you more good than ten trips to the driving range. Learn the basic mechanics of the swing and go from there.

I started playing in Dec and was doing the samething some one told me to slow down and stop trying to kill the ball and it worked the next time on the course I sliced two and most drives went pretty straight.

This weekend I found myself topping alot from looking up I shot a 60 on the front on the back I kept telling myself wait till you see the tee it worked great and I shot a 43 on the back this is a tough course in the area and was the first place I ever played it was nice to be asked back but even nicer to beat the 140 I shot the first time

Number 1 Lesson: Grip.

Get someone to show you how to properly hold the club. It will change your world. I promise. It did mine. When I was first starting out, I couldn't do anything right. I'd hit some decent shots, but they were the exception to the rule.

5 minutes of showing me how to properly grip the club changed everything. I wasn't perfect, but I was more solid more of the time.

20 minutes later of basic swing mechanics and I actually was hitting most every shot straight as an arrow about 100 to 140 yards with my 7-iron. Now, I actually have confidence heading out to the golf course. I'm still a beginner, but I actually know what I'm doing.... sort of.

I guess what I'm saying is... Get a Grip!

Grip is important. Here is a great article with step-by-step instructions on how to grip the club. After following all the links for gripping with the lead or top hand go down to "Related Articles" and follow the trailing or bottom hand instructions. This article started me on my way to a much better grip.

http://golf.about.com/od/golftips/ss/golfgrip_lead.htm

Well, I didn't get lessons from a pro, but my friend who shoots low 70's helped me out alot and let me hit in his net (Mine won't be here for another week.) and everything was going good, I figured out what my problem was, I wasn't turning my shoulders. On some shots I did, most I didn't. I can't go to the course for another week, but I can't wait too, now.

On Grip (for right-handed golfers):

As a beginner, I find my biggest grip problems are not rotating my left hand far enough to the left. I get lazy or tired or stop paying attention and my left hand opens up which means I start slicing like crazy with the long woods, or I just don't make solid contact with my irons. I force myself to play with a "strong" grip position by rotating my left hand enough so that I feel like it is going underneath my other wrist. I don't know the technical terms for this, but it feels weird at first.

Setup, setup, setup... Every time I think something is wrong in my backswing, downswing or follow through it turns out (after hitting 100+ balls) that it is actually my setup that was off, which caused a domino effect. Especially topping or hitting fat was caused by a bad setup every single time. Poor grip, bent back, ball position, incorrect balance (too much on heel).. you name it, I've done it.

Always work your way forwards from setup, not backwards from finish. I'm a relative beginner like you, so I know what you're going through .

Setup is a must before you even make your backswing.
You must have the ball in the proper posistion, you must be standing the correct distance from the ball and keep an upright posture knees slighty bent and be comfortable in that posistion. Read about setup on golf tips websites or even on youtube.
A TIP FOR MAKING SURE YOUR THE RIGHT DISTANCE FROM THE BALL:

Take your set-up. Club face square to the target and behind the ball. Now take your right hand off the club and let your arm hang down. Your hand should go back to the exact same posistion on the club as it was before letting go, in otherwords without moving your arm to get back to the same posistion on the club.

I was slicing my balls alot last week, and i just got lazy in my setup
I wasnt squaring my left hand to the target before impact which resulted in an open club face and the dreaded slice. My hand was facing forward from my stomach while it should have been facing towards the hole.

agreed...........................

Another cause for topping: Your initial setup is with knees bent, but as soon as the club is taken away and starts upward, your entire body raise up and your knees are now locked. You can't get back to the correct hitting position with your knees locked!

Result? Topped another one!

dave