Help me find a Slice Cure!

Hello all,
Just join this great forum!

Some info on me first: Have been playing golf seriously for the last 6 month plus. I am right-handed hitting my irons good and consistent. Putting is good. Not doing great with wedges around greens cause I still don't have a lot of experience on how much power to put in yet, but I think I'll get that with more practice.

My biggest problem and head ache right now is hitting the fairway woods and driver. I use to hit it great sometimes, probably 1 out of 10
I get a long straight one with my 3 wood with my natural load it up and let it go hard swing. Never was able to hit my driver consistent and most of time I get a nasty slice to the right with a hard swing... Lately I been going back to slicing my driver and I try all the different stance and swing trying to go inside to out to the right as some suggest and the best I can do is a long fade about 10-15 yards off center...

I know it's not my stance that's the problem cause if I change my stance or shoulder different ways it does not change the fade or slice. I know it's not my grip because I know I got that down pretty well and hit my irons good with a slight fade, but no slice. I know that irons are on a different swing plane when compare to the longer woods and driver...

I think my problem is my down swing. I'm trying to correct my take away and back swing by slowing down alot and keeping it on a out to inside smooth back swing. I believe my problem is my down swing possibly going to much outside to in (into left) as I swing down pretty fast and harder most of the time on the downswing...

Is there anyone on this forum that can help me fixing this problem of slicing and fading my driver and woods ? And possibly get more of a straight or draw shot on the woods and most importantly my driver instead of a nasty slice or natural fade to the right ?

If anyone has had this similar problem and conquered it and know what they fixed to slove this problem please post what ever suggestion you may have to help me!!!

Thank you all for any help...!

it could be your driver. i had one that sliced everytime no matter what. i was just starting though and it was $30 brand new so i didnt really expect much out of it. i also put a dent in the bottom of it. so i would check that. cuz i got a new one and i've been hitting a draw(well at least thats what i call it) ever since.

I think I just figure it out... After thinking about it (the downswing) and looking through some of the online info on swinging...

It's not the driver cause I went through several driver since I started seriously golfing about 6 months ago. I started on a 3 wood clone that had a wimpy Aldila shaft in stiff, could not hit it good. Then got another 3 wood clone with Aldila nv 75x that was better. Then got a TaylorMade 10.5 R7 quad with GD YS-7 Stiff that I hit too high with fade, sold that. Then a Titleist 983k with stock fujikura speeder stiff which was ok, that I still have. My current driver is a BridgeStone J33 8.5 with Fujikura 757 Speeder X flex but I'm still slicing and at best fading 10-15 yards. I can hit this driver high enough with good contact, but the slicing and fade bothers me too much... Same on the 3 wood I currently use the most, a Titlest 980 15* with fujikura vista pro 80 X flex. I was able to hit these sometimes (1 or 2 out of 30) long and straight. But could not figure out what I'm doing right to do that or what I'm doing wrong to cause slices. Anyways I read this swing lesson page on downswing: http://www.golftoday.co.uk/proshop/tuition/lesson10.htm And think I know what my problem is. On my downswing I lead with my shoulders first and that results in "hacking" that causes the famous slice and fading... To solve it I will try to lead the downswing from the feet up. Feet, legs, hip, upper body, shoulder, left arm, then hands, then cock relase on impact which is the natural swing motion/order... I'll see if that cures my slice and fade tomorrow on the driving range. Hopefully that is the problem. IF anyone has more tips, please post. Thank you guys for all the help...!

Yeah since my last post I have improved quite a bit every time I have gone to the range and I have hit only woods and drivers since I need the most work on my long game and believe me it was fun, much more fun than playing mostly irons on the range...

It was my downswing causing the problem as I suspect since fundamentally the setup is everything from looking at your target, walking up to the ball, grip your club, the stance and ball position, the backswing to the top. I have work all that out to proper form. Given that if all of the items listed above in the setup is proper and on plane, which is not the hard part, most of the time a improper swing resulting in a heavy slice or strong fade for a right handed golfer is the downswing that the golfer takes into the ball resulting in "hacking" coming over the top of the ball or going outside - in (going left) to end the swing plane causing a clockwise spin on the ball. To fix all of that, first thing you must do is to slow down your shoulders on the down swing. Most hackers or people that don't understand a good golf swing have not realize that you do not need to use your shoulders to swing into the ball on the downswing... You should control your shoulders on the downswing by using your lower body (feet legs and hips) starting the downswing from bottom to top and letting the natural swing motion take its course. The only time you would use your upper body (hands/wrist) is the timed cock release at the end of the impact pass your hip height. Anyways I have since fixed this problem with these fundamentals, visualizing and applying a more inside - out(or straight) swing path to shape a more of a slight draw shot, which I have done with a square face/not very forgiving driver like the bridgestone J33R... As far as getting on a launch monitor, I have thought about it, but I think I already know what shaft(s) is best for my swing. Since I have worked out my swing more consistent, I have been hitting the 3 wood Aldila NV75 x with the most distance/accuracy, although this shaft is sometimes erratic on mis-hits. The 3 shafts I would love for my driver and 3 wood to have is Aldila nv75x ($99), UST Proforce V2 75 ($80), or Fujikura 757 Speeder X the real one from Japan ($300+). They are all very similar to each other in weight, torque and performance. The fuji 757 is the stiffest of them, while the UST V2 is the lightest and with the least torque. Never try the UST V2 yet so is going to try that next, heard great things about them and they are use on tour also. (Would love to get/try a driver/3 wood with the new/2006 Fujikura Rombax 7W06, but this shaft is only available in Japan... not the TaylorMade REAX TP shaft which is a downgrade version using Rombax technology) So the next or my 2nd driver I'm going to get is probably a driver with the Aldila nv75x or UST V2 75x in 9.5 degrees cause I seem to hit a driver too low with 8.5 and these 3 shafts already promote low launch... Yes I have spend alot of money on golf since I have gotten into and serious about it, but no more than $2000 since I buy on eBay, which I can easily spend that on a computer back in the days and I have spend much more on other hobbies I have gotten into before... What's good is that you can sell a good golf club for a good price on eBay quite easily if you decided it doesn't fit you or you want something else :)

I cured my slice this season by strengthening my grip. I turned my left hand over a little bit more so it is sitting more on top of the grip than on the side of it, this allieviated or even stopped me from slicing all together.

did that and it was gone as well. Now I do not ever haver that problem anymore. rLeft to right holes are now my downfall......... Luckily they do not put many out there.

I had a case of slice a few days ago but I fixed it with a help of someone. Well he told me 2 put my right thumb slightly right towards the right side and put my left thumb slightly right. Ive been hitting alot strater then I was before.

I actually have a 30 dollar driver with a dent in the bottom, just like the hill. But I have practiced with it too much and now hit it great. Which is hilarious, an R7 i hit a slice again. I had a huge slice problem - my problem was i wasn't letting my wrists go as early as I should have been in my down swing. so my clubhead was delayed to the ball and hence left a little open. but i also found that fixing my slice took looking through every trick in the three books on golf swings i own, and then eventually just having my friend tell me my stance stunk...go figure...

All those stiff shafts, you got, sure make it hard to get the club face square at impact for alot of swing types. Thats why they make Rs and it pays to get fitted. Not much macho in a slice.

lol...

I can't hit worth sh*t with stiff...
Can forget about wimpy regular...
Brought a Callaway BB Fusion 3 wood with weak a** Aldila NVS-55 stiff shaft, retails $299, which I got for $110 on ebay. Sold it quick on eBay for $150+ since the only time I can hit it is to slow my swing down dramatically to a old man swing.

I also started with a 3 wood clone that had generic Aldila shaft stiff shaft (probably cost less then $20 for that shaft) and I paid $72 for that club. Never buy a clone club again since I can get brand name woods/driver with good brand name shafts for about the same on eBay.

Regular and most stiff shafts especially 60g or lower in weight are for slow to medium swing speed players (seniors, ladies and smooth weak swingers)
for wood/driver.

Now I don't even touch that clone club and can't sell it on eBay since it's a clone...

If you have the swing speed always at least go for stiff or X and at the very least a Aldila NV-65 stiff, even my GF plays stiff and can hit my X woods, as she has a good speed and a more natural swing than mine. There is a reason most all Pros and even the older Pro players play with X in their woods and drivers and when you watch them, they do not swing any faster than most health golfers that are in the ages of 16-45.
I would say don't be afraid to use X in wood/driver if you aren't a old man, a girl with weak upper body strength, younger than 16 or older than 50 beginners. Better yet if you can hit a driver over 250+ yds always choose X flex for your wood/driver shafts, because obviously you have the swing speed to use X-flex.

With regards to shaft weight I would say use what ever that's more comfortable to you, if you can only handle anything below 60g, it probably won't be good for you to get X. Regarding a shaft's torque, it all depends on how high you want your ball flight to go. Lower torque (below 3.0) = lower flight and more control, higher torque (equal or greater than 3.5) = higher flight and less control. FYI, increase in shaft weight = decrease in shaft torque on a particular shaft brand/model.

Slicing/Hooking is not a flex issue, it's a swing issue and in particular errors in the downswing, which is probably the hardest thing to figure out and correct if you have a complicated downswing.

I'm right-handed golf.

When you say the weak or weaker position in girp/hand/fingers what do you mean? Do you mean my fingers are towards the left of the grip or right? Are you talking about my left hand or right hand? I figure that the weak is towards the left (front of the shaft) of the girp and strong is towards the right or inside for the left hand and back side for the right hand on the grip if you align it to the club head. As with Flex, I have 2 drivers right now that I use, Titleist 9.5 983k stock Fujikura Speeder shaft Stiff flex (use mainly by my GF now) and Bridgestone J33R 8.5 420cc Fujikura Speeder 757 real tour spec X flex. I get a normal flight with the 983k/stock stiff, while I get a lower penatrating flight with the J33R since it's 8.5 and with a real low torque Shaft in X the lower flight is expected. The Real 757 Speeder plays stiffer and it's a little heavier than stiff (2g). I still have slicing problems and had not fully figure out what is causing it although I did have better hits trying the girps they have mention above. I had a few awesome hit with the J33R one down the middle so straight and so fast like a bullet that hit at around 275-300, I couldn't see where is landed as it zoom past the fence at the back of the range in less than 1~2 second. That shot was all feel, as I had no tension in my hands and I feel my backswing slowly to the top and down and let it have it on the impact zone. That's enough to convince me I can hit X-Flex without a problem, now I just need to figure out what cause my slices and fades (even if I fade 10 or 20 yards on my drives, I am not happy)...

I had a horrible slice a couple weeks back, like maybe 30 yards (yeah i know). One thing that was wrong with my swing was what you already determined. I was leading with my shoulders. My slice is still bad but not as horrible as it once was.