Avoiding the Slice

Hello,

I just went to the range for the first time. I am brand new to the game and wanted to try and pick it up. While on the range, I was making good contact (anywhere between 150-175 yards with an occasional 200) but I could not keep it straight. From some of the things Ive read it sounds like my biggest problem may be that I'm striking the ball towards the end of the club head. As a left handed player, the ball would slice severely left. Is it just as simple as hitting the ball off the end of the club head or could there be other factors? I will post a swing video next time I go to the range also.

Side spin is the result of the club face position when striking the ball.  Club face open would result in a slice or to a lesser degree, a fade.  Closed club face would result in a hook or a draw.

I was just making it simple.  Face closed equals draw.  Face open equals fade.  I say take a few lessons from a teaching pro, not just any pro, but one with a teaching resume.

I was having problems with my driver and my instructor was able to fix it pretty quick.  He said most people are used to setting up and hitting golf balls from near the center of their stance and when they hit driver they aren't used to the ball being so forward in their stance so they shift their upper body forward a bit which can result in placing more weight on their lead leg which can mess up their weight transfer on backswing and downswing.

I never paid attention to my weight distribution with driver but quickly realized that when I set up with driver, more weight was on my lead leg than it is with other clubs.  By ensuring the weight was equally distributed at setup I started hitting my drives straighter and even with a slight draw.

Thanks! Yes it was my drive and also a 3W was slicing a bit although not as bad.

Thanks for the tip. I was trying to place my lead foot slightly back and it seemed to help me a bit. I'm going back out today to practice some more.

Thanks. Another thing I was trying to figure out is how far away from the ball should I stand. I have long arms so I can stand pretty far from the ball and still make contact.

I was taught to stand with my feeet shoulder width apart, bend fro the hips and felx the knees, From her let the arms hang so they are under your chin. If you swing your trail arm away from the club and back it should come back to the grip belowyour lead hand. Ideally you dont want a feeling of being too cramped or having to stretch to for the ball.

Another is to lay the club on the ground with the head behind the ball, then stand where the grip is. everyone has a different "comfortable distance" so its just a case of trying it out.

However, im a high handicapper so im not one to normally give out advice, @mvmac may be able to confirm how accurate the above are?

Thanks. I will give that a try...I will try different distances as well.

I think I figured a few things out yesterday. I was still slicing pretty bad for most of the drives but towards the end I started hitting them straighter and getting more distance. Is it possible to have your shoulders flare out?

There are numerous things that can cause slices but the end result when the club head meets the ball is that the club face is open in relation to the path of the club. There is no such thing as a quick fix. Trust me, I've tried enough of them. If you're brand new to the game, you could probably benefit from some basic lessons. Do you know anyone in your neighborhood who plays and who is good? Ask them which pro in your area they would recommend for lessons.

Feel isn't real. At your stage I really think lessons are best. They will save you a lot of agony.

The pro should use video at minimum, even if he uses his iPad or whatever camera so you can see what's going on. A picture tells a 1000 words.