The Harder I Swing the More I Slice (Driver)??

[YamahaJay]

Why can't I take a full swing on the driver without slicing? If I take a lot slower swing it goes straight(about 250 yards) but when I swing faster it slices.The harder I swing the more it slices.I feel i'm leaving some distance by slowing the swing and would like to be free to take a full back swing and accellerate as fast as possible through the swing, what do I need to do? I don't think my swing angle or mechanics changer when I swing hard,it just slices more.

[umpiremark]

I cannot judge actually without seeing, of course ... but it SOUNDS to me like you're coming over the top - your first move down is "casting" with your arms. Coming over the top opens the club face (slice-er-roni). The faster you swing the more the face opens, I'm guessing. Your slower swings lessen the over the top move to a more flat plane, I'm guessing.

Get to the top, pause mentally at the top, start your downswing by starting your right knee towards the golf ball. Your arms will follow more in line.

Just my opinion ...

[Laser]

What is the swing speed and what is the flex of the driver shaft?

[Kcas77]

I think that when you try to hit i harder there is a good chance you are gripping the club tighter which wont let your hands come through.

[microcrayfish]

'Twas Harvey Penick who said the slicer's at the top of his game, the harder he swings the more the ball will slice. I say enjoy it!

On a more serious note, 250 yards down the middle with a slow swing speed is nothing to sneeze at. Perhaps you need to work your way up to swinging harder, rather than trying to go all out right away. There's others on here that actually know stuff about the golf swing that I'm sure will be able to help you out with your mechanics but my advice is to play however you need to in order hit the ball straight before you worry about distance.

[seanyg]

i used to have the same prob if i swung hard i would slice i think it was cuz if i gripped to hard it would make my wrist turn the club face different but now i just do a nice slow and steady drive and get it straight usually lioke 100 yr to the pin depending on how the hole looks but i found that the easier i swung the better my shot looked on all shots not just the driver the harder everything would go whereever

[EightBlue]

Why can't I take a full swing on the driver without slicing? If I take a lot slower swing it goes straight(about 250 yards) but when I swing faster it slices.The harder I swing the more it slices.I feel i'm leaving some distance by slowing the swing and would like to be free to take a full back swing and accellerate as fast as possible through the swing, what do I need to do? I don't think my swing angle or mechanics changer when I swing hard,it just slices more.

swinging hard usually means swing top-down instead of bottom up and trying to generate extra power through your shoulders and hands instead of through your legs and hips. Almost all great golf swing starts form the bottom up with hips rotation seeting the speed and the rest of the body following. my guess is that in your hard and easy swings, your hips are moving at close to the same speed. As a result, when the upper body moves faster the club has nowhere to go but an outside in swing path

[cirem22]

join the club!

I agree with the poster above, swinging harder usually means using your arms more at the top of your backswing. I do this when i try to hit my driver harder.

[CarlSpackler]

I agree with microcrayfish. Play within yourself. The scorecard does not care how far you drive it, granted a longer drive can help you score better. However, 250 in the fairway regularly will give you more scoring ops than 260 in the right rough (or forest, lake, etc.).

[David in FL]

Too many possible reasons to really answer the question. Several have been suggested. My own guess would be that as you swing harder, your arms are getting so far ahead of the clubhead that the face just isn't squaring up at impact. The faster you swing, the more the problem is exaserbated. Again, just another possibility that could be completely wrong without seeing the swing.

Having said that, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon too. I'd offer that as a 20+ hcp who can hit his drive 250 and straight, you should spend your time getting the rest of your game to that same high level of performance......and understand, professional golfers (and anonymous forum posters ) notwithstanding, that's a very high level of performance! It will take you to the low single digits if the rest of your game is up to the task. Conversely, if the rest of your game doesn't improve, hitting it 30 yds longer won't make a significant difference in your overall scoring.

[Chief Broom]

This is the siren call we all should ignore but rarely do: more distance off the tee; booming 280yd+ drives. I'm more guilty at this than most, and the irony is that when I swing "within myself" I'm farther down the fairway and in better position. But it's deceptive. If you're 240 and in the fairway where would you be if you really swung the club as hard as you can (or slightly harder than you did)? Or what's worse is when your playing partners are driving the ball 20, 30, 40, or more yards past you in the fairway. After a few holes like that you start trying to keep up and without even thinking about it you start swinging harder, and we all know what happens when you do that. I've had to accept that fact that I'm not a long hitter of the ball. But even having done that it'll all fall apart on me whenever I try to really belt one out there. And something that makes this even harder to take is the occassional time when I get away with it and connect on one of those drives I'm trying to hit. That's the worst case of all because then I'll start chasing that ellusive distance all over again to the overall detriment of my game.

[Shorty]

Why can't I take a full swing on the driver without slicing? If I take a lot slower swing it goes straight(about 250 yards) but when I swing faster it slices.The harder I swing the more it slices.I feel i'm leaving some distance by slowing the swing and would like to be free to take a full back swing and accellerate as fast as possible through the swing, what do I need to do? I don't think my swing angle or mechanics changer when I swing hard,it just slices more.

Your arms and body get out of synch when you swing harder.

In any case, if you can hit it 250 and straight with an easy swing, you hit it it better than 90% of players, despite the boasts of those who "regularly" hit it 300 but in actual fact don't realise that thy hit hit it 220, so keep swing slowly. A harder swing rarely gives a better result.

[itzzzberny]

we're all men... once we get on the first tee box... everything we practiced on the range goes out the window.... we try and become the long driving champ... i know thats how i am sometimes... GRIP IT AND RIP IT!!!

gotta learn to start with a more relaxed approach...

[kingkulsteel]

I had this problem I slowed down my swing and am hitting straight 280 yards and hitting your 2nd shot from the other fairway. im still getting 240 off the tee and hitting it from my own fairway hit your driver about 3/4ths your normal swing see how it goes

[Smw]

What is the problem? Most people, good and bad alike hit poor shots when they swing out of their shoes. A good player hooks it 15 yards into a fairaway bunker, a higher handicap slices it into the trees, a beginner tops or whiffs completely.

Swing nice and easy. Smooth is straight, and straight is long.

[BirdIsTheWord]

Alot of times it is a rhythm problem. Mechanics as well, but I've never seen you swing...I have a very high swing speed, and while it Looks like I'm swinging out of my shoes sometimes to some people, it is in rhythm and balance. However, a miss hit will be amplified more than a slower swing. On the other hand if you swing slower than what feels natural to you, you may be off your personal rhythm. At that point you might manipulate your swing, rather than letting the club swing freely. Most people will tell you to swing about 85% of the fastest you can swing. But, if your in rhythm and balance, you can juice it up if need be. I often redline it 95%-99% and still keep her straight, or work it left/right through setup. You will know you're in rhythm when most of the force of the swing is just before impact. A great way to test this is to turn your club upside-down (gripping under the clubhead, swinging the grip). Listen for a "wooosh" sound. You want that just before impact, maybe 12-18 inches. Think of the "viking ship" from a carnival, or six flags. The one where you sit and it swings back and forth, like a pendulum. It swings back , kind of pauses briefly at the top, heads back down, and builds speed on the way down to the bottom where it is moving fastest. Same philosophy. Centrifugal force. Well, your body would be it's base, the shaft would be it's arms, and the clubhead would be the screaming people locked in their seats. Swing too fast on the way back and they all fly out all over the park. Noone wants that,lol. Don't leave all your power behind your head, at parallel..
If you feel your setup/swing is fundamentally sound, it may be a tempo issue. If your mechanics are off, tempo doesn't matter. But you can ruin an otherwise beautiful swing with poor rhythm. Like a grandfather clock's pendulum, an in-tempo swing will literally beat time. Alot of golfers count off time while they swing. Or if your on the other side of normal--like myself--find some songs in your tempo, then get them stuck in your head. Pick up a metronome. I know, I know, it sounds stupid. But once you find a rhythm that feels comfortable and produces results, you can always find your way back to your tempo if it gets out of whack. Just make sure you use it in privacy, not in your buddy's backswing!! Tick...Tick....Tick...

[$2 Nassau]

if you can hit it straight 250 why would you want to swing faster anyway?

[lbr119]

I think that when you try to hit i harder there is a good chance you are gripping the club tighter which wont let your hands come through.

I agree. That's what my instructor tells me. Ever since I've loosened my grip I actually get a nice draw. Mind you I do lose distance. He keeps telling me its better to be 250 in the fairway than 300 in the woods or worst.