Slice with my driver but not with my irons!!

[mazza78]

Played today and scored well but bailed myself out of trouble no end of times!! I keep slicing my drives with my driver yet with my irons i hit them perfect!! My swing and tempo are the same so can anyone explain wtf is going on or help me!! please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks

[NormH3]

maybe standing too far from the ball at address

[TN94z]

maybe standing too far from the ball at address

Hmmm....that may be my issue. I have had a big fade, not really a slice, and haven't been able to figure it out. This never even crossed my mind as I have never had much of an issue with my setup.

[GolfDogg22]

I sometimes have the same problem. For me i play most my irons in the middle or front of my stance, and something that helps me is sometimes i never let my hands release because i play the driver in the front of my stance. So what i do is make the same swing and release with my irons and not think so much about where the ball is positioned. i think alot of golfers tend to reach out to the ball and change theur release point, and they never get the club square. so try eyeballing a spot inbetween the ball and the middle of your stance and just imagine releasing the club at that point. it really helps me get good distance and hit the ball alot straighter.

[mazza78]

Im no golfing coach but i feel comfortable and not stretching for the ball at address!! dunno if im crouching over the ball with driver too much and should be more upright!! But im willing to try all options!! I have the R7 limited driver with v2 stiff shaft and club is setup for draw also!!!!

[GolfDogg22]

maybe standing too far from the ball at address

I agree, maybe try standing closer and maybe a little more upright, after all it is a longer club and does require a little more confidence to stand more upright and closer but i would just give it a try on the range.

[DaSportsGuy]

It's very unusual for someone to slice irons...most people slice their driver and woods if they do have a slice.

[Cussin hacker]

Very common to slice a driver and not the irons.

[Gerardv]

I hit a nice fade, usually, with both my driver and irons. That is until I got my Callaway X460 driver earlier this year. It produced a nice fade, not a slice though.

When I'm playing my best, I hit both irons and woods (ok, metals) dead straight. It's like they are on a line to the target. Granted, I don't hit the ball very far, but it's accurate. The fade with the driver cost me about 15 yards that I don't have, I need that distance.

When I first got the 460 I tee'd the ball way up in the air and someone told me that promoted a fade. So, I started teeing it down a little bit more and, go figure, the fade went away. I never did get my draw back, but the straight ball is still longer than the fade.

Well, that's not really true, if I work really hard I can get my draw back.

so, I guess I'm not much help, other than to ask if you've changed the way you tee the ball up. Maybe went to a longer tee since that is what you grabbed off the shelf - yes, it does sound like grasping at straws but it did make a difference for me.

Until I actually experienced it, I wouldn't have believed it.

[CalBoomer]

Your driver swing plane is likely too vertical. Try to flatten the plane somewhat with the driver.

[GamerJG]

Im no golfing coach but i feel comfortable and not stretching for the ball at address!! dunno if im crouching over the ball with driver too much and should be more upright!! But im willing to try all options!! I have the R7 limited driver with v2 stiff shaft and club is setup for draw also!!!!

the first thing that came to mind was your shaft may not be right for you but you have a stiff shaft so that isn't the problem. i would think maybe your ball position is too far forward or you have a different swing plane when hit the driver. when i'm hitting the ball perfectly, i have a slight draw with all my clubs but the driver. i'll occassionally hit a draw with the driver but not when i'm hitting it perfectly. when i really catch the driver solidly, i have a straight ball or slight fade. it is very strange and hard to know which flight to align for. i'd recommend experimenting with your ball position and check your body alignment with the driver. also mess around with the height you tee the ball. you might find that if you tee it higher or lower, it may fix the problem.

[mazza78]

Ill give anything a go!! If i sort my driving out ill easily get down to single figures!! Ive been playing ball of left foot and tried left heel also!! What will happen if i go just in front of middle? Also what about widening or narrowing stance what affect will that have??

thanks

[mazza78]

Ill give anything a go!! If i sort my driving ill be down to single figures in no time!! I play off front foot and front heel sometimes too!! What would happen if i play just forward of middle? Also what would happen if i narrower or widen my stance? Finally someone suggested i need a shaft with a softer tip to help with my problem? Can anyone answer any of these questions??

[Gerardv]

I hit a nice fade, usually, with both my driver and irons. That is until I got my Callaway X460 driver earlier this year. It produced a nice fade, not a slice though.

It just occurred to me that I completely hosed up my first post on this subject, the first line should read I usually hit a nice draw, not a fade. My guess is the rest of the post didn't make any sense because of that screw up. Anyway, I was glad to see someone else suggested teeing the ball up lower. I don't fee like it was a stupid suggestion since until I tried it, I wouldn't have believed it could make that much of a difference. But it did for me. Clearly, it does for others as well.

[mazza78]

the first thing that came to mind was your shaft may not be right for you but you have a stiff shaft so that isn't the problem. i would think maybe your ball position is too far forward or you have a different swing plane when hit the driver. when i'm hitting the ball perfectly, i have a slight draw with all my clubs but the driver. i'll occassionally hit a draw with the driver but not when i'm hitting it perfectly. when i really catch the driver solidly, i have a straight ball or slight fade. it is very strange and hard to know which flight to align for. i'd recommend experimenting with your ball position and check your body alignment with the driver. also mess around with the height you tee the ball. you might find that if you tee it higher or lower, it may fix the problem.

Ill give anything a go!! I play of front foot or front heel! what would happen if i played just forward of middle? Also what would happen if i narrowed or widen my stance? Finally someone told me i needed a soft tip in my shaft to help me with this problem!! Can anyone answer these questions??

[GamerJG]

Ill give anything a go!! I play of front foot or front heel! what would happen if i played just forward of middle? Also what would happen if i narrowed or widen my stance? Finally someone told me i needed a soft tip in my shaft to help me with this problem!! Can anyone answer these questions??

i use ball position depending on which length club i'm hitting. i use reference points on my upper body because some people have different width stances. i stand about shoulder width apart 7in or so with all clubs except driver which is about 9in. then to position the ball, with short irons i play off my left eye, with longer irons, off my left ear, with fairway woods, off the inside of my left arm, driver outside my left shoulder. if you widen your stance, it gives you more lateral movement and you get more leverage and speed of the clubhead during the downswing. but this can restrict your backswing and make it more difficult to make an inside-out type swing to hit a slight draw. this system i use is from noel thomas who wrote a book called "golf swing master key" which i use and recommend so i don't want to pass his research off as my own. i just really believe in it. if you narrow your stance too much, it will limit your balance and you probably won't get as much clubhead speed.

[GamerJG]

It just occurred to me that I completely hosed up my first post on this subject, the first line should read I usually hit a nice draw, not a fade. My guess is the rest of the post didn't make any sense because of that screw up.

that's great that teeing the ball lower helped you. if you are trying to hit a nice slight draw, that works really well for every club but the driver. some even like to tee it lower with the driver but i'm not a believer in that. the reason is that with most drivers today alot of the "sweet spot" is in the upper part of the clubface. i like to tee to where half the ball is above the clubhead. that way you can launch the ball with a nice higher trajectory and get a lot of carry. but everyone is different and that may not work for them.

[GamerJG]

Im no golfing coach but i feel comfortable and not stretching for the ball at address!! dunno if im crouching over the ball with driver too much and should be more upright!! But im willing to try all options!! I have the R7 limited driver with v2 stiff shaft and club is setup for draw also!!!!

one thing you can check is that you are not slumping over your shoulders. instead you tilt your spine down by bending at the waist to where your arms are hanging down comfortably. to check your posture, you can get into your address position and take your right hand off the club. while hanging it should meet right below your left hand on the grip if it is correct.