Driver slice

[TigerWoodz]

I was wondering if i could get some tips on curing my driver fade.Apart from going to my pro are there some things i can look at to try and correct this on my own..I have a regular shaft as my swing speed isnt that fast.I use the burner superfast regular shaft 10.5..the ball starts out straight and fades out left to right about mid way...i think im coming over the top and cutting across the ball,how do i cure this...the driver and 3 wood are the only clubs i get this with..thanks for any pointers..

[Tifosinumerouno]

Try working on your swing and envisioning a figure eight, but mostly the back part of your swing as a figure out. Feel like you are bringing your club away from you on the outside of the eight, and bring it back on the inside back to the center. That's my main swing thought with a driver and fairway wood. Yes, it SHOULD feel like the club is dropping down behind you, but it will actually bring it down to a more appropriate plane. If the ball is staring out straight, your clubface is square at impact and it goes right because of an outside-in swing path on the downswing. If you work on this drill, it will help you figure out what your body needs to be doing to get out of the way and let the club come in from behind you rather than across in front.

[Philip9210]

Aim left :)

But seriously, what helped me to stop it was to take a closed baseball bating stance. (Stand with both feet aligned, but then move your right foot back to where the toes are at the middle of your left foot). Fixed my slice, sure it's not permanent but it will fix it for the round.

[ks8829]

your swing path is fine but at and after impact the club face is left open and is not closing. it could be as simple as your grip, too weak or holding your right hand too tight, or your backswing swing path, too much outside and not inside.

For a quick fix at address close your club face slightly and take your regular swing and close the club face until the slice goes away. make sure that you are using the tee box correctly to your advantage and that is too use the right side of the tee box and aim at the left side of the fairway to end up near the middle playing your fade.

[ericstamper]

fold a scorecard in half and place it under your left armpit, dont let the card fall..that move will force your hands to roll over and square that clubface up

[kevink2]

These videos will explain why this only happens with your driver.

Top 25 Golf Pro Lesson Great Driver Tip:


Driving without slicing:

[TigerWoodz]

Thanks for all the tips,that second video really is clear and makes a lot of sense,im going to the range today to try it out..

[CGX14]

Old thread but these two videos are really helpful! Thanks guys. I'm new to golf and have gotten the irons and putting down quickly and feel confident with those but the driver is a club I do not look forward to hitting at all right now.

[cooke119]

Try keeping you left wrist flat (not cupped but firm) at impact and visualize skipping a stone on a lake with your right.

[inthehole]

FLATTEN your back swing - 100% cured me from a slice to a draw (my backswing was apparently way too steep).    Sometimes a hook results though  - looking for a happy medium...

[joekelly]

If the driver was a hammer, would you want to drive a nail into the wall or drive a wedge under the door?

[Slowcelica]

I think this is the same problem I have because my drives go fairly straight but then they banana hook, I'm going to give this a shot.

[darved]

My first post - sort of a long one...

You know I've been putting in some serious effort to fix my slice - recently from tips I've picked up from reading this forum. I figured that if I could create the most perfect swing, I'd cure it. I corrected my stance so it wasn't open, strengthned my left hand grip, got my left arm straight, tucked my elbows in, stayed in the shot longer, concentrated on tempo, shortened my swing, slid my hips forward.. and over my heel etc etc. Not all at once of course, but worked on one of two of these over and over and over at the range for a few months.

In the end, I had a nice looking swing (apparently) but still a bit of a slice that got worse as I became tired, worn out or irritated... which made it worse again.

Then, after another average round and then a few pints, my mate and i decided to hit a few balls on the range again. I was hitting every one of them pure and straight. I had no doubt whatsoever that it would go straight when standing over the ball, even while talking at the same time... about how amazed I was that it was positively going to go straight. The answer here for me was that my body and especially arms were completely relaxed.

The next day I took this to the course (without the beer) and was absolutely amazed at the difference. I didn't think about anything in my swing at all and just concentrated on relaxing everything... it predominantly went straight. When occassionally it didn't I could tell it was caused by tension... maybe from the 2 foot birdie put I just missed, or something else in the game. I used to get really irritated with myself, particularly after a slice... which produced bigger slices and more irritation.

Now, the game is so much more enjoyable for me as well - I have an extra reason to remain calm and not let bad shots affect my next one - its all about being relaxed. Ironically, once I really got into this mindset, I noticed that I'd finish my shots in an even more balanced and controlled posture than when I was actually consciously trying. I'm not saying that there aren't a bunch of technical things that are causing your slice and I'm sure that working on the things I mentioned above helped tremendously, but sometimes thinking too much about these things can be the cause of the slice itself. Maybe have a few (just a few) beers and hit the range and see what happens.

I think what I'm referring to is what most people refer to as tempo, which I've read a lot about here. When I tried it though, that swing thought just didn't work for me. Now, I'm really excited about the progress I'm making and the feel I now have.

Dave

[rehmwa]

Tried that 2nd video today since I've been inconsistent with my driver and it's the biggest input to my scoring (close at least to that 'inside 50 feet' thing).

Drivers been my hero and my bane on different days.  I've trapped, and tried the old classic swing.  I want that traditional swing, but control is GOOFY.

So, anyway, I took that 2nd video to heart and did it on the range today and I think I hit the tightest and longest pattern of about 20 balls in a row (after a couple to warm up).  Then I hit through my entire bag and took the last 3 balls and hit 3 for 3 to end the day on my driver - straight and dead center.

So something very simple really - hit through the center of the swing path.  It doesn't matter where the ball is as long as the club encounters it on the way.  Best Drives ever.

Anyway - I'm looking for thoughts from some of the low handicappers here to see if I'm applying this right.......

I extended that thought to all the swings and just swung the same through all my clubs.

1 - Driver, the ball is about 4 inches forward of the center of the arc (on the heel of the open leading foot).  GREAT results.  Ignore the ball and just focus on the center point.  Straightest and long drives.  But, more to the point - it hit that way like 80% of the time vs my typical 50-60.

2 - Fairway woods and my 4-5 irons, the ball is pretty much in the center of my arc.  Just swing through that center point (easy when the ball is there).  Decent results.  Straighter shots and more pure contact.  Didn't hit much as this is my 'typical' swing for those clubs

3 - 6-7 irons are about 2-3 inches behind the center of the arc.  So just ignore and swing through.  MUCH straighter and more pure contact.  Had to defocus the eyes a little and just think about a still skull.

4 - 8-SW (including half swings) - ball is set up off the heel of my trailing foot.  Ignore(defocus and think skull again) and swing through center again.  Ridiculously straighter and more clean contact.  I'm actually getting a lot more distance out of those clubs than I like, but if it's consistent I'll take it any day.

Does this make sense?  Or is it just that normal 'honeymoon' with a new thought and it'll wash out over a couple more buckets?

anyway, great range session this close to the end of the season  (thanks for that video)

oh - even those few mis hits were straight, usually just a chunk due to a bit of a dip - maybe 5 out of the whole bucket.  like I said - good session