Slicing and pushing

[kyle92]

I can't seem to stop slicing and pushing my shots. I tried using a stronger grip but no matter what grip i tried, it didnt help. What might be the problem?

[Kieran123]

If anything, a stronger grip will make this worse. Loosen your grip ( like holding a baby bird ), and remember to rotate your wrists through impact, chances are your leaving the clubface open on impact if you continually slice it.

[TigerWoodz]

Release the club..

[Gordon McTavish]

Most likely, you have an out-to-in swing path, over-the-top move.
Either get a pro to look at your swing, or try get a video of it and upload it here where people in the know can offer advice.

Also, it's worth making a point to understand why a Golf ball curves the way that it does ( http://thesandtrap.com/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws ).

Advice to "rotate your wrists" and "release the club" are not exactly helpful. How can you wilfully rotate a club face and have the necessary timing to deliver it to the ball, square to the swing-path, in such a short period of time?

[moparman426]

If anything, a stronger grip will make this worse. Loosen your grip ( like holding a baby bird ), and remember to rotate your wrists through impact, chances are your leaving the clubface open on impact if you continually slice it.

I think he meant "stronger" as in hand position on the grip, not how tightly he is holding the club. I agree with the out to in swing path, as I suffered from the same affliction before last summer.

[Kieran123]

The reason I suggested that, is because I had the exact same issue, and fixed it by rotating my wrists properly. I was hitting the ball with an open face because I wasn't rotating my wrists.

Worked for me

[redsox98]

I had the same issue and am still working it out. But some advice I got is roll your hands over a little more. Make it where you can see 2 to 3 knuckles on your left hand. Give it a shot. It has helped me alot.

[iacas]

The reason I suggested that, is because I had the exact same issue, and fixed it by rotating my wrists properly. I was hitting the ball with an open face because I wasn't rotating my wrists.

Unlikely to work for a long time.

90% or more of golfers who slice do so with a clubface that's pretty square to the target. Almost all of them do it with a poor path.

[nlowplacez]

first, if your pushing AND slicing, if it is the true definition of the words, out to in path would help for the slice, but your obviously swinging in to out on a push, as thats the only way to do it. now if your push slicing and pushing, then your swing PATH is fine for a draw, and you need to get the club face more closed. a strong grip could help if thats the issue, as could a number of other things, such as not getting stuck, releasing club like earlier stated which goes along with pronation, and other things like swing plane issues. oh, and by strong grip, i mean position strong not strength strong. can you get a vid up of your swing or something?

[iacas]

but your obviously swinging in to out on a push, as thats the only way to do it.

You don't seem to be aware of the fact that the swing path does not determine the starting line the ball travels on.

A push is an open clubface. He could be swinging straight down the line at impact or even out to in. It's unlikely he's swinging in to out.

now if your push slicing and pushing, then your swing PATH is fine for a draw, and you need to get the club face more closed. a strong grip could help if thats the issue, as could a number of other things, such as not getting stuck, releasing club like earlier stated which goes along with pronation, and other things like swing plane issues.

Do you just make things up as you go?

[nuck81]

Stay loose and relax number 1.

I tell you what virtually cured my slice and even gave me a real nice 5 foot draw. I took my right arm totally out of the down swing. Left leads the downswing and begins the rotation.

[shortstop20]

A push is an open clubface. He could be swinging straight down the line at impact or even out to in. It's unlikely he's swinging in to out.

If he were swinging straight down the target line, with an open clubface, the ball would have fade/slice spin, it wouldn't be a straight push. With an out-in club path, the same would be true, even more-so. Maybe I'm not understanding your position clearly in my Budweiser induced state.

[misty_mountainhop]

Release the club..

Impossible to time consistently

and it'll throw the swing path more out-to-in. IGNORE this.

A push is an open clubface. He could be swinging straight down the line at impact or even out to in. It's unlikely he's swinging in to out.

Not sure I follow this. May be an open face (

cf . target line) but if it's a real push (assuming no additional fade), it's presumably square to swing path i.e. he must be swinging in-to-out. Mustn't he? I guess he could be simply setup closed (hence appearance of a pushed shot) as another possibility.

[Zeph]

I can't seem to stop slicing and pushing my shots. I tried using a stronger grip but no matter what grip i tried, it didnt help. What might be the problem?

First of all you have to specify exactly what the problem is.

Which direction does the ball initially start at? Does it start straight ahead, to the right or to the left? Which direction does the ball curve? No direction, to the right or to the left? After you know this, you can use the chart on the link to see what the cause is for your problems: http://i40.tinypic.com/245lhqf.jpg Only when knowing this, you/we can start looking for a solution to the problem. You should also check, or have someone else check your alignment before starting fixing things.

[moparman426]

When I was sorting out my slice, I noticed that ball position in my stance would also play a role in whether I hit a pull or a push. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[iacas]

If he were swinging straight down the target line, with an open clubface, the ball would have fade/slice spin, it wouldn't be a straight push. With an out-in club path, the same would be true, even more-so. Maybe I'm not understanding your position clearly in my Budweiser induced state.

Not sure I follow this. May be an open face (

I think I misread what nlow was saying. I read it as him diagnosing a push-fade or a push-slice, in which case we can't assume that the club is coming from the inside at all.

If the guy hits a fairly equal share of pushes with no curve and push-fades or push-slices, then his path is probably not the immediate concern (though he never said he hits a push-draw, so it remains a concern perhaps second on the list). Also, a good number of people don't use the term "push" the same way other people do, particularly higher handicappers. Often, to them, a push is a ball that ends up pushed right of the target. So a pull-slice that ends up in the right rough can be termed a "push" or a "fade" while a ball that ends up in the right TREES is often a "slice." So, really, we're not far along at all. Kyle, can you clarify your ball flight relative to the target - does the ball start right of the target and fade? How often does it fade or slice?

[misty_mountainhop]

After you know this, you can use the chart on the link to see what the cause is for your problems:

Useful graphic!

[applejr]

Useful graphic!

Just printed it off for my collection.