Ten bucks if you can cure my slice :)

[threejack]

my sister is a great instructor at a nice country club ten minutes away. i got my first formal instruction from her this week and she said I could come get more free of charge any time.

Normally I would have an instructor but I'm just a college boy, therefore, no money to spend :(

[threejack]

Okay guys, I will say it: I was very wrong, I still can't hit a consistent drive and the slice is still there.

I played 18 today and i shot an 88 which is my personal best but that was with literally one hit fairway. If i can get this club down I will be shooting sub 80 no problem! That being said, I am all ears to you guys.

Here's the weird stuff, I can hit every iron straight as an arrow with slight draw. I can hit my 5 wood straight with draw as well. I hit one drive with draw today and I recall finishing very high with a lot of spine angle to the point where my shoulders and the shaft finished straight up almost perpendicular to the ground.

My swing doesn't feel over the top and from DTL it doesn't look OTT at all but theres no other explanation for my slice. Are there drills I can do to feel what an inside-out swing feels like because I literally have no idea what it is supposed to feel like.

I beg you guys, help me figure this damn driver out! Thanks :)

[Harmonious]

Could be your driver specs, and not your swing.  What type of shaft do you have?  Could be too stiff for you, that could lead to a slice.  Or, maybe the driver you have has a 1* open face (assuming it's not the adjustable kind) and you are unconsciously setting up open. Then again, maybe it's your swing.

[threejack]

Thanks for the thought here, I would like to know what more people think. I currently swing a 9.5 stiff Nike Machspeed Black, adjustable head but I keep it neutral, I would rather hit the ball right then let the club do it for me.

HOWEVER I recently upgraded to the 9.5 stiff from the same club in a 10.5 regular. I am a strong guy, played a lot of baseball in my life so I swing the long clubs pretty fast, I have had a lot more success with the stiff flex than the regular. I am beginning to think it is my swing. I will get video of my driver swing on here ASAP!

[camper6]

What everyone is missing here is in the first post.

He hits it straight or slices.

So I am assuming he never hits a hook or a draw and that's what he has to learn to do to get rid of the slice.  Well he did say he hit one draw.

Now on the golf swing if you can accomplish closing the club face at impact (Closing not closed) the slice will be a thing of the past.

Quick cure.  Try hitting it to the same side you are slicing to.

Send me the ten dollars.

[threejack]

thanks camper6 for the response. I have tried so much today to hit it with that in to out path but then I was hitting push slices haha. I think I found the problem that leads to my over the top swing, my driver swing has been very armsy and handsy. this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAyhowwGyJE shows how that can cause a slice. I will try to focus on my hips and legs like I do with my irons

[camper6]

Once you get rid of that slice your game will improve so much you won't be able to recognize it.

Keep working on it.  Old habits are hard to overcome.

[poser]

After seeing your swing in your other post you are steep in your downswing which is causing you to slice.  I know you feel you are not but, if you don't get the club more shallow and from the inside especially the driver you are never going to hit draws.  You should really go back and read iacas post on the first page. All the answers are there and he nailed your issue 100%. Your straight shots are pulls because of your steepness and you don't hit draws with your irons you hit pull draws.  Since you are hitting down with those clubs you can get away with it but, a driver has to be shallow and from the inside since you are hitting up.

[johnthejoiner]

The right shoulder must go down before it goes around

[threejack]

thanks for the ideas. poser i definitely agree that is my problem (and i should probably credit iacas as well). i have had a very upright stance with my driver thinking that would shallow out my swing and bring it around my body more but I saw a video and the guy explains the opposite, how when you increase spine angle the club angle (lie angle i guess) decreases! i took a few swings in my house with this notion and just swinging like that I felt like there was no way I could slice it! I will try to hit balls later this week and let you guys know how it goes. it makes sense... so does this mean you would stand a little more upright with say.. a wedge or short iron?

[DublinMeUp]

Kinda just scanned this thread after the first page erupted into a debate, anyway not claiming to know even 10% of the other guys on here but i have been dealing with this issue myself and i am winning the battle although slowly.

Here's what i've gleaned from this forum and my golfing friend.

If you are slicing the ball immediately right ( right handed? ) then your club face is open, lots of posts on this here. If your slices look good at the start ( 70 yards ) then start to turn right its a swing path issue, ie as others have said you are swinging out to in instead of in to out. i dont think there is a third way of slicing, just variants on those two options.

What i found helped was to slow down my swing, i know your a young guy and can swing fast but so am i, would you rather hit it 250 straight or 300 into the lake on the right of the fairway?

Once you have slowed everything down try taking "your driver swing" and merging it with a long iron swing ie instead of a long swooping circular motion which i assume your swing is now try shorten it a bit and keep your arms closer to your body.

Lastly, a great tip my friend gave me was this: set up with your driver as usual, square your club face and body towards your actual target again as usual then pick a spot 60-80 yards to your right and convince yourself this is where you want the ball to go ( remember everything else is pointing in the right direction, only your mind is pointed off to the right ) keep thinking this through your whole swing.

Don't know if this works for everyone but what it did for me was to subconsciously change my swing to an "in to out" swing because i wanted to hit the ball to the right.. but because everything else is squared to the target that is where the ball actually goes and without the out to in spin therefore no slice.

Hope this helps even a little, I really uinderstand the frustration of a bad slice.

[mdl]

Quote:

Highly, highly unlikely that your clubface is open at impact. To the path, yes. To the target, no. People who swing out to in very quickly learn to start the ball to the left of the target if they're gonna slice it... Almost NOBODY slices with the ball starting RIGHT of the target. Almost nobody who plays right-handed, that is.

I agree with all the setting straight of the OP, but I'll just say that there are definitely right handers who slice the ball starting it right of the target.  I'm one of them!  My misses with the driver and 3i-4i are almost always a push-fade to a push-slice (ie, starting right of target and moving more right).  Excellent shots with the driver tend to be dead straight, maybe with a baby fade, and excellent shots with the 3i or 4i tend to be very slight pushes or slight push draws.

Of course, I 100% agree that the repeatable fix for this is NEVER consciously thinking about snapping the wrists or rolling your hands or the like!  The fact that I'm not getting the face closed is a result of other mechanical failures...

[threejack]

hey guys thanks for the feedback. i have been studying players and their driver swings and the one thing i noticed is how they all really tuck that right elbow in and drop their hands at the top of the backswing. I took some slow swings feeling that elbow tuck and my hands drop and swinging inside out. it feels COMPLETELY different than what I am used to so I am going to continue to practice this swing because I can see a vast difference and similarities with pros who draw the ball. I am anxious to hit some balls with this swing to see what kind of results I get.

No more manipulating for me, I am getting rid of this slice once and for all!!! Who's with me?

[threejack]

hey guys, i know I'm not hitting a ball but I've just been working on the mechanics of an inside out swing.. check the video let me know if I seem to have the right idea and whether or not it would produce a straight shot, even a draw.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by threejack

hey guys thanks for the feedback. i have been studying players and their driver swings and the one thing i noticed is how they all really tuck that right elbow in and drop their hands at the top of the backswing. I took some slow swings feeling that elbow tuck and my hands drop and swinging inside out. it feels COMPLETELY different than what I am used to so I am going to continue to practice this swing because I can see a vast difference and similarities with pros who draw the ball. I am anxious to hit some balls with this swing to see what kind of results I get.

No more manipulating for me, I am getting rid of this slice once and for all!!! Who's with me?

Considering you've been playing for 4 months (relatively speaking a very short time) your swing looks good. Your sock footed swing looks like it has some pop and would produce all sorts of right to left movement.

Now you just need to put on some shoes, go outside, and hit some golf balls.

[Stewie007]

It seems to me you are initiating with your hips before you complete your backswing. Thus your hips are rotating a bit ahead of the rest of your body. You're facing your target before you even hit the ball. The slow motion shows a dead stop just prior to ball contact. It also seems to me that you are leaning into the ball at that point as well.

Its your early turn there that seems unnatural to me. Maybe the balance tidbit had something to do with your socks.... :

[threejack]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Considering you've been playing for 4 months (relatively speaking a very short time) your swing looks good. Your sock footed swing looks like it has some pop and would produce all sorts of right to left movement.

Now you just need to put on some shoes, go outside, and hit some golf balls.

Yeah its pretty crazy, I feel like I am not swinging as hard but its very whippy, very effortless. I sure hope I can produce some right to left movement, Ill be on the course trying it on friday hopefully.

Originally Posted by Stewie007

It seems to me you are initiating with your hips before you complete your backswing. Thus your hips are rotating a bit ahead of the rest of your body. You're facing your target before you even hit the ball. The slow motion shows a dead stop just prior to ball contact. It also seems to me that you are leaning into the ball at that point as well.

Its your early turn there that seems unnatural to me. Maybe the balance tidbit had something to do with your socks.... :

I know it!! I feel like its the only way I can get that right elbow into my hip. Ill try to pause at the top and finish my backswing and see how that feels. shoes probably couldn't hurt for balance haha. and ya i have a lot of trouble keeping my hips from just flying right through everything else, anyone have anything that could help me with that?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by threejack

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Considering you've been playing for 4 months (relatively speaking a very short time) your swing looks good. Your sock footed swing looks like it has some pop and would produce all sorts of right to left movement.

Now you just need to put on some shoes, go outside, and hit some golf balls.

Yeah its pretty crazy, I feel like I am not swinging as hard but its very whippy, very effortless. I sure hope I can produce some right to left movement, Ill be on the course trying it on friday hopefully.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stewie007

It seems to me you are initiating with your hips before you complete your backswing. Thus your hips are rotating a bit ahead of the rest of your body. You're facing your target before you even hit the ball. The slow motion shows a dead stop just prior to ball contact. It also seems to me that you are leaning into the ball at that point as well.

Its your early turn there that seems unnatural to me. Maybe the balance tidbit had something to do with your socks.... :

I know it!! I feel like its the only way I can get that right elbow into my hip. Ill try to pause at the top and finish my backswing and see how that feels. shoes probably couldn't hurt for balance haha. and ya i have a lot of trouble keeping my hips from just flying right through everything else, anyone have anything that could help me with that?

My suggestion - don't mess with it until you see it on the course. There was a "secret" move taught in the early 90's that was basically initiating the downswing while the club is still on the way back. All long hitters do it. It's a move (called "the contra" by one author) that short hitters simply can not easily replicate. Don't get rid of it, rather consider it a natural talent, harness it, and rip it. I'm not joking.