How did you fix your slice?

[Caddyshack]

I fixed my slice by taking lessons with a pro, worked a treat...

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Limpinswinger

Are you saying that you are imparting topspin on the ball with your driver?

The only well struck shot in golf that has topspin is a putt, and even then, it's barely any.

So no, that's not what I'm saying, and I'm not sure how you got "topspin" from anything I said. Can you tell me what made you think that? I like to be clear, and obviously, I wasn't somewhere.

Originally Posted by Jimdangles

So you're saying that an open face and an in to out swing will result in a draw. I think thats backwards. Face has to be closed more degrees than your swing path otherwise you have 2 factors making it go right.

No. Anyone who understands the proper ball flight laws will tell you the face is aimed right (say 2°) of the target and the path is farther right (say 4°) for a proper draw - one that starts right of the target and curves back towards the target.

Your second paragraph is correct. Face pointing right a hair, path farther inside-out than that. Face is right of target, but closed to the path.

[Jimdangles]

Quote

No. Anyone who understands the proper ball flight laws will tell you the face is aimed right (say 2°) of the target and the path is farther right (say 4°) for a proper draw - one that starts right of the target and curves back towards the target.

Your second paragraph is correct. Face pointing right a hair, path farther inside-out than that. Face is right of target, but closed to the path.

Ya I went to the range today and gave it a try. It became more controllable it seemed like. Before it was too much draw and would be more of a straight draw where now it is more like a push draw. Thanks alot.

[Sonny217]

It may not work for everyone but here's what I did.  I used to hit HUGE bananas.  We're talking about 200 yds out and up to 60+ to the right.  After learning the PROPER ball flight laws, and realizing this was a swing path issue and not a club face issue, I set about reading tip after tip and watching video after video.   What finally did it for me was to check my left wrist at the top.  It was severely cupped.  You almost can't help but come OTT from here.  I now make a conscious effort at the top of my swing to make sure it is flat.  The second part of my fix was making sure I got my hips out of the way.  When I was slicing terribly, I had a very "armsy" swing, with some weight transfer, but very little hip rotation either way.  I did a lot of slo-mo swings and concentrated on starting to open my hips before I ever dropped the club from the top.  I get the feeling of the club dropping into a slot that carries it to the ball from the inside.  I am also concentrating on watching the clubhead through the impact zone.  This reinforces the proper swing path and helps prevent me from looking up too soon (why do I always do that? Is it really that hard to look at the damn ground for .2 sec longer?).  I still hit a big bender once in a while, but now my typical drive is 250 and straight.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Jimdangles

Well thats on tour. I thought we were talking about the average golfer or 90 percent of golfers. I think if the person is starting the ball with the face closed and has an out to in swing then wouldnt it be a pull? I think more amateurs have the face square and swing out to in or have the face open and also swing out to in.

So you're saying that an open face and an in to out swing will result in a draw. I think thats backwards. Face has to be closed more degrees than your swing path otherwise you have 2 factors making it go right.

I think Erik answered the question already but we like to talk about it more in terms of left and right.  Can get confusing when we say open and closed, open and closed to what?  the target? the face?

When I say the face is aimed right of the target for a draw and the path is further out to the right, I think it's more clear.

And most golfer that slice have the face aimed left, closed to the target, at impact.

[Paradox]

What are some things to look for to tell whether it is a path or face issue? or both?

[iamdirtyy]

For me, when I overheard someone say "Imagine the ball as a clock, and make your swing path enter the ball at 4 o'clock, and exit 10 o'clock. Making sure to square the clubface by slapping the back of your left hand (im a righty) with the ball." I went from hitting high slices, to piercing baby draws with the driver.

It's another story when I get myself "stuck".

[jweisr]

I suffer from the dreaded mystery slice that occurs out of no where. Usually when you least want it. I have found that to keep it in check I have to slow down the back swing. This helps keep everything under control . After hitting a slice I approach the next tee box with 2 thoughts. SLOW DOWN and swing out not in and across .  Then I clear my mind , decide where to hit the ball and do it.

[Sonny217]

Originally Posted by Paradox

What are some things to look for to tell whether it is a path or face issue? or both?

Look at the ball flight, it will tell you what you need to know.  The initial path is determined by the face angle at impact. Any curvature is due to the angle of your swing path relative to the face angle . Here's a link that was posted above to a great article on TRUE ball flight laws. http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws It does a great job of explaining what is causing the ball flight you are seeing, and what you should be doing to hit the shape you want.

[Paradox]

yeah when I read that...I just get confused for some reason. It should be a simple thing but for whatever reason, I just need it dumbed down for me.

My unwanted ball flight varies from a pull-slice to a straight slice to a push slice.  My intended flight is always a pull-fade.  Right now I have 0 confidence in my driver as it just wrecks my scores when I swing it due to not knowing whats going on and not giving myself good opportunities on my second shot.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Sonny217

Look at the ball flight, it will tell you what you need to know, assuming center contact  The initial path is determined by the face angle at impact. Any curvature is due to the angle of your swing path relative to the face angle.   Here's a link that was posted above to a great article on TRUE ball flight laws. http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws  It does a great job of explaining what is causing the ball flight you are seeing, and what you should be doing to hit the shape you want.

I added some bold and red for you.

You can toe a ball and have it draw despite having a path go left of the face.

[allin]

These posts comprise an excellent discussion about technique and swing elements. I have one observation. When I watch other golfers they often slice only on the driver or maximum fairway wood. For many people the biggest issue seems to be over use of the upper body or just to much effort to soon in the downswing. This destroys the golfers timing and leads to stiff arms and hands preventing proper club release. I see golfers practicing obsessed with the technical elements everyone has covered, becoming increasingly frustrated when improving their relaxation and rhythm needs to be addressed first. FWIW I was originally a bad hooker, now fade the ball, gradually returning to a draw to compensate for distance lost to age and injury.

[Bullitt5339]

I fixed my slice by turning it into a duck hook, it seems........  I'm assuming I'm swinging inside to out, but closing the club face.  Just something else to work on, I guess.

[lostmyballs]

I saw a great tip on the Golf Channel. You can watch the episode for free here: http://www.golfchannel.com/media/12-nights-academy-michael-breed/

He uses a simple empty box to illustrate the side-spin imparted by an out-to-in swing path, and then shows how to train an in-to-out path. I tried it in my living room with an empty shoe box. It is certainly a new sensation, which is probably a good thing! Check it out, maybe it'll help.

[Paradox]

I need to construct me a homemade device to develop that inside path with the driver...although I think a little of what allin said is part of my problem.  The more the driver gets into my head, the more I try to "muscle" the ball and control it instead of making my normal smooth swing.

[divot dave]

Originally Posted by iacas

Fixing a slice is, 95% of the time, a matter of fixing the path. It's our "cheater lesson" and it takes about four or five golf balls until people are saying "I've never drawn the ball like that in my life!" And no, it has absolutely nothing to do with rolling the hands or "squaring the face." It's all path.

@iacas

I've searched on the forums and only found a little 2 sentence description on the "cheater lesson" ( http://thesandtrap.com/t/52886/flight-path-issue ). Could you elaborate on this a little more or is it really just that simple? I watched a video on the golf channel iphone app yesterday entitled "School of Golf: Eliminating the slice" where the instructor demonstrated a similar sounding technique except he was saying to squeeze the right (back) arm whereas you were advocating the left. Any thoughts?

[onlybereaved]

Great tips posted so far.

I personally only ever had a slice issue with my driver (Irons/woods are nice draw shape shots).

After adjusting multiple things from similar tips posted in this thread, I still found I was slicing the ball off the tee (and couldn't figure out why). I brought the ball closer to my body , and that was the final and missing piece which cured the slice.  The ball was too far away from my body on the tee, which caused me to put a slice spin on the ball regardless of everything else being proper (grip to stance and swing plane etc).

Now, I can finally aim confidently straight and not have to account for a 10-30 yard slice/cut/push.  It's a good feeling.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by divot dave

@iacas

I've searched on the forums and only found a little 2 sentence description on the "cheater lesson" (http://thesandtrap.com/t/52886/flight-path-issue). Could you elaborate on this a little more or is it really just that simple? I watched a video on the golf channel iphone app yesterday entitled "School of Golf: Eliminating the slice" where the instructor demonstrated a similar sounding technique except he was saying to squeeze the right (back) arm whereas you were advocating the left. Any thoughts?

"Cheater" just means we make a few tweaks to make it easier for the player to get the path out enough without having to make major swing changes.