Help with Slice

[inthehole]

Thanks for posting the diagram above - I"ve been hitting this really annoying straight push ONLY with my 3 iron off the tee.    Its not a slice - its a straight push.     So weird that it only happens with one club.     Consistently.   At least I have an idea what I'm doing based on the diagram & will have to work on fixing it ...

[Longleftthumb]

Newsflash : You hit a draw with an open clubface.

Get the path further right than the face and you won't slice the golf ball. Period.

Depth of arms, and pivot as MV said, also think linear hips not rotary, linear hips can help keep the arm club unit (which is now deeper going back thanks to the tips from MV) from spinning out and over the incline plane making the path hard left across the ball.

Loot at footage of Knudson from DTL and look at his hand path on the backswing. Dollar bills.

[iacas]

Newsflash : You hit a draw with an open clubface.

Yes… but we prefer to say that you hit a draw (if you're a righty) with a right-pointing clubface. "Open" leads to confusion. I'll quote myself from another thread:

A few years ago @david_wedzik, myself, and others decided that we were tired of telling people to hit draws that finish at the target with an "open" face. The commonly used words "open" and "closed" don't make sense to people in the context of curves. It confused people. Not everyone - not even the majority - but enough that we felt it mattered. When someone says "open" it often seems to imply that the face is open to the path, so we started to use the words "right" and "left" to relate things to the target, and "open" and "closed" only when talking about face-to-path relationships. Thus, good draws became shots played with a clubface that points right of the target with a path farther to the right or a right-pointing face that's also closed to the path. (We prefer the former, typically, though sometimes we'll use the words "inward" and "outward" as in "with a path that's more outward [to the right] than the face".)

The rest, obviously, I'll agree with completely: :D

Depth of arms, and pivot as MV said, also think linear hips not rotary, linear hips can help keep the arm club unit (which is now deeper going back thanks to the tips from MV) from spinning out and over the incline plane making the path hard left across the ball.

[Longleftthumb]

Yes… but we prefer to say that you hit a draw (if you're a righty) with a right-pointing clubface. "Open" leads to confusion.

No problem, your court , your rules. I'm can live with that.

[iacas]

No problem, your court , your rules. I'm can live with that.

Not a "rule" at all. Just a preference that we feel leads to better communication, and I think I make a case for why saying "right/left" when talking about the target line is easier than using "open/closed" (which people often assume or "hear" as to the path).

[Longleftthumb]

Like I said, I can live with it. No problem here.

[bamajeff]

What if you have a in to out path and a face that is open to that path? I know in other threads Dave and Mike have said it's rare. I am pretty sure I am one of those rare cases. I just can't seem to get my club face right of the path(I'm a lefty). Any suggestions for those rare people that can't seem to get their clubface closed relative to their clubhead path? This is only with the driver/3w. Everything else in the bag(even a 1-iron) I hit dead straight or with a slight draw over 90% of the time.

[mvmac]

What if you have a in to out path and a face that is open to that path? I know in other threads Dave and Mike have said it's rare. I am pretty sure I am one of those rare cases. I just can't seem to get my club face right of the path(I'm a lefty). Any suggestions for those rare people that can't seem to get their clubface closed relative to their clubhead path? This is only with the driver/3w. Everything else in the bag(even a 1-iron) I hit dead straight or with a slight draw over 90% of the time.

I would check your grip

And make sure the right wrist isn't cupped on the downswing, might need to feel like you're revving a motorcycle to get it flat or slightly bowed.

[VikingHammer]

Just posted in your swing thread. It's not your release or wrists, it's a lack of depth with pivot and arms. Makes it much easier to create an outward swing path. Like @Longleftthumb said, put the right pieces in. @Bob8619 check this out [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws]http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws[/URL]

I went to the range today and just focused on getting deeper hands...hit 30 balls with the driver...started out still slicing...middle of the bucket was hitting them dead straight...by the end of the bucket I was actually starting to hook the ball (although not very drastic)...hit a couple irons afterward and they were hooking a bit too...i imagine this might be fairly expected considering the adjustment was just being made?

[Longleftthumb]

Where did they start relative to the target line?

[VikingHammer]

Where did they start relative to the target line?

They started out straight and probably would have ended up 20 yards left of the target line

[Longleftthumb]

Wow, I guess "hooking a bit" means something different to what I am used to. 20 Yards is quite a long way, imagine if all of a sudden you hit driver 20 yards further, you would be pretty happy. :)

I would stop wailing away and start doing some drills instead, half swings, just trying to punch it out there a little, slow time, trying to gain some awareness of your face/path relationship. Experiment a little and try and "FEEL" it. Try and hit some straight pushes, some straight pulls, then make minor adjustments and try and work it a little both ways. Be very aware of what your body is doing in relation to some of the pieces mentioned in this thread. Some of the most productive range sessions I've ever had never involved one full swing.

[VikingHammer]

Wow, I guess "hooking a bit" means something different to what I am used to. 20 Yards is quite a long way, imagine if all of a sudden you hit driver 20 yards further, you would be pretty happy. :)

I would stop wailing away and start doing some drills instead, half swings, just trying to punch it out there a little, slow time, trying to gain some awareness of your face/path relationship. Experiment a little and try and "FEEL" it. Try and hit some straight pushes, some straight pulls, then make minor adjustments and try and work it a little both ways. Be very aware of what your body is doing in relation to some of the pieces mentioned in this thread. Some of the most productive range sessions I've ever had never involved one full swing.

I'm pretty happy anytime the ball lands in the fairway with the driver.  I'd imagine the average fairway would be about 40 yards wide?  So, if I'm aimed down the middle and the ball ends up 20 yards left then that's still on the edge of the fairway so that's why i said hooking a bit.  I'm not sure with what the exact definitions of golf terms are but I think of a hook as a real bad shot that ends up well off the fairway.

Advice sounds pretty good though.

[Sangster09]

When I first started to try and cure a slice,I could'nt figure out what was wrong.It's very frustrating,as you think your doing everything right. I decided to look at what club I was always exceling at. To be fair I have always been good with a P/W.I often have comments about how confident and well executed it looks. I remember the great instructor John Jacobs saying there are 12 or 14 clubs or whatever,but only one swing. However I though my technique with the Wedge was actually a pitch using a shortened swing with an early wrist break.That's not a swing I thought..Not for the Driver,the Woods and the other irons. I was wrong ! In fact everything I was doing with the P/W were considered essentials in the full swing.My feet and legs felt active.By hip height my wrists had cocked,and the club was in front of me and was about 90 degrees to my forearm .My left forearm had rotated, and the back of my left wrist was facing front. As my arms went a little further,my shoulder turned naturally.Using my P/W I always felt active from the hands to the feet. At the top of the backswing,a slight pause then,a perfectly timed release with the classic lateral move of the hips leading a perfectly timed contact and release of the clubhead. If you want to know the essence of timing,simply read Leslie King.His explanation of timing will surprise you. If I now get any problems with my driver,woods and Irons in terms of slices,pushes and pulls,I just go back to my P/W Action.And swing like that prior to using the other. The only qualification would be a slightly quieter action of the legs,but that's all. Get this action with the P/W and then apply it to the longer clubs.The swing will be more compact,more under control,but the co-ordination of the lower and upper body with late release of the clubhead through the ball will lead to more power and greater direction. It's what helped me.It might be useful for you.

[anthony]

And make sure the right wrist isn't cupped on the downswing, might need to feel like you're revving a motorcycle to get it flat or slightly bowed.

"Reving the motorcycle" helped me quite a bit when I was battling a slice, and is something I'll remember to do if one creeps in during a round.

[Rip24]

I see why your slicing the ball.  Look at your downswing pic.  The club is ridiculously steep!!  The angle of the shaft should be much flatter, closer to inline with your forearm (if your arms were in a good position)  I cant tell for 100% just from pictures but judging from the torque on the shaft in your backswing pic it looks like your getting ready to come over the top.   Its not your clubface.  You can square your wrist and "rev the motorcycle" all you want but until you fix the path of your club head you will hit it weakly to the right

[mvmac]

"Reving the motorcycle" helped me quite a bit when I was battling a slice, and is something I'll remember to do if one creeps in during a round.

Good pic I just saw from Dana Dahlquist post to go with the feel.

[Rip24]

Well hell, maybe it is your clubface after all. Appears to be wide open here just before impact.