tshapiro

Here's the ugly truth... There's probably a number of things you still have to learn about your swing if you're having the slice problem. While you're learning, choke up an inch. As a shorter club will naturally swing more upright, this will reduce your swinging over the top (out to in). A shorter club will also be easier for you to control - you will keep it on the swing path longer and build more club speed.

I don't really need help with my swing but I am a range rat. So, if someone offers me advice I reply with "Tell you what, you bring me a bucket of balls I'll hit the first 10 you want me to."

My personal approach is to hover all my clubs. My reason is that I want my club to hit the ball first. Therefore, I don't want to setup with my club path going into the ground. I feel that hovering the club allows me to setup in a manner that let's me 'feel' what the actual club path will be in the downswing.

A video would be helpful

You can't manipulate your hands during the swing because it's too fast. It's a whipping action. Since you're new, you probably have lots to learn about the things that are impacting the squaring of your driver face. But, I'll share this... The driver is long and therefore it naturally travels more around you than a shorter club. With this, you don't get as much natural releasing action (the mechanism that closes the club face) as you do with a shorter club that heads more sharply to the low point of the downswing. Therefore, you just need to be better at a number of things in the golf swing that you may not be aware of or been able to do yet. For example, getting to your left foot allows you to use the left side of your body (pull up kind of) to resist the downward force of the clubhead When it is traveling towards the bottom of the downswing. This action helps the club face to naturally close. And, you also need begin your downswing by clearing your right hip forward so your club can travel down along the plane line vs travelling outward. This also leads to a natural closing of the club face. There's more things and it takes time to learn. A quick fix is to choke up on the grip until you get better.

+1 Also, Unlevel setup and/or a swing that starts with the hands/arms from the top instead of the lower body.

Body coil is the key driver, relaxed left handed grip is the main focal point. Committ to these principles. The ignition golf youtube videos do a good job explaining.

If you're missing your left than your body is now driving the right arm. This is hard to do with your left arm on the club - think right arm swing drills. Obviously, it's possible but it's a heck of a lot harder than using both arms where the body leverage is whipped down the left arm. The only one's who need this explanation are the one's who haven't figured it out yet. Jack Nicklaus said in his book golf my way that the golf swing is a left sided motion and that getting his lower body to wake up and work in the swing was an ongoing challenge if he took time off. Bobby Jones said it's a left handed swing and the right hand needed to stay out. I think these 2 guys had the accomplishments and the general intelligence to document the swing correctly.

Wrong - no lead arm would be no strap, lol. And he also says that the downswing begins with the body - so this video just reiterates what I'm saying.

I can't believe he suggests swinging a pick axe . One can only hope no one loses hold of that thing in the follow through lol

Increased grip pressure is the obvious thing but the bigger question is why are you doing that when better golfers discover that more relaxed hands allow your body to whip the club faster? I'd say put additional focus on allowing your body coil to build energy that releases through your hands and you will naturally build a more relaxed grip.

You put together a good list and everything seems valid. But, I think differently at setup. I'm wanting to be sure my upper body is in a good position to coil around my lower body. And, I want to ensure my lower right is setup in a good position to lead the drive forward in the downswing. And, I want to ensure that the whole package is aligned to pull off the swing I'm visualizing. The items on your list are things I may adjust to tweak my setup if it doesn't feel right initially. But, I wouldn't say that I go through the list every time as a matter of routine. That being said, I could add even more things to your list... Right grip in middle and ring finger, alignment of clubhead, outward turn of left foot... There's so many darn things in a golf swing

Not really guessing at all. I've kept an open mind to the possibility of there being other ways to accomplish the same objective. But, the more I learn the more I see that people describe the swing differently - but it's all essentially the same swing. The people who figure out how to swing the golf club are no different than anyone else - some are good at explaining things and some aren't. Being a pro has nothing to do with it.

I don't know... Once you understand how it works it's as easy as throwing a ball. It's not that big of a mystery.

I've spent nearly 10 years trying to debunk the left side dominance theory and turns out I can't - it really is the best. Here's why - body rotation is the main source of power. Your lower body is in a better position to drive your leading shoulder (think pushing on a refrigerator) than to pull on a trailing shoulder. The point I think most people miss... Neither the left arm or right arm is 'dominant'. The lower body is dominant. It's just that the Energy from the Kenamatic Sequence flows down your left arm - so it too is a somewhat passive player. Over time, I've been able to master the Kenamatic Sequence and I can use my legs to drive my torso which swings my left arm. When I coordinate the timing of the release the club snaps very hard. No pushing of the right arm would add any benefit as it would be much too slow. The difference in power to using the Kenamatic Sequence versus a hit or a push is night and day. Though I have no proof, I personally am 100% certain this is how every tour pro swings. When your right hip drives your torso and the right arm is slung into the sweet spot of impact - I personally feel it's an illusion that the right arm is powerful. People refer to effortless power. This is the power of the right arm. Just wanted to add that I have a hitting cage in my backyard with a swing speed monitor and have easily hit 100,000 balls over the last 10 years exploring this exact subject.

I'm going to make a guess that both of your issues are related. Why - you seem to be focusing on the specific body part movement which should be by products of the main action and not the main action itself. Focus on the main action and the other parts will work naturally. As a general principle, you want to build a balanced coil in the backswing. Main backswing action - keeping your head centered, keeping your right knee slightly pressed inward, focusing on the back of your left hand (the epicenter of the swing), coil and build a stretch of the muscles in the upper left part of your back and the inside of your right upper thigh. In my thinking, other than staying centered, balanced and on plane (back of left hand), I don't focus on body parts - I focus on building the coil. In the end, it's the coil action that powers the swing. As you get better at building the coil you'll find that you naturally do things more in line with that action. Timing - after you've built the coil in the back swing, use your body coil to begin the downswing. In other words, build the coil in the backswing, use the coil in the down swing. That is the essence of the golf swing. It's like bouncing a basketball... the ball action dictates the timing (natural harmonic motion) not the timing of your downward press. You react to the bounce... just like you react to the coil in the golf swing.

While using the index and middle finger of the right hand might work for Jim Furyk I wouldn't recommend it. When you swing properly, building swing speed using the kinematic sequence, it's much easier to be hold the club primarily with your middle and ring finger of your right hand. Why - when you post up on your left and release your lag the club head 'snaps' forward through the ball. Holding the club with the middle & ring allows your right hand to 'rotate' with the swing movement. If you're holding on with your right index finger it's hard to keep the right arm tendons relaxed and out of the 'snap'. This of course assumes your using good technique and using your body to drive relaxed arms to build tremendous club head speed.

I keep it very simple and tend to 1 thing only - how much effort is needed for the shot that I am visualizing. Unless I have some sort of trick shot, I grab my 58 degree, quickly pick a line and trajectory, and only focus on the effort needed. I am a firm believer that focusing on mechanics during a round will lead to disaster more often than not. I also use 1 basic swing from tee to green so I don't get hung up on chip vs pitch - I simply swing smoothly just like I would any other shot. In my earlier days I would toil over club selection 56 or 60. So, I just spend all my time with a 58 and don't question it. I tend to be the most consistent golfer among any group I play with.

Remember when you are setting up that the left shoulder is the center of the swing. Therefore, a ball near the center of your stance should receive a decending blow. As with all shots, brace your right leg so that it can be used to keep your weight from drifting away from the target. If your weight gets caught away from the target than so does your left shoulder, and so does the low point of your swing, resulting in a fat shot. If you adjust for the left shoulder being away from the target by lifting than you will come up thin. This is basic swing path geometry. With regards to your rear leg position, you should do whatever is necessary to create a swing path that is naturally a tad bit in to out. If your setup is correct, early scooping with your right hand will also reduce your swing radius as you return to the ball position resulting in a thin shot. To prevent this, you should strive to feel a lag through contact.

For the first several years I played golf, seeing my shadow threw me off big time because my arm motion looked wrong. Turns out it was. As I developed sound fundamentals, my shadow became less and less of an issue. Now, I actually like seeing my shadow.

There are different ways to swing. Some are more consistent than others. Left side control tends to be more consistent for me because the straight left arm is repeatable. Takes time to wrap your head around how a left side dominant swing can be powerful. However, when you are truly a 'swinger' you realize the body is the source of power and left/right arm dominant is more of a technique style - not a different means to power the swing. BTW... I can swing left or right side dominant with nearly the same results. Left side generally tends to be more consistent for me.

The basic fix: smooth transition starting with the hips. Relax the rear arm keeping the back of the leading hand along the swing plane.

Regardless of your past, history, it just sounds to me like you need to learn the fundamentals. There will not be any single pointer you'll find on the forums. You'll need to work with a good coach and bang about 10,000 ball's trying to put in place what you've been taught.

I agree with you 100% but trying to explain the concept to people who have yet to pull off the technique is very difficult because they will swear the muscular contribution by the arms is a significant power source. And in speaking with a number of pro tour players many of them do infact consider the role of the arms or right arm to be passive which gives the legs and core leverage when properly loaded at the top.

I knew at least one person would fall for that one dude. Yes, it's a fact in the small town of Gullable.