Curing a slice with an adjustable driver

[Wildrover]

To the OP. All this advice about sorting your swing is ok and is the way to go in the long term but doesn't help you or increase your enjoyment in the present. However in the short term closing the face a little might straighten it out to a certain extent, it won't cure it but it might help to minimise it. Not sure how the adjustability on the covert works but adding a little loft will also make it a bit more forgiving. My advice is to get down to the range and experiment a bit. That's the beauty of adjustable drivers you can experiment and if it doesn't work just put it back to the original settings.

 

[Foxholer]

If the only way to change the ball flight is with your swing can someone explain to me the point of adjustable heads and why Phil Mickleson took two drivers to the masters one for draw and one for fade.

There's a huge difference between 'Change the Flight' and 'Cure a Slice'

Mickelson did the former - without, really, needing to change his swing.

 

[Region3]

So your path is probably quite straight but the face is open to the path, but to cause a slice it needs to be very open and the adjustability in a driver head isn't going to fully correct that. My guess is that your grip is weak at address and you aren't getting onto your left side at impact, purely because those are things I did when I sliced, but I'm not a swing coach and I haven't seen you swing so can't be sure.

I think if the OP's shots are starting straight (ie on target) then veering off to the right then it's more than likely the problem is the other way round, eg face angle is good but the path is out-to-in.

If lessons are out of the question I'd start with the headcover drill.

 

[Roops]

If you started to hit your 7 iron fat, would you take it home and cut two inches of the shaft, probably not. You would work on the swing fault. Same with the driver. For me the driver is all about good setup. I see so many players with the ball outside their left foot, hips pointing down the fairway, shoulders pointing left of hips etc etc, then they wonder why the ball goes in all directions. Get your feet, hips and shoulders all square to each other, and the ball inside the left heel. Club shaft then perpendicular to the ball, shoulders hips etc (it's all straight lines). You can set all this up at the range with a few clubs on the ground. If you set up the same way and have the same results then at least you can start to understand your swing path and club face position at impact. Lessons really are invaluable and a course of them are probably cheaper than an adjustable driver.

 

[Dave B]

Roops

You've hit the nail on the head. Too many people over complicate driving and as you've said a good set up is essential otherwise you end up chasing the wind.

I used to have a quite a nasty slice when it crept into my swing and a lesson with my club pro sorted it out in 5 minutes. Over the last few years as my eyesight has deteriorated I have developed a parallax error. I thought I was set up aiming directly at the target however when I was hitting my 7 iron it was 20-30ft right of target sometimes with a very slight fade. The pro told me to put a tee down 3ft in front of the ball and set up parallel to the line between the ball and tee. Every shot went dead straight.

The problem with self analysis is that we often don't know what we are doing so my advice would be to get a lesson first and then look at a driver second.

Altering the club face can reduce the effect as can more loft however rather than spending a fortune on an adjustable driver you'd be better of spending £100 on an end of range non adjustable model and spending the rest on lessons.

 

[Beezerk]

There are a few different cause to a slice so this may or may not be your problem:

I had been struggling with a slice for months and just couldn't get the face square at impact. I knew I had to roll my wrists but I couldn't figure out how. This video was a bit of an epiphany for me. Been hitting straight and long ever since.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knCWX_Wsttk

That's a cracking clip mate, really explains it well and a great drill which on the face of it look simple yet effective.

 

[mchacker]

I think if the OP's shots are starting straight (ie on target) then veering off to the right then it's more than likely the problem is the other way round, eg face angle is good but the path is out-to-in.

If lessons are out of the question I'd start with the headcover drill.

Yep, my bad, wasn't concentrating while posting

 

[Odvan]

Not one person mentioned the grip in all this!

I'll never claim to be a golf techie guru or indeed knowledgable but realising myself what was happening with my grip during the swing, I made a few tweaks/changes and its helped me loads!

 

[London mike 61]

I have only seen people who try to ' hit' the ball slice it , rarely have I seen anyone who is a ' swinger' slice the ball , in fact they usually hook or amazingly straight. This is always assuming that the grip is spot on and not contorted in any way.

 

[SocketRocket]

It starts straight and then goes off to the right.

Your clubface will be square then. You will be swinging across the ball from outside to in, this creates the slice spin.

You need to keep the clubhead behind your hands as you come down from the top so the club approaches the ball from the inside to fix it. As a band aid in the meantime you could close the clubface just a little at address by turning the club to the left and re- gripping. This should create more of a fade than a slice.