Eliminating Slice

[GSmith]

Good evening, first post so be gentle.

I have been playing par 3's for about a year now and have decided to step things up. I have a set of lessons booked and have had two already. In these I learnt the correct grip and the correct plane of swing.

Everything was going well (or I thought so), I was hitting the ball straight and was feeling good, until this evening...! I had the worst par 3 round I have ever had - 57! I was slicing everything. Can anyone speculate as to why I have suddenly developed a slice? My limited knowledge leads me to think that I wasn't doing a full arc and that the club face was open on impact, but I tried to do as my PGA coach told me and just couldn't get it.

Feeling really down tonight and have about a week until my next lesson. Anyone got any words of wisdom, or any words to cheer me up?

Cheers,

Graeme

 

[SocketRocket]

Tell us some more about this slice? What club are you using, what direction does the ball take off in, how far into the shot does it start turning and how sharply does it turn?

 

[GSmith]

It happened a few times off the tee with a 7 iron. But it also happened a fair few times on the fairway/rough with a pitching wedge. It sliced off the club, didn't go straight at all. Pretty much made a bee line for the bushes at about 45 degree angle as I struck the ball.

Also, having a lot of trouble hitting the ball out of the rough, I seem to have developed a scuff that goes about 5 yards.

 

[SocketRocket]

It's very hard to slice a short iron. You are probably Shanking it if it shoots out dramatically right. A slice will bend the ball.

Shanking is created when the ball is struck by the hozel, that's the joint between the shaft and the clubface. There are lots of causes but you need to hit the ball more out the middle of the clubface. One thing to look for is an out to in swing that comes down steeply and cuts across the ball. This will probably be creating your problem in the rough as well.

The drill in this video may help you : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ37aS9NtAA&feature=related