Mother of all slices

Coopsarama

Club Champion
Joined
Mar 15, 2007
Messages
55
Visit site
Hey everyody. This is my first post so take it easy on me ok? lol

I've been playing solidly for about seven months now, and the only thing i seem to be unable to crack is my slice off the tee. I seem to be ok with a three wood but any time i show my driver the ball it can head off nice and straight down the left hand side only to end up whipping literally directly across the fairway and dare i say it,sometimes possibly even backwards. (!?) I think t might be the flex on my shaft is too soft or it might be my grip. NOt entirely sure but it's driving me mad. Like I say my irons are pretty much sweet, they usually go pretty straight and long (160 yds with a 6 iron). Any ideas? :D
 

John_Findlay

Tour Winner
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
3,487
Location
Edinburgh
Visit site
Hi Coopserama and welcome to the forum.

Your problem is fairly common. Lots of us can hit their irons great on the same day their driver is acting up and vice versa. It can often be a ball position problem in my experience.

If you hit your irons straight from the middle of your stance and your driver slices off your left heel then you can see that the way the club approaches the ball is totally different. Often a good idea to put the ball a little further back in the stance for the drives. Experiment with it until the ball stops starting off left and slicing. You might start pushing it at first but a bit of practice might result in a nice wee draw.

Have you had any lessons? Most pros would sort you out in 10 minutes

Cheers
 

Coopsarama

Club Champion
Joined
Mar 15, 2007
Messages
55
Visit site
Na, no lessons as yet. I keep meaning to get some booked in but saturday's are my only real days off just now and I'd rather play than devote it to lessons at the moment! I'll have to look into it. I'm looking at new clubs the now as well. Thinking G5's, Nike Ignite's or Taylormade R7's. Any advice?
 

John_Findlay

Tour Winner
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
3,487
Location
Edinburgh
Visit site
Bad man !

Trust me...get some lessons. They make a HUGE difference at your level. My pro got me down from 20 to 10 in less than a year as a junior. And it's much more fun trying to break 90, then 80 (and hopefully soon now 70!)

As far as kit is concerned, try out as many as you can at your local range if they have a golf shop attached. You might be surprised what you start hitting best. Don't be snobby about the brand...just go for what you hit most consistently well. Clubs now are so forgiving.
 

Coopsarama

Club Champion
Joined
Mar 15, 2007
Messages
55
Visit site
i'll have to speak to the pro to organise some then. as for clubs i've hit some g5's which felt brilliant but i'm wondering if they're maybe a bit too nuch, the nikes are a bit cheaper ya see. any tips on a driver?
 

John_Findlay

Tour Winner
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
3,487
Location
Edinburgh
Visit site
Personally, I always ask my pro for advice on clubs/shafts etc. They know your swing so know which is best for you. They'll usually match or beat internet prices if you've taken a few lessons too. It's the shaft that makes most difference though so you should maybe concentrate on that.

If price is a factor then I wouldn't see a problem in getting a good second hand driver (second hand nowadays means 6 months). My driver is 3/4 years old and was "redundant" after 6 months bacause Taylormade came out with the r7 series.

I've often thought about going to a demo day where you can try a manufacturers clubs for free and get custom fitted. There might be some in your area. Maybe check the web for nike/taylormade/ping demo days in your area.
 

NEWQUAYTR7

Hacker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
24
Visit site
Hi, if you look at my post (help needed) there is some solid advice there, i know the problem you are having, in fact at my local club they have erected a massive netting structure on the right hand side of the fairway to catch balls slicing on to the caravan site. A common problem methinks. I invested in some G5's last week & what a difference, after being fitted i was advised on the green dot & the balls fly, anyway good luck.
 

The_Golfer

Club Champion
Joined
Nov 30, 2006
Messages
78
Visit site
Hi Coopsarama and welcome to the forum. It will pay real dividends to get some lessons, not just one, but regular and ongoing... without a doubt it's the quickest way of improving and it stops you doing things the wrong way.. after a while you will be able to understand why you are slicing, hooking, pushing, pulling and so on and you will have gained the knowledge and understanding to rectify it yourself. With regards your problem, being new and at guess, I would think you are coming from the outside in, so effectively the face of your club is hitting your ball face on with a right to left sideways action. It is likely you are coming out of your shot too early which means you are not shifting your weight to the left which in turn allows you to swing through the ball. Three drills that may help.

i) Put a headcover or a golf ball under the heal of your right foot (assuming your right handed). When you swing it will feel slower and your will feel like your body moves left when making contact; this drill adds control over the shot whilst assisting with weight shift.

ii) On the downswing, make sure you reduce your speed/effort to about 60%, as you come to make contact with the ball lift your right heal off the floor and feel as though you are kicking your right knee towards your left knee; again this will help weight shift.

iii) Keeping your swing again at 60% speed/effort, when looking at the ball, try imagining it to be a clock face and you want to strike the ball between 4 and 5 o'clock. This will force your body to shift in to position and again swing through the ball.

There are tons of drills out there and what works for one may not work for another so experiment until you find one that does.., best of luck
 

Coopsarama

Club Champion
Joined
Mar 15, 2007
Messages
55
Visit site
Thanks for the help. I'll get out on saturday hopefully and try some of these things out. I was just thinking to myself as to how much difference equipment can actually make? The g5's felt great when i hit them and i was wondering if the offset head is really making the difference? Also on a tangent, how on earth can Callaway justify charging 350 pounds for their FT1 when Nike are asking for 100 pounds less for the Sumo SQ2?! :eek:
 
Top