The Slice

[Nick_Toye]

So I've definitely developed a slice in the past month.

I took the advice of posters and took lessons. First lesson was fixing my posture, and it definitely feels more confident when striking the ball.

My coach said I would be entering the ugly zone where I may struggle with some shots, but I had to just continue working on my posture, fix that, and then move onto the next aspect of my game.

To be honest, I'm not Tiger Woods, despite what some people think. , but I've actually scored better than before my lesson, and fairly happy with most of my game.

I have however developed a slice but I am hoping to address that at my next lesson.

In the meantime, I have been aiming far left, changing my stance to promote a draw, and have managed to shape it onto the fairway more often than not.

Is that the right way to approach it, or should I perhaps be just taking my medicine? I don't like compensating for faults, as I think that may develop bad habits, so should I just keep working at hitting it straight by reading tutorials and watching youtube vids?

I hit it fairly sweetly, have a nice smooth swing, and always make a great connection, although not that great as I slice.

My friend gave me a great drill, where I place a tee, or a ball marker a foot behind my ball and around 3-4cm inside my ball, that definitely seems to help on the range, but when I get on the course I don't want to be spending more time in the trees than the squirrels.

Any advice?

 

[chellie]

Just do what your Pro has told you to. Forget youtube etc imo.

 

[Nick_Toye]

Just do what your Pro has told you to. Forget youtube etc imo.

Well my Pro hasn't given me advice on curing the slice yet. Only had 1 lesson, and its every 6 weeks.

The posture thing has definitely worked because I'm so confident striking the ball now, and my stats back up this feeling.

So with the slice thing would you aim left to bring it back on the fairway?

 

[Jack_bfc]

I had, and still have a slice/fade!

The youtube vids do help you understand what the possible cause is, and the swing path and head position to negate the spin that's causing the slice!

A couple of drills I got off youtube have really helped me control the shape and keep it on the fairway (67%fir) more often the a not!

My next move is a shiny new driver

 

[Nick_Toye]

I had, and still have a slice/fade!

The youtube vids do help you understand what the possible cause is, and the swing path and head position to negate the spin that's causing the slice!

A couple of drills I got off youtube have really helped me control the shape and keep it on the fairway (67%fir) more often the a not!

My next move is a shiny new driver

Nice work.

 

[the_coach]

Aiming further left with a closed stance is going to take you down the road of swing compensations, so more things then to work on to put right, though if might mean in the meantime you can 'pull/pull fade the ball a little ways to target.

Aiming further left compounds the problem of the ball then going further right, unless do something a ways funky down to & through impact.

You have to learn to swing in the direction you fear, so aim all body alignments parallel left so square of the ball target line, not to the left, square leading edge of the club at address hopefully with a sound neutral grip.

Turn in posture to the top, make sure you complete the shoulder turn, stop arms & shoulders at the same time at the top don't let the arms hands club carry on after the shoulders have stopped.
Start the downswing from left foot then the right shoulder turns downwards to the ground, arms hands & club swing downwards to the ground first move then you rotate through to & through impact.

Slice caused by body alignments aiming left, shoulder arms hands & club starting the downswing (instead of the lower body) then they as a first move rotate out to the ball/target line (instead of moving downwards to the ground first) so then you get the big out over the top swing which is over steep in it's attack angle, also it's swinging through impact in a leftwards direction, face open to all this & you get the slice.

If you could manage it, a 30' lesson every two/three weeks would be better than an hour every 6 weeks. then you don't forget what you need to work on & more importantly how you need to feel as you work in practice in between the lessons on the changes you need to make.

 

[Nick_Toye]

Aiming further left with a closed stance is going to take you down the road of swing compensations, so more things then to work on to put right, though if might mean in the meantime you can 'pull/pull fade the ball a little ways to target.

Aiming further left compounds the problem of the ball then going further right, unless do something a ways funky down to & through impact.

You have to learn to swing in the direction you fear, so aim all body alignments parallel left so square of the ball target line, not to the left, square leading edge of the club at address hopefully with a sound neutral grip.

Turn in posture to the top, make sure you complete the shoulder turn, stop arms & shoulders at the same time at the top don't let the arms hands club carry on after the shoulders have stopped.
Start the downswing from left foot then the right shoulder turns downwards to the ground, arms hands & club swing downwards to the ground first move then you rotate through to & through impact.

Slice caused by body alignments aiming left, shoulder arms hands & club starting the downswing (instead of the lower body) then they as a first move rotate out to the ball/target line (instead of moving downwards to the ground first) so then you get the big out over the top swing which is over steep in it's attack angle, also it's swinging through impact in a leftwards direction, face open to all this & you get the slice.

If you could manage it, a 30' lesson every two/three weeks would be better than an hour every 6 weeks. then you don't forget what you need to work on & more importantly how you need to feel as you work in practice in between the lessons on the changes you need to make.

Thanks for this, I could perhaps get my coach to give me a lesson every 3-4 weeks, he recommended 4-6, but I may ask him when I'm next there. He feels it gives me enough time to work on stuff, but I guess fixing the posture is quite an easy fix in opposed to a slice.

 

[davemc1]

Aiming further left with a closed stance is going to take you down the road of swing compensations, so more things then to work on to put right, though if might mean in the meantime you can 'pull/pull fade the ball a little ways to target.

Aiming further left compounds the problem of the ball then going further right, unless do something a ways funky down to & through impact.

You have to learn to swing in the direction you fear, so aim all body alignments parallel left so square of the ball target line, not to the left, square leading edge of the club at address hopefully with a sound neutral grip.

Turn in posture to the top, make sure you complete the shoulder turn, stop arms & shoulders at the same time at the top don't let the arms hands club carry on after the shoulders have stopped.
Start the downswing from left foot then the right shoulder turns downwards to the ground, arms hands & club swing downwards to the ground first move then you rotate through to & through impact.

Slice caused by body alignments aiming left, shoulder arms hands & club starting the downswing (instead of the lower body) then they as a first move rotate out to the ball/target line (instead of moving downwards to the ground first) so then you get the big out over the top swing which is over steep in it's attack angle, also it's swinging through impact in a leftwards direction, face open to all this & you get the slice.

If you could manage it, a 30' lesson every two/three weeks would be better than an hour every 6 weeks. then you don't forget what you need to work on & more importantly how you need to feel as you work in practice in between the lessons on the changes you need to make.

sorry to geg in, but I'm suffering with the same problem. I understand what you're saying regarding the stance, grip and backswing. I'm lost as too what 'start the downswing from the left foot' means. Could you explain in lehmans terms please coach, would be most thankful :thup:

 

[the_coach]

No worries Nick, you want to feel after being aligned good, that the swing starts down from the ground up, left side, then the hard bit is feel your swing direction is swinging out to the right a ways through impact, the direction you don't want the ball to go, but that's why golf is so counterintuitive. Do what feels natural aim more left swing left & the ball will curve to the right, or occasionally if you get face square to swing path left it will go straight left.

 

[davemc1]

No worries, you want to feel after being aligned good, that the swing starts down from the ground up, left side, then the hard bit is feel your swing direction is swinging out to the right a ways through impact, the direction you don't want the ball to go, but that's why golf is so counterintuitive. Do what feels natural aim more left swing left & the ball will curve to the right, or occasionally if you get face square to swing path left it will go straight left.

Thanks coach, maybe a little cheeky, but is there a drill you'd recommend to help with the downswing or is it just repetition?

 

[the_coach]

Thanks coach, maybe a little cheeky, but is there a drill you'd recommend to help with the downswing or is it just repetition?

It's about first move in transition being pressure into the ground under the left foot this lead the correct left knee, left thigh, left hip move, this happens first but then in the split second of pressure in the left foot the right shoulder moves (rotates downwards) down towards the ground hands arm right shoulder must move downwards towards the ground.

Not first move at transition of the shoulders & arms hands & club outwards rotating to the ball'target line this outwards rotating of the upper body first is what causes the out to in steep angle of attack swing path, that is swinging a ways left through impact, if face angel is open as it often is that's what causes the slice.

[video=youtube_share;aTJc5f-ZxeM]http://youtu.be/aTJc5f-ZxeM[/video]

 

[the_coach]

[video=youtube_share;L2GDUGL_GTc]http://youtu.be/L2GDUGL_GTc[/video]

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Your pro is probably working to cure things bit by bit and will tackle the issues causing the slice once the basics like alignment and posture are correct. I'd stick with what he's showing you and be patient (or get lessons with less of a time gap) or I feel you're wasting your time and money if you then use youtube etc to tinker with what's been shown. I know from bitter experience that trying to self diagnose is a rocky road and what cures one issue invariably causes a fault elsewhere.

 

[the_coach]

"davemc1" if you can take from the other 2 vids what happens first at transition, so from the left side ground up lower body starts the downswing then almost instantly after the right shoulder turns down not out.

This next vid is good, not because of the title!

But if you put a club down on the ground in exactly the same position notice wlub on the then he starts the takeaway backswing where the handle in his hands is in relation to both where the handle (grip) is on the club on the floor, also how the shafts are parallel. So the club he's moving is also parallel to the ball/target line, his toe line the ground so the club on the ground

Then at the top of the backswing notice the spine angle where the head is how he's stayed in posture to keep his height, he to speaks to starting the downswing transition from the ground up, then as he comes down notice how this movement puts the handle in his hands in a more forwards towards target than it was going back.

Do this in slow motion & often, somewhere at home if you have the time & space. Then do it at the practice ground, intersperse this slow-mo position drill, with some 50% effort rehearsal swings then some, then repeat exactly the same feelings through the ball at 50% effort. You're best doing these 'swings' with or without the ball at 50% to ba able to feel a ways properly the sequence.
Try to do it at full speed & folks always go back to doing what they normally do, even if they think they are making the changes, at full speed you can't feel the changes you're trying to make properly.

[video=youtube_share;xvMiZQo70-E]http://youtu.be/xvMiZQo70-E[/video]

 

[davemc1]

"davemc1" if you can take from the other 2 vids what happens first at transition, so from the left side ground up lower body starts the downswing then almost instantly after the right shoulder turns down not out.

This next vid is good, not because of the title!

But if you put a club down on the ground in exactly the same position notice wlub on the then he starts the takeaway backswing where the handle in his hands is in relation to both where the handle (grip) is on the club on the floor, also how the shafts are parallel. So the club he's moving is also parallel to the ball/target line, his toe line the ground so the club on the ground

Then at the top of the backswing notice the spine angle where the head is how he's stayed in posture to keep his height, he to speaks to starting the downswing transition from the ground up, then as he comes down notice how this movement puts the handle in his hands in a more forwards towards target than it was going back.

Do this in slow motion & often, somewhere at home if you have the time & space. Then do it at the practice ground, intersperse this slow-mo position drill, with some 50% effort rehearsal swings then some, then repeat exactly the same feelings through the ball at 50% effort. You're best doing these 'swings' with or without the ball at 50% to ba able to feel a ways properly the sequence.
Try to do it at full speed & folks always go back to doing what they normally do, even if they think they are making the changes, at full speed you can't feel the changes you're trying to make properly.

[video=youtube_share;xvMiZQo70-E]http://youtu.be/xvMiZQo70-E[/video]

Again the coach delivers unbelievable detailed answers! Alls it leaves is my aptitude to take on board what is said. Not holding my breath, but I will try.
Been working on my glutes the past half hour, now there is a sentence I never thought I say /type!

muchos gracias!

 

[garyinderry]

Again the coach delivers unbelievable detailed answers! Alls it leaves is my aptitude to take on board what is said. Not holding my breath, but I will try.
Been working on my glutes the past half hour, now there is a sentence I never thought I say /type!

muchos gracias!

dave after watching you swing yesterday you have to work on getting your lower half moving in the downswing. your lower half stays very still.

heres ben Hogan explaining very simply.

[video=youtube;QL_6M_xZvq0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL_6M_xZvq0[/video]

 

[virtuocity]

Interesting stuff, particularly the path that that handle needs to travel.

I have had a huge amount of success this season by concentrating only on swinging the handle of the clubs in a circular fashion, not forgetting to keep swinging the handle round my left thigh through impact. This may be feel vs real as I have deliberately not taken videos due to fears of 'losing' the success of my ball striking.

Taking a look at the Me and My Golf guys now:



I would guarantee that my club looks like the second picture, with the head on the outside, which promotes a slice (or for me, pulls- which is my stock shot).

From holding a club indoors (I am out through injury and unable to test this at the range), it would seem that in order to achieve the position of the first picture, the handle can't swing in a circular fashion. In fact, the only way I see it possible to achieve this position is by 'pulling the handle' which I hear can be a swing-wrecker.

Whilst the MAMG guys do a good job of showing the positions, I don't think they've provided a fool-proof, simple, easy-peasy explanation of how the body should hit that position (PP3)- can anyone oblige?

 

[lex!]

Just do what your Pro has told you to. Forget youtube etc imo.

Is the best bit of advice you will ever receive

 

[the_coach]

Interesting stuff, particularly the path that that handle needs to travel.

I don't think they've provided a fool-proof, simple, easy-peasy explanation of how the body should hit that position (PP3)- can anyone oblige?

They do speak to it, somewhere around 04.00. The whole key being starting the downswing from the left side lower body & the first movement of the right shoulder moving/turning "downwards" towards the ground, so the arms/hands & club then move "downwards" towards the ground first until the right elbow arrives at the right hip (Hogan's famous point) it's from here & not before that the arms hands shaft & clubhead then move "outwards" to the ball/target line so to the ball & impact.

You're club being more like 'pic 2' is because, from the top your hands arms shoulders start the downswing which make the upper body move "outwards" towards the ball/target line first, instead of moving downwards towards the ground.

So it's back to the squeeze the plastic bottle drill vid & the why we swing over the top drill - squeeze an imagined sponge under lead foot.

All of which helps to start the downswing with the left side lower body first, then it's a ways easier to get the right shoulder arm/hands & club first move being "downwards" towards the ground as it needs to be instead of everything swinging outwards from the top at the start of the downswing.

 

[davemc1]

dave after watching you swing yesterday you have to work on getting your lower half moving in the downswing. your lower half stays very still.

heres ben Hogan explaining very simply.

[video=youtube;QL_6M_xZvq0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL_6M_xZvq0[/video]

he does make it look very easy mate doesn't he. Did I hear he has the most copied swing? Deffo can see why.