They say that no two swings are the same, but.....

[PeterPumpkinEater]

I have really struggled with a slice (particularly off the tee) for a little while, but last week it just clicked. My normal shot off the tee is a high slice which to me meant that I was coming too steep and across the ball.
However last week i went down the range 4 times hitting 50balls each time and I must have hit only 5 fades in total, in fact I had even started to draw the ball!! Also the trajectory and distance was also spot on.
To rectify my fade I had concentrated on making a full shoulder turn, ensuring my right leg didnt move on the back swing and made a good wrist cock before completing my turn and hey presto straight shots with distance.
However, I played on Sunday and SLICE, went to the range yesterday and SLICE, went to the range before work this morning SLICE. In fact not just a slice but BAD SLICE.
I was so happy last week when I thought that I was cured, but my disease has come back! Has this happened to a few of you or all of you?

 

[minty18]

Peter,

I'm the same mate, can go over the range and i'm drawing the ball then out on the course i slice, then vice versa, i'll hit the ball well on the course then slice on the range.

My swing changes every shot i'm postive of that. However the good times are slowly bu surely out weighing the bad times si i'm hoping eventually with a bit of hard work it'll dissapear.

 

[Beaker]

The fade problem hasn't really happened to me before but something else has and im not sure if i dare say the word but i will.....

.....after playing to 1 at the weekend of the back tee's in a gale and wet ground, I went to the range full of confidence. Got 50 balls and went to warm up with a wedge and then.....shank! Oh dear, where did that come from? So went to hit another.....shank! After hitting the first 4 balls all shanks i managed to fix the situation and was hitting it well again, but it did increase the heart rate!!

 

[Herbie]

If you can take the same mental state,posture and physical state to every shot that you had when you took those good shots you would find thigs getting better, but you will still have those days where you are playing golf but your mind and body are playing dodge ball.lol.

 

[baldy]

Hi Peter ,I feel your pain mate Im having exact same problem I went to the range last night after consulting thee Oricale (this forum)stengthened my grip a couple of degrees and bingo hitting it straight as arrows and Ive booked a lesson thursday then playing friday if its still working then ill let you know .

 

[USER1999]

The key to this is that on the range, you stay behind the shot. In escence, you are not anxious as to the result of the shot, so you have all the time in the world to not lift the head, or pull the left shoulder back. Once on the course, you quit on the shot, and the ball tracks left to right. Slice. To hit a draw, you have to keep your head behind the ball.

 

[Smiffy]

For years, my divots were going slightly "in to out" (only very slightly) which gave me a really nice draw. Then suddenly I started to notice that they were going very sharply out to in, resulting in a loss of distance and no real power. Try as I might, I couldn't get it sorted out.
Then just as suddenly they started to go in to out again....bloody weird game this is.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

It's just amazing this game, when things arent going right you become (well i do) over analytical. So many things were going through my mind at the range earlier i.e.
Right Leg
Grip
Swing path
Wrist cock
swing plane
alignment
rotation
shoulders
head
ball position

....and quicker than you can say antidisestablishmentarism you're done.

So what will it take until I get that feeling of now I'm fairly happy (and I dont mean hitting every drive straight and 300yrds), numerous lessons, 1000 balls down the range, read every advice book on the planet?

Hopefully one day it will all click, but until that day arrives one things for certain, i'm going to have loads of fun on the way

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not that my golf is anything to compare against, but a root cause of bad shots is focussing on too swing thoughts. I know I'm guilty of this particularly when I'm playing badly (most of the time) and suddenly get a good drive away or hit is close fromthe fairway. Then I'm trying to think about what I did on my next shot instead of concentrating on a good address and trusting the swing I know was working so well on the range.

If you do need to have swing thoughts to help you as you play make sure you keep it to one and that it is simple and not going to hinder your natural golf swing. The best thing to do is if you have a certain shot for the day (i.e. you are slicing or fading in the warm up or hitting huge hooks) accept that the ball will move that way on the course and adapt your game and not your swing accordingly

 

[USER1999]

I am still stunned that I can hit a draw with an out to in divot. Hey ho, each to their own.

I am working on something else today. But striking the ball well.

 

[RGuk]

Right Leg
Grip
Swing path
Wrist cock
swing plane
alignment
rotation
shoulders
head
ball position

I'm maybe not the ideal person to comment (I'm into the technique side) but ever since my days of having lessons at Kings Norton, I've never thought about many of these things at the range. Occasionally, I have a drill for plane or check my grip or perhaps concentrate on remembering to turn, but it's only 1 at a time and I like to keep drills simple. At my last lesson, my pro wanted me to keep my head more still (rather than a huge lateral move) and work on my path....that was it....so I worked on it for a few sessions, and then just hit balls and played.
It's my belief that small detailed things are hard to work on and IF your swing is evolving then things like alignment, turn, wrist cock, hands at the top etc will fall into place anyway.

 

[CarpeDiem]

My swing changes almost weekly, one week I would have a nice draw and the next a nasty hook followed by a slice. Its ultra frustrating as I never know what is going to happen when I step onto the tee. However last spring I had lessons with the pro and saw no real effect from these and thus thought that I have been cheated out of my money, but now its all falling into place and I feel that I could shoot level par so very easily. It goes to show rather than having a quick fix the long term solution is always the best option, plus now I can control the fade or draw.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

At my last lesson, my pro wanted me to keep my head more still (rather than a huge lateral move) and work on my path....that was it....so I worked on it for a few sessions, and then just hit balls and played.
It's my belief that small detailed things are hard to work on and IF your swing is evolving then things like alignment, turn, wrist cock, hands at the top etc will fall into place anyway.

I totally agree with you here in fact my example is that I have had four lessons with three different pro's (1 @ Direct Golf just down the road from you! 1 @ Bromsgrove and 2 @ my club) I have gone to each of them stating that i wanted to irradicate my slice and all of them just concentrated on two things. 1 stated that my swing plane (think about throwing a discus) and grip was wrong, 1 that I was bringing the club back incorrectly and not cocking my wrists and 1 stated that I had far too much right leg movement and that at the top of my swing although it was level it was pointing way right of the target.

All of these you can agree would contribute to slicing the ball and at the moment I am trying to concentrate predomininately on keeping the right leg still and possibly the swing plane.

I also agree that I have now been told the reasons for my slicing and its now just a case of practice and feeling the shot (sorry if that sounds corny!).

I've also just bought the Leadbetter Interactive DVD's which seem pretty good especially as the V1 analysis software is included so I may set the camcorder up tonight and give this a whirl. I think I maybe going over the top a bit here and if i was anybody else looking at this i would be thinking 'Paralysis by Analysis'!

 

[romsyam]

I have just started playing after a friend of mine had been asking me to start for years. I hung up my football boots and then started playing golf in August. My friend is a teaching pro so have been seeing him 3 times a week + playing a course with him once a week.

Thing is when I started playing I could hit the ball straight. Now that I have a more proper golf swing I tend to slice it. My friend said to take it back to basics and the root cause of slices are the out to in and over the top. He has given me 2 things to work on. 1. make sure a turn my hips early in the backswing to ensure I can swing in the right plane. And make sure my head is still once I complete the backswing.

From what I'm learning wrist cock and all that doesn't really matter if you can get the club on the right plane and release the club head properly.