Who wants to cure their slice?

[bobmac]

In my experience the slice is one of the biggest unwanted shots in golf. That high bendy shot that starts left and finishes on the right in the deepest jungles of Borneo and no matter how far left you aim, yeup there it goes deep, deep, deep. Result? Reload.
Is there a cure or are you destined to spend your whole life wading through the long grass on the right hand side of the course.
There is of course the occaissional shot that takes you by surprise and shoots low and straight left. The problem is when that happens, where do you aim your next shot? Aim right to allow for the low lefter or aim left for the high left to righter.
I'd like to hear from other golfers what they have tried in the past to cure their slice and did it work?

 

[nmartyn]

my new found 'partial' cure is to bring the right elbow into the waist on the downswing.
if you also think about keeping your left arm straight (locked at the elbow) and your right arm slightly bent on your setup the result is a swing which is more inside which reduces the slice to a mere fade or even draw

my two penny's worth anyway and i'm by no means an expert!

one other thing - with the driver i now try to keep my hands well forward on the setup, this seems to help for some reason.

 

[Leftie]

Had a long session with Paul Foston (thanks again GM). The moment I saw my swing on video, I didn't need telling, I knew what I was doing wrong - it was a horror film

Knowing what is wrong is one thing, putting it right is another and that is where Paul helped.

I wouldn't say that I'm completely cured but at least when a slice creeps in I now am aware of the probable reason and will try to go back to basics.

 

[andycap]

I did have a terrible slice ,only with the driver.Tried everything to get rid of it (other than going to a pro).Stubborn streak in me makes me want to work things out for myself, gets very frustrating but very satisfying when i do achieve . Reading on a Q&A section of a tour pros web site of a low handicapper that had a slice it was suggested that the shaft could have too much flex for his swing speed which would mean that the club head was lagging well behind the hands , Try a stiffer shaft.
This sounded familiar and luckily i was able to borrow a stiff shafted driver (ft-3 tour9.5deg graffalloy blue stiff) . My slice went immediatley and to this day i rarely slice although if i do mis hit it will generally be slice rather than hook.I now have a G10 10.5 stiff that i get on well with , but use the ft-3 when windy as i get a lower flight with it. So it's worked for me, although people on here have said in the past that a stiffer shaft would make a slice worse

 

[RGuk]

Is there a cure? or are you destined to spend your whole life wading through the long grass on the right hand side of the course?
I'd like to hear from other golfers what they have tried in the past to cure their slice and did it work?

Yes...there's a cure to everthing.....

No.....I visit both sides of the course.....and the middle sometimes!!!

PPP - Pivot, Plane and Path + lots of work!!!

Can I elaborate.....yes, probably, but sadly nobody wants to hear......most just take the "£$%......

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree with Dave. However I also think that posture plays a significant part. Too upright and there isn't enough torque and resistance in the turn which allows the shoulders past their optimum point and for the swing to continue. The result is an overswing, poor weight shift and reverse pivot. THe only way for the club to get back to anything resembling square is for the shoulders to drop and the arms work independantly over the top and quick hand action at impact to try and save the shot. For this to work on a regular basis would take Wood like efficieny and timing and not something a weekend golfer will ever be able to do.

However by setting up with a lower posture and more knee flex, the body will be able to pivot better and the flex in the legs will allow the body to coil to full effect and the shoulders will stop hopefully with not more than a 90 degree turn. This will give maximum efficiency and gives the body and arms more time to unwind into impact and continue down through the line and into a full finish with the body and weight moving into a picture book finish.

As someone who regularly sufferes from reverse pivotting and lateral movement in the backswing (a side effect of the overswing making it difficult to regularly get back to the same impact point) I've had to work hard at making a more solid turn and the lower centre of gravity and greater knee flex has been a cornerstone in achieving this

 

[USER1999]

H, that all sounds a bit technical. Any chance of a simpler version?

 

[andycap]

H, that all sounds a bit technical. Any chance of a simpler version?

I thought the same , i've just had to have a lie down

 

[Leftie]

I think I've got a migrane coming on

 

[HomerJSimpson]

OK

In simple terms. If you stand too tall your body has less resistance increasing the chance of a reverse pivot and swinging too far with the shoulders leading to lateral movement. All bad and all leading to a necessity to pull with the shoulders to try and get back on plane. OTT swing = slice.

A more flexed knee and lower position allows the body to transfer weight and the natural coil will stop all but the most determined overswing. Good thing. This means the swing and weight transference are much more in synch. Another good thing. More resistance = more potential power = longer shots. The arms and body have to do less work in the swing = better swing and straighter shots. VERY GOOD THING

 

[bobmac]

For those of you who like to examine the technical side of the swing, click on the link below to see how USPGA Tour player JC Anderson explains how to get power into your game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=osD2U-s8i6E
Homer, enjoy

 

[Barney]

Since clicking on the above link it all makes sense,
Thanks Bob.

 

[TonyN]

Thats where I have been going wrong!

 

[theeaglehunter]

That is the exact message I was hoping to convey, but I was struggling to condense it into such a concise recollection of easy to follow thoughts.



It was actually quite funny!

 

[Barney]

To answer your original question Bob until very late last year I suffered from a slice which I had never managed to shrug off since I started playing 3 years ago. I was told exactly what Nmartyn has posted on here and it seems to have worked since I put it into practice.
If you watch all good golfers especially in slow motion you will see their right elbow tucks in to their body and does not fly all over or stick out as this would promote an out to in swing, hence the slice.
Stick your right elbow in and say hello to the left hand side of the course.
I got rid of the slice by doing this and now I have a lovely Duck Hook going on !!!!!

 

[Imurg]

When I first joined a club I got a free half-hour lesson as part of the deal.

I had a slice and the pro watched me for 2 minutes and then pointed out I was dropping my left shoulder on the backswing. Kept the shoulders level after that and hey presto - no slice.

 

[bobmac]

Thank you for all your comments, they are very interesting, especially the thought of tucking the right elbow into the side. I'm not surprised you've developed a duck hook Barney.
My 2 pennith worth.
Firstly waht is a slice?
The club head approaches the ball from outside the line to inside the line. This explains why the ball starts left of the intended target.
To stop the ball sailing off into the left rough the golfer instinctively opens the club face so it is pointing right of the target to impart left to right spin which will bend the ball left to right in the air.
Most of the time, the club face opens too much hence the extra spin which results in the ball bending uncontrollably and ending up in the right hand rough.
Sometimes the club face does not open and actually ends up pointing in the same direction as the swing path (out to in), hence the shot that occasionally goes straight left.
THE ONLY WAY TO HIT A STRAIGHT SHOT IS TO HAVE A STRAIGHT SWING PATH AND THE CLUBFACE MUST BE SQUARE TO THAT SWING PATH. (5 BALL FLIGHT LAWS)
To examine every position of elbows, knees, hips, shoulders etc at every point of the swing would just be impossible.
THE CURE
The golfer must try and get the swingpath at impact straight and the clubface straight....easier said than done I know.
Rather than thinking about elbows, knees, hips,shoulders etc, the player should FEEL that their swing is going in to out and watch the ball START straight or right. The 3 ball drill is good for promoting this feeling.If the grip is good, the golfer will learn to bring the clubface back square to the swing path and the ball will fly straight.

To check if your swing path is straight, hit a few shots off grass and see where your divots are pointing. The divot never lies.
To sum up

Try and empty your head of all the cures you've tried and focus on the swing path going in to out and you will soon see the ball starting to fly striaghter. You will hit a few that start right and then bend right, but thats only because of the old habit of opening the clubface at impact. If the clubface is square at impact and the swing is straight, THE BALL WILL FLY STRAIGHT.
If you're having trouble swinging in to out, take a look at the NMS Fault fixer. It's the best teaching aid I know for helping people to learn the feeling of how to swing in to out without examining every part of the body at every stage of the swing. It teaches you the FEEL. (I use it all the time in my teaching to great success)
If anyone want to understand more of why things happen during the swing do a search on google for
"THE 5 BALL FLIGHT LAWS"
There is a short cut to cure the slice, but its only a quick fix, more of a cheat really and I'm sure none of you want a quick fix
I hope that is easy to follow. If not, please ask

 

[USER1999]

Oddly, my divots do lie. It has always puzzled me. It defies the laws of physics, but, they still lie. I can hit a divot pointing left, yet the ball can start right, and draw back. Haven't got a clue how it works.

Doubt if it works for anyone else though.

 

[bobmac]

Murph, if your divots point left and the ball starts right, your clubface must be open which would normally bend the ball left to right unless.........the ball is hitting the toe of the club which imparts right to left spin due to the "GEAR EFFECT"

 

[RGuk]

Rather than thinking about elbows, knees, hips,shoulders etc, the player should FEEL that their swing is going in to out and watch the ball START straight or right. The 3 ball drill is good for promoting this feeling.If the grip is good, the golfer will learn to bring the clubface back square to the swing path and the ball will fly straight.

OK.....so what do you do with a student that is too good at the in-out thing and can only push or hook the ball?

I'm intrigued to know, because I know a few players like this. I was one a year ago.....'till I returned to the dark side of slicing and pulling......

Now?....it's pick and mix golf....I get the lot!