Slicing your golf shots is one of the most frustrating aspects of the game. Worse than poor putting, challenging chipping and even worse than the price of good golfing equipment!
A slice feels unnatural, but it sometimes feels like it's beyond your power to control and fix. No matter what you do, the ball just slides off to the right almost as if it had a mind of its own. Well, not any more.
Today you're going to learn a "miracle" tip for curing a golf slice that helped me and lots of other people. But before we get onto that, let's quickly examine what a golf slice is and how it happens.
When the head of your club strikes the ball the kinetic (movement) energy from your swing is transferred through the club to the ball, sending it flying off down the course. The better and cleaner the impact, the more energy is transferred properly and the farther your shot will fly.
You may have noticed that the head of your club is ridged for grip, and the ball itself has many dimples all over its surface. This all helps improve the grip between the club head and the ball to help transfer the energy. The dimples on the ball also help it fly through the air for longer.
Now, the slice. If your club face strikes the ball head on, the ball will fly off in a straight line. If the club face strikes *across* the ball, sliding along the edge of the ball or coming from an angle, the ball will be spun as it leaves the tee.
When a spinning ball is flying through the air it creates drag and that causes it to curve to one side. In order to slice a shot (rather than hook it), the ball spins clockwise. This happens when your club face is too wide open, or your grip is too weak. In other words, when the club is twisted to the right in your hands.
Try it now - grab a club and twist it right slightly. See how the face opens up? If you play through a ball very slowly, you can see how more of the face will be in contact with the ball, causing spin. So, to correct a slice, simply close the face of the club.
You can do this during your swing by pulling your left hand and twisting your wrists very slightly to the left as you impact the ball. Try it in very small adjustments to make sure you don't end up hooking the ball instead!
- ...probably the most common golf tip of staying down or keeping the head down during the swing but it is nevertheless true and important to follow if you want to have a good swing. Let the momentum of the follow through allow you to come to a full finish and cause you to lift your head up out of the swing and look towards the target. Focus on the back of the ball in the downswing as this will help you to avoid the tendency to look at the target before you hit the ball. It is also important to not swing too hard as this can cause many swing flaws including...