If you have ever been on the golf course standing at the tee, fixed your eyes on the fairway straight ahead, and then watched your ball move right (or left for those using their left hand), then you have experienced this golf slice. Quite often it is utterances like these that I find annoying as they make the ball irritating and less in terms of yield accuracy as well as distance. The good news is that it’s fixable. Here’s a look at five typical reasons why your golf slice occurs and steps to take in the future to hit straight shots.
1. An Open Clubface at Impact
The leading cause of a golf slice is an open clubface at the moment of impact of the ball with the club. If your clubface is open to your target line (for right-handers), it will put sidespin on the bal, and make it curve. This often occurs when your grip or wrist posture prevents the club face from closing up through impact.
How to Fix It:
- Adjust Your Grip: Hold the club loosely but not weak by turning your hands to the right as you grip the club (if right handed). This helps to achieve square at the time of impact.
- Practice Clubface Awareness: Keep your eyes on projection to check that your clubface is perpendicular to your path during your swing.
2. An Outside-In Swing Path
A slice happens when your swing has made a plane that starts outside the target line on the downswing, and then moves inside this line after impact. This outside-in motion gives rise to the sort of sidespin responsible for a slicing flight of the ball.
How to Fix It:
- Visualize an Inside-Out Path: Please imagine the motion of your swing going from just inside of the target line and moving laterally outwards after striking the ball.
- Use Alignment Sticks: Construct one stick horizontally in relation to your targeting line as the second, construct the other vertically but slightly to the inside. It’s suggested here to practice grooving along this line in a bid to correct your swing.
- Keep Your Shoulders Relaxed: Muscle tightness in the shoulders will force you to swing over the head which makes the swing to be outside-in.
3. Improper Grip Pressure
When your hands grip the club too tightly you are likely to develop tension at your hands, wrist and arm areas limiting your capacity to control your swing. It is this tension that often leads to an open clubface and bad posture of the swing creating a slice.
How to Fix It:
- Loosen Your Grip: Tense the club as if you were holding this tube of tooth paste without squeezing out any paste. This release of the wrist inhibits excessive rotation thus enhancing wrist hinge and clubface control.
- Focus on Fluidity: Swing to keep it as natural as possible, thus avoid contracting other muscles unnecessarily.
4. Poor Alignment and Setup
Positioning of your body has a important influence on your swing plane and direction of your shots. If shoulders, hips or feet are faced in an improper direction, one can find himself unwittingly paving the way to a slice.
How to Fix It:
- Check Your Alignment: If you are going to attack the ball stand well behind it by aligning your feet, hips and shoulders parallel to this line.
- Ball Position: For drivers, they authorized that the ball should be placed just strictly inside the leading heel. When it is placed too forward or too back it changes the swing path that you are going to use.
- Square Your Stance: Do not loophole them up as that will lead to an outside-in swing path.
5. Lack of Body Rotation
There is a good deal of rotation incorporated into a proper swing in golf. If your arms take over and your hips and shoulders don’t turn enough your club face may become closed or trail at impact.
How to Fix It:
- Engage Your Core: Pay attention to the fact that your back and downswing should be center of gravity of your body. As for the downswing, it should be more hip driven.
- Practice Drills: Use the ‘Step Drill’ – take a step towards the ball when swinging to improve weight shift on your back leg.
- Video Your Swing: Look into your swing so that you check on the amount of body rotation instead of depending on just your arms.
Bonus Tip: Use the Right Equipment
I don’t say that each golf slice is completely your fault always. Equipment matters. Any driver or iron set you use that does not match your swing will only worsen the likelihood of a slice. Think about changing the ploynomial regarding the club or using drivers with less offset or clubs that are right for giving more draw.
Final Thoughts :
Golf slice is something that can afflict golfers of all ability, however it isn’t the end of the world. Using the following solutions to eliminate these 5 usual causes can help you manage your shots and minimize the u2018curveu2019 that you’ve been fearing so much. The thing to always bear in mind is that progress is made through keeping at it. If you do these adjustments on the range, you will be on the fairway and feeling good, hitting straighter shots before you know it.
Have your golf slice been eliminated? Let us know in the comments how you have achieved an increase in your level of play, or any tips that worked for you!