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golf slice

How to cure your slice for good

90% of golfers struggle with a slice, so how can we get rid of this dreaded shot?

 

The majority of golfers struggle with a golf slice. I met up with PGA Professional Jack Backhouse to find out what a slice is, why you hit a one, and how you can improve your swing to hit a draw.

What is a slice in golf?

For a right-handed golfer, a slice is a shot in which the ball starts to the left of the target line, then curves to the right past the target and finishes to the right.

A shot that starts to the right of the target and then curves further to the right is known as a push slice.

golf slice

This is caused by a swing path that is out-to-in or travelling to the left for a right-handed player with an open clubface to that left path at impact.

What are it’s causes?

There are a few different swing styles that can cause a slice. Ultimately the biggest common denominator is people who cast the club from the top of the swing. This over-the-top movement forces golfers to stand up and pull their arms in to stop the ball from setting off miles to the left or the club head hitting the ground before the ball.

Although this move from the top is the most apparent cause of a slice, often, the slice starts because of a poor backswing. Many golfers keep the club out in front of them and, as a result, don’t get their hands back and behind the body. This can sometimes be purely down to misinformation, but it is often because people aren’t turning their shoulders enough and are lifting their arms instead.

golf slice

How to cure your slice

There are numerous different ways you can fix a slice. The first thing to look at would be how you are gripping the club. Many golfers could reduce the curve of their ball flight by strengthening their grip.

Many players have a weak grip; this is where the hands are turned too much to the left for a right-hander. This can cause players to fan their hands open in the takeaway leading to an open face at impact.

golf slice

As shown above, you are more likely to shut down the face by rotating the hands to the right on the grip. This will reduce how much the golf ball curves and give you a straighter ball flight.

Generally, you will need to change both your club face and your club path to stop you from slicing the ball.

In terms of changing the golf swing, you can tweak your set-up to make it easier to get the correct movement pattern. Firstly make sure you aren’t set-up too open to the target, your set-up is too open if your feet, hips and shoulders are aligned to the left of the target.

Pulling the right foot back an inch or two and rotating the right toe open can make it much easier to turn your hips and shoulders more.

This extra turn will make getting the club behind you much easier. A good reference point is to get the hands in a position where they are behind the feet at the top of the backswing.

backswing depth

From this position, it is much easier to bring the club head down in transition and hit the ball from the inside.

If you aren’t flexible enough to get into this position, do not panic. Jack has a solution; simply use your wrists to create similar angles. You don’t need to get the club as high, but you must load the wrists and get the club head behind your body.

shut face

Some really simple tips to improve your golf game and help you stop slicing the golf ball. Give these a try and let us know how you get on!

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