Stop Slicing

Want to stop slicing?

By: Bruce Munch
Head Professional, White River Golf Club, Rochester, VT.

Do your shots look like a banana, fading far from your target? If this is the case, I will give you a few tips that should help.

First of all, correcting a slice is not as easy as some may lead you to believe. It is unfortunate, but in many cases, when a slicer takes a lesson, the first thing the pro will do is to change their grip, even though they might have a correct grip. Giving a slicer a strong grip may fix the problem in the short term, but in reality all they have given the player is a band-aid. The combination of a slice swing with a strong grip might hit the ball straight for a while, but it won’t last.

It is possible to have a proper, inside to out, swing and still slice the ball. There are three basic problems that can lead to a slice. The most obvious is an outside to in swing. By that I mean a swing that resembles someone trying to chop down a tree. This is the chronic problem of the typical male golfer. With all that arm strength, they feel that they can just muscle the club back to the ball and in doing so they forget that it is the big muscles of the legs and back that produce repeatable power. Arm swingers may actually become decent players but as they get older and they lose their arm strength, their game will deteriorate and many end up quitting the game.

Lady golfers, on the other hand, seem the be able to avoid this problem because they don’t necessarily possess the arm strength to swing improperly and still hit the ball long and straight, so they tend to learn a proper swing.

If you look at the ladies on the LPGA you will see very simple, repeatable swings that produce the power using the turning muscles of the legs and back.

Less obvious but just as insidious would be a weak grip. When we putt we put both thumbs on the top of the club. This is why a putter grip has a flat front. For a proper grip on full shots neither thumb should be on the front of the grip. Stand up and allow your hands to relax by your side. In most cases the thumb of your left hand will point toward where a ball would be if centered in your stance. It will not point directly away from you. For right-handed players, the thumb of the left hand should rest on the right side of the club shaft. Since we will be covering this thumb with the lifeline pocket of the right hand, correct placement of the left hand creates a stronger position for the right hand. If you grip a club with the thumb on top and then allow your hand to return to its natural resting position, you will see that the face of the club is open, in a position that will produce a slice.

The least obvious and most insidious cause of slicing comes from a failure to keep our shoulders square with our target line. I have worked with players who meticulously square their toes, knees and hips square to the target line but fail to keep the shoulders square. This is largely caused by the fact that they fail to realize that since, for right-handed players, the right hand is below the left, the right shoulder needs to be below the left. The tendency is to reach over the club with the right hand, which keep the shoulders level but open to the target. We tend to swing more along the shoulder line than the toe line, hence open shoulders will tend to lead to pulled or sliced shots.

Try this the next time you hit balls. Before you put your right hand on the club, reach down and touch the outside of your right knee with your right hand. This will cause your right shoulder to drop and will also put more weight on your right foot. This is a good thing, as it will require less weight shift to prepare the club for the forward swing.

So if you are slicing the ball, don’t go for the band-aid fix. Make sure your swing path is inside to out, your grip is in the correct, neutral position and above all make sure you square your toes, knees, hips, shoulders and eyes to the target line.

A little more deliberate set up will pay major dividends in your game.