How to Fix a Slice in Golf
By Bill Herrfeldt
There is hardly anything a golfer must face that's more difficult to correct than a chronic slice. No matter how many lessons you take or how much you do to correct it, you probably still have the tendency to hit the ball to the right if you are a right-handed player. There are four basic mistakes golfers make that makes them slice the ball.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Your club head might be open at the point of impact. This is a fairly easy problem to correct. Make sure your bottom hand crosses over your top hand just before you make contact with the ball. Some call it pronating, but if you do it correctly, you will square up the club face before you hit the ball and will hit fewer slices.
Your head does not remain steady and it ends up ahead of the ball when you make contact with it. That simple motion will cause you to be late in pronating your hands, and the result is an open face and a slice. To correct this problem, keep your head slightly behind the ball at address and make a conscious effort to keep your head behind the ball at every point in your swing.
Your backswing's plane is outside that of your downswing, causing you to cut across the ball. That motion will cause the ball to spin more than normal, your club face will be open, and all of those will lead you to slice the ball. To cure this problem, try taking the club more to the inside on your backswing, then finish the downswing more to the outside at the finish.
Your feet are set in the open position at address. That means the foot closer to your target is slightly in back of your other foot. This will cause you to cut across the ball, and the club face will probably be open because you have difficulty pronating properly. Reset your feet so they are more in line with your target, or even have your back foot behind your other foot as you address the ball.
Practice until your new swing results in fewer slices. And remember that while you might have cured your slice on the driving range, there's no guarantee it will translate to improvement on the golf course. Some people have labored with this problem for years, so it probably will take several visits to the driving range before changes to your swing will become permanent.
About The Author
Bill Herrfeldt specializes in finance, sports and the needs of retiring people, and has been published in the national edition of "Erickson Tribune," the "Washington Post" and the "Arizona Republic." He graduated from the University of Louisville.
