How to Fix a Slice in Golf
Slice in golf can be very frustrating, especially for amateur golfers. It looks pretty ugly in the air, covers a short distance, and makes it hard to get lower scores.
Some professionals recommend changing your grip, others tell you to improve your stance and swing place. However, if you really want to improve yourself, you need to understand its actual cause.
What is Slice in Golf?
A sliced shot happens when a sidespin causes the ball to move in the right direction for a right-handed player and to the left for a left-handed player. The ball curves away from the dominant hand of the player.
One important reason behind this is an open club face as the ball curves left to right and loses distance.
What causes Slice in Golf?
Just like everything else in golf, there is not a single cause of slicing. So, let’s discuss some of the most common mistakes to avoid for beginners.
Over-the-top swing motion
When you hit the ball with an over-the-top swing motion, it cause the club to be open during the impact. This action slices the ball to the right since It usually starts from the left.
Now, how far the ball goes after this depends on how open the club face was during the impact. For example, if you are using a driver then this shot is magnified as it has a longer club and less loft. Most drivers have 8-11 degrees of loft so it produces a much bigger left-to-right shot.
Poor alignment
Having a proper alignment of your club relative to the ball is the foundation of playing good golf. The reason is obvious because how you address the ball sets up the base for the rest of your shots in the game ahead. So, plan your shot beforehand as it will make it easier to have a proper swing path and not have an open club face during the impact.
Bad grip
Another important factor to consider when preventing a slice is your grip. Basically, there are three types; weak, neutral, and strong grip.
A weak grip directs your shot slightly from left to right, while a strong one promotes a draw. So, ideally, you need to have a neutral grip so that the ball moves in a straight direction or both right and left. This will save you a lot of hassle.
Using upper body
While playing golf, you need to move your lower body more than your upper body. However, many slicers activate their upper body leading to big misses.
So, if you are always slicing the ball it’s probably because you are always starting the swing with your arms and shoulder instead of the lower body.
How can you fix a Slice in golf?
Choose the right equipment to fix Slice in Golf
The right kind of equipment can have a huge impact on your performance. So, to make sure that you are using the right equipment, you should evaluate your shaft flex first. For example, if the shaft has too much flex it can make it difficult to square the fact during the impact.
Here’s a general guide for shaft selection:
- X Flex
X Flex has extra stiffness, and it is ideal for a swing speed of 110 mph or higher.
- S Flex
This one is simply stiff and is ideal for a swing speed of 95 to 110mph.
- R Flex
This one has regular flex which is great for swing speed of 85 to 95 mph.
- A or M Flex
This Flex is great for amateurs or seniors with swing speeds of 75 to 85 mph.
- L Flex
Finally, this flex is ideal for Ladies with swing speeds of 75 mph and below.
Strengthen your left hand
Never let a poor grip ruin the potential of your game and skills. In simple words, it’s very hard to play a good shot if your ball is side-spinning left to right.
So, a strong yet neutral grip is needed to correct your swing path and clubface issues. It may feel strange at the beginning but you will strengthen your grip over time and control your shots.
Adjust your setup
As I mentioned earlier, most slices happen due to over-the-top motion on the downswing. Therefore, in order to fix that you need to work your setup.
First, if you are right-handed and you are aiming for the extreme right every time, try to aim a bit left. While doing so, use your lower body and keep your shoulders square to the target. This will lead to straighter and more powerful hits.
Baseball drill
If you used to play baseball as a child, then that skill might come in handy here. All you need to do is grab a 7-iron and practice as if you are hitting a baseball. Wrap the club behind and then around your body keeping the club level. Then, rotate and turn over and it will help you hit more draws.
After you have practiced a couple of shots, try turning your hands over even quicker. This promotes the skill of squared club face, improving your golf swing mid-round.
Plane mate trainer
If are always slicing your shots then you must be using a training aid to improve yourself. While some are great, others are a total waste of money. So, to help you make a wise there is one training aid that is better than anything else and it’s called “PlaneMate swing trainer”.
This is a unique training aid that will help you improve your swing, and you can use any club from your bag for this. Moreover, it works great for chip shots, and you can also hit full-swing drivers using different bands.
Muscle confusion drill
Every aspect of improvement in golf requires a certain type of drill and practice. This is the same for Slicing. In addition to the baseball drill muscle confusion drill is another powerful technique to hit the ball while swinging consistently.
For this frill, you should use a 6 or a 7 iron. Then, make as much of a backswing as you can while keeping your feet together. Now, without moving any other part of your body, let gravity do its magic and drop your arms. While doing so, your right elbow should hit your side and your club should fly out. This should put the butt end of your club close to your face.
Keep in mind that you do not necessarily require the ball for this drill. In addition, if you do not follow all the steps, it will lead to the club wrapping around your body and producing a pull slice.
Eyeline Golf speed trap to fix slice in Golf
If you are not already convinced with the plane mate trainer then here is another training aid that can help you. It’s called the “Eyeline Golf speed trap” and it’s a relatively cheaper alternative.
This training aid is designed in a unique way with four foam training rods that are placed to hit different shots. So, if you are aiming to fix your slice, this device will give you immediate feedback on whether you came over the top or not.
This will improve your Eyeline and train you to come more from the inside path on your downswing.
