10 reasons why you keep slicing the golf ball
- Open club face. The most common cause of a slice is an open club face. ...
- Thumbs too on-top of the grip. One of the more common misconceptions when it comes to a “weak” grip causing an open club face is golfers thinking their thumbs ...
- Arms separating from body. ...
- Keeping lead arm straight too long. ...
- Bad posture. ...
- Not flexible enough. ...
Full Answer
Why do golfers slice their driver shots?
This will tend to cause your shot to draw or hook. If you hit the ball on the inside/heel, the ball will generate more spin. Consequently, you will see higher, fading or slicing shots. This is the first place we will look when someone is slicing their driver.
Why do I slice my golf ball?
There may be no greater power loss than a slice. The ball sometimes starts out ok and then makes this depressing curve, robbing you of all of your potential distance and power. You can fix that slice, but it starts with understanding what causes it in the first place… 1. Open club face The most common cause of a slice is an open club face.
Why are my golf shots chunking?
Right now, you’re chunking golf shots because the low point of your swing happens before you reach the ball. There are a few reasons this might be happening. 1: Ball Position This is the most common mistake I see among amateur golfers.
How do I stop slicing the ball in golf?
If you slice the ball try the opposite. Flare your back foot and square your forward foot. This will help increase your ability to rotate back and also slow your body rotation down on your forward swing, both helping with path and sequencing of body and arms. It is time to stop slicing the ball.
How do I stop slicing my golf shot?
4:148:16How to: STOP slicing the golf ball | REALLY EASY TIPS - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo picture this if i draw a line going straight towards my target which is pretty much over thatMoreSo picture this if i draw a line going straight towards my target which is pretty much over that bunker a slicer will come in from the outside of that line. And then swing to the inside of that. Line.
Why am I slicing every golf shot?
The most common cause of a slice is an open club face. This open club face will give you contact that isn't square and often feels like a “side swipe.” The most common cause of an open club face is an incorrect grip as your hand position will directly reflect in the face.
How do I stop hitting a slice?
How to Fix a Slice During a RoundCheck your grip. ... Keep your clubface closed or facing toward the ground in your takeaway.Make sure your left wrist is bowed at the top of the swing and keep it there throughout the swing.Release your right forearm over your left forearm through impact and into your follow-through.More items...•
Can standing too close to the ball cause a slice?
Standing too close to the golf ball will result in a posture that's too upright, which could result in inconsistent shots and no control over the ball. Standing too close to the ball can result in slices and shanks, which are very common among average players.
Why do I slice my driver but not my irons?
The main reason that a driver will slice, but not the irons, is the length of the club. With a golf driver being longer than a golf iron, it is much harder to square the club face and release the club at the proper time. Golfers of all ability levels struggle with this concept.
Why do I slice my driver but pull my irons?
Incorrect Stance The general problem with a slice is that your stance is too open. This means that your leading foot is behind the trailing foot when facing the target. To exacerbate this, golfers tend to open their stance aiming further left and increasing the angle of the out-to-in swing path.
Why do I slice my driver when I swing hard?
A common cause of a slice is that the golfer is swinging the club too fast. Swinging the club harder will not necessarily result in greater distance off the tee, but it does usually result in a slice. In a fast swing, the arms come through the ball before the body weight can be shifted into the swing.
What is a slice in golf?
For a right-handed golfer, a slice is a golf shot that curves dramatically toward the right. A slice is never controlled and never intentional. It takes you off course and adds strokes to your game. Trust us. You enjoy a round much more when you learn how to fix a slice in golf.
How to swing a golf club from your lead thigh to your trail high?
Focus on the journey of the club handle. You want to swing the handle from your lead thigh back to your trail high, at which point the club shaft should be parallel to the ground. Before the handle reaches your trail thigh, the logo on your golf glove should point down at the golf ball.
What are the most common mistakes that slicers make?
One of the most common mistakes we see among slicers is their setup . Interestingly, problems in the setup often occur as an instinctual effort to fix the golf slice. Golfers see their ball veering to the right, so they make subconscious changes to aim more to the left.
What is the shape of a golf swing?
Your golf swing travels in a circle shape. This circle is vertical, but it’s not straight up and down. If your swing shape is a hula hoop, it’s a hula hoop that leans in toward your body just a bit. Because of this lean, the direction of your swing path changes after you hit the low point.
How far does a golf ball curve when hitting a fade?
When you hit a fade, the golf ball curves only about 5-7 yards from the target line. When you slice it, the golf ball curves farther . . . around 15 yards to the right of the target line. If your ball flight resembles a peeling banana, you’re dealing with a slice.
How to get a square face in golf?
Place an object—a tee, a towel, anything—just to the right of your target path. Take your golf shot. Finish with the butt end of your club pointed at the object you set out. This drill teaches you how to release the club at the right time to deliver a square club face.
What happens when you hit a low point?
Because of this lean, the direction of your swing path changes after you hit the low point. So if the club head travels toward the right on the descent, it’s going to head back towards the left on the ascent. Now, you hit down on your iron shots, which means you make contact before the low point.
Why does my golf club slice?
Having the ball too far back in your stance can also sometimes cause a slice. That’s because the club will have less time to release before reaching the ball, resulting in a slightly open clubface at impact.
What is a slice in golf?
A slice is a type of shot in golf where the ball starts on a straight line and then immediately veers off to one side. For a right-handed golfer, a slice travels from left-to-right. For a left-handed golfer, the shape is right-to-left. For the remainder of this article, I’ll refer to directions based on what a right-handed player would see as ...
How many times should you backswing a golf swing?
It’s recommended that the speed of your swing follows a 3:1 ratio. Your backswing should take three times as long as your downswing. For that reason, I would recommend choosing a 3-syllabal word to say in your head for your backswing, and a 1-syllabal word for your downswing.
What is a push slice?
Push Slice. For a righty, a push slice starts on the right side of the target line before traveling further to the right. In this case, a double negative does not make a positive. A push slice will likely result in a lost ball or an unfavorable lie on your next shot.
How to fix a golf ball that is spinning?
How to Fix It. Set up in your stance like you’re about to hit a drive. Now, tilt your upper body so that it leans behind the golf ball. This is called the “reverse-k” position. The reverse-k position will help you stay behind the golfball and make contact on an upward angle, reducing the amount of spin on the ball.
What happens if you spin a golf ball sideways?
If it’s spinning sideways as it comes off the tee, the air will catch the dimples on the ball and cause it to drift off to the right. A High, Weak Ball Flight – another consequence of putting too much spin on the ball is that sometimes it has a tendency to rise up into the air.
Why does a ball slice?
Because the ball is traveling in a curved line, it will not go as far as a ball that travels in a straight line, assuming all else is equal. The picture below helps you get a better idea of why this is: You’ll Be Less Accurate – the reason a ball begins to slice is that it has too much sidespin.
Why do you aim to the left when you slice the ball?
By moving your aim left, it actually is promoting more of the slicing motion. Basically, you are taking your slice and slicing it even more.
What happens when you hit a golf ball on the heel of the club?
Now, when you hit a ball on the heel or toe of the club, the club face will tend to twist based on the impact of the ball.
How to takeaway a golf tee?
Start by taking a golf tee, open your golf glove flap and close it around the base of the tee. The base should rest on the back of your hand, with the tee sticking straight out. As you start your takeaway, rotate the tee towards the ground, pointing straight down.
What happens if you can't diagnose a driver?
There are numerous components that are in play any time you make a swing. From the takeaway to the backswing, to the transition to the downswing, to impact, follow through and finish, if you are unable to diagnose the issue, chances are you are going to continue to slice your driver.
What is the most common mistake at the top of the swing?
Easily the most common mistake at the top of the swing is amateur golfers trying to make their swing too long. Many amateur golfers equate a longer swing to more distance, but more often the added length just gets the club into a poor position.
How to tell if your hand is neutral grip?
Most people would agree that with a neutral grip, when you look down at the lead hand, you will see the top two knuckles. For a stronger grip, your hands will rotate over and show more knuckles (3 or more). A weak grip will rotate the hands the other way, and show no knuckles.
What is it called when you take a golf club and hold it in a neutral position out in front of you
Now, if you took a golf club and held it in a neutral position out in front of you, your lead wrist can do one of two things. Let’s focus on the back of the hand, or where a logo might be on a golf glove. If you took that logo and rotate the wrist towards the sky, that is called Extension.
How to get rid of slice in golf?
They could see in five minutes that getting rid of their slice is the first step to playing to their potential. BLEND IN A SWING: In Step 3, start with a two-thirds backswing, make a full turn and start hitting shots. You're close to making a real swing--and losing your slice.
Why do people slice the ball?
There's a good reason why people who slice the ball want to fix it: Because on the road you take to playing good golf, nowhere is there a slice. You can go from hitting a hook to playing good golf, but if you don't learn how to stop hitting shots with an open clubface, you won't get very far. The unfortunate reality is that a large majority ...
Why do slicers use a driver with little loft?
Almost all slicers use a driver with too little loft, because they're reacting to their high, weak ball flight. The new adjustable drivers let you increase the loft and move weight to the clubhead's heel.
How to get a better grip on a golf club?
STEP 1: DRAW A BACKWARD LOOP. Checking your new grip, take your normal stance, with the ball just inside your front heel. But instead of soling the clubhead as usual, set it in front of the ball.
How to swing a golf club on a shallower plane?
As you swing, the club will naturally drop onto a shallower plane as it approaches the ball, and your hands will start to release, or roll over. *ADD A TURN: in step 2, start from a normal setup, lift the club over your head, turn back and swing over the ball. The club will swing on a shallower plane.
What percentage of players struggle with slice?
The unfortunate reality is that a large majority of players--maybe 90 percent--struggle with a slice. They don't have a good grip, they make a steep swing into the ball, and they don't understand how the hands work in a good release. Those things combine to produce high, weak shots to the right. One teaching strategy that has always worked ...
How to make your grip stronger?
Make your grip stronger, so your hands are turned away from the target and your palms are parallel with each other. If you drew lines up from the base of your thumbs, they should hit the point of your collar on the right side of your shirt. Also, gripping too tight keeps the hands from releasing through impact.
Why is a slice considered a golf shot?
Because it misses the target it is considered a golf shot error that should be avoided. Note that technically, a slice can also be referred to as a pull slice since similarly to that shot, the ball will start left of the target. Continue reading in order to find out what causes slices and for advice on how to stop slicing shots.
What is a slice in golf?
In golf a slice – or a sliced shot – is one that sees the ball beginning its flight left of the target initially but then curving aggressively to the right as a result of strong clockwise sidespin. Because it misses the target it is considered a golf shot error that should be avoided. Note that technically, a slice can also be referred ...
What direction does the clubface go in a slice?
Or in other words, the clubface must aim to the right of the direction of the club path itself. In addition to this, because the ball starts its flight left of the target initially it means that the club was closed relative ...
What is the difference between left to right spin and left to right spin?
But again, the left to right spin comes as a result of a clubface that is open relative to the club path.
What is a severe outside-in club path?
Severe outside-in club path, Clubface that is open relative to the path and. Clubface that is point ing to the left of the target at impact. When these factors are all present it will produce a shot that sees the ball start left of the target that will spin aggressively to the right.
Why is my golf club open at impact?
The reason your club is open to the path at impact is probably because you are using a grip that is too weak for your swing. Indeed, a grip that is of the weaker variety promotes a lazy release of the hands and club at impact, which effectively leaves the clubface open to the path. Moving to a stronger grip can be done easily.
Why do you slice your feet to the left?
In most cases, golfers who slice will aim to the left of the target in order to leave enough room for the ball to spin right and come to rest in the fairway. Such a stance can alone be responsible for the outside-in club path ...
What does it feel like to chunk a golf shot?
All golfers know the pain of chunking golf shots. You take a powerful backswing, you feel like you’re about to hit a quality shot, then you swing down and feel the club hit the ground. When you look up, you see a huge piece of turf traveling down the fairway. Meanwhile, your ball has only gone a few feet. The chunk shot is a common problem.
Why is the low point of a golf swing important?
This is significant because the low point of your swing follows the pressure in your feet. If most of your pressure is still in your back foot when the club comes back down, the clubhead is going to hit the ground well behind your golf ball. You wind up chunking the shot.
How to swing a golf ball with your feet together?
An easy way to do this is by standing with your feet together and the ball aligned with the center. Then, step your lead foot forward and your trail foot back and equal distance. Second, notice the pressure on your feet as you take your swing.
What is a chunk shot?
To put it simply, a chunk shot is that aggravating golf shot where the club hits the ground before it hits the ball. In most cases, the leading edge of the club digs into the turf, creating a divot.
How to start pressure on a golf club?
You should start with most pressure on the lead foot, shift to the trail foot on the backswing, and shift pressure back to the lead foot as you swing through. You can find more tips on pressure in the feet here. Third, check the butt end of your club at setup.
Where should the ball be in your stance?
You want the ball in the center of your stance. Maybe slightly forward of center, but only slightly. You can learn more about the importance of ball position in iron shots here. To get proper ball position on your irons, simply start with your feet together at address, ball right between your feet. Then, simply take your lead foot ...
What is a top shot in golf?
In golf a topped shot is one that see the club hitting the ball above its equator. (For a shot that sees the club hitting just below the equator see the page on thin shots ).
Why is the bottom of the swing arc not a strike?
That’s because a swing that sees the bottom of the swing arc located too much in front of the ball will not produce a pure strike and if far enough in front will produce a topped shot. While the club will correctly approach the ball as it travels down it will catch the ball above its equator if the bottom of the swing arc is too late in the swing, ...
What is a swing arc that never produces a divot?
A swing arc that never produces a divot simply stays too high (woods and putter categories of clubs excluded), and one that doesn’t reach down below the equator of the ball stays too high.
What is the bottom of the swing arc?
Or in other words, it can be explained by a bottom of the swing arc that is simply too high in relation to the ball (and to where it should be). Indeed, in a well struck shot using an iron for example, the bottom of the swing arc will be found slightly below the surface of the ground which will produce a nice little divot.
How to move weight back in tennis?
Instead of moving your weight back towards your right foot during the backswing you will move it forward towards the front foot. Likewise, during the downswing and as you head into impact with the ball, you will move the weight back towards your right foot, instead of correctly moving it forward towards your left foot.
Why is my right hand lower than my left hand?
This is because your right hand will be lower on the grip of the club than the left hand. Failing to adopt this natural position can see you having both shoulders level between themselves and to the ground. Doing so, or worse seeing your left shoulder lower than the right will move your swing arc bottom forward.
Is it ok to choke down on a golf club?
Choking down on the club, while useful in certain scenarios can be overdone and is not always a good idea. If you are topping shots when choking down on the club, consider choking down less, or avoiding to choke at all by holding the club near the top of the grip.
How to fix pushed shots in golf?
The first step into fixing an inside-out swing involves the takeaway where you will want to take your club back square instead of taking it back inside.
What happens when the golf club is too low?
Rather, in these instances the heel of the club will be sticking out, which will produce shots that go to the right of the target.
What does it mean when the ball shoots right of the target?
And because the ball shoots right of the target, it most likely means the clubface was open at impact, that it was aiming right of the target. But it also means the swing path was of the inside-to-in variety, resulting in a clubface that is square to the club path where both are pointing to the right of the target, and ultimately a pull.
What happens when you lie down for a shot?
The lie you face for a shot can also contribute to the direction the ball will take after being struck. Golf balls that are lying below your feet which happen when you are standing on a sidehill will naturally leave the clubface open at impact and will send the ball right of the target.
How to fix pushes?
In order to determine whether your ball positioning is to blame for your pushes simply try placing your shots a little forward in your stance , or at least more forward that you are used to.
What is push shot in golf?
In golf a push – or a pushed shot – is one that sees the ball starting right of the target initially and continuing on straight that line, without lateral spin. It is in effect a straight shot that misses right of the target. Because it ultimately misses the target it constitutes a golf shot error and should be avoided.
Can high lofted wedges cause push shots?
For example, high lofted wedges can sometimes give golfers push issues and simply aiming left whenever using such a club can prove plentiful in not letting push shots ruin a golf round.
