Fix Your Slice

To fix your slice you need to really understand why you slice in the first place

 

The reason? Your swing path is wrong and your clubface is open!

The first thing you have to do to fix your slice is to learn to get square to your target line.  Many golfers who come in for lessons to improve a slice have a major problem with alignment.  Many slicers learn to control a slice by aiming left (right-handed players) so they can start the ball left and have it slice back into play.  As we all know, the slice is a weak shot, distance killer, and no forward roll when the balls lands.

I want you to go to a practice range.  I want you to lay two clubs on the ground about 12-18 inches apart and make sure that the clubs are square to your target. I want you to take your stance with your driver, no ball and no tee. Yes, no tee. We are going to let the ground act like bumpers in bowling or training wheels on a bike.

Now I want you to make your swing, but I want to make sure that at the top of the backswing your back is almost facing the target.  I want you to create a full shoulder turn and get your back to the target. Don’t hurt yourself, turn with comfort, if you feel any pain, stop, you may need to see a trainer help with your flexibility.

Moving on, at the top of your swing with a full turn I want you to stop for a full two seconds, after two seconds you can start your downswing slowly, really slow, slower than you can imagine, I want you to go in a real super slow motion all the way until you get to where you would make contact with the ball if there was a ball to hit.  Take a look at your clubface and make sure that it is square to your target.  The two clubs on the ground will act as guides to help you understand if your path is straight and to help you see if your clubface is square.  In slow motion, you should be able to swing your clubhead between the two clubs on the ground 12-18 inches apart.

I want you to do this 5 times, making sure your clubface is square each time.

After 5 times, now we can swing.  No ball yet, just a swing.  As you take 5 swings make sure your back is to your target in the backswing and that your clubface is square at where the ball would be at impact.  Trust the timing of the swing with the big turn, figure out how to swing between the clubs, thinking about keeping the face square.  Do this drill, 5 swings, at least 2-3 times, that is 5 practice swings each time.

Ready for a ball?

But a ball on the ground, no tee, set up to the ball with a nice wide stance, and make sure the ball position is off the inside of your left heel. (right-handed golfer) Make sure to use your full turn swing, swing between the clubs, and strike the ball.

What happened? Did you fix your slice?

Watch the shot – if you were able to swing between the clubs then your path was pretty good if the ball went straight your club’s face was square, if it went off to the right then you know that your face was open if it went left it was closed.

If the ball did not go straight, stop, think, and take 5 swings with no ball and correct the open or closed clubface.  You can do this by simply paying attention to using your wrists to close the clubface or keep it open as it makes contact with the ball area.  If you are a slicer, you probably have to work at closing the face.

After 5 practice swings, try a ball again, paying more attention to closing your clubface at impact if you are hitting right.  You need to still make that big turn and swing between the two clubs.  Watch the shot again.  Hopefully, you did a better job of squaring the clubface at impact.

This is a great starting point for any player struggling with a slice.

A couple of quick notes:  Hitting off the deck with the driver is not easy, when you figure out how to make decent contact with a square face I want you to try a low tee, only a half-inch high, then as you get better try a higher tee, 1 inch high and keep progressing until you find the sweet spot on the driver’s face.  If you find yourself hitting behind the ball a lot then you have some issues with your lower body weight shift and the rotation of your hips. Not to worry, keep working on the full turn, and swinging between the clubs and the lower body usually figures out the timing.

Arlen Bento Jr. is an Award-Winning Golf Coach and “Top 100” World Recognized Golf Instructor.  He is the former Head Golf Professional of the PGA Country Club in PGA Village Florida and Director of Golf / General Manager of Eagle Marsh Golf Club in Jensen Beach Florida.  He operates his own Indoor Golf Center in Stuart Florida and an Outdoor Golf Academy in Port St. Lucie Florida at the Saints Golf Course.  Coach Bento specializes in player development and offers his highly successful “Bento Golf Method” which includes his online learning platform “Shoot Par Now” by Op36 to players that want to learn how to get better.  For more information, you can visit his website https://arlenbentojrgolflessons.com