A slice is usually a weak shot that ends up right of your target, which is all to common among amateur golfers. Some of the most common causes for a slice are:

- Weak Grip - Meaning your hands are turned to the left (right handed golfer) so the “V’s” formed by the thumb and forefinger point at or to the left of your chin. The club is therefore too much in your palms, which makes it very hard to square the clubface at impact.

FIX: Strengthen your grip by turning your hands so the “V’s” point to the right of your chin. You can confirm the right position simply by holding the club while looking in a mirror.

- Grip is to Tight - Having to tight of grip pressure will restrict your movement when you swing. It makes it harder to release the club through impact (right arm over left arm for the right handed golfer), therefore usually leaving the face open and the ball ending up right of the target.

FIX: A good way I was taught to judge how light to grip the club was to take your normal grip, hold the club straight out in front of you and have someone try to pull the club out of your hands. They should almost be able to pull it away from you. If they can’t, you’re holding the club to tight.

- Cupped left Wrist - With to much of a cupped left wrist (right handed golfer) you leave yourself wide open for trouble. You’ll be trying to correct the flaw with an over the top swing in an effort to try and square the clubface. If you’re not familar with exactly what a “cupped” wrist looks like, please refer here where you will need to scroll almost all the way down the bottom of the page for a detailed drawing of a cupped and bowed wrist angle. The ideal position in the backswing is slightly cupped at the top, not majorly cupped.

FIX: One way I’ve been showed to get the feeling of not having a cupped wrist was to stick a pencil in your golf glove (on the back of your hand where the glove logo would be) and swing slowly like this, its nearly impossible to have a cupped wrist or else the pencil will dig into your arm.

Try these fixes for common faults and I think you’ll be on your way to straighter shots and more enjoyable golf.

Posted in: Golf Tips

Trackback this post | Add a Comment