Why is it that 7 out of 8 Golfers that aren’t happy with their Driver have the ‘problem’ of slicing the golf ball? It’s a dilemma that causes many Golfers to go to the extremes and often swallow any dignity they have by trying some crazy looking Golf Tips on the driving range as others often look at you and wonder – “What is he/she doing over there?”
‘The key to stopping your slice is to make sure you swing toe-up to toe-up.’
And when I say “going to the extremes to fix” – I wouldn’t classify buying a new Driver every year as extreme! A new Driver every year isn’t as exotic a purchase as it used to be – it’s pretty commonplace these days.
‘To stop your slice you need to learn to roll over your wrists through impact so that your forearms cross as you go through the golf ball.’
Talk of slicing the golf ball often overtakes all golf conversations about being inconsistent on the golf course. And if you’re into marketing (meaning getting people to pay attention to what you say), the easiest way for a Golf Company to get your attention is to talk about helping Golfers fix their slice and advertise the heck out of it!
‘To turn your slice into a draw, you need to learn how to make an inside to outside swing path by taking the club more inside on your takeaway and keeping your right elbow close to your side at the start of the downswing as you swing out to right-field’
It would be so easy to sit here and give you tip after tip on how to stop your slice because I could write anything and I guarantee that there will be a desperate Golfer that tries each tip until something works. Isn’t that how Golf Digest has built their empire? They just give you a few tips a month, you try them and – if they work they work. If they don’t – you just wait till next month’s issue for some more Slice tips.
‘The simplest way to stop slicing is to have a stronger grip so that the back of your left hand (for a right-handed Golfer) is more on top of the club and allows you to see 3 or 4 knuckles when you look down.’
I call this technique – desperation marketing – or marketing to the desperate Golfer. With just about everyone wanting to hit their Driver straighter, longer or with a Draw – anyone with their ball curving to the right (for a right-handed Golfer) will listen or read just about anything that promises improvement.
‘Making sure that you completely follow-through with your swing will allow you to release your clubhead so that it’s closing through impact and promoting a draw. And to insure a full follow-through, keep swinging until your club finishes in the proper position with the shaft behind your head and parallel to the ground’
And judging by the amount of infomercials that are being produced for golf training aides that will stop your slice – the Golfer that loves these gadgets are going to be like a kid in a candy store with all the new toys they can buy to stop their banana ball. Because if you think that every training aide has been already invented – wait to you see the onslaught that’s coming!
‘Release your arms through the golf ball while keeping your lead shoulder down. You need to achieve a perfect forearm rotation by using your lead elbow as your hinge. Your hands must still move towards your target although your lead elbow has stopped.’
And what’s amazing is that the more complex I make the solution for a Golfer’s problem – the more people will listen to what I have to say. It’s as if Golfers say to themselves – “There’s a lot of work involved with that tip — so it must be the correct way.” I mean what’s exciting about making improvement simple by helping someone control their club face so that they become more consistent and eliminate their slice? Wouldn’t it be more glamorous learning that your swing plane is 5.2 degrees too flat and that you need to make sure that during your swing that you start with a one piece takeaway, then cock your wrists as your shoulders turn 90 degrees and your hips rotate 45 degrees?
‘Setting the club at the top of your swing while keeping your left wrist flat (for a right-handed Golfer) and having your right wrist bent at a 90 degree angle so that your palm is facing the sky as if holding a tray; while having your right elbow also at a 90 degree angle will allow you to have square club face at the top of your swing which will guarantee a square clubface at impact.’
In the old western movies, you often saw a snake oil salesman riding into town selling some potion that would cure anything that ails you. As most of the town people would start out skeptical about this magical potion – the salesman would spin tales and tell convincing stories of how this magic potion has cured every ailment known to mankind. It’s my belief that these snake oil salesmen are still around – they just don’t go town to town anymore – they use technology and try to sell you magazine subscriptions (which help them to raise their advertising rates) by giving you ‘3 Surefire Ways To Stop Your Slice’.
‘The key to stop a slice is to hold the angle of the club on the downswing as long as you can. This should create a more acute angle between your forearms and the shaft than the angle created on the back swing. Then just before impact, at the last second possible, snap your wrists through the ball.’
Which just makes PT Barnum look more and more like a genius. Because the golf business has adapted Barnum’s famous line to say – “There’s a Golfer with a slice born every minute.”
‘To stop your slice, you need to turn your head to the right after you reach the top of your swing. This will put your eyes on the correct inside-to-out swing path, rather than directly on the target line. From this position, you’re much less likely to cut across the ball through impact. With minimal practice, those killer slices will turn into powerful draws.’
So my question to you is – when are you going to stop looking at golf tips that supposedly help you to stop your slice? Because you’ve been reading these tips for the last 5 years or more and you’re still slicing! Do you think that there’s still a tip yet to be published that will solve all your slicing problems? Golf Tips don’t cure Slice Woos. You need a PLAN to fix your Slice.
‘If your hands are inside the buttons of your shirt, then you’ve brought the club too far inside and will probably try to make a correction during the downswing path. When you make this type of adjustment, expect momentum to take the club outside your desired path, producing an outside-to-in downswing.’
It’s my belief that you won’t find a Golf Tip that cures all because it’s my belief that the tip of all tips has already been published. What’s that tip? Oh, it’s the tip by David Ledbetter that said: ‘that in order to lose tension in your golf swing, you need to open your mouth at address with your tongue on the roof of your mouth and keep it that way as you swing back and through. This will free you up to make a good tempo, rhythmic swing.’
I guess PT Barnum was ahead of his time, because as stupid as that tip is – and it really is a David Ledbetter tip that was published in a Golf Magazine – the rest of the golf tips that you run across pretty much are just as ineffective; although they might not sound as far fetched.
The Monkey can’t pass up an anti-slice tip and probably experiments with 20 or more each year
The Player focuses on one thing – having a PLAN to control their clubhead
Go ahead, be a Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life
