What Causes a Slice in your case ???

In my case... My left hand grip is not strong enough. The 'conventional' "V" is now pointed outside of my right shoulder and my slice has been gone. I can't draw sh$$$t

I truly have a shatload of hipspeed, Sometimes when I am lazy or dont want to swing full I tend to fire my hips more with a slower swing, as you can imagine that results in a fade. I dont work the clubface to get the ball straight, I have to consiously try and keep my arms almost infront of my hips at all times otherwise "ball right!!!"

I wish I knew what causes my slice. Various partners have said various things. I am going to be taking lessons this spring and hopefully a qualified instructor can help me out. I really would like to get video taped, this way I can actually see what I'm doing vs someone telling me this or that.

My hands get way behind me at the top of my backswing and are totally out of sync. It takes perfect timing for them to catch up with my body and if they don't I really slash across the ball putting a huge banana slice on it. Very ugly. To compensate I rush the downswing and trade the slice for an ugly pull to the left which can be even more disastrous. I have been working with my pro on the feeling of keeping my right elbow connected throughout the swing and getting the feeling of a solid connected turn and also making an earlier wrist cock to prevent the overswinging. When I get it right my shots are far more powerful and consistent and my drives are OD.

It's a constant WIP. Bad habits are hard to shake.

jmtbkr wrote:I wish I knew what causes my slice. Various partners have said various things. I am going to be taking lessons this spring and hopefully a qualified instructor can help me out. I really would like to get video taped, this way I can actually see what I'm doing vs someone telling me this or that.

A pro will be able to tell you very quickly. Fixing it on the other hand ...

Careful with the video. You may not like what you see. I can't get over how ugly my swing looks and even when it 'feels' like I have made changes and I am swinging much better it usually looks exactly the same.

My feeling about the video thing is, being an engineer, I like hard facts - data. A visual record is what I need to see. It's one thng for a pro to tell you you're doing this or that, but for me, a video will work.

Funny thing about slicing....My slices are more prevelant with my driver. As I go down in clubs, it gets less and less, to the point that with my lofted irons I actually wind up with a slight pull . Gotta figure that one out!!!
My best shots are usually with my 7i. I think thats what's been saving me this past year, hitting more greens on my second shot....and better putting.

jmtbkr wrote:My feeling about the video thing is, being an engineer, I like hard facts - data. A visual record is what I need to see. It's one thng for a pro to tell you you're doing this or that, but for me, a video will work.

Funny thing about slicing....My slices are more prevelant with my driver. As I go down in clubs, it gets less and less, to the point that with my lofted irons I actually wind up with a slight pull . Gotta figure that one out!!!
My best shots are usually with my 7i. I think thats what's been saving me this past year, hitting more greens on my second shot....and better putting.

Im not a pro - but sound OTT to me. Cant time it up with the longer clubs, but the shorter ones let you get away with it - even then, you get the pulls....

When I got my irons bent a few weeks ago the pro gave me a few mini lessons. Was always pulling everything and he said I was holding the club to low. Aimed the shaft at between my belt buckle and belly button and lo and behold, they started going straight.

I never really hit a slice; a ball that starts out considerably left of center and then slices back across the center all the way to the right. That is a slice and should not be confused with a fade.

Sometimes I slice if I try to hit a fade and then fail to finish the swing. It's a deplorable shot indeed.

Whenever I slice I deliberately spit on the ground immediately afterward. It's a warning to the course that clubs will be flying if the swing continues to fail me.

Be warned.

jmtbkr wrote:My feeling about the video thing is, being an engineer, I like hard facts - data. A visual record is what I need to see. It's one thng for a pro to tell you you're doing this or that, but for me, a video will work.

Funny thing about slicing....My slices are more prevelant with my driver. As I go down in clubs, it gets less and less, to the point that with my lofted irons I actually wind up with a slight pull . Gotta figure that one out!!!
My best shots are usually with my 7i. I think thats what's been saving me this past year, hitting more greens on my second shot....and better putting.

One reason you have less problems with the lower lofted clubs is there is more back spin using these clubs which negates some of the side spin. Also the angle of attack is steeper with a shorter club.

A pull and a slice are usually brothers of the same mother. That is if your ball starts out straight or a slight pull with the ball moving right. Each are caused by an out to in club path. In a pull you have a out to in club path with a face that is normal to the club path which gets you a dead pull. With a slice it's the same club path, out to in, with a club face that is open to the swing path. Since the majority of the ball direction comes from the club face the ball with start on that line but peel of to the right.

Uhhh....yeah....

OTT or Out to In, whatever. I understand what you're all saying. My shots always go dead straight then fade wildly(sometimes) off to the right. So I'm pretty sure my clubface is square to my shotline. It's the face coming across flat but diagonally on the ball causing a straight start then the spin takesover and it fades badly. I think. This sounds logical. I must be rationalizing

What I do know is I need a pro to look at my swing and help me adjust what I'm doing wrong. This way I won't have to stand over the ball at address and have a million things running thru mu mind and trying to adjust as I start my down swing, la de da.......youu know....

Why it can't come as natural to me as hitting a baseball is damn frustrating!!! But it keeps me coming back for more because I know I can hit it right and do even better!

jmtbkr wrote:Uhhh....yeah....

OTT or Out to In, whatever. I understand what you're all saying. My shots always go dead straight then fade wildly(sometimes) off to the right. So I'm pretty sure my clubface is square to my shotline. It's the face coming across flat but diagonally on the ball causing a straight start then the spin takesover and it fades badly. I think. This sounds logical. I must be rationalizing

What I do know is I need a pro to look at my swing and help me adjust what I'm doing wrong. This way I won't have to stand over the ball at address and have a million things running thru mu mind and trying to adjust as I start my down swing, la de da.......youu know....

Why it can't come as natural to me as hitting a baseball is damn frustrating!!! But it keeps me coming back for more because I know I can hit it right and do even better!

as a former baseball player myself...i feel your pain. keep it up. you might be sliding too much and getting ahead of the ball, causing the initially straight but ultimately a fade. try keeping the right foot (if your a righty) down more in the downswing....
g luck!

Every time I play golf I'll see someone playing another hole who plays a slice. They all have some common flaws in their swings that I've noticed:

- The grip. The right hand grips the club in the palm with the thumb laying flat on the grip, rather than in a V formation with the pointer finger.

- They aim to the left of the fairway-a natural adjustment for the impending slice that only exacerbates the problem.

- A proper wrist hinge is absent and the clubface remains shut in the backswing.

- The shaft is most likely too stiff

- The ball is too far forward in the stance

I would have mentioned the over the top move but I think that's more of a result rather than a cause. One way to cure a slice is to place the ball toward the middle of your stance, line your feet closed to the target but your upper body square to it. Take the club inside and feel your wrists hinging early and then make sure when you come through to turn the club over in the hitting area and follow-thru.

I don't agree with you on the subject of shaft stiffness. For me - a stiffer shaft has helped trmendously to straighten out my shots. I haven't lost any real yardage either. I found that the R flex was/is too whippy for me, exagerating my 'fade'. I play all my clubs with a stiff flex. I also like the feeling thru the club with them too.

I tottally agree with ball placement, however. Playing the ball more towards the middle, well, between the middle and inside the heel, has the added benefit of keeping the ball flight a bit lower - for me. I am presently using a 9* stiff shafted driver (G15 w/ serrano 65) and if I play it foward, it goes a mile in the air.

Not sure what you mean about the right hand grip, tho...I do have the grip laying in my palm. What other way is there to grip it without the club flying out my hands? This is what I mean about having a pro straighten me out. All this chatting is good, gives me many, maybe too many ideas to get all neurotic over

I've got a mpeg of my swing....gotta figure out how to post it so you guys can see that I'm doing, plus how awsem I look on the golf course.

Read and note #8 and #9. on #8, notice the rear foot placement just after impact.

The paragraph about #9 is an excellent thought to have. You might hit some weird shots at first, but once you get the feeling and timing, hopefully you will see some improvement. g luck

http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/full-swing/quick-tips/the-ten-best-swing-tips.html?start=3

jmtbkr wrote:I don't agree with you on the subject of shaft stiffness. For me - a stiffer shaft has helped trmendously to straighten out my shots. I haven't lost any real yardage either. I found that the R flex was/is too whippy for me, exagerating my 'fade'. I play all my clubs with a stiff flex. I also like the feeling thru the club with them too.

I tend to agree with this statement... the problem is there is no clear definition of R and S flex by industry. I played my friend's TM OEM S-flex driver and I felt it's not any stiffer than my R-flex Aldila NV green shaft. Maybe one could compare within the same shaft manufacturer, but that comparison is no longer "solid/valid" from one to another supplier

Pky6471 wrote:

jmtbkr wrote:I don't agree with you on the subject of shaft stiffness. For me - a stiffer shaft has helped trmendously to straighten out my shots. I haven't lost any real yardage either. I found that the R flex was/is too whippy for me, exagerating my 'fade'. I play all my clubs with a stiff flex. I also like the feeling thru the club with them too.

I tend to agree with this statement... the problem is there is no clear definition of R and S flex by industry. I played my friend's TM OEM S-flex driver and I felt it's not any stiffer than my R-flex Aldila NV green shaft. Maybe one could compare within the same shaft manufacturer, but that comparison is no longer "solid/valid" from one to another supplier

Aren't you some sort of scientist? Stiffness is measurable. You don't have to rely on a label to tell you what is what.

my dad used to tell me, "The older the buck, the stiffer the horn."

jmtbkr wrote:my dad used to tell me, "The older the buck, the stiffer the horn."

It sounds like you were very intimate with your dad.


Reminds me of that redneck joke -
What did the 13 yr old redneck girl say when she lost her virginity?
in a gruff voice "get off me dad. You're breaking my smokes."

Horseballs wrote:
Aren't you some sort of scientist? Stiffness is measurable. You don't have to rely on a label to tell you what is what.

Yes, I am a great scientist and I can teach you everything about "stiffness". There is no such thing as "stiffness", people relate stuff to stiffness, so when someone tells you stiffness, you should ask him/her/AC-DC what protocol they use to measure stiffness. That's why R-flex and S-flex in golf shaft could be very close in terms of "flex"

Nuf said