Pretty much the worst thing in golf is when you keep slicing your golf ball. This is most common for beginner golfers as they don’t have the necessary experience or practice to hit perfectly every time. It is a very frustrating thing. There a lot of solutions that can help you in fixing your slice. But the thing is that you need to know is how to properly implement those solutions. So, how to fix a slice with a driver?
The most common thing that you see everyone recommending is to simply aim to the left. This can work sometimes but more often than not; you will probably hit an even bigger slice. There are a lot of things like ball position, grip, weight transfer, and release that cause a slice. Having knowledge is good but it is more important to use it correctly.
Table of Contents
What is a Slice?
A slice is a golf shot in which the ball goes from left to right side for a right-handed golfer and vice versa for a left-handed one. Professional players intentionally play a slice shot in order to get better positioning or getting out of tricky situations. But for beginners, it is always the result of a mishit. Hitting slices is the most common problem for causal golfers.
Fixing the Slice:
There are a lot of things that are involved in the case of a slice. So, you need to work upon the following things if you want to hit more consistent drives:
Using Proper Equipment:
Golf is a game in which every little detail makes the most difference. So, if you are serious about playing golf and getting better at it then you will need to use the proper equipment. The right kind of gear can make a lot of difference in golf. There are times when it is not you but your equipment that is causing you to hit so many slice shots. Golf is a really hard game and there is no one club that is like the best of them all. It is just not that simple.
- Loft
When picking a driver, you need to make sure that it has enough loft. With more loft, you will get more forgiveness which is always necessary for a beginner golfer. If you are struggling with slices, then you need to make sure that the driver has at least a 10.5-degree loft. It will help you decrease your slice.
- Flex
It is also important to choose the right flex on the driver. If you regularly hit more than 150 yards, then you should choose a stiff flex. If you are playing with a driver that has a very stiff flex then it will be hard to release and thus, there will be more slicing.
- Old Equipment
In recent times, technology has come a long way so it is not recommended to use older stuff. There are drivers nowadays that are designed in a way to lower the slice on the ball. So, using something that is more than 10 years old is not viable.
- Offset
You should use a driver with more offset as it will help you a lot in fixing your slicing problem.
- Adjustable Drivers
Using an adjustable driver is also a really suitable option as you can adjust the clubface to be slightly closed. If the golf ball is heading directly to the right, then this will help in reducing that slice.
- Expensive Clubs
You should never spend all your money on a very expensive club just to fix your slice. As it is not necessary that an expensive club will be always better. So, you need to choose the right kind of driver to help you in fixing your slices.
Using The Right Grip:
It is really hard to get the right grip in golf as it is a very tricky thing. You can easily make little adjustments on your grip on the way of hitting a shot but is necessary to get down the basics first. Your goal is going to get a squarer clubface upon impact so that the ball can get in a straight direction without any slicing. Practicing grips is not as exciting as hitting 220+ yard drives but is necessary. Golf depends a lot on the fundamentals and if you lack in those then you will struggle a lot.
- Left Hand First
When gripping your driver, you should always grip it with the left hand first. You need to make sure that the club sits directly in your fingers.
- Seeing Two Knuckles
When you are holding the club in your left hand, you should be able to see your two knuckles. If you are not seeing your knuckles then you should adjust your grip until you see them.
- Positioning
The most important position on the club is the left-hand position. If your left hand is in the perfect spot then you won’t have a problem with right-hand placement. So, it is necessary to perfect your left-hand positioning.
- Training Grips
Another thing that you can do is to use training grips. These grips are designed in a way so that you put your hands in the right places on a golf club.
Once, you’ve nailed down the grip on your driver, you will see a lot of improvement in your slicing. With a good grip, you will hit more straight shots.
Focusing on the Stance:
If you’ve ever seen any golf game then you would’ve noticed that professional players focus a lot on their stance before taking a shot. This is because, with the right stance, they can hit the shot in a perfect way. It is even more noticeable when a professional player is taking his backswing.
- Right-Handed Golfers
If you are a right-handed golfer, then the first thing that you need to do is to place the ball on the inside of the left foot. Do the opposite if you are a lefty.
- Proper Ball Positioning
In golf, the position of the ball also makes a lot of difference. If the ball is present in the best position, then you will be able to hit the ball on the upswing. When you hit the ball on the downswing with a driver, then it will always result in a slice. If the ball is present at the perfect spot, then your shoulders will automatically be at the right tilt which will completely eliminate the slice.
- Shoulder Tilt Angle
It is necessary to focus on your shoulders as well. If there is not the right tilt on your shoulders, then you are prone to hitting a slice shot. With a wrong tilt angle, you won’t be able to keep the clubface squared and as a result, you will slice the ball. You can’t swing on the correct path and also keep the clubface squared at the same time. It is very hard to pull off.
- Keeping Clubface Squared
You should always adjust your stance by keeping a square clubface. You should never try to go with a closed clubface in your setup as that will only hurt your shot. It will cause the ball to go to the left side and will result in a slice.
The Right Swing Path:
One of the most common reasons for slicing is when people can’t control their swing path. If the path is more outside-in than inside-out then it will cause a slice. A slice is a very difficult shot to pull off even for professionals so beginners need to stay away from it. It is a weak shot as if done wrongly will cause you a lot of distance and might even get you in the rough. In order to make sure that your swing is on the right path, you should use the drill known as a towel under the arm.
If you are a newcomer and are struggling a lot with slices then you should always use this drill in your warmup. With the help of this drill, you can make your backswing much stronger. Due to a strong backswing, your shots will be more consistent regardless of the club that you are using.
- Towel Under the Arm
In this drill, you need to put a towel in the armpit area of the right arm in your backswing. You need to keep in mind that this is for right-handed golfers and the lefties just need to mirror this. The towel needs to be in place when you are swinging back. After you have transitioned from your backswing to the downswing and the towel falls out then it means that your swing path was more outside-in. Keep doing this as long as you get consistent in keeping the towel in your armpit area even after the downswing.
Weight Transfer:
The weight transfer during a swing is a very simple thing but most amateur golfers don’t do it right. Basically, your weight needs to be more on the backfoot while you are swinging back. Then you need to return to the front foot during the downswing and hit your shot. One of the most common mistakes that amateur golfers make is keeping their weight on the backfoot throughout their swing. if the weight remains on the backfoot then the clubface won’t remain squared upon impact.
This is the most common way to slice your golf ball. You need to learn the weight transfer so that you can reduce your swinging. Once you are able to transfer your weight from the back foot to the front foot on the downswing, you will eliminate the slicing.
Things To Avoid:
There are some things that an amateur golfer should totally avoid when hitting his shots. Some of them are mentioned below:
Don’t Slow Down on the Downswing:
There are a lot of amateur golfers that slow down their swing so that they can hit more precisely. This is the root cause of their slicing. You can try this yourself by slowing down on the downswing and you will see that it will always result in a terrible shot. You should never ever slow down on the downswing as that only makes things worse than they already are. You need the momentum in order to get the perfect release, so there is no point in slowing down.
You need to work a lot on your release. The perfect release helps a lot in hitting shots better and in a more effective way. The only way to get better at golf is through practice and using the right equipment. Once you’ve nailed your release, you will be able to hit more consistent shots.
Stop Aiming Left:
If you think that by aiming more on the left, you will reduce the slice. Sadly, you are quite wrong. Aiming at the left will most probably cause the ball to go more in the right direction. Instead of aiming more on the left, one thing that you can do is to tee off the right side. You will get more fairway by using this approach. You can adjust your aim a little bit to reduce your slice but it is not the perfect solution, just a short-term fix.
Conclusion:
Slicing is one of the most frustrating things that golfers face and it also keeps a lot of newcomers away from the sport. You can easily fix your slicing using all of the methods that we have mentioned above. In golf, you need to focus on multiple things when taking your shots. A newcomer finds it very overwhelming to take care of so many things. This is why they start hitting more slice shots as they are not fully concentrated on taking the shot.
So, how to fix a slice with a driver is just basically micromanaging all of the little details while taking a shot. All of the tips that we’ve mentioned will help you a lot in eliminating slices. It might take some time but, in the end, the result will be worth it.
