A lot of material has been written on how to cure the dreaded slice. Rather than go through all the tips you’ve already heard dozens of times before, I have put together a simple step-by-step guide to cure your slice once and for all.
Step One: Visit the driving range and get a bucket of balls. This drill is designed for the driver, but can be applied to any club that hits slices.
Step Two: Spend a few minutes stretching and warming up, focusing on calming your nerves.
Step Three: Set a ball on the tee, and take your normal address. Find a target out on the range with an unobstructed view.
Step Four: One very common cause of slicing the ball is lining up to the left of the target. To determine if you are doing this, simply hold a long club (such as your driver) traight across both of your hips as you address the ball.
Check to see where the end of the club is pointing. A perfectly hit ball will follow that line.
Once you have your hips aligned properly, look down at your feet. They should not be too open or closed.
Step Five: Re-set your address, making sure your hips and feet are positioned properly. Hit four or five balls, aiming at your target.
If you are still slicing the ball, you know alignment isn’t the problem. Proceed to Step Six.
If your golf balls are no longer slicing, then your alignment was the cause of your slicing. Go play golf!
Step Six: Now that you’ve made sure you have proper alignment, check your grip on the club.
Step up to the ball, and look down at your hands. Count how many knuckles you can see on your left hand (if you are right-handed).
If you do not see at least two knuckles on your left hand, rotate your hands until you do. If you see four, you went too far and need to back up. It’s very important to rotate just your hands, NOT the club.
Step Seven: Address the ball again, using this new grip. Hit four or five balls, again aiming at your target, paying close attention to the flight path.
If you are no longer slicing the ball, your grip was the problem. If the balls are still slicing, move on to Step Eight.
Step Eight: It is possible that your swing is ending up with the dreaded chicken wing. Take several practice swings, keeping your right elbow pressed against your body.
When the right elbow flies too far away from the body, it causes an out-to-in swing path that almost always results in a slice.
Use Muscle Memory Once you fix your slice, hit several more balls using the new information you’ve discovered on your alignment, grip, or swing path.
Your muscle memory has already learned know how to make you slice the ball; now you have to retrain it to use the right process.
By repeating the proper swing over and over again, your muscle memory will begin to register the proper mechanics, making it much easier to replicate a good swing later.
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