For the last few days, we’ve been talking about the dreaded slice. Yesterday, I focused on the “over the top” move, that often leads to a slice (and possibly a pull-hook). While that might be a big reason that golfers slice the ball, it’s not the only possibility. Remember that a slice is caused by an open club face at impact. Having a faulty swing path, as with an over the top swing, is a definite factor. However, it’s possible to deliver the club head to the ball on a proper path during the down swing and still slice the ball. In that case, one of the biggest culprits is the grip. When I say grip in this context, I’m talking about how you hold the club in your hands as well as the tightness with which you hold it. Weak Grip When referring to the way you hold the club in your hands, the grip is typically categorized as weak, neutral, or strong. I could do a whole post on the grip, but I’ll

As we discussed yesterday, one of the big causes of the slice in golf is an “over the top” swing where the club gets outside the swing plane and target line. This flaw can really be caused for a variety of reasons. Golf Tips Magazine has a nice article covering four common causes of the over the top move. To summarize, the author, Todd Sones, points to: Taking the club away too flat, or inside the swing plane Getting too much weight on the left at the top of the back swing Too narrow a swing arc Club face too open at the top Let’s discuss each of those in a little more detail. Club Too Flat The ideal position for the club during the takeaway is on-plane. Taking the club too far to the inside can cause you to get “stuck” on the downswing. Because you can’t make a decent approach to the ball from that far inside, your right elbow will come up, re-routing you to the outside. The article also points to

A huge percentage of high handicap golfers have swing flaws that cause them to slice the ball. For anyone unaware, a slice is a shot that curves excessively to the right for a right-handed player or to the left for a left-handed player. The basic cause is an open club face at impact (where the club face points to the right of the target for a right hander). But there are other flaws that lead to that open club face and, in fact, help to magnify the slice. I want to dedicate this week to helping you cure your slice for good. Today, we’re going to go over one of the biggest causes for the slice: an “over the top” swing. I get the impression that sometimes there is some misunderstanding about what an over the top, or out to in, swing path really is. Let’s talk about that some more. I’m sure most of you have heard talk of the swing plane. That’s an imaginary surface that the club travels along while making the