Life in the Rough

Several days ago, we started talking about the slice. I covered a big cause: the “over the top” swing and factors that lead to it. Then, I covered some additional problems that can lead to a slice. Now, we get to the good part. Today, I’m going to finish up by covering some drills and techniques you can use to combat your slice. Set up Before we can play a good shot, it all starts with solid alignment. For a typical shot, you want to be aimed parallel left of your target. I covered proper alignment in a previous post. Using an aim club helps to set your feet, hips, torso, shoulders, and head in line with the target. Once that’s out of the way, you must have a solid grip. Yesterday, I pointed to a post where The Golf Drill Guru covered the grip, with photos of weak, neutral and strong grips. Once the grip and stance are solid, you’re ready to make a swing. Without those fundamentals, you’re set up for failure. Having

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