HOW TO GET RID OF THAT SLICE
By David Nevogt
Here's a really good tip that may help you to get rid of your slice. Best of
all, it's really pretty simple once you get the hang of it, and understand
why it's being used. The problem is that it's kind of hard to explain, so
please bear with me.
Chances are that you have battled with a slice at some point in your
golfing days. To be completely direct with you, dealing with a slice really
sucks. It hurts your golf game in many more ways than one. Luckily, it's
fairly easy to fix. I cannot claim that this small tip will completely cure
your slice, but there's a good chance that it will. I hope it does.
When you come into the impact zone, there are really only two factors
that can determine the "shape" of ball flight.
1. The angle of the club face at impact.
2. The path the club is taking at impact.
Really not that tough to understand. The tough part is explaining how to
correct it, and keeping this e-mail short at the same time.
Anyway, here are a few things your should concentrate on.
Try to keep your leading shoulder "down" on the ball through impact.
This is called staying strong through impact. Lots of times the leading
shoulder (left shoulder if right handed) flies up before impact. Now just
for a minute, think about what that does to the clubhead when it's in the
impact zone.
Golf is all about thinking and analyzing your shots to get better. A huge
part of this game is understanding "why" you're getting a certain result,
and the physics behind that result. Thinking through your golf swing will
provide huge dividends if you're willing to invest the time it takes.
Get up from the computer and actually go though the motions slowly.
Let your leading shoulder fly up as you approach impact and you'll
actually be able feel and see the clubface coming from an outside-in
path. That causes a slice every time.
So what can you do to correct it?
Well, for starters, try to learn to keep
your leading shoulder strong. Keep
that shoulder "down" on the ball all
the way through impact, even after the
ball is gone and flying straight down
the fairway.
Here's an illustration of what I'm talking
about. As you can see, the leading
shoulder is still down. The triangle is
still there. Most importantly, my body has
NOT gotten ahead of my hands. This is a
HUGE distinction. As you may notice, the
left shoulder is actually higher than the
right shoulder. So what do I mean when
I say "leading shoulder down"?
You have to envision yourself from the back looking down on the ball.
When I say "down", I mean that the leading shoulder and chest is still
facing the ball through impact.
So even though it may seem like the leading shoulder is higher than the
trailing shoulder, it's still facing the ball at impact -- NOT TOWARD
THIRD BASE in comparison to the ball. That would mean that you have
let the leading shoulder fly up.
Hand action is huge in this game. You must learn to release your
hands correctly through the ball. Meaning that you release the hands
while the leading shoulder is still "down", or facing the ball.
If you are currently playing with the conventional swing method, it's really
easy to let your body get ahead of the ball. One of the many things you
will learn in "The Simple Golf Swing" is how to avoid that trap.
Keep the leading shoulder down and let your arms and hands release
through the ball and you will see the ball go farther and higher. This will
take a while to get used to.
The key is to let your arms release through the ball, while your left
shoulder is "down" on the ball. To do this you will need to rotate your
forearms correctly, and use your leading ELBOW (not shoulder) as a
hinge. So another way to explain this movement would be that your
hands are still moving toward the target, but your leading elbow has
almost stopped.
I hate to admit it, but I really like quick fixes. You've just read one of
them. Another one would be to initiate the downswing with your arms.
I'm sure that's the exact opposite of what you've heard before. Starting
the downswing with the arms is a tough thing to do.
You want the ball to go the maximum possible distance. So
subconsciously, many people have the problem of letting their body get
way ahead of their hands. That's the number one slice-producing move
among golfers today. It's probably the toughest one to fix, because
when you're at the top of your backswing, all you can think about it
crushing the ball.
Instead of thinking maximum distance, think minimize slice. Start the
downswing with your arms. Get to the top of your backswing, and then
the first move should be with the arms. Put this move together with
keeping the leading shoulder down, and it will do wonders for both your
woods and your irons.
By David Nevogt
Here's a really good tip that may help you to get rid of your slice. Best of
all, it's really pretty simple once you get the hang of it, and understand
why it's being used. The problem is that it's kind of hard to explain, so
please bear with me.
Chances are that you have battled with a slice at some point in your
golfing days. To be completely direct with you, dealing with a slice really
sucks. It hurts your golf game in many more ways than one. Luckily, it's
fairly easy to fix. I cannot claim that this small tip will completely cure
your slice, but there's a good chance that it will. I hope it does.
When you come into the impact zone, there are really only two factors
that can determine the "shape" of ball flight.
1. The angle of the club face at impact.
2. The path the club is taking at impact.
Really not that tough to understand. The tough part is explaining how to
correct it, and keeping this e-mail short at the same time.
Anyway, here are a few things your should concentrate on.
Try to keep your leading shoulder "down" on the ball through impact.
This is called staying strong through impact. Lots of times the leading
shoulder (left shoulder if right handed) flies up before impact. Now just
for a minute, think about what that does to the clubhead when it's in the
impact zone.
Golf is all about thinking and analyzing your shots to get better. A huge
part of this game is understanding "why" you're getting a certain result,
and the physics behind that result. Thinking through your golf swing will
provide huge dividends if you're willing to invest the time it takes.
Get up from the computer and actually go though the motions slowly.
Let your leading shoulder fly up as you approach impact and you'll
actually be able feel and see the clubface coming from an outside-in
path. That causes a slice every time.
So what can you do to correct it?
Well, for starters, try to learn to keep
your leading shoulder strong. Keep
that shoulder "down" on the ball all
the way through impact, even after the
ball is gone and flying straight down
the fairway.
Here's an illustration of what I'm talking
about. As you can see, the leading
shoulder is still down. The triangle is
still there. Most importantly, my body has
NOT gotten ahead of my hands. This is a
HUGE distinction. As you may notice, the
left shoulder is actually higher than the
right shoulder. So what do I mean when
I say "leading shoulder down"?
You have to envision yourself from the back looking down on the ball.
When I say "down", I mean that the leading shoulder and chest is still
facing the ball through impact.
So even though it may seem like the leading shoulder is higher than the
trailing shoulder, it's still facing the ball at impact -- NOT TOWARD
THIRD BASE in comparison to the ball. That would mean that you have
let the leading shoulder fly up.
Hand action is huge in this game. You must learn to release your
hands correctly through the ball. Meaning that you release the hands
while the leading shoulder is still "down", or facing the ball.
If you are currently playing with the conventional swing method, it's really
easy to let your body get ahead of the ball. One of the many things you
will learn in "The Simple Golf Swing" is how to avoid that trap.
Keep the leading shoulder down and let your arms and hands release
through the ball and you will see the ball go farther and higher. This will
take a while to get used to.
The key is to let your arms release through the ball, while your left
shoulder is "down" on the ball. To do this you will need to rotate your
forearms correctly, and use your leading ELBOW (not shoulder) as a
hinge. So another way to explain this movement would be that your
hands are still moving toward the target, but your leading elbow has
almost stopped.
I hate to admit it, but I really like quick fixes. You've just read one of
them. Another one would be to initiate the downswing with your arms.
I'm sure that's the exact opposite of what you've heard before. Starting
the downswing with the arms is a tough thing to do.
You want the ball to go the maximum possible distance. So
subconsciously, many people have the problem of letting their body get
way ahead of their hands. That's the number one slice-producing move
among golfers today. It's probably the toughest one to fix, because
when you're at the top of your backswing, all you can think about it
crushing the ball.
Instead of thinking maximum distance, think minimize slice. Start the
downswing with your arms. Get to the top of your backswing, and then
the first move should be with the arms. Put this move together with
keeping the leading shoulder down, and it will do wonders for both your
woods and your irons.
Tom's Golf Tips
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
