Golfdirt

Why Do I Slice the Ball?

April 25, 2008 – 8:07 pm | by Golfdirt

By Lawrence Bredenkamp

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I slice the ball?” If so, you are not alone. Over 90% of club golfers suffer from this problem.

First off you need to know what causes a slice. I don’t want to get too technical here as this article is supposed to give you a few simple tips on how to avoid or reduce your slice. Two things have to be present to create a slice. First, you must have an out-to-in swing path; in other words, your club face is cutting across the ball causing it spin sideways. Second, you must have an open club face. Both of these factors must be present to create a slice.

If you have an out-to-in swing path with a closed club face the result will be a pull shot, whereas a square club face with the same swing path will result in a fade. These are all very different shots and beyond the scope of this article.

Your slice can be caused by a number of things. The most common is the grip, followed by alignment and then the takeaway. 

And the biggest fault of all is trying to hit the ball too hard, causing a casting effect at the top of the swing. Try using a three quarter backswing to overcome the tendency to try and hit the ball too hard.

These are by no means the only causes of a slice, but they are the most common.

A slice can be further exaggerated by the ball you use; this is a common fault of a lot of average club players. We all see the pros using a particular golf ball and figure that the same or similar ball will also be good for our games. This is not necessarily true.

Golf ball technology has become a science in itself ,and the top players rely heavily on the performance of a golf ball for control. This control usually takes the form of spin, so you will find that most pros use balls, like the Titleist Pro V1, that are made specifically to generate a high rate of spin.

Now let’s get back to our slice problem. We’ve already seen that by swinging from out-to-in we are cutting across the face of the ball causing it to spin from left to right (for right handed golfers). Now add to this a ball that is designed for increased spin and you will realize that you are compounding the problem. Far better then to use a golf ball that has low spin tendencies. These low spin balls also tend to roll a lot further, so they should also contribute to greater distance. The down side to these balls is control around the green, but for the average golfer this will not yet be a problem.

Now that you understand why you slice a ball, you need to know what to do about it.

First off, change your ball — this is the easiest adjustment to make.

Then you need to learn the correct grip to avoid a slice and, most importantly, square your club face up at address. If you can do this but cannot stop the out-to-in swing path, you will end up a with a very manageable and acceptable fade. A lot of pros actually prefer the fade as it gives them greater control.

When practicing these things, you need to exaggerate them. By this I mean don’t just square your club face up but actually go further and close it. As you improve you will find that you’ll get it into a square position quite naturally.

Getting your swing path to go from out-to-in to an in-to-out swing path is a little more tricky and takes a lot of practice. The best way to do this is at ultra slow speed, over and over and over again. Training your big muscles so that the movement is embedded and when done at normal speed falls naturally onto plane.

I hope that has answered your question, “Why do I slice the ball?” And I sincerely hope that it will go some way towards making this wonderful game more enjoyable for you.

Lawrence Bredenkamp is a qualified EGTF golf coach and takes great pleasure in helping people improve their game. Visit his site, Play The Lie, for more information on how to improve your golf swing and lower your scores. Sign up for his free 6-week tutorial designed to reduce your golf handicap by 15%.