Okay, I'm back again with a lot of good information.
It's been a year since I started golf and I can finally hit pretty straight now. =) I'm losing 1 ball on 18 holes instead of the 20 lost in the beginning.
Let me start by going over what I _tried_ to do to get rid of my slice:
- I tried to guess what my shaft flex (or stiffness) should be. This forces you to adjust your swing speed, which is bad for consistency.
- I tried to time the "flip" of my wrist to turn my hand over at the "release point" of my swing. Hard to do and makes you "spray" your balls all over the place.
What I did to start hitting straight:
- Adjusted my grip. Made sure the "v" between my thumb and first finger of my left had pointed between my right cheek and right shoulder on setup (address). Made a *huge* difference!
- Got my swing analized. Strength of grip coupled with head speed gives you a good idea of the shaft flex you should get. Frequency testing should be done on the shaft to ensure it meets your flex grade. The flex showing on the shafts of modern drivers do not follow the same measurements. A X-tra stiff shaft from one manufacturer may not be a X-tra stiff for another. Frequency testing the shaft will allow you to get a consistent measurement of the different manufacturer's shafts. Swing analysis also checks the "lie" of your club's head. If I understand "lie angle" correctly, I believe it means the bottom of your club head should be flat against the ground (not toe touching or heal touching) at setup. If the toe of your club head touches the ground, the toe will hit the ground first during your swing, which twists your club head into an "open" position causing a slice.
I hope the information I posted helps. It took me the majority of the past year to finally start to hit straight. Sad part is, it was a combination of grip, shaft stiffness, and head "lie angle" that caused my severe slice.
If this information helps one person, it would be worth the year I spent suffering to find the answer.
Let me know if this helped you.

Aloha!
Newbie4Me

__________________
Aloha!

Newbie4Me

Carpe Diem! Seize the day (Horace)
Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, I conquered. (Caesar)