An anti-slice tip

Hi, I don't know if this has been said here a million times before or not as I'm new here. Anyway, I'm only a beginner myself so you may think it's not my place to give out advice but this is something that works for me and may work for you too.

Right, I was a natural slicer of the ball but now I hit draws more than anything if I don't hit it straight and it is all in the distance I stand from the ball. I used to just setup and didn't think about how far I stood away from the ball and often sliced it or it just went off to the right at an acute angle and I couldn't understand why this sometimes happened until I gave myself a pre-shot routine.

All I did was the basic 'put your feet together with the ball in the centre and then open out your legs' but then I experimented with the distance I stood from the ball. I put the club behind the ball in address position whilst still stood up straight and looked down to see how much space there was between the butt of the club and my toes, if any. After a few trial and errors I discovred that if there's an inch-ish between the butt of the club and my toes I hit it very consitently. That's all it took to cure my slice.

If I stand so the butt of the club is closer to my toes or even over my toes I slice it. I've just taken golf up again 2 weeks ago and had forgotten this the first time I went out and was embarrasingly hitting it about 60 degrees to the right almost every shot and couldn't think why. Anyway, the next time I went for a game I remembered my pre-shot routine that checks my distance from the ball and didn't hit a single slice that day.

So, if you slice the ball, before trying to change your grip, posture etc just try standing further from the ball. My thought is that if you are too close to the ball however good your swing is you push the club away from you and cause it to come from out to in at impact.

[quote=MJE77]Hi, I don't know if this has been said here a million times before or not as I'm new here. Anyway, I'm only a beginner myself so you may think it's not my place to give out advice but this is something that works for me and may work for you too.

Right, I was a natural slicer of the ball but now I hit draws more than anything if I don't hit it straight and it is all in the distance I stand from the ball. I used to just setup and didn't think about how far I stood away from the ball and often sliced it or it just went off to the right at an acute angle and I couldn't understand why this sometimes happened until I gave myself a pre-shot routine.

All I did was the basic 'put your feet together with the ball in the centre and then open out your legs' but then I experimented with the distance I stood from the ball. I put the club behind the ball in address position whilst still stood up straight and looked down to see how much space there was between the butt of the club and my toes, if any. After a few trial and errors I discovred that if there's an inch-ish between the butt of the club and my toes I hit it very consitently. That's all it took to cure my slice.

If I stand so the butt of the club is closer to my toes or even over my toes I slice it. I've just taken golf up again 2 weeks ago and had forgotten this the first time I went out and was embarrasingly hitting it about 60 degrees to the right almost every shot and couldn't think why. Anyway, the next time I went for a game I remembered my pre-shot routine that checks my distance from the ball and didn't hit a single slice that day.

So, if you slice the ball, before trying to change your grip, posture etc just try standing further from the ball. My thought is that if you are too close to the ball however good your swing is you push the club away from you and cause it to come from out to in at impact.[Thanks for tip. This is the best advice I've had from a Newbie.

Another easy bandaid to use while on the course should you start slicing is to aim you club face at your intended target, while at the same time aligning you body (feet, knees, hips, and shoulders) at, or "just" right of your intended target. Don't change your grip, and just make your normal swing. This will not cure your slice, but it will get you through your round with alot more accuracy, and a better score. Not my fix, but it has been around for 60+ years that I know of, and some days I use it when my swing is not up to par....... GJS