Beginners Golf Swing Blog

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One of the problems most golfers have is slicing the golf ball. It causes great frustration and some struggle for years hoping to improve this problem. There are many tips and tricks to eliminate the problem, it’s up to you to identify which areas of your game, grip or stance needs work.

Proper Grip

Start by moving your hands until they are in proper golf grip position. Take the club in your left hand and place your thumb on the shaft. If the line between your thumb and your index finger is pointing towards your right eye then it’s placed correctly. Now you have to wrap your right hand over the left hand and place your left thumb on the palm of your right hand.

Avoid gripping the golf club too tightly if you are right handed, it could cause the ball to hook towards the left. But you could cause the ball to slice towards the right if your grip is too weak; therefore you have to practice having a neutral grip when holding your golf club.

Proper Stance

Ensure that your shoulders are aligned with the ball. You are allowed to adjust stance to feel comfortable, but stance does play quite a big role when it comes to eliminating golf slice. Pay close attention to how you stand and address the ball – if you are doing everything else right but still slice the ball, you might want to practice your stance in the mirror and see if you find any areas to improve.

Tips to Avoid Golf Slice

As mentioned previously as well, the easiest to fix is your grip. Don’t tighten up when you get nervous, relax and keep the grip as neutral as you can.

If nothing you try seems to work – experiment with a stronger grip bit by bit. This won’t work for everyone and it should be something you try when nothing else seems to work for you.

During the downswing, your left hip will be leading and during the early downswing it will be your right shoulder that lowers and your right elbow should return to your side. A slice will be produced if your elbow is flying or flapping in the breeze, you must avoid this.

Proper position means your right arm will be closer to your torso than your left, your shoulders will be in line with the target line and your right shoulder will be lower than the left.

Avoid turning your hips too much, limit the movement. If you have too much movement the club will go too far inside and loop over the top.

Move into your forward swing with a leg thrust to the left.

By: Mike A Murray

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Nobody likes to slice the golf ball as it results in both loss of distance and accuracy which in turn costs you strokes on the golf course. The way to get rid of that nasty slice is not really difficult but will require you to analyze your current swing and fix some of those mechanical errors that are causing the slice. Here are a few tips that can help you hit straighter shots more often:

Tip 1: Keep the right hand passive (right handed players)

Many players in their efforts to hit the ball far use their dominant right hand to try to muscle the club through the hitting zone. The problem with this strategy is that it usually results in poor shots since using the right hand tends to cause a problem known as casting.

Casting is simply releasing the club too early which result in an outside to in club path that imparts slice spin on the golf ball. One good way to eliminate this is to focus instead on pulling the club with your left hand on the downswing. This will help to almost naturally cause the clubhead to move in an inside to out swing path which is ideal for straight golf shots.

Tip 2: Use less wrists during the swing

It is best to avoid using the wrist too much during the golf swing. Think of your wrists as simply a support mechanism. Focus on making good shoulder turns and hip movements that produce an inside to out swing path. Using the wrists too much during the downswing will cause the club to usually release early which results in loss of power and slices.

Tip 3: Move the hips laterally rather than turning them during the downswing

Turning the hips too much on the downswing can cause a slice shot since it throws the club head to an outside to in path. Your hips should slide slightly towards the target through impact so avoid turning them too early. The hips should turn after impact when the momentum of the follow through naturally causes them to rotate.

Tip 4: Keep the head down through impact

This is a common tip given to all new players but it is important nonetheless. Raising the head up too early can cause the club to come from the outside and cause a slice shot. Make sure your head stays down through impact and comes up naturally with the right shoulder as the follow through completes.

Tip 5: Be sure the club is square at the address position

If the club head is open (pointing to the right of the target) at address then this will cause slice spin. Check the club head during address and make sure that it is facing the target.

Tip 6: Slow down your tempo

Tempo is unique to every player. Some players will naturally have a fast tempo and others a slower one. However, if you are always slicing the ball then try to slow down your tempo slightly especially on the downswing. Swinging too fast can throw off your mechanics in many areas that can result in slices so slow things up a little to help in your efforts to hit the ball straighter. Try some of these tips to help you reduce slicing the golf ball and shoot lower golf scores.

By: Marla Paulsone

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Many of my students overlook the most important ingredient to a good golf swing – grip pressure. This aspect of your golf technique is far from a science and each individual will need to experiment to find the right amount of pressure to apply. In this article I will give you a no-fuss-no-frills methodology that has help countless of my students to nail the perfect pressure in one session on the driving range.

Focusing on your grip is a no brainer. Your hands are the only points of contact between your body and the golf club. This means that all the momentum and torque your body generates has to be efficiently and precisely transferred through your hands into the club for it all to result into a good golf swing.

There is only 1 rule you need to bear in mind:

The TIGHTER you grip the golf club, the SLOWER and LESS FLUID your swing will be.

Points Of Contact

The question I get all the time about grip and grip pressure is ” Which fingers should I apply the pressure with?”. Firstly, pressure should only be applied in the FINGER TIPS, not the entire finger.

FORGET all the confusing mumbo jumbo about using “these fingers” for the left hand and “those fingers” for the right hand. For both hands, the pressure points are the thumb, index finger and pinky. The thumb and index fingers pinch the club, while the pinky is stabilises the grip.

The Practice Drill

Grip the club, applying pressure with the thumb, index finger and pinky. Start with your tightest grip you can. Now, gradually go from a scale 1 to 6. Grip pressure 1 will be your “death grip” and number 5 will be the lightest pressure you need to apply to prevent the club from flying out of your hands. Hit a few balls with the six different pressures. Majority of my students found number 3 and 4 to be their ideal grip.

Generally, as you vary your grip pressure from tightest to lightest, you’ll see the flight pattern change from a slice to a hook. In other words, the tighter a right hander grips the club, the tendency is to curve the ball from left to right. As you ease up on the pressure, you should see the fight path straightening out and at the lightest, the ball will curve in the opposite direction. If all this seems a tad bit complicated, it isn’t!

By: Auroleus Fadzleigh

About the Author:

A proper golf swing starts with the correct grip. While gripping
the club properly seems simple enough, an improper grip is quite
common.

And without the proper grip, even though the rest of your
golf swing may be solid, your shots and consistency will suffer.
So how do you make sure your grip is correct?

Everything starts with the grip, and the grip starts with proper
placement of the left hand on the club. The left hand is the
first point of contact between you the golfer and the club.

The
correct grip with the left hand is what allows the proper hinge
of the wrists that positions the club to swing freely through
the ball.

A big problem for a lot of golfers is that the grip can look
right from the outside, when the hand is on the club. But you need
to take a closer look and see what’s underneath.

Many golfers have the shaft of the club running high on the palm of
the left hand. This inhibits your wrist hinge, which can cause you
both distance on your golf shots, as well as accuracy.

The shaft of the club should run diagonally across your hand from
the base of your little finger to the middle of your index finger.

While this is still primarily a palm grip, you’ll feel the grip
a lot more in your fingers than when the club was running higher
up on your palm.

This adjustment in your golf grip will allow you more flexibility
in your left wrist, allowing for a greater range of motion in your
hinge that is necessary to generate clubhead speed through the impact
of the ball.

If you’re looking to improve your golf swing, start by taking a look
at how your gripping the club with your left hand. A proper golf swing
starts with your grip.

By: Tim Hathaway

About the Author:

Slicing a golf ball is a common problem faced by many amateur golfers. The problem with slicing a golf shot is that it usually results in a poor shot both in lack of distance and direction. It is important to solve this problem in order to lower your handicap and become a better golfer. Here are some tips to help you get rid of the slice and become a more consistent player.

Tip 1: Keep the right hand passive during the swing

If you are a right handed player then it is important to keep your right hand fairly inactive during the swing. Many new players try to use their strong arm which is usually the right hand to try to force the club through the hitting zone in an effort to hit the ball farther. The problem is that this usually results in casting the club in the downswing which results in an outside to inside club head path that produces a slice golf shot.

Tip 2: Pull the club with the left hand on the downswing

During the downswing it is a good idea to think of yourself pulling the club through the hitting zone. This will help to promote an inside to out club path that results in straighter shots.

Tip 3: Use the correct grip

Make sure the grip you are using squares the club face during the address position. Also be sure that the face of the club is not open or facing to the right of your target but is rather facing directly at the target.

Tip 4: Master the wedge game

Perhaps the best way to learn the game of golf is to learn it from the green back to the tee. If you have trouble hitting your shorter shots such as wedge shots straight then it is almost inevitable that your longer shots will suffer. Spend plenty of time hitting wedge shots from 120 yards and in.

Tip 5: Keep your head down

This is a cliche but it is still important that you do indeed keep your head steady and still during the downswing and let your head come up naturally with your right shoulder as you complete the swing.

Tip 6: Maintain balance

If you find yourself losing balance during or at the end of your swing then make it a point to develop a more controlled swing where you are balanced throughout the swing. Make sure that you end each swing with a balanced pose towards the target.

Tip 7: Slow down your backswing

Most new golfers have a backswing that appears rushed compared to the downswing. You want to maintain a consistent tempo between the backswing and the downswing. It is best to have a slower more deliberate backswing. Conserve your energy for the downswing where power and speed are generated to hit the ball far.

Tip 8: Check your alignment

Poor positioning of your body and feet towards the target can cause a slice to happen. Make sure that your feet are aligned and pointing directly at the target. If you find your feet are pointing to the left of the target then this can cause a slice to occur.

Tip 9: Practice consistently

Sometimes it is necessary to make a commitment to learning the game in order to get better and cure the slice. If you practice often you will find that some of your shots do go straight and eventually you will figure out how to hit straighter shots more often. There are many factors that can cause a slice so getting the pieces of the puzzle together can take time and regular practice. Follow some of these tips to help you hit straighter shots and lower your golf handicap.

By: Shakil Zaman

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