by Donald Herman

Created on: February 12, 2010   Last Updated: March 10, 2010

Everyone likes a little slice of things; slice of pie, slice of life but, there is one slice that no one really likes; A slice of golf. It is the one singular curse and frustration of all golfers yet results from a singularly simple fundamental. If one addresses the ball incorrectly then, more often than not, the dreaded slice will rear its ugly self. Essentially the mantra is, swing correctly, hit straight.

A slice travels in the direction of handedness. A right-hander will curve the ball left to right and the lefty will lose the ball out to the left rough. The issue is that the club face is opening at the point of impact and there are a few ways of doing so. Dropping the shoulder will open the face as will a premature body turn. Some may lead the club head with their body and the delayed impact will open the club during early body rotation. The fix is quite simple actually; keep the club face square throughout impact and beyond.

At this point you are saying, “I already know that stupid.” but the issue is the beyond impact that escapes most slice perpetrators. Once you accept that the club face must travel squarely beyond the point of impact then you will eliminate the tendency to slice.

Everyone knows that you can fix anything with duct tape and it can fix your slice as well. Place a six inch long strip of duct tape, extending beyond the teed ball, and focus on the beginning of the tape as you swing. The tape gives a mental point of reference as you swing and will keep the club squarer on impact. To stop a slice one must stop the out-to-in swing pattern and the tape conditions the golfer to maintain the line longer and develop the necessary in-to-out rhythm. If the condition persists, place a one inch thick block under the heel of handedness (right heel for a right-hander, etc.) as you practice. This will help keep the body square and less subject to early rotation.

Do not attempt to adjust your game to your tendency to slice. Some rotate slightly to the opposite of handedness, which only exacerbates the slice. The answer to enjoyable golf is just fix it and extending the swing path a couple inches, will do just that.

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