SLICING OFF THE TEE
HITTING WEAK DRIVES
FAST FIX ■ Golfers who fight a slice try to pull the ball in the opposite direction to give it more room to curve and stay in play. As a result, they play the ball too far forward and twist their shoulders open at address, with the trail arm straight and rigid. These moves don’t work because they make you cut across the ball, and the more you do that, the more open the clubface is to the path – and the bigger the slice. If you’re a slicer, do the opposite on the course. Move the ball back in your stance so it’s about 8-10 centimetres inside your front heel, and set your shoulders square or even a touch closed. Your spine should be tilted slightly away from the target, and your trail arm nice and soft ( below ). When you swing, stay behind the ball and let your arms swing past you through impact. That’s how you prevent a slice from dominating your day.
FAST FIX
■ Like slicers, players who want more distance do something to correct the issue that ends up backfiring. They grip the club all the way at the end, even with the cap of the handle slightly in the palm of the top hand. That might feel powerful, but the handle will tend to shift in the hand at the end of the backswing. (If you have a wear mark in the heel of your glove, you’re guilty!) When the grip shifts, you have to regrip it as you start down, which casts the club away from you, straightening your arms and wrists too early, throwing away your power. The simple on-course fix is to grip with your top hand so about 2-3 centimetres of the club is showing ( right ). Then, put most of your grip pressure in the last three fingers of that top hand, and keep it constant throughout the swing. That will help you maintain some club lag on the downswing and produce more acceleration through the ball.
FOREVER FIX ■ Back on the range, work on getting comfortable hitting balls with your new choked-up grip. Obviously, it makes the club slightly shorter and lighter, so pay attention to your setup positions and swing tempo. Start with slower swings, but build up to full speed, making sure you’re catching the ball in the middle of the face – the No 1 key to getting the most out of whatever speed you can generate. Next, use the pump drill, one of my all-time favourites. Without a ball at first, practice swinging to the top and pumping the club halfway down to feel the wrists staying fully hinged. That’s the lag ( left ). Pump the club down and back to the top two or three times before swinging through normally. You can hit some balls this way, too, and then intersperse regular swings with the training to start ingraining the feel of more lag and more speed at the bottom of the swing.
FOREVER FIX ■ When you have time to practice, here are a couple of slice-busting drills. First, the split-hands drill: Separate your hands on the grip, like a hockey player, and make half- swings back and through. Notice how your lead arm folds as you go through and your trail arm rolls over ( above ). Another great exercise is simply making swings like you’re holding a baseball bat. Slicers have a tendency to drag the grip through the shot, and waist-high baseball swings train the arms to rotate as the club passes through the hitting area. Always alternate drills with hitting balls normally, trying to transfer the feel from the drill into your regular swing. Remember to be vigilant about your setup with the driver – ball back a little, head back, trail arm soft – because if you get the release right but don’t fix the setup, you’re only doing half the work.
46 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 47
NOVEMBER 2023
NOVEMBER 2023
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