Stop Slicing the Golf Ball…(Swing Path) Now
Stop Slicing Your Driver…Today
Yesterday I told you there are two ways of slicing a golf ball. Either the face is open at impact or the path the golf club is swinging on is coming to much from outside to inside. Before I tell you how to fix this mistake I should tell you in a bit more detail what an out to in swing path is.
When we address the golf ball we have to stand to the side of it. If you draw a line on the ground from your target (the flag) straight through the middle of the golf ball and pass through it for three more feet that line is referred to as our target line. It also represents one more thing. When we swing a golf club back away from the golf ball the club head has to swing away from that line on an arc. When you swing the club head back down to hit the golf ball it has to return on the exact same path back to the golf ball. At the moment of impact it is square to that line (only for an inch or two) and then it has to swing past the golf ball on the arc again.
If you swing the golf club back and forth on an arc (with a square club face) the golf ball will start straight and fly straight at your target. However if you swing the golf club too far OUTSIDE the target line in the downswing the club head will swing too much to the INSIDE after impact imparting left to right spin on the golf ball.
That is exactly why your golf ball starts off in the left hand rough and ends up in the right hand rough. OK, now how do you stop it? #1. Check your ball position. It is probably too far forward in your stance. #2. Check your shoulder alignment. They are probably aiming too far to the left of your target. #3 Check to make sure you swing the driver back down on an arc. Draw an arc on the ground behind the golf ball so you can follow it in the downswing.
There is one last thing to keep in mind. Because the driver has a flatter faced club in your bag, it slices the most. If you make the same swing with a five iron, the five iron won’t slice nearly as much as the driver. If you make the same swing mistake with a five iron it will start left but it will fly straight left. The five iron puts more BACKSPIN on a golf ball and not as much SIDESPIN.
Come back tomorrow and I will have the next couple of steps for creating backspin.
Golfingly yours,
Bobby
