If you’re tired of hitting weak slices, I get it, but the fix isn’t as complicated as you might imagine. Let’s simplify things. Every slice is caused by the same thing: the clubface is open in relation to the path of the club. As the clubhead is swinging down, it’s traveling too far from out-to-in and the clubface is pointed too far to the right (for righties).
That looks a little something like this, below. Notice how in the downswing, my clubface is pointed upwards. That’s way too open and is a slice in the making.
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Chronic slicers spend lots of time trying to fix their dreaded over-the-top move, but they still hit banana balls. Why? You can have a perfectly neutral club path, but if you’re clubface is open, you’ll hit it to the right every time.
The face is the boss, and that’s what you need to fix first. The key is to square the clubface earlier in the downswing. The best ball-strikers on tour do this exceptionally well, which allows them to rely less on timing with their hands to square the face at impact.
To square the face and get rid of your slice, point the clubface down to the ground as quickly as possible when you start the downswing. Elite ball-strikers start closing the clubface way earlier than you think. Two words to help? Knuckles down. As you start the downswing, turn the knuckles on your lead hand to point down to the ground. You should feel your lead wrist bowing slightly and your trail wrist bending back.
Rehearse this a few times without a ball. It should look a little something like this.
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Notice how my clubface is starting to point toward the ground before I hit the ball. I’m twisting the grip to square the face. From here, the face has almost zero chance of being open at impact. If you nail this knuckles down move but are still coming over the top, you’ll hit powerful pulls. That’s OK, a pull is the first sign you’re fixing your slice.
Now that your clubface is square or slightly closed, feel like your arms swing out, away from your body through impact. That in-to-out move with a clubface slightly closed to the path will give you your draw.
But remember, the face is the boss, so start there. Knuckles down.
• • •
Blackburn’s new book, The Coaching Code, is now out. In it, he explains the concepts he has used in coaching dozens of tour players, including Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa. Blackburn is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional.
MORE FROM MARK BLACKBURN
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
