I see this mistake all the time: Slicers come to a hole with trouble on the right and tee up in the middle of the tee box. Thirty seconds later they’re watching the ball peel off into the junk. The problem is, they’re setting up to hit a straight drive, looking down the middle of the fairway, instead of playing for a left-to-right shot.
If you fight a slice, tee your ball on the far right side, next to the right tee marker. That gets your eyes looking down the left side of the hole. Looking straight brings all that trouble into view, which basically draws you to it. You need to start your ball to the left, so get your eyes tracking that way from the beginning.
After you tee up on the right, go behind the ball and pick a target on the left that allows for your normal shot. Then step in and put the clubhead behind the ball, aiming the face at that target [below]. Set your feet and body lines at a right angle to the clubface. Now you’re in a square setup, just shifted 20 or 30 metres to the left. From there, swing where you’re aimed [top]. Fairway!
Butch’s Basics: Most slicers start the downswing by moving the right shoulder out towards the ball. That causes the clubhead to cut across the ball from out to in. To swing from the inside, keep your right shoulder back as you start down, or your back to the target longer. That will allow the club to drop to the inside so you can release the clubhead out and through the ball.
– Butch Harmon is based at Rio Secco Golf Club, Nevada.
