Use these three moves so sliding won’t ruin your round.
Sliding during the downswing is one of the most common tendencies I see from amateur golfers. If your body shifts too far towards the target as the club comes down, you’ll probably hit thin shots, heel strikes, pushes and snap hooks.
How do you know if you’re sliding? Have someone video your swing with the lens facing your chest at address. When you watch the clip, imagine a vertical line drawn up through your lead leg. On the downswing, your pelvis will move excessively towards the target and your lead leg will drift well ahead of that line [below].
It’s good to bump your hips slightly towards the target in the downswing, but if you overdo it, your contact will suffer. The good news is, you can still play decent golf with a slide if you add three moves I’m going to show you.
Adjust your ball position
When you slide in the downswing, your body gets too far ahead of the ball, and that shifts the ball’s position further back in your stance. This forces your club to travel on a path from way inside the target line to outside of it in the through-swing. That’s why sliders hit a lot of pushes and hooks off the heel.
To counteract this, address the ball further forward than normal. If you typically play your iron shots in the middle of your stance, make sure your ball position is now closer to your lead foot. It might feel too far forward, but when you slide, the club will meet the ball in the perfect spot.
Close the face earlier
You might have been told to have the shaft of your irons leaning towards the target at impact. That’s usually good advice. However, if you’re a slider, you will naturally have a lot of shaft lean when the club strikes the ball. If you try to add more, your contact will suffer.
Instead, work on closing the clubface as you come into the ball. This will help you make contact in the sweet spot and turn your shots into baby draws. To do this, focus on the logo on your glove. As you come down into impact, feel like the back of the glove is pointing more downward. That will help you close the clubface earlier. Notice how the clubface is pointing more towards the ball as I approach impact [above].
Finish high
With your ball position more forward and the clubface closing, you’re almost ready to hit a nice push-draw. The last step is to feel a full release of the club into a high finish position. Allow your trail forearm (right for righties) to roll over your lead forearm and feel like you’re swinging the club out to the target.
This release will get the club travelling from inside to out with a face that is slightly closed to the path – the perfect recipe to make your slide a more effective move.
Mark Blackburn, No.1 on Golf Digest’s list of the 50 Best Teachers in America, is based at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
Photography by jesse rieser
