How To Fix A Slice With A Driver (Ultimate Guide)
Fixing slices seems an arduous battle to golf players but there are some easy steps that you can opt to get rid of distance robbing, flight pattern, and penalty prone with the driver. This instructional blog aims to answer “how to fix a slice with a driver” to hit the ball in a straightforward and long way.
Before reading the guide, it is important to understand what a slice is, what are its causes, and more. Let’s begin the discussion:
How to Fix a Slice in Golf With a Driver
What Is A Slice?
The slice is a shot that moves to the right or left because of the air for a right-handed golf player. It starts on the left side of the target and moves to the far distance; this is called the classic slice. Another type of slice is called push slice which starts to the right of the target and curves forward towards the further right as it covers the distance.
Why Is Slice Considered Bad?
Slice is bad for some obvious reasons: slice is an uncontrollable and fragile shot that is usually caused due to glancing blow. It is not powerful at all and is prone to be affected by wind or other pressures. Also, it is difficult to set a target for a slice because you cannot aim it. In short, it will always curve in different directions left or right, and is not reliable enough to be visualized or aimed. Slice is also a bad shot because you lose large distances, which is an unaffordable thing for a golfer.
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What Are The Causes Of Slice?
When a golf ball is imparted through the side spin, a slice is caused. Basically, the side spin pushes the ball to curve during the flight and usually, golfers think that this spin is caused due to an out to an in-path swing, which is not true. In a few words, the side spin is imparted by the golfers that cause a curve in the flight.
There can be many reasons to slice but one common cause is the open club face that swings the pathway of the ball through different impacts. It is to inform you that minute impacts can cause drastic changes or curves in the flight. Therefore, every role-playing factor needs to be considered immediately.
Many golfers keep struggling to fix their slice in other ways, usually changing the swing path, but they don’t think of their club face angle which is the reason behind all the scenes. For your information, if the club face is three-degree open to the swing path, you’ll probably have a solid fade, while if the degree will reach six or even more than that, you’ll end up slicing every time.
What Is A Perfect Driver?
Evaluating your equipment is very important before making the first practice swing in golf. This is because all slices use a loft driver, maybe because they are reacting to the weaker flights. The adjustable drivers allow golfers to increase the loft and lift the weight as per their consideration. It is suggested to adjust the driver to eleven or ten degrees so that you can add more lift to it. Do you know you can fix the driver by making your grip perfect?
10 Easy Ways to Fix a Slice With a Driver
1. Fix Your Grip
The grip also matters as many entry-level golfers grip weakly using the thin points, and resultantly make a slice unavoidable. In short, you need to make a strong grip using your hands and palms. The posture of your hands should not be turned towards the target while the palms should be parallel together. That doesn’t mean you need to grip so tightly that you can’t lose it when it’s time to, but it is suggested that you keep the hands aligned and firm yet soft when gripping.
2. Control The Clubface
The frontal end of the club head is called the clubface. It is the flat surface from where you’ll be hitting the ball. There are different varieties and shapes of club faces but as a general idea, you need to know that fixing the club face is a step to how to fix a slice with the driver. As discussed before, you need to fix the clubface. For this, roll the right arm over your left one and through impact determine the clubface.
3. Adjust The Ball Position
If your grip is perfectly firm but still you cannot get through the perfect shot, it means you need to adjust the position of the ball. In this context, you need to check the position and distance between the front foot and the ball. This also depends on the clubs, for example, the fairway woods need to be hit from behind your front toe. In a few words, I must say the driver swing is something completely different than swinging with a slice.
In longer clubs, for example, the fairway woods, hybrids, etc., you will be slicing the shot if you play from a distance. This is because the club is probably not aligned with the position of the ball. You need to examine the ball before you swing and for more details, please consider the instruction guides on particular topics or graphics.
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4. Check Your (Player) Alignment
The alignment or posture of a golfer is one of the defining elements here and it could be the main issue. For that purpose, you need to check the alignment of your shoulders and feet—if they are lined at the distance on the left of your target, this is an open stance leading to the slice. In order to fix this, a golfer needs to keep their shoulders and feet aligned in a way that they are closer to the target.
5. Body Movement
You may not pay attention to the movement of your body, but it is also a countable factor. You need to move your lower body first in the golf swing episode instead of the upper body. If you usually move your upper body first, the weight shifts towards the lower body, and consequently, you miss the shots. According to Ben Hogan, the golfer should move his body in the following sequence: hips, shoulders, arms, and hands, and then release the force.
6. Switch To The Left Hand
After a big slice, there is a need to switch your arm for a new grip. Of course, you cannot deny your potential or let the unfortunate grip ruin the game score, right? In this sequence, you need to switch to the left hand for an improved grip. To be honest, a new grip or switched hand feels awkward at the start but with time it will settle and help in correcting your path. In order to strengthen the left hand, you can buy grip trainers too.
7. Swing As Baseball Batting
Get rid of the nasty slice and use your baseball batting skills! For this, practice baseball swing using a 7-iron. You need to rotate the hands around it and keep maintaining the club levels for hits. Create the squaring and repeat it at least fifteen times. This works for fixing the slice and also improves the swing in golf.
8. Muscle Confusion
Muscle confusion is another perfect drill to learn and practice how to hit the ball in golf with precise power and swing without a gap. For this, you need to practice back swinging while keeping your toes together. In the next step, you need to drop the arms down without moving the body. Please make sure to perform the drills perfectly as their inaccuracy could lead to other problems. However, the reason why I mentioned this muscle confusion drill here is that it works for all golfers.
9. Targeting Left Is Wrong
When you target at left, the chances of slice become higher. In simple words, aiming in the opposite direction is not compensation but it will make the problem complex. Thus, you need to target at the right of the box as it gives you more room to play. You can adjust this on short terms to avoid slicing.
10. Get The Eyeline Precise
Eyeline golf speed trap is another way to fix your slice. It is a straightforward device that is adjustable according to the niche of shots. For example, if you want to fix a slice with a driver, you have to adjust the device accordingly and it will point you toward the right swing. This works visually and trains you about the pathways and shots that align the clubface and makes gameplay better for you.
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FAQs
How to fix a slice during a round?
To fix a slice during rounds, you need to check your grip. The grip should be firm but not too tight; you have to be soft on your hands. Secondly, consider the clubface and its alignment according to the ground. Please make sure that your left wrist is leaned at the edge of the swing, and it will be there throughout. As said above, you need to release the right arm over the left one to align properly. Sloppy and disordered postures and body movements are a big NO.
Why do I slice my driver but not my irons?
Slicing the ball with the driver and iron makes the same swings, but the irons do not slice because of the additional loft that created greater backspin. According to statistics, the backspin of iron is four to eight times more than that of the driver. Also, the additional backspin adds stability to the ball and eliminates the negative side spinning that gives birth to a slice.
How is grip important to fix the slice?
You need to make a strong grip using your hands and palms. The posture of your hands should not be turned towards the target while the palms should be parallel together. That doesn’t mean you need to grip so tightly that you can’t lose it when it’s time to, but it is suggested that you keep the hands aligned and firm yet soft when gripping.
What is the purpose of the Eyeline golf speed trap?
It is an adjustable device that a golfer can set according to the niche of shots. For example, if you want to fix the slice, you have to adjust the device accordingly and it will point you toward the right swing. This works visually and trains you about the pathways and shots that align the clubface and makes gameplay better for you.
Final Thoughts
Slicing can damage your golf scorecard, but the good news is that you can eliminate or settle the slice using easy and quick ways. This informative article has discussed the ten different ways to fix a slice with a driver. These are the key points you need to remember:
- Switch the hand grip: the right to left.
- Try training aids and devices.
- Make sure that the ball is more towards your stance with a driver.
- Please check and align yourself precisely.
- Use the drills discussed in this article.
That’s all for how to fix a slice with a driver! You need to learn the tricks and methods and practice them before adopting them in the final gameplay. I hope this article has given you insight into the slicing issue and how to fix it.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog article. Great.