golfrewind.com

After an interesting session at the range, I was trying to fix my slice, or as I like to call it, "My Big Fade". When I bring the club (mainly my driver and FWs)through impact, I always turn my wrists open at or near impact. I've found it's harder to adjust my wrists, so I've tried to really close the clubface at setup to match my out-turned wrists at impact...is this a suckers way out, or a legitimate solution? It seemed to work for most shots, I'm just wondering if I'm going about fixing the problem the best way....
Thoughts? Ideas? Experience?
Mike
ps - since hitting the weights, I've found it easier to bring my target-side shoulder back more at the top...maybe a little more flexability with the strength? No complaints here!

I wouldn't call it a "suckers way out" - more a compensation for your wrists turning open on impact.

We all have dodgy things wrong with our swing and soon enough we find our own way to stop the bad things happening.

A good solution to a never ending problem!

Way to go futurelegend!

my thing when I am "turning the ball over a tad too much" (40-75 yards is all..lol) I tend to bring my back foot away from the ball a little and stand slightly starggared. That stance promotes an inside/out approach to the ball and works for a little while. Its hard to get used to but I know people who golf like that normally just out of habbit...I also tend to set the ball up almost at the toe..forcing me to swing inside/out and almost getting a sensation like im throwing the club to the right (outside) and promoting a slight hook. I have coached both my friends this year using a few of these methods and the one I went out with last night is starting to hit everything straight because he has finally learned the mechanics of his swing instead of walking up and whacking it.

Your doing good realizing what your doing and preparing for it. Keep on learing about your habits and how you can fix them...fun to do and great to master

james

bbtt123 beat me to to the punch, futurelegend; that's the quick-fix I was going to suggest. I only try it when I'm desperate, however. I'm not sure it's a good long-term solution, at least for me.

Sometimes it also helps me to use this as my swing thought: "Finish the backswing." I have no idea why this helps. Possibly it improves the overall tempo and somehow promotes a more natural release of the club at impact.

Time for this 15-handicapper to shut up, before he does some damage. Good luck with the "Big Fade"!

Back your right foot behind you or back it from the ball giving a wider stance? A little confused. If you put your foot behind you, closing your stance, aren't you adding to the chance of a slice, or am I reading this all wrong...
Unfortunately, I'm a very visual person, and it's hard to get visual through forums...the ONLY down side!
Mike

Assuming you play right-handed, keep your right elbow pinned to your side on take-away. This will prevent you from coming over the top and striking the right side of the ball. That's what produces the side spin that causes the slice.

Making contact with the left side of the ball will induce a top-spin which will draw.
If you play baseball, hit the ball to the right-center field gap. Don't pull it to left-center.

I played with a wicked slice for the first 3 years I played. I never broke 90 until I could
hit a draw with regularity. If you miss the draw you will either go dead straight or push it 8 yards off center to the right.

You'll be a lot more comfortable in the tee box when you can play the draw shot.

Good luck.

assuming your are square to the ball and pointed to the target

----- left foot
-- ball
----- Right foot

that would be your square set up...now..a slight fix would be keeping the same squareness to the ball you would end up like this

----- left foot
-- ball Target^
----- right foot

Keeping your same stance when you sqare up..just slide your right foot back a little..this forces you to stay inside (actually makes your normal swing path a little inside..not neccisarily a FORCE persay) and come out and thru the ball...one problem you might be having is either over rotating and forcing your arms outside and then coming in without recovering your outside start.

I personally keep a higher arc on my backswing (LD habbit...once you master it the results are sweet..but wear and tear on body ***** if you do it wrong) But I recover to inside and swing out almost throwing the club out and to the side of me (but keeping hold of it..lol)

no no no... you guys have it all wrong!!!

you just need to tie a rabbits foot to your right heel, sprinkle some crushed garlic in a perfect half circle behind the ball, put a paperclip on your left earlobe, and sing a Zulu warchant through your follow through.

Its really just that simple!


Okay, seriously, its a matter of if your wrists are opening up too much, or if you're not giving them a chance to close properly. I played with my cousin yesterday (did I tell ya I shot an 86? ;)) and he kept spraying/slicing to the right, when I noticed he was playing the ball almost all the way to the middle of his back (right) foot. I told him to try centering the ball more in his stance, and sure enough he got off the tee much better.

Another one I try (and I think it was mentioned early in this thread) is to take your square stance, normal width, but reposition yourself by moving your front foot toward the ball a couple inches, "closing the stance" a bit. As far as I've been told, this promotes a draw/hook and would at least trim a little of that "big fade" away.

I've never understood the "inside/out" swing, nor can I picture it, but these two ways have worked for me.

no edit feature???..fixed in this quote

james

Move the ball forward and strengthen the grip (crank 'em to the right) in small increments...you will eventually not be able to "biggie fade" it.

Shade

That's as good a cure as anything I've read in the 15 years I've been playing! And it's about the only thing I haven't tried yet. Do you have the site for the Zulu War Chant? I don't know the words!

I'm sure there are plenty of Zulu war chant's out there, but this one happens to be my favorite:

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/alumni/ayziggy.htm

Quite possibly the greatest "unofficial" college fight song ever! (But then again, I'm biased.)

tonyg,

Thanks for the "Chant." I wonder if my league partner will mind another of my idiosyncrasies?

Is it my imagination, or does every approach shot end up on the green on that bowl shaped hole that runs along I-75 South? I've never played there, but I've passed that hole a hundred times and always wondered if everything feeds down to the green???? Even my "slice" into that bowl could hit the green!

*laugh* no problem. I wish they had an mp3 out somewhere of the "chant" actually being sung instead of the band version, it really is quite an experience!

And no, not every approach ends up on the green. I've been down the I-75 side of the hill, on the "inside" part of the hill, and I believe there's plenty of rough area around the green in the bottom of the bowl to make it less than automatic. But talk about a lesson in "clubbing up"!!!

Then the next hole is a par 3, maybe 160ish, but with that steady drop off the tee, its easily a couple clubs down, with the water long. Fortunately the last 5 holes of the back nine are pretty straight forward, because those first four are a bear!!!

Pretty good course, though, provided there's been some rain. Haven't played there in probably 8 years, the summer when I played there almost once a week. (Gotta love the student discount!)

I think it is important to work on swinging through the ball rather than 'fixing' the problem. Of course if you experiment and it works for you fine, but usually 'fixes' create other problems.

One of the major problems I think is 'hitting the ball' rather than swinging through it> It is important to maintain a target orientation with the hands/body but most golfers tend to orient to the ball when they have problems. then they start to correct their action in relation to the ball rather than swing through to a target. The hands arms should be fully relaxed during the swing and then there is no tendency to open the wrists which tends to be a reflex action in preparation for 'hitting the ball'. Does this make sense? I can elaborate if you like?