May
14
If you want to stop slicing one golf swing drill perfect for helping to correct a slice is to practice on the range with a club, usually around a five iron to seven iron that has a molded golf grip to make sure your hands stay in the correct position all the way thru your golf swing. Hand position is extremely important throughout the entire swing and a molded golf grip will help to build the proper muscle memory in your hands, wrist, and forearms for a correct swing. The great Harvey Penick once said, “If you’re slicing, then look to the hands.” That’s good advice because the typical slicer can correct their problem by making sure their hands are properly positioned on the golf club throughout the entire golf swing. If the hands aren’t positioned correctly the club face can remain open at impact producing the dreaded slice.
Golf courses have people who work there known as “rangers.” These rangers keep driving around the golf course in their carts and keep an eye on golfers to make sure that they are not playing too slowly and holding up people behind them. Sometimes these rangers even tell golfers to play a little faster. To these rangers, I would like to say something like “Listen, pal. I paid a lot of money to play a relaxing game of golf and I am going to take my time. If people behind me are in a hurry, tell them to skip this hole and go on to the next hole. But they better not hold me up when I reach the next hole.” I would really like to say something like that, but will most probably wimp out and just say “Okay, sorry, I will play a little faster.”
Another common mistake golfers make is that they don’t keep their left shoulder down through their swing. If your left shoulder comes up before impact the tendency is for the arms to turn outward towards impact which opens the face of the club and produces a sliced golf shot. Golfer who tend to raise their head up before impact often find themselves slicing because they also raise their left shoulder and turn their chest too quickly. A great golf swing drill for keeping your head and shoulder down through your golf swing is to turn your head back to your right (this example refers to a right handed golfer) and look back at the ball with your eyes instead of looking straight down. This will give you an extra split second over the ball during your swing and help you keep your head down.
On some courses the green fee is really high, amounting to a couple of hundred dollars for a round of 18-holes of golf. Even on these courses one still has to pay a lot more money to hire a caddy. For the same price, one can get a couple of pizzas delivered to his or her home everyday for at least a week or more, rent and watch several movies, or have quite a few dinners at good restaurants.
One of the most common and affective golf drills for straightening a slice is to turn your hands a little counter clockwise on the golf shaft. Just move your hands around just a bit more than a normal grip would be in the counter clockwise direction. You’re slicing because your hands haven’t turned over at impact so the club face is still a bit open. Although this tip doesn’t work with all golfers you may find that this swing drill will help you close the face of the club at impact and hit a much straighter golf shot.
When I go to play golf, I have to pay the “green fees,” which most often also includes a cart fees. Sometimes, the green fee does not include a cart fees. In such cases, I am expected to carry my own bag across 18 holes of the golf course. When people go to a grocery store, they can pay an attendant to help them take the goods that they bought to their cars and also help them load the goods into their cars, all for a small tip, usually amounting to a couple of dollars. By comparison, the green fees charged by many golf courses are much higher. In spite of paying a higher price, there is no one to carry my bag - I have to do it myself. Of course you can hire caddies, but they charge more money to carry bags than the green fees that golfers typically pay for the privilege of playing on the golf course.
For those people who are not aware of the practicalities of golf the golf swing plane is actually made up of three separate parts - the backswing when the golf draws back the club ready to swing and hit the ball, the downswing which is the part of the golf swing where the club gathers momentum and force and finally the moment of impact with the ball and the follow through. Get these three parts correct and you will be hitting balls to be proud of.
It is true that there are many reasonably priced golf courses where the green fee includes the use of a golf cart. However, even on these courses I have to drive the cart myself or the person who plays with me, who has also paid the green and cart fees, has to drive the cart. I think that golf courses, especially those that charge a lot of money, should provide chauffer-driven carts to drive golfers from one hole to another.