Golf Tips To Improve Slice

From an outsider’s perspective, Golf doesn’t seem to be a sport that elicits much passion, since there is not much activity going on. More often than not, a sport has to be full contact, with athletes sweating and exerting a visible amount of physical exertion, in order for the viewer to appreciate the effort being put in by the players.

For other kinds of sporting events, once the on court, on field drama or what have you, captivates us we feel a connection to the players and the game itself. We scream in delight with every ‘buzzer beating shot’ made, at every knockout punch and at each touchdown, as if we are part of the team. This is the kind of connection most athletes hope to attain with their viewers and their fans.

Odd as it may seem, Golf should also be able to bring out similar feelings from us, regardless if we follow the game or not. Believe it or not, it IS as physically and mentally challenging a sport as any other out there, if not even more!

Just the amount of concentration required to make that game winning putt, or hitting that birdie is unbelievable, that you need to be able to block everything out and focus on the task at hand.

I know this may be lost in translation to a non-player or to someone who doesn’t follow the sport. But just try playing any golf-based video game, and after a round or two you should be able to appreciate the intrinsic challenges that the game presents.

With this being said, Golfers put a tremendous amount of time and effort in perfecting their game, or at least improving it. Players review every aspect of their form, performance and their swinging both for their long game and their short game.

For the swinging aspect, the long game is probably the most crucial since this will determine where you initially land the ball from tee off. Depending on your first swing, you may end up either on the green, the rough or even in a pond. And if you end up on any part of the course other than the green, you might have to play catch up the rest of the match and that will make winning much more difficult.

This is precisely the reason why golfers invest in their long game. Once you have a sufficient enough long game, you will already have a distinct advantage over the competition since you will be able to land the ball any where on the green that you please.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Swinging from tee off demands that some factors be considered. Among these are:

•    Wind speed/direction – this basically means, knowing where the wind is blowing and how fast. Doing so will allow you to compensate for it, so it doesn’t affect the flight and trajectory of the ball

•    Course surface/characteristics – this involves considering the hazards, the type of grass used on the course, and the curves and falls of the physical topography. Being familiar with the course hazards will help you aim your swing to certain areas to avoid these hazards.

Now that we are armed with this information, let’s take a look at a swinging challenge that most if not all golfers have to struggle with at some point. This is the ’slice’.

The slice, in golfing terms, refers to the flight of the ball veering to the right or left, depending on the players’ dominant hand.

Ideally, you want to hit the ball straight down the course and not have it fly to the left or right. After all, a straight line is the shortest distance between 2 points, basic geometry.

However, if you are gripping the handle of the club too tight, this will result in an uneven swing and may cause the club face to hit the ball at an ‘open angle’. This open angled hit, no matter how minute, will drastically alter the balls trajectory in flight. Thus causing the ball to veer either to your right or your left.

A quick fix for this open clubface hit will be, turning your left hand towards the right and check if you can view the upper portion of your hand from this position. Also ensure that your palms are aligned before you swing.

Once this grip is mastered, it should drastically reduce your slices.

Another possible cure is by making sure that your feet and knees are aligned and touching each other when you swing.

This may feel awkward at first but with enough practice and time on the green, you should be comfortable swinging from this position and with this grip. You should then see a marked improvement in your swing and accuracy, as well as cure your slicing.

Just give these simple tips a try and see what happens. If anything, you will most likely enjoy that additional time on the green, so this is a win-win situation for you!