There is one thing that all golfers have in common: we would all like to find golf tips that could help improve our golf game. And while most golfers who are professionals tend to concentrate on the most minute and slight adjustments to their golf mechanics, the rest of us are happy to settle for simple changes to our golf swing. And with that simple approach in mind, I decided that one single golfing error constantly nags at a good many of us: golf slices. And with that, I have created this entire site around a single theme: to help golfers correct their slices. In this article I want to talk about how stance can affect your overall golf swing and eventual slice.
The natural inclination and reaction for a those golfers who are slicing the golf ball is to adjust their stance. Usually we tend to aim more to the left in order to compensate for the ending position of the ball. After all, if it is landing twenty yards to the right now and we aim twenty yards to the left, then the golf ball should land right in the middle of the fairway. This is an easy enough and logical step. Or, at least it seems logical.
If you have wondered how to correct your golf slice and have experienced this natural reaction, then you know the drill: tee the ball up and then aim far to the left, predicting that the ball will arc it's way back into a playable position. This approach works sometimes, but for the most part it causes the curving slice motion of the ball to increase, and then bend even more to the right than before. Assume that you tee up the ball and there is an imaginary arrow running through your ball and pointed right down the center of the fairway; this is the hoped for path of the ball. Let's leave intentional draws and cuts out of the equation for a second. The reason behind this puzzle is that when you already have a right to left swing and you aim even more to the left, the ball spins even more than before because your swing arc is now more outside to inside. Imagine the birds eye view of your swing, a slice would show that your club head cuts from outside to inside, or from over the center line of the idea trajectory arrow of the ball to below that center line.
Those of you who are wanting to fix your slice also know that the usual advice is to aim even more to the left or to adjust the hips. This can work with some of you since we all have different mechanics to our swing, but for the majority of folks this will not correct our slicing problem.
Instead, adjusting your golf stance may help smooth out your slice, and the adjustment may surprise you: try not aiming to the left at all; instead aim right down the middle or maybe even slightly to the right. Take care to not to pull your feet all the way around. What I mean by this is that when you set up over the ball, try to aim your club down the center or slightly to the right but keep your feet aimed directly down the center of the fairway.
This motion will feel extremely awkward at first but give it a chance -- remember, fixing a slice means reversing years and years of a repeated motion that your body is accustomed to, and so it will come as somewhat of a shock to the system to adjust your golf stance back to straight. Try taking as many practice swings as possible in an effort to a familiarize your body, hands, and head to the new swinging motion. Again, you are attempting to aim the intended trajectory arrow of the ball slightly to the right, perhaps only 3 to 5 degrees, while keeping your feet aimed down the center.
In order to effect this swing, you can lay a club on the ground pointing directly down the center of the imaginary fairway. Practice swinging inside to out, pulling your right elbow down closer to your torso. Aim the ball to the right while keeping your stance positioned directly centered.
This solution to fixing your slice can also be reversed for those of you who are left handed and face the same problem of trying to correct your slice.
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