It is estimated by top teaching professionals such as Hank Haney that 80% to 90% of all golfers slice the ball with most of their golf shots.  Unfortunately, golfers who slice the ball have limited potential for lowering their scores.  This is because the slice tends to result in a significant loss of distance, and the golfer usually does not have the ability to control the slice in order to hit accurate shots off the tee and into the greens.

There are two basic types of slice.  First, we must define a sliced golf shot.  A sliced shot is essentially one that, for the right handed player, curves to the right.  For the left handed player, it curves to the left.  A shot that only curves a little bit to the right for the right hander is called a fade, as is the case for the ball that curves just a little bit to the left for a left hander.  For the rest of this article, I will only refer to right handed players.

The first type of slice is one that starts to the left, and then curves back to the right.  This is a pull slice.  The second type of slice is one that starts to the right, and then continues to curve even further to the right.  This article will focus on the first version.

For a pull slice, the primary issue is that in the down swing, the club is attacking the ball from the outside.  In other words, the swing path in the down swing is outside-in.  Given that we are standing beside the ball, and the club should essentially be swung on a circular path, the correct path into the ball should be from the inside.

Most amateur golfers attack from the outside for one primary reason…their upper body dominates their golf swing.  This is mainly due to their perception that they should be controlling the club with their hands and arms.  Unfortunately, conventional instruction has a tendency to make things worse.  Quite often, the first thing an instructor will do to try and fix a golf swing is to fix the grip, or the takeaway.  In both cases, the emphasis is on the controlling what the hands and arms are doing in the golf swing.

A much better approach is to teach the student about the proper sequencing in the golf swing, and how important it is to engage the lower body, particularly in the transition from the back swing to the down swing.

One way to do this is to demonstrate athletic moves in which the golfer is likely already familiar, and how those moves relate to the golf swing.  A couple of these moves are skipping stones across a pond or creek, and throwing a Frisbee.  Both of these actions involve a drawing back and winding of the body, and an unwinding motion that begins with the lower body.

Once these moves have been demonstrated to be similar to the golf swing, it is time to begin training the body to move properly in the golf swing.  This should be done without a club in the golfer’s hand. Most golfers have a tendency to be tense during a lesson, and particularly with a club in their hands, and the ball on the ground.  Because they tend to be focused too much on the result, they then worry about controlling the club.  Therefore, when building a better swing to get rid of the slice, and to add power, it is best to train the golfer without the club.

The first step should be in learning the proper foot work and movements of the lower body in the swing.  The golfer needs to feel the proper positions, weight shift and pivoting in the golf swing, and then they should train at this work alone at least 10-15 minutes each day.  The proper movements are as follows:

1.  In the back swing, the golfer should allow the hips to turn as much as possible while using the right leg as a brace.  At the top of a full back swing, the golfer should feel pressure inside the right heel, inside the right thigh, and in the right gluteus muscle.  The right leg should not be straight, and the right knee should still be to the inside of the right foot.  At this point in the swing, the hips, for a golfer of normal flexibility, should be turned about 45 degrees to the right from the original address position.  Also, the left knee should be angled toward the right knee.  If the golfer is hitting a shorter iron, they should not be fully loaded as described above, and the hips not turned as much.
2. The next move is initiated by the left knee.  It starts to move toward the target, and this allows the left hip to begin to turn to the left.  The golfer should then also feel like they are “squishing a bug” under their left heel.  This is a term that some instructors such as Geoff Jones like to use to describe the pivoting action of the left leg.
3. At the impact position, the hips will be slightly open compared to the original address position and the left knee should still be flexed and the left foot should be firmly planted in the ground.  It is not uncommon for the right heel to be lifting a little bit at this point.  The right leg should then be angled toward the left, but there should not be much knee bend.
4. As the hips continue to turn to the left, the left knee will straighten.  At the finish position, the golfer’s belly button should be facing the target, the left foot should be flat on the ground, and the right foot should have NO weight on it.  At this position, the golfer should be able to pick up the right foot without losing their balance, since all of the balance and weight should be on the left foot.  If someone is standing behind the golfer, they should be able to see the ENTIRE bottom of their right shoe.

It is best to train these movements from a golf posture, with the arms hanging relaxed under the shoulders to start.  The golfer should feel the upper body following along with no effort.

This is the first step in teaching a golfer to get rid of their slice.  Getting rid of the slice involves improving the sequencing in the golf swing, and learning how to rely more on the lower body.  It takes a bit of effort to get these movements, but the pace of improvement is dramatic compared to more conventional instruction.

In part two of these series, we’ll discuss how the upper and lower body should move together in the golf swing.