Strengthen Your Left Hand Grip To Stop Slicing
Strengthen Your Left Hand Grip To Stop Slicing
There are many reasons why a golfer may slice a ball, but there is also one constant when a ball slices (curves left-to-right for a righty). That constant is an open clubface at the point of impact. An open clubface is when it’s pointed to the right or more towards the sky. This open clubface can be caused by many things including an incorrect swing path, a poor setup, or a weak grip, amongst others. Today, I’m going to explain how a weak left hand grip can increase the likelihood of a slice.
In order to have a consistent swing, you should have a grip that matches your swing. Unfortunately, for many golfers their grip doesn’t match their swing or their hands are in a position where they are more likely to change the angle of the clubface at impact. The most common error I see is when a golfer grips the club with a weak left (lead arm) hand. In this position, the hand is placed on the side or even under the grip causing quite a few issues such as a loss of power and the greater potential to slice the ball.
Self-Test
If you’re a slicer, it’s imperative to strengthen your left hand grip. Here’s why and a little test to show you. Stand tall with your arms hanging comfortably and softly down your side. You’ll notice your palms are facing your side. Now, lean over until you’re in your golf posture continuing with your arms hanging softly under your shoulders. Notice how your palms are now angled about 45 degrees facing your body. When you lean over, your arms naturally rotate inward.
Why is that important and what does it have to do with your slice? When you lean over and allow your arms to hang softly, this is your arms natural position. This is where your arms want to be. Try this: grip the club with just your left hand. Rotate your palm towards the ground and notice the clubface rotate towards the sky. The more it points this way, the more the ball will slice. The weaker your left hand grip is at the start, the more prone the clubface will be at impact because your left arm will try to go back to it’s natural position.
It is possible to hit great shots with a weak grip, but usually, this is for golfers that tend to over-rotate their arms on their downswing.
How To Grip The Club
I recommend trying to grip the club up in the air in front of your face so you can see what’s going on. When placing your left hand on the grip, try to angle your palm about 45 degrees towards the ground. If done correctly, you should be able to see 3, maybe 4 knuckles on your left hand. Additionally, the ‘V-shape’ caused by your left thumb and forefinger will be pointed towards your right shoulder. After placing your left hand on the grip, put your right hand on with your palms facing each other.
Not only will this stronger grip help eliminate or reduce the amount of slice, it will also allow your wrists to hinge correctly creating more power in your golf swing. It’s a win-win!
The grip is a very sensitive and difficult topic to fully grasp. For help with your own grip, I recommend seeing your local PGA Professional to help you perfect it.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
Stop Your Slice – Use Your Right Side More (Dominant Side)
USE YOUR RIGHT SIDE TO STOP YOUR SLICE
In a good golf swing, I believe the upper body, lower body, and arms should work in unison. Another way to think about it is your left side and right side should work together turning through the ball. Makes sense, right? Would you want just half of your body doing all the work? Or just your arms flailing at the ball? I didn’t think so.
A sliced shot, a ball that curves left-to-right, occurs when the clubface is open, pointing right, at impact. This open clubface can be caused by many things like open shoulders at address, swinging across the ball on the downswing, coming down too steeply into the ball, etc. Today, I’m going to cover another reason a slice may occur and how to fix it.
A large percentage of golfers I see that slice the ball tend to pull down using more upper body than lower body. When this happens, the upper body is pulling away from the lower body. More to the point, the left side (weak side) is pulling down and left. To hit the ball better, the right side must contribute.
Why Pulling With Your Weak Side Is Bad
There are two reasons why pulling with the left side is bad. One, it tends to leave the clubface open. It’s very difficult to rotate through the shot when the left side is pulling. The second reason is you’re losing a ton of power. Think of it this way. If you had to move a large box that weighed 80 pounds, would you rather pull it or push it? Push it, right? You get a lot more power that way. Back to golf, pulling left not only opens the clubface, but it also lessens the force you’re putting into the shot (I want to make it clear I’m not necessarily advocating pushing on your downswing, I just want you to stop pulling.)
The Fix
To fix this problem, you have to activate your right side. This is not as difficult as it seems.
- On your downswing, I want you to feel your hands are coming down more from the inside – closer to your right thigh. If your hands get away from your body too much, you’ll have to pull left. I want you to feel you’re swinging a little in-to-out.
- Once step one is done, you have to turn your right side through the shot. To get the right feeling, I would like you to make swings with the golf club with your right hand/arm only. Take a wide backswing and swing all the way through to your finish. If you’ve ever played tennis, I would like for you to replicate a topspin tennis shot. Notice how the right arm and clubface are releasing/rolling over, not staying open – clubface pointed right or up to the sky.
- At your finish, if turned your right side through, your belt buckle will be pointed to the target, your weight will be over your left leg, and the shaft of the club will be perpendicular to your spine. If you pull coming down, the shaft will be closer to your spine angle.
To summarize, try to swing through the ball using your dominant side rather than pulling across the ball with your weak side. Done properly, you’ll start hitting the ball straighter and further hopefully adding 10 yards of distance to all your clubs.
Good luck, thanks for reading, and practice hard.
Stop Your Slice With This Golf Tip: Hit The Inside Quarter Of The Ball
HIT THE INSIDE QUARTER OF THE BALL
One of the simple misconceptions about the game is what part of the golf ball to hit. Most would answer the back of the ball, and I would say they’re wrong. To hit the ball properly, you should hit the ball slightly from the inside.
The game of golf, just like baseball and tennis, is a side-sport. Unlike bowling and tossing a ball underhand, these side-sport games swing around our bodies, not up-and-down. Due to this fact, the golf swing goes back and up to the inside then returns back down from the inside. Shortly after impact, the golf club returns back to the inside. Imagine a hula hoop is wrapped around your body on the same plane as the shaft at address. Can you see how swinging up and down along the hoop would have you coming back down to the ball from the inside? It’s not drastically from the inside, but it is enough that not doing it properly will cause poor results. And that’s no fun.
Now, let’s get to the part where we stop that slice. When you slice the ball, your golf swing is not going up and down along that hula hoop I just spoke about. It may be going back along the hoop, but on the way down, most likely, the golf club is swinging over/on-top of the hula hoop too much. This makes the club swing across the line causing left-to-right sidespin on the golf ball. Another way to say it is you’re hitting the outside of the golf ball with an open face. Hitting the outside of the ball with an open face = slice. It’s as simple as that.
GOLF TIP
A simple golf tip to fix this problem is to actually try to hit the inside quarter of the golf ball (*hint, hint* – you actually want to hit the inside part of the ball). If you can hit the inside part of the ball, you’ll have a much better chance to hit the ball straight or even hit the coveted draw. When you hit the inside part of the ball, you’ll swing down the target longer and, by doing this, you’re in a much better position to release the golf club instead of holding the face open. Releasing the club properly will allow you to hit the draw.
DRILL
The next time you go to a driving range try this drill. Take a range ball and place it on a tee. Turn the ball so the red, green, or black range ball stripe is positioned on the inside of the ball. Then, hit the stripe trying to send the stripe out to the right. Yes, I said that. Try to hit the ball to the right. The odds are you won’t be able to do this right away, but once you can hit your ball a little right you’re not too far from hitting that draw you’ve dreamed about. I know, it’s hard because you dread seeing the ball curve off to the right so you can’t fathom trying to hit it there, but this is how to fix that slice. Swing to the right. Hit the inside quarter of the ball. Once you get that down, just roll the club over. Walla! Draw every time. Have fun with it and hopefully your draw will come soon.
Thanks for reading,
Kyle Voska, PGA
The 9 Shots In Golf & How Learning Them Can Improve Your Game
THE 9 SHOTS YOU CAN HIT
Believe it or not, there are 9 different types of shots you can hit on a golf course. Some of you may be laughing to yourself thinking that you can hit plenty more than that, right? Hooks, slices, pushes, pulls, tops, shanks, etc. So many shots! Allow me to explain what I’m talking about.
When you swing the club, you can either swing inside-to-out (push), square, or outside-to-in (pull) equaling 3 total swing paths. With these 3 paths there are 3 different angles your clubface can be: open, square, or closed. 3 swings multiplied by 3 face angles equals 9 shots. Even if you shank, top, or duff the ball you still fit into one of these 9 swings. Normally, you only hit 3 different types of shots. Most likely, you only have one swing path, but you change your face angle which produces a variety of 3 different shot patterns.
Examples
Now, let me explain some examples. If you swing outside-to-in with a closed clubface your ball will start left then hook. This is called a pull-hook. If you swing inside-to-out with an open clubface your ball will start right then slice. This is called a push-slice. If you swing square with an open face your ball will start straight and tail off to the right. This is a slice, or a fade (small version of a slice). Generally, the ball will start where you swing while the curvature of the ball is determined by the clubface at impact. The clubface will have more impact on where your ball goes compared to the swing path.
Sidenote For Slicers
There’s an important note I need to make. Slicers pay careful attention! Sometimes you can swing outside-to-in and the ball will actually start right. This is due to a very open clubface. Sometimes the face is so open the ball deflects off the face to the right. This could possibly deceive the golfer. This is pretty typical for golfers that slice the ball. The majority that slice the ball swing outside-to-in with an open clubface. Sometimes their clubface is so open that the ball starts right of their target and slices more to the right. Unaware of what causes this, the golfer may then try to swing more to the left which would exacerbate the slice even more.
Keys
The key is learning from your mis-hits. Easier said than done, but if you learn what causes a shot it’s a lot easier to start fixing it instead guessing all the time. This may take a lesson or two with a PGA Instructor to figure out. If you’re pulling the ball left try to swing out to right field more. If you’re slicing the ball, try to rotate the clubface over sooner on your downswing. Practice in slow-motion to see what you would have to do to fix your tendency. Then gradually swing faster and hopefully better results will come shortly.
Good luck and practice smart!
Want to stop that slice? Close your shoulders….
STOP THAT SLICE!
Do you fight the slice like most golfers? Would you like to stop it? I’m sure the answer is yes. The slice (ball flight that curves from the left to right for right-handed golfers) could be caused by many things. Today, I’m going to explain how squaring up your shoulders at address can help you to cure that annoying slice.
The slice, simply, is caused by an open club face at impact. Any time the club face is open at impact (pointing to the right), the ball will curve left to right. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is actually. Hitting a slice is easy. Stopping it can be difficult. The club face must be relatively square to the target line at impact to stop the slice.
One of the major causes of the slice is an improper setup with your shoulders. When you setup, ideally, your toe lines will be parallel to your target line, like a little railroad track. Equally important, your shoulders should be parallel to your toe line. From my experience, most slicers’ shoulders are open at address (aiming left). The problem with that is two-fold. One, your arms will generally swing along your shoulders since their attached. This will cause your arms to swing left too soon. The club then pulls across the target line with an open club face. Two, this pulling across move magnifies the slice because your compounding an open club face with a pulled-left swing.
THE FIX
Here comes the good news! The fix is pretty simple, but you need a friend to help: 1) take your normal setup, 2) have a friend place a club along your toes, 3) then, have your friend hold another club facing you along your shoulders, and 4) while your friend holds his place (tell them to stay still), step back about 10 feet behind the ball. Check to see if the shafts along your shoulders and toes are parallel. If so, great. If not, I’m guessing your shoulders are aiming left. Rarely, are they aiming too much to the right.
If your shoulders were aiming left, practice seeing more of your left shoulder at address from your left eye. You may have to move your ball position back an inch or two in your stance to help you do this. It will feel odd at first, but eventually it’ll become natural. I bet you’ll feel like you’re going to hit the ball way right. But, believe it or not, this is good. To stop the slice, you need to feel like you’re swinging to the right.
THE RESULT
This is just one step towards stopping that ugly slice. But, it’s an important one. When your shoulders are square it gives you the freedom to make a full shoulder turn. This, in turn, allows you to come back to the ball more from the inside (this is good). When you come back to the ball from the inside you will be able to start the ball closer to your target line.
In a nutshell, open shoulders = shallow/little shoulder turn on your backswing = arms swinging left too soon = big slice = no fun!
I would highly recommend checking your shoulder alignment soon and often. This is something that can easily be taken for granted, but it’s something PGA Tour players check every day.
Good luck!
About
KYLE VOSKA, PGA PROFESSIONAL
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from St. Michael’s, St. Xavier, and Miami University. After graduating from Miami with a Finance degree, I moved to Florida to pursue my professional golf dreams. After a few successful years and a couple of difficult years, I stopped playing full-time. After a year of caddying on the LPGA Tour for Young Jo, Kim Williams, and Angela Stanford, I moved back home to Cincinnati. Currently, I live near Sharonville with my lovely wife, Lindsay, our kids, Maclin and Ellie, and our dog, Nora.
Teaching golf for over a year in Florida and having taken and watched many lessons from PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional Carl Rabito, becoming a golf instructor was something I really wanted to do. Fortunately, I was able to find a home at Sharon Woods Golf Course in Cincinnati, my old home from the 90′s, to further this new career path. As I enter my 6th season as a golf professional, I’m excited how my role is taking shape. I assist in managing and supervising a staff of nearly 40 while teaching golf lessons to over a 100 students. Hopefully, someday I’ll have the opportunity to mentor some future golf professionals like myself.
Email: kvoska@hotmail.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- PGA Member – June, 2009
- 2008 PGA National Assistants Champion
- 43 Professional Tournament Victories
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Section Player-of-the-Year
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Southwest Chapter Player-of-the-Year
- 2009 Cincinnati Chapter Match Play Champion
- 2009 Southern Ohio PGA Assistant’s Champion
- 2001 and 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Open Champion
- 2000 PGA Buick Open Contestant
- 1998 Miami Athlete-of-the-Year
- 2-Time NCAA Division I All-American
- Mid-American Conference Sportsman and Player-of-the Year (1998)
- 2-Time Cincinnati Met Amateur Champion (1997, 1998)
- Cincinnati Met Amateur Medalist and Runner-Up (1996)
- NCAA low scoring average on Par 3′s (2.91) in 1998
- Low competitive round – 62 (3 times): Four Bridges CC (’01), Oasis CC (’09), and Juniper Hills GC (’02)
- Low non-competitive round – 61: Browns Run CC – White tees
- Won a 54-hole Developmental Players Tour event by 9 shots shooting 19 under par with no bogies (64,64,69)
- 4 career Holes-in-One and 3 career double eagles
MY PGA MENTORS:
Tom Bach – Head Professional at Sharon Woods Golf Course
George Long – Kenwood CC PGA Professional/Head Pro at The Mill Course (17 Years)
Carl Rabito – PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional (Top 100 Instructor)
Mike Bender – 2009 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Craig Shankland – 2001 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Jim Suttie, Ph.D - 2000 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Bill Madonna – Bill Madonna Golf Academy (Top 100)
Andrew Park – The David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Chris Toulson – Jim McLean Golf School at Doral
As you can see, I’ve been very fortunate to have learned from some of the best PGA Professionals in the country. I feel privileged to pass on the wealth of knowledge I’ve gained from spending time with these great gentlemen.
