Stop Your Slice With A Baseball Bat

The most common miss for the average golfer is a slice. There are many ways to slice a ball, but there is one particular problem that causes this problem in many golfers. In this post, I will describe what that swing fault looks like and provide tips for a quick way to fix it.

Almost every golfer has heard of the term "over the top" when used when describing a swing that comes steeply from the outside to the inside through impact. The "over the top" motion is only part of what makes a golf ball slice. The actual slicing of the golf ball comes from a club face that is either open or in the process of opening at the moment of impact. Swinging over the top with an open club face only emphasizes a slicing ball flight. It is also common for a player to have an over the top swing and hit a ball that goes straight but to the left (for a righty golfer). That just means that on that particular swing the player managed to square up the club face to the outside in swing path. The ball would have sliced if the club face was open to the outside in swing path.

To cure this common mistake, there are two keys to focus on:

1) Square the club face. The club face must be square to your swing path in order to hit the ball straight. The key to squaring the club face is to start the release of the club earlier in the downswing so that by the time the club reaches the ball, it has time to be square. Practice this using a baseball bat and imagine you want to hit an outside corner pitch over the shortstop's head. Meaning you are completely extending your arms while rotating your wrists so that the ball will be hit to the left.

2) Swing on the proper swing plane. Eliminating the "over the top" swing fault is also crucial to straightening out your ball flight. Swinging over the top is really a club path that is too vertical coming into the ball, and needs to be flattened or rounded out. Swinging a baseball bat is a very round golf swing, and it will definitely help improve your swing plane. Take continuous swings forward and back with the bat and get a good feel of the rounded arc of the bat. Then you can transfer that into your golf club. Hold the club at address and lift it a foot off the ground. Make several golf swings that start at that point and come back to impact at that point a foot off the ground. You will feel a rounder swing (more like Matt Kuchar or Ricky Fowler). After many repetitions, decrease the height to six inches and swing more times. Eventually work your way down to hitting a ball off a generous tee height and feeling the round and shallow swing.

When combining the rounded out swing with the great release you learned in key one, you should see a great change in your ball flight. Hopefully you will get rid of your slice and hit the ball straighter and farther.

Good Luck!
Coach Chad