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The slice is the most common fault in golf and in this article I plan to explore what causes a golf slice and how to cure it.

The slice is an uncontrolled shot that causes the ball to curve off to the right of the ball-to-target line, causing a loss of both direction and distance.

Most slices are the result of an unintentional out-to-in swing path, though other faults may also produce slicing. Whatever the swing path, the clubface always moves across the ball from far right to near left (right handed players). This causes the ball to spin in a clockwise direction, which moves the ball from left to right as it flies through the air.

Faults that lead to a slice occur at either the address position or during the swing itself.

Possible Causes During Set-up.

Bad grip.

A club that is held too tightly creates tension in the arms and can cause the player to have an out-to-in swing. Try to relax your grip by imagining you are holding a little bird. You dont want to squeeze it to death but at the same time you dont want it to escape.

Having a weak grip. A weak grip tends to cause an open clubface at address. If this is your problem try turning both hands clockwise on the club.

Both these problems are covered in articles Golf The Correct Grip which is a 3 part series and can be found in the Ezine Article directory or on my blog.

Alignment.

May be open, which promotes slicing, or closed, which promotes an over the top swing. Align your feet and shoulders so that they are parallel to the ball to target line.

Ball Position.

Do not place the ball too far forward, this is a common fault which causes the shoulders to open and promotes an outside-to-in swing path.

Move the ball back in your stance, but still forward of center, so that when you set the club down your shoulders are parallel with the ball-to-target line.

Clubface angle.

An open clubface at address will cause the ball to slice. Ensure that your clubface is aligned square to the ball-to target line.

Possible Cause During The Swing.

Poor weight transfer.

If you are not transferring your weight from your back foot to the front (target) your clubface will be open through impact.

Use the famous Gary player down the fairway drill, where you play your shot and take a step forward on your follow through and walk after the ball.

Another drill is the stepping drill whereby you grossly exaggerate your weight transfer by lifting your front leg on the backswing, shifting all your weight on to the back foot and then stepping on the front foot and lifting the back foot on the downswing and follow through. Try it, it works.

also very effective is to swing with your eyes close and concentrate on the weight shift. Do not worry about the ball when using this drill.

Club follows an out-to-in path (points to left of target at top of back swing).

With your club in this position you will have an out-to-in swing path.

Use the following drill to cure this. Address the ball as normal and then raise the club about 18 inches above the ball so it is hovering directly above it. Make a backswing that is not pulled quickly inside. Note the angle of the plane going back. Now make a forward swing in which the plane is under or shallower than the backswing plane. A back under, back under routine. Lower the club to the ball and repeat.

Upper body tension.

This is probably caused by gripping the club too tight. See above for holding a bird. also relax the tension in the arms.

I trust that this article has helped you understand what causes a golf slice and how to cure it. It wont happen overnight but if you practice the above drills you will soon find yourself playing golf without slicing.

As a qualified EGTF golf professional teacher I get great pleasure in helping people improve their game. Why not head over to Better Golfing and take up my challenge to reduce your golf handicap by 25% within 6 weeks?

The golf slice is one of the average golfer's most common game play mistakes. In golf, there is probably nothing more frustrating as practicing your perfect golf swing and finding out that your ball is sliced more times than you hit straight. If you are one of these golfers who suffer from the annoying golf slice, we reckon you probably want it to be corrected as soon as you can. You may probably be asking 'How do I correct my Golf slice'?

To help you how to correct your golf slice, it is important to know that are the possible causes of it. In set up, there are a number of possible causes. this include bad grip or when the club is held so tight that tension is formed at the arms of the player, causing him to perform an outside to in swing. To correct a bad grip, try to loosen up your grip. Imagine you are grasping a little bird instead of a club make your grip tight enough to keep the bird from escaping, but loose enough not to constrict it to death. However, having a week grip will cause you to have a clubface that is open. Solve this by turning both of your hands clockwise at the club.

Bad alignment is another cause of slice. The best thing to do is to align the shoulders and feet in such a way that they will be parallel to the imaginary line from the ball to the target. A faulty ball position is also a cause of golf slice. this can be remedied by not placing the ball quite far as this can make the shoulder to open and create a swing path that is outside-to-in. You can also move back the golf ball into your stance though still a little but forward from center. this is to make sure that the club is parallel to the line from the ball to the target. The clubface angle is another factor you should look into. Make sure that the clubface is lined up squarely with the line from the ball to the target.

Problems with the swing also cause golf slice. These problems include poor transfer of weight. You should transfer your weight to the front from the back foot. A good way to eliminate slice is by using the renowned 'down the fairway' drill by Gary Player: hit your drive and take a forward step on follow through. Another drill you can use is the so-called stepping drill which is basically exaggerating your weight transfer by raising your front leg when on the subsequent backswing and transferring your weight to your back foot.

For more tips to correct your golf slice, visit http://www.curegolfslice.net