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Fix Golf Slice - How to Permanently Fix your
Golf Slice |
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I will fix your slice for free
Give us 10 minutes, and we'll straighten out your swing - golf
instruction -
Golf Digest by Rick Martinok.
PGA professionals across the country will be giving
thousands of 10-minute lessons in the month of May. For free.
What can you expect to accomplish in 10 minutes? My goal is
simply this: To find one thing that's going to change your
ball flight immediately. Then I'm going to work on fixing that
one thing and that one thing only.
Most slicers have the same problem as John Pastore, a
9-handicapper from Upper Darby, Pa. A slice is always the
result of either an incorrect swing path or clubface angle, so
when we fix a slice, we fix the path or the face angle--or
both. But I always like to look at what causes the path or the
face to be in the wrong position.
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In John's case, his slice was caused by an
incorrect swing path, his club traveling from outside the
target line to inside through impact. But as you can see in
the photo at right, John's slice swing starts with poor
alignment. By aiming too far right of the target, he naturally
wants to compensate by working his club back to-ward the
target and swinging across his body, pulling the ball
immediately left. On the following page I'll show you how we
fixed this common swing fault--and I'll also tell you how to
get a free 10-minute lesson of your own.
John's problem: The classic pull slice. |
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Like many
slicers, John aims way right at address, which sets up a downswing in
which the club moves outside the target line (photo A), then cuts back
across the line through impact (photo B). If his clubface is open to
the club's path at impact, the ball will curve back to the right. If
the face is square or closing through impact, the ball stays left. To
fix John's out-to-in swing path, I look at what's causing his club to
be in the wrong position. It's because his shoulder turn is too flat
in the forward swing, common to many slicers.
Rick's solution:
Fix John's aim, then work on his swing path
First, I asked John to address the ball with his shoulders parallel to
the target line. This adjustment improves his swing path on the
takeaway--the whole point of the swing away from the ball being to set
up the proper forward swing. To help him feel where his club should be
on the forward swing, I asked John to start at the impact position and
from there swing directly to the finish. We worked on keeping the club
more in front of his body, rather than finishing low and left, by
keeping his left shoulder down on the backswing and his right shoulder
down on the forward swing.
For the sixth consecutive year, Golf Digest and the PGA of America
have teamed up to provide free 10-minute lessons to thousands of
golfers through "Play Golf America." This year, Golf Digest's sister
magazine--Golf For Women--and The Golf Channel also join as partners.
To get a free lesson:
1. Check the list of participating PGA professionals in your region
beginning on page 126 or the national list at www.golfdigest.com,
www.PGA.com and www.thegolfchannel.com. Make an appointment.
2. Remove the card adjacent to this page, fill it out and take it to
your lesson.
3. Get the PGA professional to sign the card, and then drop it in the
mail.
Rick Martino, voted No. 18 by his peers in Golf Digest's ranking of
America's 50 Greatest Teachers, is based at the PGA Learning Center,
Port St. Lucie, Fla. He was the 1997 PGA Teacher of the Year.
COPYRIGHT New York Times Company Magazine Group, Inc. |
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