Conference 7.286::golf

    This categories of golfer in this note sound familiar to me.
    Where have I read it before?  As for hopeless slicers, go to your
    local pro, do what he/she says and ... like the man says ... practice.
    
    Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. I cured my slice years ago,
    and now have a tendency to hook the damned thing.  If all else fails,
    do like Lee Trevino does - learn to love your slice and simply line
    up left.

    
    re: "line up left"... the more you line up left, the worse it will
    get.  Lining up left is one of the causes of a slice.  
    
    Cure a slice?
    
    	o swing *around* your body
    	o roll your hands over at impact
    	o try to make your right forearm touch your left forearm after
    	  impact
    	o hit it with more right hand
    	o overcorrect and try to hit a duck hook
    
    

    One thing I do and it seems to work is I change the position of my
    thumbs while gripping the club.  I used to keep both thumbs pointing
    down the center of the shaft.  This would cause me to hit some real
    good slices.
    
    Now I take my bottom hand and move it slightly past the center of the
    shaft.  This prevents me from twisting my wrist so the club face is
    square to the ball.  Works great for me.
    
    Shawn

    for most....stand with your hands at your side as you would normally
    stand, then without changing anything, place the club in your left
    hand(if your right handed) and the thumb should fall to the right
    of center on the club...this is a correct left(for right handers)
    hand position....
    
    a person with stronger hands may have to modify this to square the
    club up properly but this is where the thumb should be for most...
    
    	"slightly to the right of center...not down the center"
    

    I still say, line up left if you can't cure the slice.  But line
    everything up left.  If your body is lined up left but the club
    is aimed down the middle, yes, you will cause a slice.  But if you
    are aiming down the middle and hitting balls way right, well, just
    aim everything left and slice it into the middle.  The key is -
    align everything left!

    Every time I decide that my slice is here to stay and make alignment
    modifications so that the big banana will land in the fairway, I
    end up pumping the ball straight left out of bounds !!! Maybe if
    I just make a mental adjustment without the actual physical realignment
    the ball will think I have lined up left and go straight down the
    middle. Maybe from now on I will just call my big slice off the
    tee a POWER-FADE!!! Mac O'Grady could probably give me some lessons
    on that!!! Well, I think I will sneak off and play 9 holes.
    
    THE MAD HACKER
    

    Re; a couple back...
    
    Hit with more right hand....I was told to relaze the right hand.
    Too much will force the inside-out swing because by a firm right
    grip, the whole right side tend to dip...
    
    I have a banana slice that would make Mac O'Grady ask me for lessons.
    I have tried lining up to shoot left. That helped, but not much.
    About 1 out of 10 went straight OB..Even lining up left pushed me
    WAY right.
    
    I have made so many changes based on tapes, reading, watching, working
    with better golfers that I am so messed up, that I can't do anything
    right. I guess I should go see a pro for some lessons...Naw, maybe
    if I move my right foot back and turn my right wrist over the club.
    Yea, that's the ticket...
    
    Later..
    
    Jim
    

    re: .8 and others
    
    When I first started golf I was the typical bannana slicer also..
    When I decided to try and correct it I started reading all the 
    material....what it really came down too(at least for me) is that
    you will always have trouble slicing (or hooking) if you have
    an incorrect grip.....!!!
    
    	Without a correct grip you'll never square the clubface to the
    ball when swinging....THERE ARE MANY OTHER REASONS ALSO but if
    you start with a correct grip then work from there it will all
    come together..it has for me to the point where I can 7 times outa
    10 draw/fade or hook/slice and all without changing my grip...
    
    You have to stick to the fundamentals and work on them until
    they are second nature...without a correct grip/posture/aim/and
    alignment to your target your chances of hitting the ball where
    you want CONSISTANTLYwill never happen....
    
    my .2 cents worth...
    

    Went back out the last couple of days and worked on my BANANA ball!!
    The tips about the grip seem to be the best ones. I have been working
    on weakening my grip with my irons and had started to carry it over
    to my woods. Rotated my right hand just a little clockwise and have
    taken most of the bend out of the ball now. I guess the clubface
    wasn't squaring up at impact with the weak grip !!! Now it is off
    to the putting green for some much needed practice. Of course, when
    the putts start falling my mid-irons will need some work and then,
    and then,and then...
    
    
    THE MAD HACKER

    I think the one major factor that I have found for the average golfers
    slice syndrome is that the "average" golfer doesn't have a "GOLF"
    swing. Rather he/she has the all arms or baseball swing that came
    natural and or was taught to them by some other golfer who didn't
    know any better. I llok now at those who tried to teach me,my uncles
    and dad and they have this all arms swing but from years of play
    they have learned how to control it. 
    I've bee around golf now for about 22 years and only known what
    a golf swing was for the past six years. Six years ago I played
    with a 2 handicaper who could hit the ball well, had all of the
    shots but couldn't analize a swing of another golfer. He could say
    what I was doing was wrong but couldn't tell me what to do to get
    a golf swing. Only after playng with him for two years and reading
    practicing did I come to understand what the swing is supposed to
    be. Only now after six years can I see it coming together. My problem
    now is tht I don't play enough. I'm consistantly in the low forties.
    
    The number one best thing anyone who is serious about learning to
    play golf can do is to seek a pro for those first few critical lessons.
    Without these your relegating yourself to years of compromising
    and learning that can be accomplished in this first year.
    
    
    Tom
    
    P.S. go to a pro. Let him/her straighten you out,get you hitting
    square and then go from there.

                    <<< USER$1:[NOTES$LIBRARY]GOLF.NOTE;1 >>>
                               -< The Good Game >-
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Note 838.0                          BIG SLICE                            1 reply
BOGUSS::COOPER "MAD HACKER"                          17 lines  29-DEC-1989 11:49
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    How about a lively discussion about slicing the ball !!!
    I am having a real problem with my driver and that problem
    is BANANA BALL !! All the other clubs work fine for me
    wether or not I'm on the tee but I almost always slice my
    driver. I have tried closing my stance, using a stronger grip,
    different shaft flexs, and I am on my 4th driver in as many 
    years. I can hit a 3-wood 230-240 off the tee and straight or
    just a slight fade (my prefered shot) so maybe I should just
    leave the driver at home and not worry about it but I feel
    that it shouldn't be that hard to hit a paraticular club so
    I keep trying. I have also played with ball position. Every
    now and then, for a week or two I will just smoke the ball
    off the tee straight and long but it always goes away fast
    and stays gone for several months!!!
    
    THE MAD HACKER
    

                    <<< USER$1:[NOTES$LIBRARY]GOLF.NOTE;1 >>>
                               -< The Good Game >-
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Note 838.1                          BIG SLICE                             1 of 1
CURIE::TDAVIS                                        12 lines  29-DEC-1989 12:19
         -< Take 6 inches off your driver--the ones between your ears >-
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Re:                <<< Note 838.0 by BOGUSS::COOPER "MAD HACKER" >>>
                                 -< BIG SLICE >-

What I wouldn't give to be suffering from your problem right now! You 
have to be PLAYING to be having the problem, and with 6 inches of snow 
on the ground and average temperatures sending the the mercury 
skyrocketing to about 8 degree F, golf ain't in the picture.

As to solving your problem: remove the sole plate from your driver and 
replace it with one from an old three wood. Your slice will magically 
transform into a gentle fade.

    MAD, try closing your shoulders slightly at address. Only the shoulders,
    though. Then take the club back on the same line as you would  if
    your shoulders were square. If your grip, alignment and posture are
    correct, and you keep your head still, this should promote an inside to 
    out swing plane that will put a gentle draw on the shot.
    Let me know how you make out.
    Rich

    Hi MADness,
    
    	If it's just the driver that your slicing? And you feel good about
    	other results? I would try to avoid changing and major swing parts.
    
    	Tom's suggestion is similar to what I think you should try ... when
    	I am suffering the slices with my driver , I make an effort to feel
    	the club head through the swing. One good tip from Golf DG was to
    	hold the club backwards, take a few swings... then swing normally.
    	This tip will accentuate the club head feel. Once you get the feel,
    	make an effort to wait for the club head to come around and through
    	the ball, BEFORE your hands get past the ball. If you lean through 
    	the shot , you'll also have to make sure you don't lean past the
    	ball with you hands.
       
    	By removing the sole plate, you'll speed the clubhead, which will
    	help get the club head to the ball more equal with the hands. 
    
    
    	Syncronisity is the key...
    
    
    	Walt

    Well, thanks for the all the advice. I went to driving range Sunday
    and hit a couple of hundred balls and finally figured out what I
    have been doing wrong when using my Driver. It seems that when taking
    a grip I haven't been using my right hand properly and wasn't squar-
    ing up the clubface at impact. For some reason, when I get the Driver
    out, all I think about is the "BIG HIT" and wasn't really thinking
    about my grip as much as I do when taking other shots. So, if I
    take the time to get a proper grip I found that I could hit the
    ball really well. I wasn't letting my index finger get into the
    same position that I do on all the other clubs because all I was
    thinking about was killing the ball !!! It is really amazing what
    such a small change can do to the flight path of a ball.
    
    THE SLIGHTLY-LESS MAD HACKER