Why does the ball draw? Why does it fade?

If you have access to a launch monitor, you will have a lot of data to use to figure these things out. However, most recreational golfers don’t have this kind of technology so I hope to break it down in a way that’s easy to understand.

First, I want to explain the difference between swing direction and swing path. The swing direction is the direction of your swing plane. The swing path is the direction the club is traveling when it makes contact with the ball. So if you are hitting down on a ball (AOA is a negative number), your club path will always be to the right of your swing plane (for a right handed golfer).

So in the context of what we are talking about, angle of attack is really important. There are times, even for me, that the angle of attack (AOA) is inconsistent. So for example, I don’t usually habitually swing the club out to in. But sometimes I hit a drive where it appears that I have pull/hooked the driver and I can see on my launch monitor that I have hit up on the ball too much. When you hit up on the ball, the club is traveling left of your swing direction.

What are we going to do to figure this stuff without having the data on a launch monitor? First, let’s say that you are having trouble with the ball curving to the right. The longer the club, the bigger the curve. So we want to learn to feel the difference between a slice swing and a draw or hook swing. We have to practice exaggerating these swings. Remember, a slice is going to be an open club face with an out to in swing path. A hook swing is going to be a closed club face with an in to out swing path. What you want to eventually be able to do is practice this enough that your slices turn into more of a fade and your hooks turn into more of a draw.

Now have your focus on the club face instead of the swing path. With a pull slice, you want to feel like the hosel of the club is leading the toe at impact so focus for a moment on your club face. Now, focus on closing the club face by feeling like the toe of the club is leading the heel of the club at impact. As you practice these drills, start to notice which one you are better at or which one feels more comfortable to you. With practice, you will become more skillful at hitting these purposely shaped shots. Let me know how that works for you.

I once had a golf student that I took out on the course and I told him “whenever you think you should chip it, you should probably putt it.” The bottom line is that you want to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible. If you can putt it, you should putt it. If you can’t putt it, you should chip it. And if you absolutely can’t chip it, then you might have to pitch it. It should be the last option though.

Here’s the reality. Most amateur golfers if they are just off the green and they have a decent amount of green to work with, they are probably going to go to their golf bag and grab their wedge and their putter. If you are a higher handicapper or you don’t play a ton of golf, your wedge more often than not will get you into trouble. If you hit it well, most of the time it will not be exceptional. When you don’t hit it well, it can often be catastrophic. In order to hit the shot well, I need to have good technique: weight forward, hands forward, square club face, etc as well as the experience and skill to make decent contact (not to mention the mental fortitude to hit the shot under pressure).

On the other hand, if I grab my fairway wood or my putter and hit the same shot, the only thing I really need to focus on and figure out is how hard to hit it. So that means that all I need to practice is how hard to hit it. Even myself, who is fairly skilled, knows the technique, and practices, I still will always opt to take the shot that requires the least amount of skill especially if the stakes are high. In order to play your best golf, you need to play to your skill level. You should also be practicing the shots that require the least amount of skill.

I have played with a lot of higher handicappers and I can’t tell you the number of times they have hit their tee shot into the woods. All they would need to do is punch out of the woods in order to make a bogey and they can’t seem to get out of the woods. These are easy shots and you should be able to execute these shots most of the time.

And always remember around the greens, the less loft you use, the less skill you need!

Did you know that hitting up too much can actually be causing your slice?

Before we get into it though, I have to start with the fundamentals. First off, you can’t expect to play good golf or to make an efficient swing and good connection if you don’t line up with your target. If you are consistently lining up incorrectly, you are going to incentivize yourself to make an inefficient swing in order to get the ball where you want it to go.

It’s very easy to set up with poor alignment without the use of proper aids.

Here I am using two golf shafts as my alignment aids.

The best way to insure that you are doing this is to use 2 sticks to help with alignment. One of the sticks should line up to the ball - this is your target line. The second stick, running parallel to the first stick will assist with lining your feet up to the target - this line will be parallel to your target line.

Okay, so now we get to the dreaded slice! A slice is a ball that curves dramatically to the right for a right handed golfer. Yeesh. That is ugly! Very often a slice can result from a weak lead hand grip. However, if you have checked your grip and made sure it was stronger and you are STILL slicing. What then?

Next, check your ball position. If your ball position is too far forward in your stance, you may be catching the ball as your club is traveling to the left which can result in a slice (for a right handed golfer). In other words, you will be catching the ball too much on the upswing.

Remember, if you have the ball too far forward in your stance, you may be catching the ball on the upswing as the club is going out to in which will very often result in a slice!

Are you struggling with a slice? Comment below.