What am I doing wrong?

[SteveSmith]

Hi all,

OK, Im very new to golf so I am bound to be crap right now but I have a problem and if I dont get the answer I wont be able to put it right.

Every time I use my driver or other woods my shot ALWAYS curves round to the right. I do everything I have been told to do, head down, eye on the ball, left arm straight and so on but still it happens, can anyone shed some light onto what I may be doing wrong? When I use my irons, it very rarely happens so I really dont know whats wrong.

Just in case you need to know I am a right handed player.

Hope you can help,
Steve

[Gord]

Maybe it's a ball position thing. Try placing the ball closer to your left foot ...

[BigJim]

Steve, the one thing that I had to overcome quickly was the mechanical view of the golf swing you get from reading books etc. One of the things that makes the biggest difference is relaxing and swinging "around" yourself. I still find myself tensing up as soon as a driver goes anywhere near my hands. That means my wrists don't release enough and the face stays open through impact causing the ball flight that you've seen.

[Steptoe]

alignment is a massive fault in many players......
many try to compensate a shot going right by aiming left with shoulders while aiming straight with the feet
causes a big cut

try and hit driver with right foot 4-6 inches back...(so your feet point right of target) this will encourage an in out swing....worth a try ...:)

[MisterS3]

Steve

Sounds like you are hitting a slice or fade (think of this as a slice you can actually place with - ala Monty).

I'd guess it was a slice though as its something most beginners begin the game with.

Two things make the ball slice.
1) An open clubface at impact. I.e the club face is pointing right.
2) An out to in swing. This has a greater effect than open club face in terms of making the ball curve.

So first thing to fix is (2)
What is an out to in swing?
Well if you look down on the ball at address position its when your club come from around 2 oclock to 7 oclock. this causes the ball to spin clockwise and hence the swerve/slice.

So how to fix?
I'll give you the things that i worked on to fix a slice. Its not something i've cured, but if you can restrict it to a fade, its very usable.

First thing is a full shoulder turn. This means you can get the club 'inside' so you give yourself the chance to attack the ball from 3 or even 4 oclock.


At top of your back swing make sure you are not falling forward. I try and let the club drop down and think consciously about attacking the ball at 3 or 4 o'clock.

Like everything (think the first time you took a proper grip) it will initially feel strange but you can groove it to an extent.

The other main reason is alignment.

Put a club down at the range to help make sure your feet are point parrallel to target. note not at the target. think train tracks, with the ball and club on the other rail. then main sure your shoulders and in line with your feet. so everything is parrallel.

Its often an idea to get somebody to stand behind you to see how you are swinging. They will see the alignment and out to in swing quite easily.

The open club face is obviously a bit tricky. But if you get the swing plane less out to in, the open face will become more apparent and is easier to fix. Not that anything in the game of golf is easy! :)

I will say however that there is no subsitute for professional help. I have taken plenty of lessons and many video lessons which i found help me visualise what i'm doing right and wrong.

Best of luck.

[Creosote]

You are slicing.
You wont fix it over the net, go get a couple of lessons witha pro who can give you the basics and get you on the right track.

[SteveSmith]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all of your advice - have taken note of what all of you said and I am going to give it a go myself, if I cant seem to crack it, then a word with a pro I shall have!

Cheers all,
Steve

[BigJim]

Cracking it is the easy bit. It's keeping it cracked that's more difficult and more of a mystery...