Slicing the driver

[tadpole]

A fella in town here has lent me his old Ping G15 for a trial as I was in the market for a new driver. My current clubs are 20+ years old and do their job really well, but I figured a bit of extra distance with a modern club could be fun. It hasn't been fun yet. So I've taken this G15 out for a couple of rounds, hitting a few balls off the tee before I hit my game ball, but I keep getting a bloody savage slice, which is not only costing me 50 metres on my old driver, but putting me 50 metres further into the bush, to the point where I lost 4 brand new balls on the front nine last week. Ended up with 54 on the front and came home with a 45 once I put the bloody thing away. My natural flaw has generally been a duck hook, which I've straightened to a gentle draw most of the time, so a slice is unusual for me.
One thing I noticed is the difference in weight. The Ping feels much heavier than my old clubs. So that's taking me a bit to get used to. And I feel like I may be swinging on an out to in arc which would obviously be causing the sidespin for the slice, though I am hoping to video my swing so I can confirm my suspicions. Is there any exercises I can work through to try and straighten my line through the ball? I've tried closing the clubface, moving the ball in my stance and altering my grip angle but nothing changes the ball flight.

[Grumpy8]

Use a couple of tees in the ground in front and behind your ball , create a line that points to your target down the fairway, align your feet and shoulders to the target line , square the club face to the line , start your backswing along the line ( over the back tee ) . That should tell you all you need to know

[tadpole]

Use a couple of tees in the ground in front and behind your ball , create a line that points to your target down the fairway, align your feet and shoulders to the target line , square the club face to the line , start your backswing along the line ( over the back tee ) . That should tell you all you need to know

Rightio, I'll give that a go. I'm hoping to drag the wife down on Monday and get her on the camera to see if I can see any major differences between the way I swing my old driver in comparison to the Ping.

[JoeS]

Might be the wrong shaft for you.Slow your swimg down a touch maybe.All depends what your other driver and shaft combo was and how you swumg using that club

[thecollective]

tadpole: on the range move/position your left leg about a ruler length (30 cm) forward, like you want to hit an extreme draw

Hit a few balls like that and see what the result is, if your drives go straight (rather than hook or draw) my guess it's more to do with an 'over the top' swing rather than the driver weight.

Plenty of drills online to get rid of the 'over the top' the most common issue in all of golf with a slice

[tadpole]

Cheers guys. Will head down to the course shortly and try those things and see what happens

[okitoki]

I have tried the placing the ball slightly in front of left foot drill, making sure left shoulder is higher, and keep my view more on the behind of the ball... it seems to have tamed my slice to a fade to occasional slice when I really have a go at it.

However, I came across this youtube video by a US Korean lady pro, who suggested to keep a little more weight on the right foot... seems to really work for me if I conciously aware to maintain the weight on my right side, and keeps me from hit down the ball... it was weird, but good feeling to be able to trust myself to aim on the right side of the fairway without fear of the big bad slice

[JoeS]

I have tried the placing the ball slightly in front of left foot drill, making sure left shoulder is higher, and keep my view more on the behind of the ball... it seems to have tamed my slice to a fade to occasional slice when I really have a go at it.

However, I came across this youtube video by a US Korean lady pro, who suggested to keep a little more weight on the right foot... seems to really work for me if I conciously aware to maintain the weight on my right side, and keeps me from hit down the ball... it was weird, but good feeling to be able to trust myself to aim on the right side of the fairway without fear of the big bad slice

Dustin Johnson is a believer in keeping the back foot as flat as possible,I tried it and now I have a massive duck hook when needed😁.

[mrbluu]

Cheers guys. Will head down to the course shortly and try those things and see what happens

TP you're off 20 something, just got and get some lessons off a pro!!!

[TheNuclearOne]

Sounds like an equipment issue if you normally have no problems. How much longer is the Ping than your old driver when placed side by side? What exact shafts are in both?

[3oneday]

To fit in here, you really should just buy another driver

[mrbluu]

TP you're off 20 something, just got and get some lessons off a pro!!!

Sounds like an equipment issue if you normally have no problems. How much longer is the Ping than your old driver when placed side by side? What exact shafts are in both?

To fit in here, you really should just buy another driver

Sorry lads I don't know what got into me.

TP the obvious answer is go buy a putter or some wedges that should fix your driving!!! 😁😁

[tadpole]

TP you're off 20 something, just got and get some lessons off a pro!!!

The nearest pro to me would be at least 400km away unfortunately. I literally live in the middle of nowhere.Didn't get to the course today like I hoped, was suffering from a major case of laziness. Heading down for 18 holes tomorrow

[tadpole]

Well tried a few things suggested here today, have managed to get it from a wicked slice to now hitting what I'd call a fade. Hit a drive on the 9th that went about 300m. I've never had distance like that so I'm a pretty happy golfer. Cheers everyone!

[okitoki]

300M?

[mrbluu]

300M?

Probably cos it was into the wind and up hill.😁😁

[Coldtopper]

The nearest pro to me would be at least 400km away unfortunately.

honeymoon time ?

[okitoki]

Took my old ping zing to the driving range today and applied the same principle of concentrating more weight on the right foot..... I was very surprised it actually worked... And managed to hit the ball straight(er) than before.

Using some impact sticker I noticed my ball strikes were more to the heel.. So tried addressing the ball more to the toe.. Impact seems to be more to the centre... Feels more solid on impact now... Using a cheap shot monitor my swing/ball mph has improved from 90s/100s to about 90s/115+

[Grumpy8]

If I keep weight on my right foot I snap hook

[tadpole]

300M?

30-40m short of the green on a 340m par 4. Our fairways are hard packed red dirt (desert) so we get plenty of roll. So yes, 300m

[3oneday]

What, no grass?

[Daves]

What, no grass?

Not a blade by the looks;

http://www.australiagolf.com/courses...a/leinster-gc/

[3oneday]

Looks like you'd even wear out Topflites there!

[tadpole]

Yeah it's all bare earth. Alot of the courses out here are the same. It's been a hell of a learning curve, and probably helps contribute to the inconsistency in my game! I've been using Optima XTDs as they seem to be most most durable ball I've found, and they're cheap, usually lose a couple of balls a round. Getting through 18 holes with 1 ball is a cause for celebration! But if your ball lands on a hard patch, 50m+ of roll (or bounce!) is not out of the question. Will put up a full course review when I get time for those interested in seeing a desert track

[tadpole]

tadpole: on the range move/position your left leg about a ruler length (30 cm) forward, like you want to hit an extreme draw

Hit a few balls like that and see what the result is, if your drives go straight (rather than hook or draw) my guess it's more to do with an 'over the top' swing rather than the driver weight.

Plenty of drills online to get rid of the 'over the top' the most common issue in all of golf with a slice

Went out yesterday morning after nightshift and belted about 60 balls with this driver. Turns out this technique worked. Except it was a movement of only about 1 to 2 inches which did it. I've got the Leinster Open this weekend so it was a timely fix. Had a mate from work standing behind me and he said my through swing straightened dramatically after doing this so many thanks