1st Anti Slice: Basket Gate Drill
This first anti-slice golf drill is one of my favourites, simply because I’ve seen how effective it is with my day-to-day students. It will teach you to deliver the club on an inside or in-to-out swing path – which is the first the curing-a-slice equation.
This drill should form the corner-stone of your practice sessions in the immediate future. Try to visit the range 2-3 times a week for the next 2 weeks. Hit 50 balls using the basket set up, really trying to start each ball flight out to the right of the target.
Even if you can’t get to the range, you can practice this drill in the yard with an airflow practice ball or even without a ball at all.
Combine this drill with this lesson on rotating your hands during your practice sessions and it won’t take too long to completely eradicate slice shots from your golf game!
Using a 7 iron, tee the ball up on a small tee peg. Take a couple of driving range buckets or similar to use as obstructions.- Place the first basket about 18 inches behind the golf ball. This should allow just enough room for you to make your normal backswing, but it will not allow any room for you to bring the club over the top or on an outside swing path in the downswing.
- Hit between 25 and 50 balls from this position. The ball should block out to the right. Feel how your club is being swung much more from behind your body.
- When you feel comfortable with this drill, take a second basket and place it two feet in front of the ball, but inside the line of the first basket, effectively creating a gate for the club to pass through (see image to right).
- Hit some balls from the tee peg ensuring you keep the club travelling towards the ball from the inside, but this time also work on extending the club past the second basket. This should create a nice, aggressive in-to-out swing path.
- Watch a summary of this drill in this video.
2nd Anti Slice: Split Hands Drill
Remember, a slice is caused by two elements:
- A swing path that is what we call ‘out-to-in’.
- Not enough hand / forearm rotation through the ball.
The drill below (and anti-slice drill #1) helps you correct the first element – your swing path.
Using a 6 or 7 iron, split your hands up so that your left hand is on the club normally, but your left hand is about 3 inches below the end of the grip.- Make a short backswing. As you change direction into your downswing, focus on dropping the right elbow aggressively into the back of the right hip pocket (for the right-handed golfer).
- This should keep the club behind your body and so promote an inside-outside swing path. Repeat the practice swing a good number of times before trying to feel the same movement but with your hands in their normal grip position.
- Watch a summary of this drill in this video.
Once you get the club travelling on a more in-to-out path, it can actually seem like you’ve made things worse (but it’s only temporary)…
A more in-to-out swing path will start the ball out to the right of your target (for the right-handed golfer). Without proper rotation of your hands and forearms, the golf ball will start right and curve further to the right.
So the next step is to work on element #2 – proper release of the hands through the ball.
3rd Anti Slice: Baseball Swing Drill
This golf drill helps you to eliminate slice shots by promoting proper release of the hands through the ball.
- Take your normal set up to the ball, and then stand up straight holding the club out in front of your chest as though you were about to swing a baseball bat.
- Swing the club around your body on a horizontal plane (i.e. keeping the club parallel to the ground). As the club comes back in front of your body to an imaginary impact position, take note of the club face angle. The club face should be vertical and the toe of the club pointing to the sky (see picture 2).
- However, to cure your slice, try to over-exaggerate the rotation of your hands and apply the rotation earlier in the swing. This should produce a club face which appears to be closed and aiming downwards (see picture 3).
- Repeat this action 20 times, gradually increasing the speed. Then start to tilt at your hips until you feel the club brushing the floor in a normal golf swing type action – but still with plenty of early rotation.
- Watch a summary of this drill in this video.
