How To Cure A Golf Slice
"I should say that nine out of ten people who take up the game develop a slice. There is no doubt about it: slicing is the most common fault in golf." Dai Rees
"A light grip pressure..."? Harry Vardon writes "grip firmly"
1901 - The Principal Causes of Slicing
This trouble of slicing is not new!
Walter J Travis
In 1901, Walter Travis had this to say, I quote:
"So many things are responsible for slicing, either singly or collectively, that it may take even a first-class coach some little time to put his finger on the actual seat of the trouble, and the chances are that it will take you much longer, unassisted.
It may not be amiss to here recapitulate a few of the principal causes of slicing:
- Hitting off the heel,
- Pulling the arms in,
- Improper position of the hands in gripping,
- Gripping loosely with the left hand and,
- Gripping tightly with the right,
- Standing too far back of the ball.
Each of these faults has already been treated fully in a previous chapter.
Don't be discouraged, however.
"Genius," Carlyle, I think, says, "is simply the capacity of taking infinite pains."
Reference : Walter J. Travis' book 'Practical GOLF by Walter Travis. Illustrated From Photographs. New & Revised Edition. New York and London Harper & Brothers Publishers 1903', extract from Chapter VIII General Remarks, The Principal Causes of Slicing'. Copyright, 1901, by Harper & Brothers May 1901.
Nicknamed "The Old Man" because of his late start in the game, aged 35 - Walter J. Travis was the most successful amateur golfer in the U.S. during the early 1900s. Travis won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1900, 1901 and 1903. 1905 - No Mystery as to How the Slice is Made
In 1905, Harry Vardon offered this advice:
"There is no mystery as to how the slice is made.
It comes simply as the result of the face of the club being drawn across the ball at the time of impact.
The Exact Source of the Trouble
When a golfer is slicing badly almost every time, it is frequently difficult for him to discover immediately the exact source of the trouble, for there are two or three ways in which it comes about.
The player may be standing too near to the ball; he may be pulling in his arms too suddenly as he is swinging on to it, thus drawing the club towards his left foot; or he may be falling on to the ball at the moment of impact.
But sometimes falling on the ball is caused purely and simply by swaying the body, against which the player has already been warned. 1922 - Suggestions For Corrections
"You can understand how the average golfer feels about the slice when he knows that any one of twenty things may be causing it.
He is generally so helpless that he gives up in despair, aims the ball for the left of the course and hope it doesn't go out of bounds to the right.
The golfer to improve must study his game carefully and if he is slicing he can soon find out which one of these faults he is committing.
He can see -
"For those who are interested and wish to bring their game to as high a pitch of excellence as is possible for them, the subject can be a never-ending source of encouragement and development." Joyce Wetherhed
2011 - Move Forward 100 Years in Golf Instruction
Let's move forward a 100 years in golf instruction, and if you are slicer you've probably watched or read one of the following teaching systems too:
Fine-tune Your Long Game & Short Game DVD
This DVD by Robert Baker has some useful tips for slicers, in the Chapter on 'Useful Tips', with answers to the following questions we all probably have at some point:
- Is it important to keep the chin up?
- Should the left arm remain straight?
- Should one have a flat, bowed or cupped left wrist at the top of the swing?
- Swing the club from the inside, yes or no? read more
- Transferring your weight effectively, with a level hip turn
- How important is lateral movement in the downswing?
- How to hit a solid draw shot, and not slice?
- Firing the right side, for power
- Slicers should turn the knuckles of the left hand towards the ground; tip from Ernie Els
- Wrap Up/Summary (with sequence of the swing explained).
Reference : Robert Baker's 'Double DVD Video logicalgolf® with Robert Baker. Copyright © 2005 logicalgolf® greenumbrella.co.uk Running Time 100 mins approx. Robert, joined by Ernie Els and Seve Ballesteros, takes you through all the fundamentals of the long and short game.
The one DVD I keep returning to, in this set of two DVDs, is the one on the 'Short Game', on the Pitch shot and the Lob Shot (over a bunker), as explaining the swing plane and hand action for those types of shot. And note this advice, for the pitch shot: "If I take the club back inside, you can see that it's very easy for the bottom of my arc or my lower point to be behind the ball, so fat or thin shot. So that's the last thing you want to do".
Buy on Amazon : Logical Golf With Robert Baker [DVD]
Being On Plane for The Pitch Shot By Robert Baker
logicalgolf® with Robert Baker
Fine-tune your long and short game with Ernie Els and Seve Ballesteros
Buy on Amazon : Logical Golf With Robert Baker [DVD]
Practice Makes Perfect DVD
"At the core of this program is David Leadbetter's top 25 drills - all of which are regularly used by the top tour professionals all over the world.
All the drills and routines are simple, and easy to understand. They require no gadgets.
Areas covered include:
- Perfect posture drill
- Left heel up full swing drill, to create resistance and power
- Shut Face Anti-Slice Drill
- Back To Target Anti-Slice Drill
- Pitching distance contest drill
- Improving rhythm in putting
- Better tempo in your golf swing, and more.
Practice really does make perfect as long as it is done correctly - so realize your true golfing potential with the world's No 1 golf coach."
Reference : David Leadbetter's 'Practice Makes Perfect' DVD, David Leadbetter Instruction, Produced and directed by John Davis. An ISL Production for Firfly Entertainment. Copyright © 2005 Firefly Entertainment Ltd. www.fireflyentertainment.co.uk www.davidleadbetter.com With special thanks to the Registry Hotel, Naples, Florida and Quail West Golf and Country Club. Running Time 65 minutes approx.
Buy on Amazon : David Leadbetter - Practice Makes Perfect [2003] [DVD]
Faults & Cures DVD
"Formed top tournament player, TV personality and revitalizer of the European Tour, John Jacobs is a major figure on many golf fronts.
But it is as "Doctor Golf", superstar teacher, that Jacobs has won his vast following wherever the game is played.
In this programme John Jacobs diagnoses the problems of slicing, hooking, pulling and topping - and gives the solutions.
Topics covered include:
- Slicing - The Clubface Factor
- Slicing - The Swing Arc Factor
- Slicing - The Swing Plane Factor
- Hooking, Pulling, Pushing, Shanking, Topping
- Hitting too High and too Low
- Hitting Fat, Thin
- Reviewing the Basics - let the ball teach you, and more."
Reference : John Jacobs' 'Faults and Cures' DVD, Doctor Golf John Jacobs. Introduced by Sean Connery. Written and Presented by John Jacobs. Director of Photography - Joe Leirer. Edited by David Hankin. Produced and Directed by Michael Seligman. Copyright © 2005 Green Umbrella Sport and Leisure. Running Time: 60 mins approx.
Buy on Amazon : John Jacobs - Faults And Cures [DVD]
Maximum Improvement DVD
"Learn from the top golf instructor, Simon Holmes.
He has trained golf greats such as Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Robert Karlsson and more than 80 other tour players who have won more than 40 events globally.
Following on from the worldwide best seller Digital Golf School, now also available in The Swing and The Short Game, Simon Holmes now turns his attention to identifying the key areas of consistency and by explanation, demonstration and drills shows you how to maximise all areas of your game.
In 'Building a Swing You Can Trust', the DVD video covers:
- Getting Started
- Maximising Power and Accuracy
- More Efficient Arms
- 'Bunker Basics
- Pitch it Closer
- Making Your Putting a Strength
- Multi Angle Viewing: swing, chipping, putting.
In 'Fixing Your Swing', the DVD video covers:
- Maximise Your Body Movement
- Control The Ball Flight, with 'One for the slicers'
- Improve Your Strike
- Different Skills,
- Getting Out of Bunkers
- Shot Selection in Chipping."
Reference : 'Digital Golf School Maximum Improvement' by Simon Holmes. Simon Holmes Golf Academy. Filmed at Arcos Gardens, Arcos de la Frontera, Spain. Running Time: 103 minutes. Point Alvin Production. www.simonholmesgolf.com
Buy on Amazon : Digital Golf School: Maximum Improvement [DVD]
Cure Your Slice Now Video
Chuck Cook, one of golf's top instructors, shows you how to get rid of that frustrating hook or slice - for good!
In this tape, the PGA of America's 1996 Teacher of the Year takes you through seven key phases of the swing.
He demonstrates how hookers (most low handicappers) and slicers (most high handicappers) can each achieve ideal positions.
Cook's drills help slicers generate power an hookers control it. The result: longer, straighter shots for each!
A cure your slice, or hook, program with expert advice on:
- The Ideal Grip, with Two Tee Drill, and,
- Ideal Stance, with Tripod Drill and Set Up Against the Wall Drill
- Ideal Take Away, with The Arrow Drill; The Tee Drill
- Ideal At The Top, with 90° Shoulder Drill; Jump Rope Drill
- Ideal Downswing, with Point The Finger Drill; Chip/Punch Drill
- Ideal Impact, with the Basket/Bucket Drill; Slap The Hand Drill
- Ideal Follow-Through, with the Wall Drill; The Tee Drill
Reference : 'Cure your slice now' by Chuck Cook with Roger Schiffman. Video Produced by Prime Time II Entertainment & Sports Programming Inc. Golf Digest Copyright © 2000. Running Time: Approximately 25 minutes.
On location at Barton Creek Lakeside Golf Resort, in Spicewood, Texas. Chuck Cook's mentor was Harvey Pennick. Chuck Cook has coached three Open Champions.
Buy on Amazon : Cure Your Slice Now Featuring Instructor Chuck Cook) By Golf Digest
Cure Your Slice Forever! Book
"No problem in golf is so common - or so devastating - as the slice, which can ruin an otherwise good game.
Cure Your Slice Forever!, by Golf Digest' Senior Editor of Instruction, John Huggan, is a potent, step-by-step guide to understanding the various causes of your slice, breaking bad habits, and banishing the "banana ball" from your game forever.
You will learn:
- The "mechanics" of a slice, and how your particular swing causes your kind of slice
- Different ways to adapt your swing, your stance, and your grip to correct fundamental flaws that always prevent you from drawing the ball
- How proper tempo builds a slice-free game
- And even how to play your slice on the course before you get rid of it forever.
One-step solutions to slicing fail because they don't address the fundamentals.
Cure Your Slice Forever! provides you with all the information and advice you need to tackle your slice from the ground up, keep it from creeping back into your game, and become the best player you can be."
Reference : 'Cure Your Slice Forever!' By John Huggan Golf Digest's Senior Editor of Instruction. Foreword by Dan Jenkins. Illustrated by Dom Lupo. Golf Digest Pocket Books Copyright © 1994 by Golf Digest/Tennis Inc.
This book did not help me cure my slice and the following instruction, in particular, on page 73, on 'Drills For A Proper Downswing', that "You want your first move from the top of the backswing to be with your arms, wrists and hands swinging the club straight down" did not do me any good at all. Preferring instead to follow, for example, Dr. Jim Suttie's words, in his article on 'Golf Swing Misconceptions', that "if the swing produces centrifugal force, the center of the swing must move first to create the force. The true center of the swing is located in the posterior lower spine somewhere behind the hips. This part moves first and the hands, arms and clubhead simply respond to this initial movement." Or better still those of Joyce Wetherhed, that : "Before the swing of the arms brings the club down from the top of the swing, the weight must begin to shift forward on the left foot and the left hip will be thrust a little forward in the direction of the hole." But do see what Harry Vardon teaches as a cure to a slice, and for an intentional slice!
Having said that, perhaps this book will work better for you?
Buy on Amazon : Cure Your Slice Forever!
"Any good player should be able to rid himself of such things as a hook or slice in his tee shots, provided he has a true knowledge of his swing." Alex J. Morrison
Determining My Fundamentals To Cure A Slice
While the DVDs I definitely recommend they did not provide me with a cure to slicing. But they may help you!?
So how was I to overcome this problem of slicing? I decided I would learn about 'The Golf Fundamentals - through a maze of confusing instruction - to arrive at 'my golf fundamentals' and so to a reliable 'method' to cure my slice.
As a result, this web site is 'my' golf instruction, with 'my Key Learning Points', covering proven techniques which have worked best for me, and helped me cure my slice.
So, for example, learning about these concepts, or ideas:
- A Cure to a Slice, by Harry Vardon, Cyril Tolley, Horton Smith
- The importance of the flail in the golf swing by Peter Alliss, with Harry Vardon
- The authentic Harry Vardon grip, formed with thumbs and fore-fingers!
- Again, the true finger grip with thumbs and forefingers, by Ernest Jones
- On how to unify the hands - throughout the swing, by Bob Toski
- The swing plane, what is it really all about? To regulate the arc of the swing
- Try to "hit-out", usually a good cure to a slice
- What 2,000 golfers have taught Eddie Loos, golf professional
- That improper pivoting is almost solely the cause of slicing, by Jack Gordon
- Learn to acquire and develop a firm left side
- That the forward position of the right shoulder gives slice
- How distance off the tee affects your score
- How to maximise distance, by Pat Dempsey World Long Drive Champion,
And much more, I researched and learned in curing my slice!
So follow these "leads" and cure YOUR slice, indeed forever!
"Most people don't realize it, but the primary difference between a good golfer and a bad one lies in the grip - the most basic element of any player's game." Julius Boros
The Most Important Thing In The Golf Swing Is The Grip By Gary Player
Gary Player Winner of over 120 Tournaments.
Gary Player on Golf Volume 1 and Volume 2 (PGA 1972)
Available on Amazon : Gary Player On Golf, Video Instructions and Secrets from Golf Legend
A Sort Of Checkpoint
"In general, those are the fundamentals of the golf swing. 
It is manifestly impossible to keep all of them in mind while hitting a golf ball.
What must be done, I find, is to keep one thing in mind.
On a particular day, I may be concentrating on starting down slowly.
Another time I may single out the matter of keeping my head still until the ball is met and away.
But always it is a single aspect of the swing that I try to concentrate on - a sort of checkpoint.
One thought that I frequently keep in mind while swinging is that my right elbow should point downward at al times during the swing. I do not regard this as a fundamental of the swing, but rather as something that will aid in making you carry out the swing fundamentals.
We have said that the clubhead must be brought into the ball square to the line of flight, which becomes a physical impossibility if the right elbow flies out and up during the swing. Then the clubhead must be brought into the ball from the outside in - the cut across.
If the elbow is kept pointing downward, it will remain reasonably close to the body, as it should, and will permit the inside-out clubhead action that is essential to meeting the ball with the clubhead square to the line of flight.
Of course learning about golf is one thing, the other is to apply that knowledge on the course.
So at last for the first time this year we went to play 18 holes and yes, I can confidently say I have cured my slice!
February, 2012
Not only can I now shoot straight, but you will see I was able to do a Par 3 in 3, from Yellow at 161 Metres (176 Yards to centre of the green. Hcp 14), with a 3-wood, also a Par 4 in 4, thanks to what I learned as posted on this site. A good improvement for someone who used to slice the ball, and with no driver!
Here the details of the course and scores, for R. Note distances are in metres. Hole 5 shows 166 metri (metres) but that is from White. Also the slope rating of 133.
Having said that, this was more fun - as able to focus on the challenge of the course and no longer feeling despair or frustration about the old fault of slicing!
We played at the Il Picciolo Golf Club www.ilpicciologolf.com at the foot of Mount Etna.
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Holes no. 10 and 11. Click image to see larger picture
Now off to practice...as the next goal is, of course, to reduce my handicap.
May, 2012 - A first Hole-in-One
A first hole-in-one happened today, 13th May (a bright, sunny day, though a bit fresh out of the sun) some 3 years and 9 months since starting golf!
From slicing to hole-in-one: must mean I am on the right track, to reducing my handicap!
How are YOU getting on?
Have you Cured YOUR Slice?
Having searched for a cure online, watching videos like the one above, on YouTube®?
Or having seen at least one Pro?
If the answer is yes, then sincerely "well done".
But should the answer be "No", then I sympathize with you completely; my having sliced for more than a year - before being able to fix it...
And believe you me, I know all about the feeling of "despair" one gets, or anguish, frustration and embarrassment when slicing, not forgetting either the number of times I was ready to quit this game!
So, if you are still looking to fix YOUR slice, follow me on a path of discovery, of learning and yes, like me, why not: finally stop that slice! (and save time!)
Golf Misconception 17.
"Misconception 17: The path of the clubhead on a correct golf swing is inside-outside.
Reasons: Most of us have been taught to swing inside-outside. Unfortunately, this is not correct. If the golfer swings excessively inside-outside, he will push-fade and hook most of his golf shots. It might feel we are swinging inside-outside, but what really should happen is this: The golf club approaches the ball from inside the target line through impact, and then moves off to the left of the target line after impact. This occurs because the hands and arms follow the body rotation both on the backswing and downswing. It is this "inward-to straight-to inward" club movement that creates a natural release of the clubhead through impact and divots that point slightly left of the target line."
Reference : 'Appendix 3 Golf Swing Misconceptions by Dr. Jim Suttie, PGA Professional Cog Hill Golf Course Lemont, Illinois, The PGA Manual of Golf by Gary Wiren PGA Master Professional, Ph.D. MacMillan USA Copyright © 1991 by The Professional Golfer's Association of America
Here are some more misconceptions by Jim Suttie
Jim Suttie at http://www.jimsuttie.com/index.php
Insights
What causes a Hook and what causes a Slice?
"You take the club on the outside and then you come over the top and you can see then the club goes across parallel and you strike the ball at 5 o'clock to 11 o'clock, and that is what makes the ball slice..."
"Let me show you the proper way on how to hit a straight shot.
If you strike the ball from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock you will have a very, very straight shot..."
"The club goes too far on the inside and as you can see at the top of the backswing the club is going to be too flat, then you are to strike the ball at 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock, and that is what makes the ball hook..."
Chi Chi's Six Fundamentals / Basics are:
- Grip
- Ball Alignment
- Posture
- Ball Position
- Backswing
- Follow Through.
Reference : Chi Chi Rodriguez 's 'Chi Chi's In and Out of Trouble with Chi Chi Rodriguez' video, Copyright © 1988 CBS/FOX Video Sports, Livonia, Michigan.
Visit the Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy
"The open stance encourages a slice because it is inclined to promote a route of clubhead travel that has the face of the club coming from outside the line of intended flight and in and across the ball. This gives a clockwise spin, and a slice to the ball. The close stance has the opposite effect. It encourages a hook.
Most golfers slice from a square stance, for reasons too numerous to mention.
So, to prevent these slices and to give more distance, I teach my pupils to hit woods from a closed stance, with the right foot two or three inches farther back than the left foot is from the flight line through the ball.
The good golfers hit their woods from slightly closed stances. The closed stance permits the hips and body to turn easily, and as much as needed.
Reference : Tommy Armour's book 'How To play Your Best Golf ALL THE TIME', Illustrated by Lealand Gustavson, Copyright © 1953, by Thomas D. Armour. Published by Simon and Schuster, Inc. New York, 1953.
"Tommy Armour was good enough as a player to win the Triple Crown of golf - the U.S. Open, the British Open and the P.G.A. Mighty few have accomplished this difficult feat.
He studied at Edinburgh University. He was an officer in the British Army through the First World War and was wounded severely. He came to the United Sates in 1920. Armour's greatest asset as an instructor, and as a writer of a book on golf, is his ability to diagnose faults and his added ability to correct the same.
He has tutored the world's best, and he has coached abject duffers and every variety of golfer in between, and in every case he has been the ideal teacher to see to it that they played up to the best golf of which they were capable. As the star instructor at Boca Raton in Florida, he not only commands record fees for teaching but he is busy practically from dawn to dusk."
Reference : 'How To play Your Best Golf ALL THE TIME', Illustrated by Lealand Gustavson, Copyright © 1953, by Thomas D. Armour.
"One reason, or excuse, offered by the average golfer for a bad slice is that he got his body in too soon.
The average golfer usually experiences trouble for one of two reasons.
Either he omits the forward movement or shift of the hips that must precede and blend in with the beginning of the unwinding, or he moves his whole body, including head and shoulders, in a sort of lunge at the ball.
He cannot hope to do other than cut across the ball if he holds the greater part of his weight upon his right leg, or falls back upon it as he brings his club down.
In the correct swing, starting down, the hips shift forward slightly before any noticeable unwinding takes place.
I like Abe Mitchell's expression that "the player should move freely beneath himself."
In other words, the head and shoulders should not accompany the hips in this initial movement.
I have often referred to the stretch that I feel up the left side and arm, from hip to hand, as the result of leading the downswing with the hip-turn while the club is still going back.
Now the hands drop almost vertically downwards, starting the right shoulder movement below the left, from which point the swing is able to pass through the ball on a line approximately straight toward the objective.
Reference : Bobby Jones' book 'Bobby Jones On Golf', Robert Tyre (Bobby) Jones. Chapter Four. Foreword by Charles Price. Illustrations by Anthony Ravielli. 1966 Doubleday & Company, Inc. New York.
"First of all, there are two types of slice:
- The one which happens every time,
- The one which breaks out occasionally, wrecking what would have been a good score.
1. Generally the longer-handicap players come into the first class, so I will deal with them first.
"These 'every time' slicers send the ball to the right because their hit is with an outside-in swing. That is, the clubhead goes away from the body on the backswing and then in an effort to correct it the club is brought back across the ball, putting spin on to the ball at impact.
The whole secret in curing this is to reach the correct position at the top of the swing, so let me run over the position for you: At the top of the backswing there should be more weight on the right foot than the left [Ed. For the drive only, advises Tommy Armour]. The shoulders should be turned ninety degrees and the hips forty-five degrees. The left arm is reasonably straight, the right elbow points down.
The grip with the left hand is firm and the right wrist is under the shaft. The club itself points across the line of flight, in other words at the green. Check this position, and if you are not absolutely sure that it is right get your professional to have a look at it for you.
Then there is another way to check up. Make sure of your follow-through position. If your hands have swung and finished near your right shoulder you have swung from outside to in. But if your hands have followed the ball, as they will do in a correct swing, then everything is all right.
After the club has been taken back, the hands should then pull the clubhead down. I repeat - pull the clubhead down.
That means that the hands should always be in front of the clubhead, and they will if the weight is transferred back to the left foot for that will mean you will be hitting against a braced side.
And beware of letting your shoulders take control, for this too can cause the club to be moved out of line.
This, then, is the way to straighten up the habitual slice.
2. Now what about the people who only slice once in a while?
The root of this problem is hitting the all with the clubface open at impact. This is the answer whether whether the swing has been outside-to-in or inside-to-out. The only exception being the push shot, a ball hit straight to the right of target. This occurs because the player sways into the ball. However, do not get a push mixed up with a slice.
The slice which occurs occasionally is easy to spot, for the ball usually starts straight enough but then fades away quite sharply at the end.
In setting out to beat this kind of slice, first check your grip. If your grip is wrong then the clubface will be open at the top of the swing, which will cause the trouble at impact. The clubhead may be travelling in a straight line, but because the clubface is open the ball will be hit with spin and will slice.
Now this type of slice usually attacks the better players, but there is one certain method of getting rid of it, and that is by playing with what is known as the square-faced method.
Most of the top American use this; it is very simple and I thoroughly recommend it. It is simply keeping the clubface square to the ball throughout the swing (to the body would say Paul Runyan, see hand-action) and eliminating that last minute roll of the wrists at impact.
In other words, if you open the clubface on the backswing, you'll have to close it again on the way down - unless you get the timing just right you are going to be in trouble; and it is easy to see that if you are a little late getting the clubface square to the ball, then you will hit it with an open face and slice.
Therefore take the club away square and keep it square throughout the swing. Keep the wrist position firm at impact and then you should get the hang of it.
One final word of warning about a slice. Don't try to correct it as you are playing a round by messing about with your grip and your stance. No, if you want to really get rid of your slice - and let's face it, your golf won't improve much until you do something about it - then the place to work at is is on the practice ground.
Go down to your practice ground and decide which kind of slice you have and then follow the points I mentioned. Practise hard and you should find that your slice will disappear.
Reference : Dai Ree's book 'The Key To Golf', page 79, A. S. Barnes and Company New York, Copyright © Dai Rees 1961.
"In correcting your faults, try to think of your golf swing as a single operation.
When you run into golf troubles, try to correct them by first going back through the formula, slowly, step by step.
Use the straight-wrist exercise with first a short backswing, then a slightly longer one, and finally a full backswing. Often you can iron out your difficulties that way with a minimum of danger that new faults will creep in.
Concentration on the fundamentals: grip, stance, weight distribution, hand action, tempo-these are the answers to good golf. And don't forget to swing the club back low at the start of the backswing... A quick review of the fundamentals will uncover your trouble in time to save the round.
If, however, you run into a persistent fault that defies self-analysis there is only one sound remedy: consult your pro.
The professionals themselves consult other pros not only to improve their game but to correct their golfing faults. Quite often these faults are apparent to the trained observer, but the golfer himself is blind to them.
There are excellent pros in all sections of the country: men like Henry Picard at the Canterbury Country Club, Cleveland; Harry Pressler of San Gabriel, California; Al and Emery Zimmerman of Portland, Oregon; Claude Harmon of Winged Foot, New York; Horton Smith of the Detroit Golf Club and Al Watrous of Oakland Hills in Detroit; Leland Gibson of Blue Hills Country Club, Kansas City- and thousands of other good pros.
If you are seriously intent on improving your game, these men can help you."
Reference : Johnny Revolta's 'Johnny Revolta's 'Short Cuts To Better Golf', Revised Edition, by Johnny Revolta and Charles B. Cleveland. Illustrated by Jerry Gibbons. Copyright © 1949, 1956 by Johnny Revolta and Charles B. Cleveland. Designed by Maurice Serle Kaplan.
"This left-to-right shot arises from a combination of three faults: the clubface is open to both the swing-line and target line at impact; the swing-line is out-to-in across the target line; and the angle of attack is too steep.
The cure starts in the grip, which must be strengthened until the ball no longer bends in the air but flies straight in the direction in which it was started, indicating that the clubface is square to the swing-line.
To achieve this the hands must sometimes be placed more to the right on the club; in many cases simply squaring up the shoulders to the target-line at address will do the job, because it has the corollary effect of moving the hands from left to right in their relationship to the clubface.
Coordinating the swing-line with the target-line involves squaring-up the shoulders at address, so that they are parallel rather than open to the target-line, then making a 90 degree shoulder-turn while the hands and arms swing the club up and around, pointing the club at the target in the correct plane.
Coming back to the ball, the hands and arms must swing the club at the same time as the hips open towards the target. Remember that if the hips and shoulders get too far ahead of the arms, the club will be thrown out across the target-line, even from a good backswing.
Flattening the angle of attack necessitates setting-up and maintaining a shallower swing-plane, by standing more erect at address from the hips to the shoulders, then turning rather than tilting the shoulders in both the backswing and downswing.
Bear in mind that these corrections interact upon one another. If, having previously aimed left, you square up your shoulders to the target-line you will automatically strengthen your grip and flatten your swing-plane."
Reference : John Jacobs' book 'Play Better Golf with John Jacobs. Chapter 12. Faults, Causes and cures reviewed', Based on the Yorkshire Television Series written in collaboration with Ken Bowden. Stanley Paul & Co. Ltd, Copyright © Yorkshire Television 1969.
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