Fight the Right

Tilt Away Before You Start
Once you’ve established an evenly weighted stance, the next ingredient for slice busting is to tilt the shoulders away from the target. This means lowering your back (my right) shoulder so that your shoulders slope downward away from the target. This is key! Many golfers who struggle with slicing do so because they invert their shoulders at impact and swipe down on the ball with a forward shoulder that’s lower than the rear shoulder. That position is both a weak and inconsistent one. Come time to hit a draw, the left shoulder must remain above the right to ensure the needed inside-to-outside and upward swing path that’s required to put draw spin on the ball.

You’ll Hit It Higher
Tilting your shoulders will produce an upward blow into the ball that will help you not only draw it, but hit your tee shots higher. That means not only will you kill your slice, you’ll hit it farther down the fairway with added carry and roll.

Swing Underneath Your Shoulders
Now that you’ve gotten the setup and shoulder positions ready, how you move during the onset of the downswing makes a big difference on whether you’re going to hit a slice or draw. To draw the ball, you have to swing below the shoulders. If your hands get above or out in front of your shoulders, you’re going to come over the top of the ball, hitting either a double-crossed hook or a big slice (depending on whether or not the clubface is open or shut). Check out the photo. Notice how my clubshaft is below my shoulders and not out in front or above them. That’s a sure sign I’m swinging from the inside and not over the top. My hands are also inside of where they were at address, further illustrating the inside-out path.

Move Inside Out
At address, the target line extends from the clubface to the target. Anytime the golf swing gets out to the right of the line before contact, it’s a sure sign you’ll pull it, slice it or both! Start the downswing from inside the line and swing away from it.