Scott Munroe on How to Keep a Slice in Play

Golf Magazine has made a lot of its online content unavailable unless you have a subscription. (You can get to the pages but they won't respond to your mouse.) However, I keep checking things there because sometimes I find useful things that ARE available for free.

One such component is the video at this hyperlink. In this video Top100 Teacher Scott Munroe teaches you a way to keep a elaborate slice in the fairway when you definitely can't have the funds for to miss. I'm going to summarize his guidelines here but you may need to observe the video.

• Tee the ball on the right side of the tee. (Obviously you lefties will tee it on the left side since your slice flies right to left.)
• Tee the ball lower. Yeah, this may cost you a little distance but the lower ball flight makes it easier to reduce the slice and hit the ball straighter. Think stinger.
• Aim down the left side of the fairway. (Again, you lefties will aim down the right side.)

Let me take a moment here to make sure you understand what Munroe is saying here. He is NOT saying to open your stance. If you do that, you're only going to make your slice worse.

What you want to do is take a square stance -- a stance for hitting a directly ball -- this is aimed down the side of the green. (Again, righties are aimed down the left aspect, lefties are aimed down the right.) The concept is to intention your shot in order that, in case you do hit the ball immediately, it's going to land in that side of the green. Got it?

• Make sure you don't have a weak grip on the club. You don't have to overdo it and turn your grip so it's superstrong. Just make sure that you can clearly see a couple of knuckles on that lead hand when you take your grip.
• Finally, when you make your backswing be sure to get your lead shoulder back behind the ball.

Again, let's make sure you understand this. You don't want a big sway away from the ball during your backswing. You're just trying to make sure you get a good shoulder turn.

Also, while you make your downswing you do not need to cling again or slide forward ahead of the ball. If you do that complete "lead shoulder at the back of the ball" correctly, your upper frame will stay surprisingly targeted to your stance till you smack that ball and end your swing with your weight balanced for your lead foot.

Practice it slowly a few times to get used to the feeling because a good shoulder turn might feel strange if you haven't been making one. Here's a good checkpoint to help you know if you're doing it correctly: Your trailing knee should be over the inside of your trailing foot when you reach the top of your backswing. You can check it by using your club shaft -- if you point it straight at the ground in front of your knee, the grip end should point at the ground and not the top of your foot.

And that's all there is to it. The main mistake to look at out for is opening your stance when you want to goal a immediately stance down the facet of the golf green. (Remember, beginning your stance increases the slice.) If you observe these steps, they ought to help you begin turning that slice into a pleasing controllable fade.