Most golfers hit slices, and most slicers would do anything to stop hitting slices. More often than not, the reason why they miss slices comes in two parts: They swing the club too far from out-to-in (or over the top), and the clubface is too far open. It sends the ball starting left and curving wickedly to the right.
Which is why GOLFTEC’s Josh Troyer has a swing thought that is best summarized in one word: “Tilt.”
If coming over the top causes slices, what causes golfers to come over the top? The answer, Troyer says, is simple: They turn too quickly on the downswing. Insisted, golfers should think of “tilting” as their first move down.
To help with this, Troyer sets up an alignment on the ground between his feet and the ball, pointing 45 degrees to the tight of his target.
Then, he places a club across his shoulders. The feeling you want to chase, he says, is to match your shoulders to the alignment stick on the ground. If you do that, you’ll be tilting your shoulders and getting your club into a position where it can swing more in-to-out on the downswing.
If you don’t tilt, it means you’re turning too quickly. Your right shoulder moves towards the ball, and with it, will drag the club over the top.
So don’t turn too early! Tilt to start your downswing, and you’ll be in better shape when the time comes to hit the ball.
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.