An easy slice fix — which will also give you a heavy dose of speed — is to “re-plane” the club following impact.
Many of you tend to hold off on your release. But, if you’re looking for extra yards and a ball that stays on target, you’ve got to let go following impact, getting your lead elbow to fold and your wrists to re-hinge, creating a right angle between your lead arm and the club shaft (like you want on your backswing).
Here’s how.
The drill
Set an iron ahead of the ball on your target line. Hold one of your alignment sticks against the handle of any club (as I’m doing at left) and make practice swings.
Your goal is to get the butt of the grip (easy to see with the help of the alignment stick) to point back toward your target line (indicated by the club on the ground) as you swing past impact. Holding off, or “chicken-winging” (above, left), won’t get the job done.
After a few swings, you’ll start to feel your clubhead speed pick up through impact. Better yet, the ball will fly much straighter when you put the move to use on real swings.
Brech Spradley is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and is the owner and director of instruction at Barton Creek Golf Academy in Austin, Texas.
