Tony Finau was a self-proclaimed slicer, a title with which recreational golfers are all too familiar. In his quest to reach his true potential, he made some big changes. He turned that slice into a power fade, and he’s now solidified himself as one of the most consistent ball strikers and best players in golf.
1. Fix the Grip
Like many recreational golfers I teach, Tony’s trail hand was too much on top and rotated to the left, which encouraged him to open the clubface excessively in the backswing. One of the first things we did was rotate his trail hand more under and to the right of the club.
2. Align the Forearms
Partly as a result of his old trail-hand grip, Tony’s right forearm sat way above his left forearm, which aimed his arms and shoulders well to the left. This promoted a pronounced out-to-in swing path. With his new trail-hand grip, his forearms are aligned, which also helps neutralize his swing path.
3. Slow Your Roll
With his old trail-hand grip and high right forearm, Tony rotated his wrists too aggressively to the right, opening the clubface too much. With his new setup, Tony now takes the club away more with his shoulders and not with a rolling of his wrists.
4. Clubface Is King
Instead of an extended (cupped) lead wrist position with an open clubface, Tony now gets his lead wrist into a more flexed (bowed) position with a square clubface at the top of the backswing. With his new setup, a squarer clubface position and less out-to-in swing path, he’s perfected his signature Finau Fade. No more slices!
