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What is it?

For a right handed golfer: A pull slice is where the ball is struck and travels initially to the left of the intended target but then, during flight, the ball curves in the air and finishes to the right of the intended target.

How?

It is one of the most popular shots in golf and is usually caused by casting or throwing the golf club over the top from the top of the back swing. This means that the club is pushed away from the body in the down swing and pulled back into the body through impact with the ball. Doing this means that the club head travels on a path that is right to left across the ball (for right handers) which sends the ball out to the left of the target. During the time that the club travels across the ball the club face either points at or to the right of the target. The combination of the club head path and the club face direction at impact causes the ball to curve in the air and away to the right hence producing a shot that starts to the left and finishes to the right.

The Change

To rectify the two issues, follow the steps below:

1. Using a mid-iron such as a 7 iron, tee the ball on a small tee peg and find two obstructions. These can be driving range buckets, headcovers or even tee pegs stuck in the ground.

2. Put one of your obstructions approximately 18 inches behind the ball and on the line connecting the ball and the target. This should allow enough room to make a normal back swing but not allow the club to travel on an outside swing path and across the ball in the down swing.

3. Hit some golf balls with the obstruction in place. The aim is to block the ball and hit it straight out to the right. You should feel that the club approaches the ball from behind the back leg.

4. After hitting balls out to the right of the target successfully, place the second obstruction (headcover, tee or basket ) approximately two feet in front of the golf ball and just inside the ball to target line. The two obstructions should create a gap for the club to travel through on a path from inside to outside hitting away from the body.

5. Hit some more golf balls, still using a tee peg making sure that the club is travelling through the two obstructions and extending out and away past the second obstruction.

6. Finally to stop the ball going out to the right, we need to roll the hands over one another turning the club face as the club travels inbetween the obstructions. Keep the hands nice and relaxed and feel that the back hand (right for right handers) rolls over the front hand as the ball is being struck. This takes good timing to get right but you should see the ball start out to the right and begin to curve back to the left if successful.

Keep working on this drill to straighten out your shots and rid yourself of the pull slice forever.

Part of the reason for the ball travelling from left to right is that of the golf club face pointing to the right in relation to the club head path at impact. Closing of the club face at set up will certainly lessen the curvature of the ball from left to right. However, as the club head path is travelling to the left through impact, closing the club face may very well cause a severe pull shot. Change both issues to correct the problem.

Aiming to the left, for a right handed golfer, is merely a hopeful way of accommodating a swing problem without actually solving the issue. The problem shot will sometimes be managed successfully but will always still be there.

Many golfers try to correct this problem by taking the club away on the inside line in the back swing as an example to replicate the same line in the down swing. Sometimes this can work as the golfer can visualize the correct path into the golf ball. However, for most this will not solve the problem in the down swing and can actually encourage the golfer to swing in a circle - inside on the way back and outside on the way down - making the problem worse.