The Slice in golf, you know when you hit your driver and the ball curves like a banana out of bounds or 2 fairways over to the right, while annoying, happens to most beginners as well as many that have played for a longtime.
Before I show you 3 golf training exercises to help fix your slice, let's do a little golf lesson. Why does this happen? When you give someone a club and tell them to hit it as far as they can, they will use their arms and upper body. This causes the club to cut across the golf ball and create a clockwise spin which sends the ball flying from left to right. To avoid this you must lead the swing with your hips and create more of an inside-out path to the ball. See the illustration below.
Learning to use the lower body is tough and separation between the upper and lower body segments is imperative. The lower body must be stable, the upper body must be mobile, and the core must be strong. Here are 3 exercises that you can do in the gym to achieve all of these.
1. Supported Hip Turns
Using a doll rod or Driver to hold on to, start by standing in a driver posture. Trying not to move the stick, turn your hips as far as you can to the left and then back to the right. Remember, keep the stick as stable as possible, this will teach the body to create separation between the upper and lower body.
Two things to remember are keep the feet stable on the ground and don't slide the hips, but TURN them.
2. Pommel Horse
Lay over a stability ball with your hands on the floor and your hips on the ball. Next, try to turn your lower body as far as you can each way and repeat in both directions using the legs to propel yourself and the core to stabilize.
3. Step Change Direction
This exercise is fun, and if you've seen the movie Happy Gilmore, you'll know where this drill comes from. Start by using a 2lb RMT Club or your golf club. Get into golf posture with your feet together. Next you will start your backswing with your arms, but your feet are going to step forward in, about a driver width. Once you've reached the top of your backswing, you'll start the down swing and naturally your lower body will turn first. This is a great drill to get your lower body moving first and blast the ball straight down the fairway.
About the author: Mike Hansen is a TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) certified instructor for Level 1, 2, and 3. Mike also obtains a level 2 Golf Biomechanics certification. Mike is the founder of HansenFitness for Golf: a golf specific coaching company. Mike is also currently the director of golf fitness for Dove Canyon Golf Club and El Niguel Country Club.
