Questions & Answers Responses from PGA/LPGA Teachers on FINDaLESSON.com                                                                                  << BACK From Jay, golfer: I don't slice my irons, but I slice my tee shot. I've tried to shorten my back swing. It helps, but no distance. Any suggestions? PGA/LPGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL RESPONSES: California "Try this.  If you tend to move the ball forward in your address position when you tee up a driver, you are likely to be slightly open with your shoulders. Make sure the shoulders have a "tilt" at address. This means for a right-hander, the right should is down and the left shoulder up. Squaring up the shoulders will help get a good pivot on the back swing and make it easier to be square at impact. Also, balls that curve in the air, like a slice or hook, are caused by non-square face position at impact. Check the face before you swing each time. Good Luck." - Mike Davis, Teaching Professional California "Jay - A slice is caused by a swing path that is left of the target line (for right-handers) with an open clubface. It is more obvious with longer clubs as they have less loft. More loft negates sidespin as in shorter irons. Make sure you are swinging to a balanced finish (right knee touching your left on the finish and balanced on your right toe). Also, make sure your grip is in balance, your posture is correct (an athletic "ready" position), and your ball position is opposite your left armpit for full swings. If the ball still goes right (1st base), try making it go to 3rd base without changing your aim. If you do this enough and stay in balance without any tension in your left arm, you will learn to swing on the proper path with a good release. Try this T-Ball drill: Aim to 2nd base. Make swings to 3rd base, then 1st base, then short stop. Be aware of where your body finishes, especially your right shoulder. You will eventually feel what center is by going to the extremes. Good Golfing." - Kati Biszantz, Teaching Professional California "You're over swinging Jay!  What is the thought that enters into your mind when you grip that driver?  Is it, 'Hey, this is a driver and I can hit it a long way!' What is the thought that enters into your mind when you hit your irons? Is it 'I know the ball is only going to go so far b/c this is an iron so I won't swing as hard!?'" - David Ruvolo, Teaching Professional Florida "A lot of people with your problem tend to stand straighter with the longer driver. Doing this flattens your swing and can make your cut across the ball. Standing straighter can also put you back on your heels, causing poor balance and restricting your back swing and weight transfer. This puts you ahead of the ball at impact and magnifies the push/slice. I would note how much you bend from the waist with your best club and match that position with your driver. It will take a little getting used to but in the long run you'll start hitting it straighter and longer as well." - John Brott, Teaching Professional FRANCE "Make sure to swivel your head and point your nose at your back foot at the top of the swing, then keep it there through impact. This will keep the center of your chest behind the ball at impact. Then your forearms can rotate and square up the club face. Have a great golfing day."  - Dan Raleigh, Teaching Professional Illinois "I wouldn't worry about the short back swing. It's much more important to make full shoulder turn on the back swing by turning the left shoulder over the right knee. This allows your club to come inside on the downswing and release thru impact. This will get your power back. Since you are slicing your woods and not your irons it sounds like you have a very vertical swing. Swing flatter or more around yourself and let the club release thru impact." - Dr. Jim Suttie, Teaching Professional Illinois "Jay, I would recommend trying a few different drivers. Most likely your driver either has too little loft, too stiff of a shaft, too short of a shaft, or a combination of all three. Check out some new drivers, ones that have softer more flexible shafts, and heads that have more loft than your currently using. Maybe 12 degrees of loft even. Try some drivers at demo days or check out www.henry-griffitts.com and find the fitter nearest you to get personally fit for your own driver. Thanks for your inquiry. Take care." - Ryan Graff, Teaching Professional Missouri "Jay, your woods off the tee should be swung at the same speed as your irons. The length of the club gives you more power. I think you are trying to swing your long woods faster. Try slowing the swing down to the same speed as your irons." - BJ Miller, Teaching Professional Nevada "Your 'Slice' is a common problem so you are not alone! You are imparting 'Spin Rate' on your Balls around the 'X Axis' or like the Earth turns around the North South Poles. This makes your Ball curve to the 'Low Energy Side' of the Target Line or Center Line which is usually down the middle of the fairway. So you must stop the cut. Slices are cause by an 'Outside In Club head PATH and usually amplified or made worse by an 'Open Clubface AIM' at the 'Moment Of Separation'. Hence more Spin Rate and more Cut. A quick FIX is to 'Hood The Clubface At Address' and to 'Swing Out' towards the Low Energy Side of the fairway. This may cause a bit of a 'PUSH' for a few swings but let them work and learn what this new Ball Flight FEELS like. This will get you past the frustration of not getting off the tee box satisfactorily. The real FIX is to impart or use more 'Brace Foot Pressure' and thus more 'Brace Leg Drive' which gets your 'Lower Body Machine' (Thighs, Hips and Trunk or LBM) doing more work 'LEADING' your 'Upper Body Machine'  (UBM) which is comprised of the Shoulder Sockets, Arms and Hands along with the Golf Club. Your 'UBM' must 'LAG or TRAIL' behind your Lower Body Action. Your Golf Swing must evolve 'From The Inside Out' and 'From The Ground Up'. You must strive to finish with your belly button facing the Target. When you are at the Top Of Front Swing, 'FOLLOW FINISH' position (Swing Sequence #10), you might do the 'Flamingo Drill' and the 'TAP TAP TAP Drill'. When you are completed and holding your FINISH to evaluate your 'Ball Flight', tap your Brace Toe on the ground. Doing this will prove you 'Rotated' effectively onto your Target Side which means that your 'LBM' fired fully and/or, you at least got it working, early or late. The 'LBM' tends to 'Opens the Clubface' (C/F) while the 'UBM' tends to 'Closes the Clubface' (C/F). Mastering The Basics!"  - Karl Fischer, Teaching Professional New York "Without seeing your swing I'll give you a couple of educated guesses to think about. From my teaching experience some players who slice their tee shots but not their irons are usually a little late in releasing ( the rotation of the forearms and hands prior to impact ) the club head. Next time your at the range practice an early release with a 7 or 8 iron and hit the ball left ( assuming your right handed ) off a short tee to get feel for the release. Then swing the driver and work on your release. You may also have the " Hank Aaron Syndrome". There are no home runs in golf. Over swinging with the driver may have your right shoulder ( again, assuming your right handed ) moving out instead of back under which will cause you to swing outside/in. You'll either pull the ball or slice it with this path. Slow it down and hit hit straighter and a bit further. When all else fails, seek out your local PGA/LPGA Professional."  - Kevin Huggard, Teaching Professional North Carolina "It sounds like you may be picking the club up a little early in the back swing. This creates a steeper shaft angle coming back down into the ball. Try to keep the club head a little lower and longer on the take away, trying to create good extension on the take away and width at the top of the swing. This allows the arms to drop and stay in front of you thus keeping the club on plane and creating a sweeping motion, which is what you are trying to achieve. Try to keep the grip pressure a little softer and let your arms hang naturally." - Ben Hynson, Teaching Professional Pennsylvania "Hi Jay, first of all just know that any swing flaw you may have will be exaggerated while using the driver.  The increased length of the club, and reduced loft of the face both play a large part in the result of your slicing tee shot. Slicing the golf ball is caused by one of two things. 1. Having an open clubface at impact, or 2. swinging the golf club in an outside to in swing path. A majority of people who slice have both of these flaws, however, the most common flaw is the one pertaining to the swing path. Knowing this, how can you fix this?  I would suggest changing your mentality. The mentality of hitting a golf ball creates the outside to in swing path pattern. I would suggest taking the mentality out of "hitting", and into swinging through the ball through the use of the trunk of your body. When I speak of the "trunk", I mean your hips, and torso. By using your hips and torso at the initiation of the through swing, an area is freed up for your arms to fall, and create an inside to out swing path. You should pick a portion of the ball just on the inside part of the golf ball in which you would like to make contact and swing through that spot. This movement of the torso is much like if you wanted to hit a homerun to left field (right hander). You would need to release your body from ground up in order to uncoil through the ball and to left field. The golf swing is the same only on a different plane. Work on hitting punch shots with a 7 iron, by releasing your hips first, and then slowly work into the driver. Good Luck, and happy golfing." - Nathan Blanchette, Teaching Professional South Carolina "Jay: I would first look at your ball position and make sure that it is far enough forward in your stance to allow the club to get back to a square position at impact. Golfers forget that a longer club takes longer to return to square. Next, I look for someone who is hitting out of tempo, or trying too hard to hit the ball too far. Make sure that your swing does not change when you hit a driver. Make a swing that you can control, and stay in balance. As far as equipment goes, check the loft of your driver. As loft decreases, so does the club's forgiveness. Most golfers use drivers that do not have enough loft. If your handicap is more than 10, I recommend that you use a driver that has at least 9.5 degrees of loft or more. Lastly, make sure that the shaft in your driver is not too stiff. The stiffer the shaft, the harder it is to return the club to a square position at impact. Good Luck." - John Hughes, Teaching Professional South Carolina "Check your distance from the ball at address. Sometimes golfers stand further away from the woods because of the longer shaft causing then to "come over the top" on the downswing. By standing closer at address you can keep the club moving down the target line longer - eliminating that slice."  - Mel Sole, Teaching Professional Texas "Jay: Check to see if the ball position is off your left heel. Also see if your grip is the same with the driver as the other clubs. Good Luck." - Dave Baron, Teaching Professional