Loading your trail hip can help reduce your slice.
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Golfers often slice because their swing direction is too inward (i.e., “over the top”). A common cause is forgetting to turn and “load” their right side during the backswing. When this happens, it’s almost impossible to sync your arms and body on the downswing. Instead, your arms go over the top.
Illustration by Ben Mounsey-Wood
To avoid these errors, place one of your wedges under the heel of your trail foot. Step on it, so the shaft points toward the sky. Next, settle into your normal address position.
Your one and only thought is to keep pressure on the club so it keeps pointing up. If it does, you’ve successfully moved weight to your trail side, “loading” your hip. It may require you to make a longer backswing than usual — that’s okay. The important thing is that you load your right before shifting left. Bonus: You create space for your arms to swing more in-to-out.
Debbie Doniger is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and is the director of instruction at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford, N.Y.
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