THE TWO COMMON CAUSES OF A SLICE... AND WHAT HAPPENS
AT THE CLUBFACE IS OPEN TO THE PATH AT IMPACT
This one feels like a solid strike but when you look up, there it goes off to the right again. There may be numerous reasons why this has happened, but essentially any time you have the face open to the path at impact the ball will cause the spin axis to tilt to the right and curve left to right through the air. That is assuming you hit the ball out the middle of the clubface.
What Trackman tells us
Above (1, 2), we have two shots, struck with similar clubhead speeds and from a similar, central part of the clubface. • In the first – a straight shot (1) – a strong face-to-path relationship produces a strong set of figures. • In the second – where the face is less than 4º open to the path (2) – we can start to see the difference. Distance has dropped by 20 yards and spin has climbed by around 800rpm, making the flight far less stable. Even when the face is only slightly open to the path, it can have a big effect on your shots.
A HEEL STRIKE
The other main cause for a slice (3), which we have only really become more aware of through using launch monitors like Trackman, is gear effect. Without getting too technical, gear effect occurs when the ball is struck heel-side of centre on the clubface. This tends to feel like a less solid strike and generally results in a loss of ball speed and an increase in spin and a left-to-right spin axis tilt (often referred to as sidespin).
Ultimately this heel strike will travel a shorter distance due to the drop in initial ball speed and excessive spin.
Even if you have a “draw” swing where the path is in-to-out and the clubface is slightly closed to that path, it’s still possible to slice the ball if you hit it heel-side of centre on the clubface. A ball struck heel-side of centre basically results in a less efficient transfer of energy from club to ball and can reduce the carry and total distances by more than 10% compared to a centred strike with the face open to the path at impact. Ultimately a centred strike always has and always will be imperative if you are to eradicate your dreaded slice.
What Trackman tells us
This time we are matching up our straight shot, hit from the middle of the face, with a heel strike. Note that: • Despite similar club speeds, the ball speed has dropped by 10mph… resulting in loss of distance. •From a club speed just one mph slower, the heel strike’s total distance is almost 60 yards shorter. • Spin has almost doubled, creating excessive curvature in the ball.