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The Overdose Theory - Part 3 - Slicing

One of the greatest problems, especially for male golfers, is that the club head is slightly open at impact and side (slice) spin is imparted to the ball. For right-handers, this means the ball may start straight but, as it moves farther away from the player, it spins to the right. For left-handers this means the ball may well start straight but as it moves away from the player it deviates to the left.

The commonest cause that I see for this is lack of pronation. That’s the action whereby your lower hand rolls over the your upper hand into, through and beyond impact. It is the correct rolling of the hands (pronation), wrists and forearms that produces a square club face at impact and gives you a straight ball devoid of side spin.

To get the feeling or pronation, pick you a golf club and make a short backswing to take the club about waist height. Notice how the club face points in front of you? Now bring the club into, through and beyond impact up to about waist height again. Notice how, at this position in your follow-through, the club face points behind you?

One of the major differences between professional and amateur golfers is that the pros worry about a poor shot that is going to hook - the weekenders poor shot is a slice or, at best, a fade. Professional golfers have learned to pronate. If you suffer from a slice or if you just want to develop a little more distance off the tee, try this little bit of “Overdose Theory.”

At the range, place balls on a tee and play several, normal 6 iron shots. When you are loose let the experiment begin. Place a ball on the tee and then step away. Close your eyes. Take several SHORT swings where you feel a deliberate and excessive pronation that starts BEFORE you bring the club head back to an imaginary impact. If this doesn’t feel significantly different to you then you aren’t “overdosing” enough! Get that pronation working!

Are you certain that you can feel the excessive pronation? Good, you are rehearsing the application of hook spin to a ball. No increase in speed of hands mind you - just the earlier and extra pronation!

When you are sure you can feel this, increase the length of the backswing and gradually build the feeling into a full swing. Make sure you don’t lose the feeling of that extra pronation. Next, open your eyes and take this to the ball.

Don’t worry about hitting a great shot or getting a crisp impact, that’s not the point. Ensure you feel the extra pronation. Even if you hit a howler - does that ball have hook spin? If it does not then repeat the entire drill and make that feeling of pronation start earlier in your downswing and even more pronounced.

I know that your brain wants to resist the change but plug away! If the ball does have hook spin you are on the right track so try again with another ball. What starts to happen is that your brain begins to ‘accept’ the new feeling, your contact comes back and you are hooking the balls - sometimes quite wildly. Just great isn’t it??? So, you are now successful hooking your 6 irons. Once again it’s time to start the fine tuning.

Before you hit each of the next three balls, close your eyes and play a practice swing where you try to feel a SLIGHTLY reduced pronation. After several of these swings, take a new feeling to the ball, play the shot and see what happens.

If the ball still hooks more than you would like - reduce the pronation further and try again.

If the ball veers back to the slice spin you need to develop that hook again.

If the ball starts to fly straight and true - do it again!

In all the above cases, please don’t get your mind set on the ball. Feel your hands and know what you are doing with them and you’ll be well down the road to understanding what is going to happen to the ball.

Keep refining this drill until you can play hooks, draws, fades, slices and straight balls at will.

Now repeat the entire process with a 4 iron or 3 wood. Remember, in “overdose theory,” the first stage in correcting a slice is to learn the feelings associated with hook.

Well, there you go. Now, it’s over to you. If you have bit of a problem with any aspect of your golf game try to think in terms of the opposite shot. Set about a drill that will help you appreciate how to play that opposite shot - go ahead, “Overdose” on purpose.