January 1, 2013 8:19 pm

The figure I believe is 85% of golfers slice, and I believe that the main reason for this is the very first thing that the golfer does, which is put their left hand (for right handed golfers) on the grip of the golf club. They end up with a short left thumb. Now I don’t mean that there is something anatomically wrong with their thumb, just that the position of it is as in picture one, where the thumb is extended well below the level of the other fingers. In this situation, on opening the hand we see that the golf club is now straight across the base of the fingers of the left hand. This puts the arm in a position that will not allow the forearm to roll over through the impact of the shot, thus the clubface strikes the ball facing to the right, or as we call it, open at impact, thus the ball slices to the right.

The remedy is to lay the golf club diagonally across the fingers of the left hand, as in picture 2, from the base of the little finger to the tip joint of the index finger, then wrap the left hand over the grip of the golf club. Then you will see that your left thumb is now much shorter, level with the knuckle of the index finger as in picture 3, now the forearm will rotate naturally, at 70 miles per hour in a 20th of a second, far too quick to be aware, and thus the club strikes the ball facing the target, automatically leading to straighter shots with all your golf clubs, even the dreaded driver, try it, you will love the result.

Start the New Year by finding the short grass on the golf course more frequently, you will have a lot more fun and need to buy a far fewer golf balls.

It is essential when playing these shots to create a descending blow into the sand just behind the ball and the best way to guarantee this is to lift your right foot up and point the toes into the sand as in picture 2. Now your weight is going to stay firmly on the front foot leading to a descending blow into the sand and as long as you remember to follow through, extrication from the bunker.

Categorised in: Tip of the month