Martin Hall on Driving into a Slice Wind (Video)

This Extra Credit video from Martin has a simple way to keep control of your drive in a slice wind... but it may not be obvious to you at first.



The reason I say this might not be obvious is because I suspect many of you chronic slicers have tried something similar in an effort to straighten out your drive... and you couldn't get it to work even if there was no slice wind!

Let's see if we can't make this technique work whenever you need it.

The basics are simple enough. If you close the face of your driver a bit at address -- that's what Martin means when he says to 'toe it in' -- and you don't change anything else, the face should be a little closed when it contacts the ball, and the ball should draw. (Or, in the case of a slice wind, it might go pretty straight or even fade just a little if the wind is really strong.)

Why doesn't this work for you? Why does the ball either duck hook (that is, start with a pull and then hook even more) or just make a bigger slice?

It's because you don't make your normal swing. You do one of two things:

• You swing more out-to-in (across the line, if you prefer the term, or pull the shot) and then the closed face makes the ball hook even more. You still end up in trouble, just on the opposite side of the fairway than normal.
• Or you make a normal swing but open the face at impact, so the ball slices anyway. And if you have an over-the-top swing, you get a bigger than normal slice.

Let's figure out how to stop both problems.

• In the first case, you don't trust the closed face. You try to 'help' the ball hook by pulling the club across your body. Other than learning to trust your swing -- which is the best way but may also be the hardest -- you can try closing your stance so you have to swing more from in-to-out. Even if it just makes you swing straight down the line (because you came over-the-top or pulled the shot), the hook you gain from the closed face will keep the ball from slicing.
• And in the second case, there's a good chance you're not really closing the face of the club. Rather, you're just twisting your forearms so the face looks closed. What will actually happen is, when you make your normal swing, your forearms will twist back into their normal position and you'll open the face like normal. You have to turn the club handle in your hands so your forearms are in their normal address position even though the clubface is closed. That's just something you'll have to learn through practice -- you have to get used to seeing your arms and hands in their normal position while the clubface is closed.

Neither one of these problems is insurmountable once you understand their cause. Both problems are caused by using your arms improperly -- in the first case, by pulling them across your body instead of swinging them down the line; in the second place, by twisting them closed at address instead of just regripping the club.

Something that may help you solve the first problem is simply setting up with the ball a couple of inches farther from your body. That will force you to swing more in-to-out than usual in order to hit the ball.

For the second problem, try setting up by turning your forearms to a stronger position while keeping the clubface pointed straight down the line, then turn your forearms back to your normal address position without regripping the club. That will cause the clubface to be closed while you're in your normal address position. Then when you make your normal swing, you won't open the face at impact.

Once you get where you can address the ball with a closed clubface and then return the clubface to the ball while it's still closed, you'll be able to hit a draw anytime you want. Even if the wind isn't blowing!