The Anti-Slice Drill That Sounds Wrong (Video)

You're going to watch this video and say, "WHAT? You told us NOT to rotate our forearms!"

But here's the deal. Rick Shiels isn't actually rotating his forearms -- at least not enough to make much of a difference; it just looks that way. And I'll show you what to watch for so you can see what's really happening. As long as you understand what's really happening, this can be a really good anti-slice drill.

Rick is telling you to 'shake hands' on your followthrough. Lots of instructors use this drill and they tell you to rotate your forearms to do it.

But let me tell -- no, show -- you what's actually happening.

When Rick addresses the ball, his hand and arm are in front of his chest -- that is, his shoulders are parallel to his aimline and his hand (representing the clubface) is perpendicular to that line.

When he makes his backswing, his hand is now basically parallel to his aimline. Does that mean he has rotated his forearm? NO. Why? Because now his shoulders are perpendicular to his aimline.

Do you get that? His hand and shoulders are in basically the same position as they were at address, only turned 90° away from the ball.

So what happens after he hits the ball and is in his followthrough and that 'handshaking' position? His hand is parallel to his aimline and his shoulders are perpendicular to his aimline.

In other words, he hasn't rotated his forearms. He has rotated his shoulders.

So why do instructors always tell you to rotate your forearms? It's because the tension in your forearm muscles -- all the muscles in your arm, in fact -- changes as you turn and, because you see your palm go from facing down the line (address) to facing in front of you (backswing) to facing down the line (impact) to facing behind you (followthrough), your mind interprets that as forearm rotation.

The only way you'll actually get the forearm rotation you think you're getting is if you don't turn your shoulders during your swing. If your shoulders remain parallel to your aimline during your entire swing, the only way you can move your hand this way is if you twist your forearm.

But if you really don't turn your shoulders during your swing, the ball won't fly far enough to get in trouble. That's a fact.

So if you understand how this drill is actually done, it can really help you learn to square your hand -- and therefore the clubface -- at impact. And that will definitely help straighten out a slice.