Golf Slices
How to Slice a Golf Ball on Purpose
Although many weekend players struggle to eliminate a slice, there are times when a slice — or its less extreme brother, a fade — is exactly what you need. But it can be hard to learn how to control a slice. Each instructor seems to have his own favorite method, and those methods often seem to contradict each other. They really don't.
More Golf Slices Picks
What Is a Banana Ball?
A banana ball is not a soft, yellow golf ball. Rather, it’s a sliced shot that follows a curving path, similar to a banana’s shape, and flies far to the right (for a right-handed golfer). A banana ball is the result of side spin imparted at impact, due to a misaligned club face or an outside-in swing path -- or both.
How to Use the Anti-Slice Golf Tees
The first known golf tees -- hand-built piles of sand -- did nothing to help golfers hit the ball straight. Even modern tees aren’t supposed to affect the ball’s flight, according to the Rules of Golf. In casual play, however, a golfer who’s prone to slicing the ball may wish to try an anti-slice tee. This device is basically a standard tee plus a curved plastic flap that rises from the tee’s crown to cover about one-quarter of the ball’s surface. The flap is designed to prevent the club head from imparting a sideways spin on the ball. That sideways spin causes a slice, according to PGA professional Mark Blakemore.
How a Stake Can Stop a Golf Slice
A slice can be a golfer’s worst nightmare. One moment the ball is flying through the air, the next it’s veering sharply to the right, into the rough, or maybe the woods, or even into the fairway of the wrong hole. For right-handed golfers, slices are typically caused when the clubhead moves across the ball from right to left, relative to the target, at impact, imparting spin on the ball that makes it curve in flight. A variety of swing problems can cause a slice. For example, you may be tilting your upper back toward the target on your backswing.
