6. Sol
i
d Pl
ane = No Sl
i
ce
A n open f
ace at t
he poi
nt of cont
act can cause a
sl
i
ce. So, t
oo, can a f
aul
t
y swi
ng pat
h, even i
f your
cl
ubf
ace i
s squar
e t
o t
he t
ar
get at i
mpact
. Sl
i
cer
s'
swi
ng pat
hs t
end t
o come t
oo much out
si
de i
n
(
hooker
s, vi
ce ver
sa)
. Al
l gol
f
er
s need a pat
h t
hat
comes j
ust sl
i
ght
l
y f
r
om t
he i
nsi
de. Tr
y t
he Box Dr
i
l
l
.
Take t
he t
op hal
f of a gol
f bal
l box and st
and i
t on i
t
s
si
de. Al
i
gn t
he box par
al
l
el t
o your t
ar
get l
i
ne as
shown. St
r
i
ve t
o gr
oove a pat
h t
hat al
l
ows t
he shaf
t
t
o pass j
ust over t
he box. For sl
i
cer
s, set up t
he box
on t
he same l
i
ne, but j
ust f
or
war
d of t
he gol
f bal
l
.
Don'
t hi
t t
he box!
7. Thumbs Up, Thumbs
Down
H ooker
s need t
o st
op t
he cl
ubf
ace f
r
om cl
osi
ng
t
oo soon. To do t
hi
s, adopt a t
humbs-
down
appr
oach t
o i
mpact
. I
n t
he phot
os at r
i
ght
, you
cl
ear
l
y can see t
he r
ed si
de of t
he paddl
e wi
t
h
bot
h my t
humbs poi
nt
i
ng down t
owar
d t
he
gr
ound. Thi
s t
ype of movement sl
ows t
he
cl
osi
ng of your cl
ubf
ace, t
hus el
i
mi
nat
i
ng shot
s
t
hat cur
ve t
o t
he l
ef
t
. I
n t
he second phot
o, t
he
bl
ue si
de of t
he paddl
e shows. Thi
s t
humbs-
up
posi
t
i
on i
s what sl
i
cer
s need t
o at
t
ai
n (
a cl
osi
ng
of t
he cl
ubf
ace)
.
8. No Fl
i
ps
"
Fl
i
ppi
ness" (
t
he dr
eaded ear
l
y r
el
ease) occur
s i
f your body get
s t
oo f
ar i
n f
r
ont of t
he gol
f bal
l
.
When t
hi
s happens, your cl
ub wi
l
l dr
ast
i
cal
l
y l
ag, usual
l
y wi
t
h an open f
ace. I
nst
i
nct
ual
l
y
, your
hands wi
l
l wor
k t
o cl
ose t
he f
ace at i
mpact
. Thi
s l
evel of t
i
mi
ng i
s di
f
f
i
cul
t even f
or t
he pr
os t
o
execut
e on a consi
st
ent basi
s. What usual
l
y happens i
s t
he cl
ubhead r
aces i
n f
r
ont of t
he shaf
t
and st
r
i
kes t
he bal
l wi
t
h an open or a cl
osed f
ace, and t
ypi
cal
l
y on an ascendi
ng ar
c. I
n
basebal
l
, i
f you get t
oo f
ar i
n f
r
ont
, you'
l
l hi
t t
he bal
l t
o r
i
ght f
i
el
d, unl
ess you f
l
i
p t
he wr
i
st
s. The
same i
s t
r
ue i
n gol
f
. You need t
o est
abl
i
sh a f
i
r
m l
ef
t si
de t
o keep your head behi
nd t
he bal
l and
st
op t
he f
l
i
p. Phot
ogr
aphy by War
r
en Keat
i
ng
Usual suspect
s Enemy number one: Your body i
s out of posi
t
i
on or out of bal
ance. Your body
senses t
hi
s, so your hands t
ake over t
o t
r
y t
o get t
he cl
ubf
ace squar
ed at i
mpact
. However
, t
hi
s
adj
ust
ment usual
l
y t
akes t
he f
or
m of a f
l
i
ck or f
l
i
p of t
he wr
i
st
s.
Fi
xi
ng The Fl
i
p Set up t
o an i
mpact bag (
or an ol
d duf
f
el bag st
uf
f
ed wi
t
h t
owel
s)
, push t
he
cl
ubhead i
nt
o t
he bag and set your body i
nt
o a good i
mpact posi
t
i
on. The l
ead ar
m and shaf
t
shoul
d f
or
m one st
r
ai
ght
, ver
t
i
cal l
i
ne wi
t
h t
he head back. Make sur
e your l
ead l
eg i
s br
aced and
t
hat your hi
ps ar
e t
ur
ned sl
i
ght
l
y open. Hol
d t
hi
s posi
t
i
on t
o cr
eat
e t
he pr
oper f
eel
.