slice or draw?

[whippet]

Hi can someone help me please, ive been hitting some balls at the driving range, my 4 iron goes straight for about one hundred yards then goes of to the left. is this a draw or a slice? ive looked at fixing this problem, ive been told that it is one of 2 problems i am leading with my arms on my downswing, or my grip needs adjusting, does this sound right ?
my clubs are all graphite yonex.

[gord962]

Re: slice or draw?

For a right handed golfer, left to right is a fade or a slice and from right to left is a draw or a hook.

These are caused by you clubface not being square to your swing path. If your swing path is inside-out and your clubface is square to the target (not your swing path) the ball have a counter clockwise spin which will make the ball curve to the left. If you have an outside in swing and the face is square to the target, the opposite of the above will occur and you will have a fade.

For drills on squaring your grip and hitting draws and fades, check out my drills page:

http://members.shaw.ca/gord962/drills.htm

[Mr_Change]

Re: slice or draw?

this could be happening because of lots of different things. If you are rigth handed it is calledc a hook, a draw is basicly the same thing except that you setup to hit the ball like that.

You best bet is to go to a coach and have them look at your setup and swing.

[whippet]

Re: slice or draw?

Thx for the tips, two more quick questions, the drill with the two clubs you bring them back to the top of your backswing in two seperate hands at the same time ?
is that correct as i find this hard to do, and some times my shot feel like im hitting nothing and the ball flys great then other times it hurts my hands a little and it thuds but the ball still goes ok, what is this called when the ball hurts your hands and what am i doing wrong?
thx for the help whippet

[gord962]

Re: slice or draw?

Don't hit any balls with that drill! Yes, do both at the same time. Keep it slow - it is just a test to see how your hands work independantly and can affect your clubface at impact.

When it feels like you didn't hit the ball and it is a great shot means you hit the ball in the sweet spot of your clubface. This is what you want to repeat every time.

As for the ball going okay but your hands hurt, you are probably hitting the ball thin. This is when you catch the sole of your club in the middle of the ball. It produces a much lower ball flight and not the distance.

My best advice I can give you, since you are just starting out, is to see your local teaching professional. He will give you the basics to work on.