Chapter 12. Slicing and Hooking

I consider a discussion on slicing and hooking to be of prime importance. It deals with the art of playing golf, "stick handling"-it deals with the crux and essence of every golf shot, the positioning of the club (a subject thoroughly discussed in Chapter Five, but I deem it to be of sufficient importance to bear repeating).

It took me many years of experimenting, many hours of practice, many exhibitions of trick shots before I learned the respective effects and influence that the body and the hands had in regard to power and direction in golf.

Furthermore, the gamut of golf shots is contained in this slicing and hooking technique. Only when a player fully understands these two extremes can he consistently thread that middle route down the fairways, because then he knows just what to avoid.

A well constructed golf course always rewards the good shots-however, each course has its hazards, its side hill lies, its up and down hill lies, its trees and its bunkers and sandtraps-and no matter how well one plays, he is bound to find himself in difficulties at times. In such cases, proper selection of the club to do the job may solve the problem. An extremely low flying shot can be produced with a driver or a #2 iron, and an extremely high shot can be produced with a #9 iron.

However, there are situations which require that the ball be purposely curved to the right or brought around to the left, and an attempt will be made here to show how easily this can be done if the player has developed the basic form.

To repeat, once again, the theme of this book, Golf Can Be An Easy Game, is based on the fact that golfers are equipped with various clubs which automatically produce the shot required.

The driver drives the ball.

The iron lofts or lifts the ball.

The putter rolls the ball.

All the Player Has to Do is to Swing the Club

In each and every shot from driver to and including the putter, the same four movement routine is used in establishing the starting position, and the same four movement routine is used in making the swing. It is simply a case of applying the form to an extended degree for the long shots and reducing it to a modified degree for the short shots.

Applying the double 4 pattern on every shot will organize the golfer so that the directional control will be regulated and determined by the manner in which the player cocks or sets his club at the outset of the back-swing, at the outset of Step 3. Once that is determined, the only thing the player has to concentrate on is how much energy or power he is going to create and generate with his body action.

Because there are two swings, an upswing and a downswing, because the action of the body is rightsided going up, and leftsided coming through, there is of necessity an underlying weight shift so that the action of the body can be properly executed. There is no short cut to this three-point plan-in every shot from drive to putt there must be:

1. Footwork for balance
2. Hand action for club position
3. Body action for power

There is only one way to shift the weight and there is only one way to use the body, but the player can set his club in any of three basic positions, and each position will produce a different sort of an effect on the ball.

The three positions into which the club can be set or cocked at the outset of the backswing are as follows:

17. Slicing and Hooking A) Hook Shot B) Slice Shot C) Straight Shot.

1. An open face position-in this position the club face is deliberately turned so that it faces the sky, and the shaft of the club is tilted to the outside of the line of flight, away from the right toe. Both the open face position of the club and the tilt of the shaft to the outside "are readily accomplished through the simple process of pronation with the left hand, an inward, towards the body turn of the left hand and wrist. Pronation is best accomplished if the hands are placed so that the left hand is more in front of the club shaft, rather than on top of the shaft, and the right hand is brought up on top of the shaft, rather than being behind or under the club shaft.
   
   This is the technique that is used when it becomes necessary to curve or slice a ball to the right.
   
   This is the technique that is used to bring a ball up very sharply out of a deep sandtrap.
   
   This is the technique that is used to stop an iron shot on a green.
   
   There is one thing that will make the execution of this slice shot more certain, and that is for the player to assume an open stance. An open stance is one where the left foot is drawn away from the line of flight, and the right foot is placed nearer the line of flight. The player's body would thus be turned so that his body would be actually facing slightly towards the line of flight. Such a foot and body position would enable the player to more readily bring the club sharply across the ball from outside in at impact. (See the three pictures of stance, grip and foot positions for slice, hook and straight shot.)
   
   One thing must be carefully guarded in playing this open face shot. You should be certain that the club is kept in that open position throughout the swing. There is a great tendency when trying to play this slice shot for the club to roll into a low position as the top of the swing is reached. If the club does fall into this low position at that point, the right hand is apt to suddenly snap out at the start of the downswing, and instead of a slice shot being produced, an extreme hook, a smothered shot or even a topped shot may result. This happens many times when players use this technique in a sandtrap-this sudden forward lurch of the right hand completely destroys the shot and half tops the ball, sending it scooting across the green generally into more trouble on the other side.
2. In order to produce the reverse effect of a slice, the player must use the closed face technique. In this position the face of the club is turned towards the ground, and at the same time the shaft of the club must be tilted to the inside of the line of flight, towards and closer to the right toe. Both the face towards the ground position of the club and the inside tilt of the club shaft are readily accomplished through the simple process of supination with the left hand (an outward, away from the body turn of the left hand and left wrist). Supination can best be accomplished if the hands are placed so that the left hand is well on top of the shaft, at least three knuckles showing and the right hand is well under the shaft.
   
   I would like to inject at this point that pronation can be accomplished with a very tight hold on the club with the entire left hand. Supination requires a sense of freedom in the back part of the left hand, because the butt end of the club must be thrown out, away from the body, instead of towards the body as in the slice technique. The closed face technique is used when the player wants to hook or bend the ball to the left.
   
   This is the technique that is used to produce low flying shots-especially useful when playing into the wind, and it is the technique that is used to produce distance and running shots.
   
   As in the case of the slice shot, this closed face or hook shot technique can be aided if the player will assume a closed stance position of the feet. In the closed stance, the right foot is withdrawn from the line of flight, drawn farther away from the ball, and the left foot is placed closer to the line of flight. Such a foot position would turn the player's body away from the line of the shot. His body would be turned slightly to the right so that his back would be turned towards the line of the shot
   This foot and body action would enable the player to swing from the inside out much more readily, and this of course is essential in producing a hook shot.
   
   I trust that in explaining the technique of slicing and hooking I have clearly indicated that the real crux of the matter is the position of the club as created by the hands, and that the action of the body simply aids the desired application of the club. In other words, the closed stance and the open stance are simply an aid and an influence, but are not the basic cause of slicing or hooking.
   
   A golfer can still hook from an open stance and still slice from a closed stance, if the club position is so set. However, it is better to be cooperative with one's stance rather than contrary
3. The third position that the club can be set in is the square position. In this position the club face is kept square to the line of the shot and is neither open nor closed, but the shaft of the club is tilted slightly to the inside of the line of flight.
   
   This technique is used to produce the perfectly straight flying shot, a technique where the club is played for its true worth. In this shot the player should assume the square stance, both toes on a line parallel to the line of the shot. The player's body from such a stance would be squarely facing the ball; in other words, everything-club face, stance and body position-are done on a square.
   
   The position that has just been described, the square position, is more ideal than practical.
   
   It will be found that in the game of golf the object of the game is to drive the ball. Power and force are essential; therefore, it is practical to lean towards the closed face technique of play rather than towards the open face technique wherein power is lost and dissipated by cutting across the ball.