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You Tried It: Split your grip to fix your slice

January 11, 2012

*On Wednesdays at the Instruction Blog, we often turn to our readers for the best tips they ever received. *Please submit your favorite tip to Editors@GolfDigest.com. This week we hear from Matt Hahn on fixing the slice:

"Many people know what it's like to struggle with a slice. I tried tips such as swinging out toward the side you fear and working on grooving an in-to-out swing path, without much success. I finally found a tip that worked, from a long-time member of my home course. He told me that unless I roll my wrists over through impact, none of the other tips would work and I would not be able to get rid of my slice.

*"He had me separate my hands on my driver grip by lowering my bottom hand. *

"This grip causes the wrists to roll over better, helping square the club through impact. I practiced with this grip to ingrain the feeling into my swing and found it was what I needed for all of those other slice tips to work."

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*Editor's note: Thanks for the tip, Matt. A variation that is not so drastic is to adopt a 10-finger grip. The left thumb is still positioned on the top of the shaft to stabilize the club at the top of the swing, but having all the fingers of the right hand on the grip increases your hand action, allowing you to rotate the clubface into a square or slightly closed position at impact, This will help to  eliminate your slice and even produce a slight draw. I would recommend you use the split grip as a practice drill on the range, alternating with the 10-finger grip, then use the 10-finger grip on the course. Some great players on the professional level have used a 10-finger grip, including the late ABC golf commentator and PGA Champion Bob Rosburg (above). Give it a try.

Roger Schiffman

Managing Editor

Golf Digest

Twitter @RogerSchiffman

Photo by Stephen Szurlej/Golf Digest