What is a fade or a slice golf swing?
A slice or a fade golf shot is a shot that curves off to the right for right-handed golfers, and curves off to the left for left-handed one.
[in this article we continue to talk in the right handed version]
It’s one of the most common miss-hits for amateurs. The elements that cause a slice or fade revolve around two things: the club face and the swing path. When you understand the cause of a slice, you can focus on correcting it, or you can use it to your advantage and hit the shot on purpose.
A standard slice is caused by an open club face and an outside-to-in swing path. These combine to create the sidespin that causes the ball to go right. The more open the club face is at impact, the more sidespin the ball will have.
When do you use a slice or fade shot on purpose?
For example if your golf ball has landed on a spot where a tree is straight in line to the green. Because you can easily reach the green otherwise, you have two choices; you can go over the tree, or you can hit to the left of it with a fade shot. Another example is the situation that the hole you are playing is a dogleg to the right. Most of the time this are par 5 holes (around a water hazard). You would like the ball to go straight and then curve to the right onto the fairway. In this case you like to hit a slice with your driver shot. In both cases, you want to swing on an outside-to-in path with a slightly open club face.
What is the difference between a sliced and a faded golf shot?
A slice shot and a fade shot have similar characteristics in the sense that they start to the left of the target before curving in the air to the right. A fade shot will start to the left, curve to the right and finish on the target, while a slice shot will start to the left before curving more through the air to finish quite a long way to the right of the target. A fade shot is much more controllable than a slice shot; therefore a fade is more preferable.
How to hit a fade or a slice golf shot on purpose?
Swing, in a normal way, through the ball and make solid contact. Swing through to a full balanced finish. Aim your club face at your target, where you want the ball to end up. Aim your feet, knees, hips and shoulders along the line that you want the ball to start out.
So what you can do, is placing your feet normally when addressing the ball. Than, instead of being lined up with your left foot between your right foot and the target, bring your left foot back about 7 to 10 centimeters to create what is called an “open stance”. That type of stance makes it easier to hit a slice. The club face will also be open in relation to where you are aiming.
The most difficult part is the mental part; getting used to looking down at an open club face. Swing along your body line. If this is not creating enough fade or slice for your swing, the next step is to try to weaken your grip a little bit. The ball will start out just left of where the club face is aimed, curve back and hit the ground near your target, and bounce toward the target.
The fade/ slice shot explained by Justin Rose.
Plan your golf shot based on the condition of your lie. If you are in the fairway, you should be able to make the ball fade easily. But if your ball is in the rough and there is a lot of grass behind the ball, it might be more difficult to create this shot because the grass will reduce the amount of spin. Choose the shot that is most likely to have positive results.
Different types of slice.
There are three different types of slices: a pull slice, push slice and standard one. The pull slice starts left of the target and slices back to the right. This kind of slice will end up the straightest of the three because it starts left. A push slice starts right of the target and slices even further– it is the most detrimental. A standard slice one starts down the target line and then goes right.
Shoot the shot that the situation demands – just practice.
Remember that the greatest players can hit any shot on call and will play the shot that the situation demands. But fading or slicing the ball on call and with control can be a challenge. The disadvantage is loss of distance as well as loss of control, if you aren’t skilled at shaping the ball. With a fade or slice, the ball has cut spin or back spin and will land soft. This is ideal for landing into a green and getting the ball to hold.
With practice, you too can learn to shape you shots. All you need to do is understand the basics that control the spin and from there on it’s just practice on the driving range.
AJ’s main sources:
MyGolfInstructor.com & GolfInfoGuide.com