No More Slicing!

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If you are like the vast majority of golfers and you tend towards slicing or "power fading" the golf ball and I told you that with one simple change you could straighten out your shots and get a fair bit longer at the same time it would sound too good to be true wouldn't it? The great news is that it IS true.

If your shots are constantly fading or slicing then your clubface must be aiding in getting the ball to curve this way.  The most important factor in determining the clubface angle is the grip and if you're a slicer/fader then there is a very good chance your grip is weak - no matter how it "feels"!  A weak grip leads to active/flippy hands  through the hit and this takes away from a golfers ability to trap or compress the golf ball. You know the feel and sound when you hit one just right....that's what we're after!

As you grip the club in your normal fashion rotate the face down/closed from vertical 30 degrees and then set up to the ball. Keep in mind that 30 degrees is equivalent to one hour on a clock so don't over do this.  Be sure that all you have changed is the club position.  Now the face will feel very closed at address, and you need to work towards getting (and keeping) the face square at address without altering your grip.

 
Essentially you are making a grip change as you move from a weak position to a stronger one. After a little practice you should start to feel that you can at least keep the ball straight and if all is going well you might even notice a little extra distance.  The biggest challenge you face as you execute this drill is to overcome the sense of discomfort in the hands and arms at address. Relax, hang on and know that discomfort at this point is a good thing - a positive change is occuring.
 

Additional Resources:
 

How to Hit it Longer Than Ever

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Here are a few clues - do not swing harder or get a new driver or change your shafts!  Although all of those ideas might help, the best, and simplest, way to hit longer shots is to strike the ball better.  Plain and simple!

Here is the heads up from Trackman, the premier radar technology for swing and ball flight analysis:
Generally speaking, to maximize ball speed (which translates directly into distance) it is more important to improve centerdness of impact than to increase club speed.  An off-center impact is less efficient in transferring energy from the club to the ball, thus some of the power of the club speed is lost, resulting in a lower initial ball speed and consequently less carry distance.
While increasing the velocity of the clubhead would increase distance, I'm sure we are all well aware what happens when we swing harder - perhaps increased speed, but far less control and very often a less centered hit.  This is where smash factor comes in.  Smash factor is a measurement where the ball speed is divided by the clubhead speed and essentially is the efficiency of the hit - how well was the energy of the swing transferred into the golf ball to make it go.  The more centered, or solid, the hit, the further it will go.  And, being aware that most of us do not have the ability to measure the smash factor of our shots it is important to be aware that if you want to hit it longer (and I've only ever met one person who didn't!) the direction one should take should be in search of a better hit and not necessarily a faster clubhead.
A few good drills and articles to improve the quality of your ball striking:

Impact Drill: How to Stop Scooping | Andrew Rice Golf

Hip Slide: Good or Bad? | Andrew Rice Golf

Hands Forward at Impact | Andrew Rice Golf

The moral of the story - focus on hitting it better and you'll hit it longer.  Now get to work.......