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Ever strike a ball thinking it was travelling exactly how you wanted it to only to find it careening severely in the other direction mid-flight? The slice is a common issue that afflicts beginners and high handicappers, and is characterized by a ball that swerves from left to right for right handed players, and vice versa for lefties. In some cases, it might be intentional - a shot called a ‘fade.’ However more often than not, the slice is rarely ever intended.
While the slice can happen with any shot, the opening drive is typically most affected. That’s because the wide sweep leaves more room for error, making at harder for players to hit the ball square on the nose. Fortunately, there are ways you can remedy your drive without having to clock in hours of practice
Lots of brands claim to have the best drivers for slicers, but which one really walks the talk? Find out how to choose the right driver and what you should look for to make the right purchase by checking out our guide.
How exactly can you be sure that a specific driver is designed to reduce slice? While not a lot of manufacturers will state it explicitly on their labels, there are features you can look into to help determine whether your chosen driver can help keep your ball on the right track.
One of the features you should be primarily interested in is the club head’s center of gravity. Generally, drivers designed to help reduce slice come with COGs that are shifted back towards the heel. This helps prevent the player from opening the face of the club too much before impact, thus reducing the risk of “wiping” the ball and imparting side-spin.
There are some adjustable drivers for slice that allow users to calibrate a moveable weight around the area of the heel to help match their own preferences. However, drivers with fixed weights are typically more efficient and effective than those that offer the opportunity to customize or fine-tune the weighting.
Lie angle pertains to the angle created by the head end of the shaft with the ground as you rest the club’s sole on the turf. According to experts, a club with an upright lie angle is much less likely to produce a slice because it helps players square off the face right before impact. These upright lie angles also seem to work better with a higher loft, projecting the ball higher instead of aggressively forward, eliminating the effects of spin.
Unlike the wedge which works better with more grip to help toss your ball up and out of a tricky situation, drivers are far better off without the traction. The less a ball grips against the surface of your club head, the less likely it will be for you to be able to impart any sort of spin.
Be wary of drivers with grooves and textured faces which may have a negative toll on the trajectory of your spin. While a few etches here and there might be fine, anything that’s too aggressively textured might actually exacerbate your problem.
There are countless driver designs throughout the market, and that includes those intended to reduce slicing. So if you’re in the market, searching for the best driver to reduce slice, you might find the choices a little overwhelming.
Unless you’re prepared to go through a very expensive episode of trial and error, it would be in your best interest to consider these factors to help you land the ideal driver on your first try.
Although the driver is typically designed to be heavier than most other clubs, individuals who suffer from a chronic slice might want to consider going for something lighter. With less weight, a driver becomes easier to square, allowing you to correct any postural and positional errors right before you make impact.
Drivers are traditionally made with steel which lends durability and power to those distance shots their intended to generate. However a lightweight graphite shaft can be more suitable to players who suffer from slicing shots. These make it easier to straighten the face and highlight the functionality of a heel-biased center of gravity.
Oversized, jumbo grips are both more ideal if you’re trying to get rid of that tendency to slice. The reason is because larger grips allow greater palm-to-club contact, which essentially increases your capacity to control the shot. With more control, it’s easier to manage the swing, staying on the right path throughout the backswing all the way to impact and follow-through.
Lastly, you will want a club that’s forgiving. This basically means that even if you hit off-center, your shot won’t be too far off from what you intended. A forgiving club will have a larger face that gives you more of a sweet spot to produce the results you want. This essentially makes it easier to square off your shots and prevent any sort of spin, helping you create more draw.
While it’s important to note that the real cure to slicing relies on your capacity to learn the proper swing and technique, it’s hard to say that the Tour Edge Hot Launch HL3 Offset Driver won’t somehow offer substantial assistance. This large driver features a lightweight construction, and comes equipped with a deep, low-set center of gravity that makes it effortless to square off right before impact.
The deep face boasts variable thickness, and provides users more sweet spots to maximize speed and power on more points across the face of the club head. The club also goes as far as incorporating an offset hosel which makes it easier to align to your target and generate a shot that imparts minimal spin for an impressively straight trajectory.
It’s powerful, effective, and incredibly reliable at reducing the chances for a slice. Plus, when you consider the fact that it comes at just half the price of many other choices on our list, it really does stand out as a practical yet effective selection that marries both affordability and efficiency.
Packing power, precision, and speed, the Taylormade 2018 M4 D-Type Driver is a pretty pricey choice, but it does come with the features and performance that deserve such a steep cost. Firstly, it boasts a very large head that offers an exceptionally sizable sweet spot, capable of taking an off-center strike and turning it into a reasonable shot. For some users, it seems the entire face is one massive sweet spot, so it really does help relieve some of the pressure of attempting to hit the ball dead center.
But that’s not all it does to help with slicing. What we found to be particularly impressive about the M4 D-Type is that it actually employs illusions to help improve the way the player hits his driver. The aesthetic of the club head was engineered with a two-tone crown cosmetic that at a glance, makes the face angle appear slightly more open than it actually is. What this does is it encourages players to adjust for a closer face, thus effectively squaring off the club head upon impact.
The Callaway Golf 2018 Rogue Driver is another impressive anti slice driver that definitely deserves your time. This specific design boasts some of Callaway Golf’s newest technologies, including the Jailbreak Effect in combination with the X-Face VFT Tech which come together to promote the greatest speed and distance you’ll achieve on any driver currently available.
The large club head features an extra large face to increase forgiveness, and an enlarged footprint to enhance your stability. These are all packed together in one aerodynamic head silhouette, designed to cut through wind resistance to help you maximize your power for the most satisfying drives you’ll experience on the course.
Of course, we all love a powerful driver that augments our errors to produce pro level shots. But unless you’re ready to spend half a grand for just one club, you may want to reconsider your choices, or at least, step up your budget to accommodate this costly beauty.
This mid-priced driver packs an ultralight, ultra-efficient series of functions in one ultra-handsome silhouette. The sleek black polished finish is enough to grab anyone’s attention, but the Cobra 2018 F-Max Driver is more than just a good looking club.
The lightweight construction is perfect for improving control and accuracy, letting you swing with more precision so you can square off the face right before you make contact with the ball. The lowered center of gravity is heel-biased, weighing down on the backside of the club head to make it less likely for you to open up the face at the end of your swing.
This driver also features a forgiving face, mid-sized grips for control and stability, a crown alignment illusion, and an exceptionally durable build that can survive even the toughest of conditions. Of course, it’s not the perfect driver. It doesn’t really provide the best feedback compared to the other choices we’ve listed. But if you’re not really keen on impact feel, then the F-Max might just be the right choice.
With an increased loft, the MAZEL Golf Driver encourages higher shots with minimal spin and impressive distance. The 10.5 loft angle launches the ball far and high, reducing the chances of swerve by imparting height rather than spin. Around the head, aerodynamic speed slots help to improve the speed of the head itself, so despite launching the ball fairly upwards, it still produces the distance you would expect from a driver.
While it might not be quite as tech-packed as the other drivers on our list, the MAZEL Golf Driver makes up for it by being the most modestly priced. This humble driver makes managing those nasty slices attainable and affordable.
The slice is hands-down the most common problem golfers experience on the course. Able to change the direction of your ball, a slice can alter your play right off the tee, making it hard to go through the course as you originally planned.
To make sure those nasty slices don’t take over your game, invest in one of the best drivers for slicers. Our top pick? The Tour Edge Hot Launch HL3 Offset Driver boasts some pretty stellar performance and functionality, making it a great choice for both pros and beginners who want to be rid of the slice for good. Sure, it might cost a very pretty penny, but all in all, it’s worth every cent.
