There's nothing with the power to put you down in the dumps quite like arranging an amazing golf holiday … and then messing up every shot you take for five days! If you have a terrible tendency to slice, we have some great tips for clearing up your swing before you leave on a golf vacation. Nothing left to do but enjoy your trip!

Understand the reason for slice

In technical terms, slicing is a clubface problem. The swingpath may be straight, but the face of the club is open, creating a sidespin moving from left to right.

Make sure your feet and shoulders are aligned

This is one of the most crucial tips. Golf stance is one of the fundamentals of having a good game, and it can feel a little uncomfortable at first to stand properly. Make sure the line created between your heel is aligned with the line created between your two shoulders. If it is not, you will almost certainly slice … no matter how hard you concentrate on getting your swing straight. Practice plenty before you leave for your golf vacation, to help make the new stance feel natural.

But I thought my feet and shoulders WERE aligned!

Sometimes we just can't tell! Use a long ruler, or the aid of a golf teacher or fellow player to help you assess whether your shoulders and feet really are aligned. What feels straight to you, may not necessarily be straight.

Follow through

It can feel unnatural to keep swinging as hard as you can until you can’t go any further, rather than just kitting the ball and letting the club fall back. However, follow through is critical in getting that ball to travel where you want it to! Golf teachers often have a heap of tips to help you make follow through feel natural.

Grip

If your grip is too far to the left, this will cause an open club face and clockwise spin … otherwise known as a slice. If your clubface is square to the target, you should be able to look down and see at least two knuckles of your left hand. If you see two, three or four, your grip is not your problem - your follow through or stance most likely is.

There are a few issues to look at to make sure your slice doesn’t ruin your golf vacation .. plenty of reason to get practicing right now!