'Slicing' is the most common errant shot in golf. 'Slicing' is more prevalent for beginner to intermediate players. The reason why it's very common because without instruction, instincts will kick in that make us pick the club straight during the backswing rather than swinging around the body. When the club gets picked up in a vertical position, the arms and the hands tend to be very close to the neck line at the top of the swing. Once the club is set in this position, the club starts to come down on a steep angle which invariably moves the path sharply left through impact, causing a 'slice'.
The best way to see whether someone is 'slicing', is placing them on camera and seeing where their hands finish at the top of the swing followed by how their downswing path commences. One of the biggest reasons why people swing too steep even though they attempt to swing more around the body, is lack of body rotation. You want to feel that the hips and chest turn continuously on the backswing. I will often use a drill where you can place a club behind the shoulders while standing in a golf posture and practicing rotating the body so the left shoulder moves under the chin. This will start to activate the movement of the body.
Once the body starts to rotate, we can then start to envisage the swing path moving around the body at a 45 degree angle. This is why having your posture set at a 45 degree angle is so crucial. If you stand too tall, you can tend to swing too upright, causing a steep swing. Once you can feel the path moving around the body at a 45 degree angle, you should start feeling and seeing the hands in line with the right shoulder at the top of the swing. On the downswing, you want to also feel the path staying on the 45 degree angle while the weight is shifting onto the front foot. This will ensure the path moves more in-out which is ideal for straighter shots or 'draw' shots.
During lessons I will often place students on a swing path device called the Explanar. This is a fairly tall structure which has a metal tube set at a 45 degree angle. I place the student inside the Explanar and have them slide the club up and down the tube. The first time they do this they are quite surprised, as muscles they probably haven't used before start to get engaged. You will feel quite a stretch with the back muscles and abdominal muscles as they start to rotate more on the backswing. After they use the Explanar for at least a half dozen shots, I then have them apply the same swing path when hitting golf shots.
If you'd like any further help in eliminating the 'slice', just contact myself at David Waters Golf.
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