How To Fix a Slice in Golf: Tips, Techniques, and Technology

I’ve never met a golfer who hasn’t battled a slice.

Neither have you.

We’re all somewhere on the scale between actively fighting a wicked banana ball and recovering from the wounds of our past battles, surviving to share our tales of woe.

Of all the misses in golf, the slice is the most common and, for many, the most dreaded.

But there’s hope. If you’re fighting the good fight of desperately trying to tame your ball flight so that you can tamp down your out-of-control slice and turn it back into a more manageable fade, we’re here for you. We’ve been there. Hell, we’re often still there. But this is how we fight our way back to the fairway.

No, I am not a golf professional. Far from it. And this isn’t meant to be an end-all tutorial. As always, your best chance of improvement includes a lot of practice and possibly some hands-on help from a qualified instructor. This post is a primer or guideline to get you on the right track. Where you take it from here will depend on your level of commitment to playing better golf.

Fore!

What Is a Slice in Golf?

A slice occurs when the golf ball curves dramatically to the right (for right-handed golfers) or to the left (for left-handed golfers).

A slice is different from a fade, which is a controlled and slight curve.

And it’s different from a push, where the ball goes straight right (for a righty) without curving.

A slice is typically uncontrolled and results in significant distance loss and poor accuracy.

A slice occurs when the golf ball has a lot of side spin on it. Specifically, clockwise spin in the case of a righty. As the ball travels, that spin drags it over to the right, often dramatically. Wind typically exacerbates the side spin and makes the ball flight even more out of control.

The primary causes of a slice include an open clubface at impact and an out-to-in swing path. The right concoction of these ingredients leads to that side spin and big, curving shots that are more often than not headed out of bounds or towards some other type of calamity.

The opposite of a slice is a hook, where the ball curves dramatically to the left (for a righty). That’s another matter and another set of frustrations. But, in essence, it’s caused by the opposite swing flaws that create a slice.

The thing about a slice is that, even if you plan for it and aim far enough left so that the big curve ends up coming back to the fairway, you usually lose a ton of distance. Instead of the ball flying straight, it’s got to take a big, looping detour that sacrifices all of that yardage.

So while playing for a slice is often a good short-term solution for surviving a round, it’s not a good long-term plan for playing your best golf. To pound the ball further and straighter, you’ve got to figure out how to fix a slice in golf.

How To Fix a Slice in Golf

If you know anything about golf, you know that, generally speaking, there aren’t any sure-fire, simple, universal fixes to any swing flaw. That’s certainly true about fixing a slice. Because there isn’t one single thing that causes a slice for every single golfer, there isn’t one series of things that can address the problem.

The best we can do here is to cover some of the common issues that golfers face. These general fundamentals are the first things you should address if your ball is bending too far to the right.

We’ll continue to address these issues from the perspective of a right-handed golfer. These same tips apply to lefties, except all directions are opposite.

To figure out what’s causing your slice, it’s helpful to understand some ball flight principles. Here’s where we’ll start:

1. The direction your clubface is pointed at impact determines in which direction the ball will start flying.
2. Your swing path (meaning whether you’re swinging straight down the line, coming from outside to inside, or swinging the club from inside to out) will determine the direction that the ball curves.
3. How much your ball curves has to do with the relationship between the clubface and the swing path.

If your clubface was very open or pointing to the right, we know the ball is going to start very far to the right. If on top of that, you swing the club from the outside to the inside (otherwise known as over-the-top), that path coupled with that open face is going to impart a wicked amount of side spin on the golf ball.

A simple way to think of it is, if your clubface is pointing one direction and your swing path is traveling in the opposite direction, you’re going to put a big curve on the golf ball.

So, it’s not necessarily about perfecting any one component, whether that’s clubface or swing path. Rather, you’ve got to figure out how to create a swing that marries those two things in a way that doesn’t cause a severe curve. For example, you might be able to get away with an open clubface at impact if your swing path isn’t so far from the outside to the inside. Golf isn’t a game of perfect. There’s no one right way. It’s about finding the combination that fits your individual game and desired ball flight.

The reason it’s important to understand some basic ball flight laws is that it can give you clues as to what you’re doing wrong and what you might do to correct it. It’s a starting point towards recovery. There’s nothing more frustrating in golf (other than a slice) than hitting bad shots and having no idea what caused them.

So, let’s identify some of those common slice causes.

The Right Grip To Prevent a Slice in Golf

If you take a golf lesson, especially if the reason you’re there is to address a problem with slicing the ball, it’s very likely that the first thing your teacher is going to study is your grip. It’s one of the most overlooked parts of golf fundamentals, but it’s one of the biggest causes of both our great and terrible shots.

When you think of the grip, think of the back of your left hand (again, in the case of righties) as being synonymous with the clubface. When your grip properly matches your swing, at impact, your clubface is going to be pointing in the same general direction and angle as the back of your left hand. So, job number one is to identify and become familiar with that relationship between the back of your left hand and the clubface.

You’ll hear the terms “strong” and “weak” used in any discussion of the golf grip. Strong doesn’t necessarily mean good or better. And there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with weak. Again, golf is not a one-size-fits-all game.

When you grip the golf club, each of your closed hands forms a “V” shape between the thumb and index finger. We want those two “Vs” to be pointing in the same direction. They should be parallel to each other.

If your “Vs” are both pointing at your nose, your grip is considered to be neutral.

If your “Vs” are pointing toward the right side of your head, your grip is said to be strong.

If the “Vs” are pointing to the left side of your head, that is considered a weak grip.

Where we all get into trouble is when our grip is either too strong or too weak. And in the case of a slice, oftentimes, the reason for that big curve is that our grip has gotten too weak. That means that our hands are not able to turn through impact and release the club. Instead, the back of our left hand is pointed skyward at impact, and the clubface is wide open.

To correct this, we need to relearn how to grip the club. Focus on those “Vs.” Try to get them both pointing in the same direction, and try a stronger grip where they are both pointed toward your right ear or shoulder. This should allow for the back of your left hand to arrive at impact facing more down the target line rather than off to the right or up in the air.

One thing about a grip change is that it’s going to feel really weird and uncomfortable when you first try it. You’ll have to resist the urge to go back to what feels comfortable. After all, comfortable might be the main reason for your slice.

Correcting Your Over-the-Top, Slice-Causing Swing Path

We’ve talked about grip, which has the biggest effect on where your clubface is going to be at impact. If you remember from our ball flight principles, controlling the clubface is half the battle.

The other half of the battle has to do with the swing path. This is the direction the club is moving as it comes into the golf ball.

Think of the ball like a clock face that you’re viewing from behind the ball. For a right-hander, if the club is coming into the ball around the 4:00 area and exiting around what would be the ball’s 10:00 area, that swing path is considered right-to-left, or outside-in, or over-the-top. All of those mean the same thing.

And it’s that type of swing path, especially when coupled with an open clubface, that tends to put that clockwise side spin on the ball, causing it to curve right.

A neutral swing path would have the club coming into the ball at 6:00 and exiting at 12:00.

The problem is that it can be very difficult to change our swing paths. Often, it takes hundreds or thousands of correct repetitions to re-train our mind and body to reroute our swing. This process might be greatly accelerated with the help of a teaching professional.

If you’re trying to correct an over-the-top or outside-in swing path, the best thing to do is to try to over-exaggerate your correction. So, if your ball flight tells you that you’re coming into the golf ball around 4:00, see if you can radically bring that club from the inside and strike the ball at the 8:00 or 7:00 position. Chances are, you’ll have a hard time doing it. But in attempting that correction, you’ll eventually start to work closer to contacting the ball around 6:00, or neutral.

What you’ll have to guard against is eventually over-correcting. Once you cure your outside-in swing, you’re prone to swinging it too far inside-out.

Ah, the joys of golf. It’s a never-ending battle of sawing the wheel back and forth, always trying to find the middle. But armed with the knowledge of what is going on with your clubface and swing path, you can become the captain of your ship.

How Today’s Golf Launch Monitors and Simulators Can Help You Fix Your Slice

One of the reasons golf is so hard is because we can’t see ourselves swing. And often, what we think we’re feeling isn’t reflective of what our bodies are actually doing. It makes it very difficult to correct flaws when we can’t see or feel what we’re doing wrong.

Obviously, this is where a teaching professional can be a big help. Someone who knows the golf swing and understands ball flight principles who can see definitively what you’re doing wrong and offer corrective actions.

But another very useful tool is a golf launch monitor. These incredible devices can give us all of the data that tells us, regardless of what we think we’re feeling, exactly what we’re doing in our golf swings. There’s no hiding from the numbers.

A golf launch monitor can show you how your ball is spinning. Many will also show you what your swing path was as the club came into the golf ball. Some will even give you video replay to match up visuals with what the numbers are reporting.

The point is that using a golf launch monitor is a way to super-charge your improvement. You can save an incredible amount of time and frustration. Rather than standing there blindly on the range trying to feel your way into a better ball flight, you can use a golf launch monitor to accurately diagnose exactly what you’re doing wrong. That puts you a lot closer to getting your mistakes corrected.

You can also gamify your practice using a golf launch monitor. SkyTrak+ just introduced a new series of virtual practice ranges, each designed to help you work on a specific ball flight. You can go on one of their simulator ranges and work to draw the ball around a tree. If your old slice rears its head, your ball will either hit the tree or curve to the right into the virtual water. Having that kind of feedback can help you maintain focus and make your practice sessions more effective.

With so many inexpensive golf launch monitor and simulator options available, every golfer interested in any kind of swing change really should consider owning this game-improvement technology. For what these things cost, you might consider it an absolute bargain if it helps you cure your ugly slice. You may even be able to make up the cost of what you paid in all of the golf balls you’ll no longer lose to the right.

Fix Your Golf Slice for Good

Golf is hard. There’s no getting around that. And, no matter how much we may improve, all of us golfers are always searching for better. We may even learn to love the constant challenge and embrace the fact that we’re never really satisfied.

But when you can’t even keep the ball inbounds, it’s awfully difficult to enjoy the game. That’s why a big slice is such a common cause of golfers calling it quits. It’s such a frustrating ball flight and such a helpless feeling when you have no idea how to control it.

But that’s not you. Not anymore. Now you’ve got a pretty good idea of the most common causes for a slice, and you’re ready to start to work on correcting your mistakes.

Are the things included in this post the only causes of a slice? No, of course not. Golf doesn’t work like that. You’ve got your ball position to consider. Then there’s your takeaway, which may directly impact both your clubface angle and your swing path. There are miss-hits that can cause squirrely, spinny shots. And on and on it goes.

So, no, these aren’t the only things you may need to address. But if you understand ball flight principles, and if you nail the grip and swing path, and especially if you get feedback from a golf launch monitor, you’re well on your way to controlling your ball flight and eliminating that nasty slice.

About PlayBetter Golf Reviewer Marc Sheforgen

Marc Sheforgen is a golf writer whose passion for the game far exceeds his ability to play it well. Marc covers all things golf, from product reviews and equipment recommendations to event coverage and tournament analysis. When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about golf, he enjoys traveling (often golf-related), youth sports coaching, volunteering, and record collecting.