How to Fix a Slice


Recently, GOLFTEC discovered that roughly 60% of amateur golfers struggle with a slice. Resulting from poor golf swing fundamentals, hitting a golf slice routinely causes golfers to post high scores because they rarely can control the direction of the shot.

Producing the correct club path with a square club face takes time, planning, and for most amateurs, the patience to break down their swing and start building their swing shape from scratch.

In this article on how to fix a slice, we’ll give you a clear plan of action to take care of that ugly shot path that goes to the right every time.

how to fix a slice


Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Correcting Your Stance

Grip
Chapter 2

Adjusting Your Grip

A Good Swing Plane Starts With A Good Takeaway
Chapter 3

Finding the Right Swing Path

Golf Fairway Woods
Chapter 4

Closing the Open Clubface

golfer icon
Chapter 5

Pro Tips

The Right MindSet
Chapter 6

Frequently Asked Questions

CHAPTER 1

Correcting Your Stance


Closing the Shoulders

Too many amateurs leave their left shoulder open at address. Whether they are cheating to look at the target or have a poor fundamental setup, closing that lead shoulder can help reduce the slice’s ill effects.

By squaring the upper body, you are not opening the left side of your body, allowing the shoulder to stay closed when bringing the golf club back to the ball. Especially on the tee box, keeping that lead shoulder in check will help stay balanced.

Squaring the Feet

Along with the shoulders, chances are the feet and hips are open if you frequently hit a slice. Now, you shouldn’t instantly work to overcompensate and close the feet, hips, and shoulders, but you should work on squaring all three areas at the address.

Even if you like flaring your lead foot out a bit to help with hip clearance, the tips of your feet should be even at address. Using an alignment stick on the range to check your foot position is a great way to ensure you are playing good golf.

Reducing Knee Flexing

Too much knee flex can also force the golfer on an outside-in swing path. Remember, you should lean forward from the hips at address with light flex in the knees.

Having too much flex can also get the weight over the heels rather than balanced over the midstep.

CHAPTER 2

Adjusting Your Grip


So many swing flaws begin with a weak grip. Having the left hand in the wrong position can leave the face open at impact. To correct that, one of the big adjustments amateurs can make is to grip the club with their fingers rather than allowing the club to rest in their palms.

By resting the club grip on the fingers, you have to counterintuitively rotate your hands to the right. By doing that, you should see part of the thumb and the top two knuckles at address in the left hand. The left wrist doesn’t soften but rather stays firm with this grip.

A stronger grip can cause the face to close at impact, creating hard hooks that go low and to the left. If you are struggling with a slice, a hooking golf shot might be a welcome sight, but you are really trading one swing flaw for another.

Building a new grip that’s fundamentally sound allows your swing to function with a good grip for the first time in your golfing journey.

CHAPTER 3

Finding the Right Swing Path


Amateurs that struggle to hit the ball consistently in the direction they want tend to come over the top with their golf clubs. To correct this, you want to start working on bringing the club down and to the inside.

With the front foot and left heel working as an anchor on the downswing, the hands move inside the belt buckle, slotting the club shaft to return to the square position.

While it might seem incredibly hard to make this move, there’s one tip that helps most amateurs get their club along the right path.

Returning the Elbow to Hip

For the right-handed golfer, the right elbow can be the primary culprit in creating a golf slice. Too many amateurs send the right elbow out, creating a wild “chicken wing” look on the backswing.

To return the club face to square at impact, golfers need to get the elbow back onto the hip. You’ll routinely see golf coaches use towels under their armpits during practice, hitting half-swings to keep the arms inside to help create the swing path needed to minimize a slice.

CHAPTER 4

Closing the Open Clubface


More Hand Rotation

For most amateurs, leaving the club face open could be corrected by rolling the hands more in the downswing. Of course, there’s more to the rotation than just the hands. If you are a righty, you’ll need the help of your left arm to move the golf club into position when hitting shots squarely along the face.

After reading the section above, you should get a sense of how you want an inside-out swing path when hitting shots with a high ball flight that goes straight toward the target.

By holding the hands firm, pro golfers can dial up a fade or slice fairly easily, but as amateurs, we want to go in the opposite direction, creating a swing that flows smoothly with plenty of rotation when we hit long golf shots.

Take a few practice swings on the range, feeling just the hands as they pass through the impact zone. Can you feel the hands keep the club open? When you play good golf, you can feel where the ball is going at impact. That trait comes through repetition and practice.

Now, start hitting balls with half-swings, working solely on the hands. Deliberately hit shots with your hands firm to feel that face open at impact. Now, hit shots with hand rotation.

Are you hitting to the left? Or even straight? Continue to work on half swings until you grab a better sense of how important your hands are when slicing a ball.

CHAPTER 5

Pro Tips


How to Fix a Slice with Driver

Hands Inside on Takeaway

When swinging the driver, a great rule of thumb is to keep the hands inside the club head on the takeaway. When the club gets level to the waist, you also want the face slightly closed.

So, work on slowly getting into this position repeatedly during your practice until you feel comfortable with this move.

Hands Back to Belt on Downswing

On the downswing, you want to tuck the right elbow back into the ribs and hip, bringing the hands back towards the belt buckle. By making this move, you get the club on an inside path to the golf ball.

If you can repeat this move during your practice time on your golf swing, you’ll provide the best answer to the question of how to fix a slice.

How to Fix a Slice with Iron

My students often ask me, “Why do I slice my driver but not my irons?” And the answer typically comes from poor weight transfer. With the irons, you want to feel the weight over the inside of the left thigh. With the driver, the weight moves more onto the back leg.

Most amateurs stay stuck with their weight onto the back half of the driver swing. Unlike hitting shots with a sweeping motion with the driver, hitting the ball straight with a golf iron requires a steep swing that forces the club to enter the turf, and golfers transition better with their irons since they are hitting down onto the ball.

If you are struggling to hit your irons straight, work on getting the club along the correct path, approaching the ball with the iron from the inside.

CHAPTER 6

Frequently Asked Questions


How do I correct my slice?

Typically, golfers need to correct several swing flaws by correcting their slice.

From strengthening their grip, creating an inside-out swing path, and getting that elbow tucked on the downswing, these amateurs need time and proper golf instruction to promote the proper swing habits for killing their slice forever.

What causes a slice with driver?

Most golfers that hit slices with their driver have an outside-in swing path.

This type of path brings the club head from the outside to the golf ball rather than bringing the face from the inside to the ball. The outside-in swing path typically leaves the face open at impact to create the side spin that causes a slice.

How do you fix a slice grip?

If you are interested, many golf equipment manufacturers make a grip trainer that provides the mold for creating a neutral grip. The golf grip training device snaps on top of the real golf club grip to show natural hand placement.

Golfers can use the training grip during practice sessions to create the muscle memory necessary for hitting the ball with a neutral hand placement.

What causes a slice?

A slice in golf is caused when a player returns the club head to the ball with an open face.

The open face creates side spin on the golf ball, promoting a ball flight that goes far to the right side of the hole. Some golfers will hit low line drive slices, while other players will hit slices that fly high and to the right, otherwise known as a push slice featuring diminished velocity.