The golf slice can happen for several reasons, and most amateur golfers will struggle with a slice at some point in their golf career. If you feel afraid of tee boxes or don’t want to take certain clubs out of the bag simply because they slice, we have the solutions.
Sometimes learning how to fix a slice will take a few minutes. Other times you will have to learn to hit the golf ball straighter gradually. The first steps are learning what a slice is and then getting the proper fix in place.
What Is A Slice In Golf?
A slice is a way to describe a golf ball path that goes straight and then takes a significant turn to the right. The slice typically continues to fall to the right the entire time it is in the air. Some players will hit a slice ten yards right of a target, and others will hit it 30 yards right of a target.
For a left handed player, the ball will go out straight and then turn to the left.
Essentially what happens with a slice is the ball is hit with a clubface that, for some reason, causes sidespin to occur on the golf ball. The side spin gets the ball turning more to the right than it should be, and this is what makes the slice an unintentional golf shot.
Players that want to hit a shot out of a bad location or to curve around a corner for a dogleg hole can certainly learn to put this type of side spin on a ball. However, most golfers that struggle with a slice find that it continues to happen even when they attempt to hit the ball straight.
How To Fix A Slice
There is a process that golfers should go through to be able to fix a golf slice. Learning how to fix a slice will take a bit of time invested on the driving range. However, once you have this down, your slice could be gone for good.
Identify The Cause
If you want to learn how to fix a slice, you must first find out what is causing the slice. The problem with this is that it is not always all that obvious. If you are not working with a golf professional to fix your slice, you may have to evaluate your swing and see what the issue could be.
Grip
Having a poor grip can lead to a variety of swing flaws. Remember that the grip is the only part of the club that we have a connection with. If you want to fix your slice, you must have a good grip on the club.
Most of the time, a golfer that slices it will have too weak of a grip. The right hand (for a right handed golfer) will be turned too far to the left or too far over the top of the club. The left hand will also be turned that same way.
This essentially puts your hands in a weaker position and won’t allow you to hit the ball with a square face.
Setup/Stance
The interesting thing about the setup and stance is that those that want to stop slicing often make changes to their setup and stance that make the slice worse. Right handed players will start aiming further and further left to accommodate the slice.
The problem with this is that most of the time, the swing path issue is the same. Therefore the slice just continues to get worse, and the aim left fix will rarely work.
Setup square to your target, allow your club face to sit square, and start forcing yourself to look down the center of the fairway. From this square stance, you can learn how to hit straight golf shots.
Swing Path Related
The swing path that you take is usually the main culprit for a slice. The dreaded slice happens with a steep swing or a swing that comes from the outside in. Most of the time, the club face is wide open at impact, and you will feel as though you cut across the golf ball with your swing.
Depending on how far off your swing path is, you can hit a weak slice or a severe slice. The swing shape can be hard to see on your own; you may need to take a video of the swing while hitting shots.
Equipment
When you play with the wrong equipment for your golf game, you will potentially slice the golf ball. Most of the time, a too stiff or heavy shaft can cause golfers to slice the ball.
It is important to find equipment that will match your swing speed. Truly this is the only way to return the club head to square at impact.
Late Release
As a golf club travels into the impact position, it must turn over, square up or release. Players will call this process by a multitude of names, but in the end, it means that your club face is still open at impact. Some golfers struggle with timing, and they don’t release the club face in time for the golf ball flight to be straight.
Work On Setup
Once you have the cause identified, you can start working on the issues making your slice work. The most important one to work on first is the setup. Although you can work on your setup on the golf course, it is best to do it at the driving range.
When you set up to hit a golf shot, ensure that you do not have an open clubface. If your club face is open, you are essentially telling your body to return the club back to this open position; we don’t want to do that.
In addition, you must make sure that your feet, hips, and shoulders are all aimed at the target. The problem with the setup is that if you don’t get to a square setup, you won’t be able to work on the club path. It is simply not possible to play better golf from a poor setup position.
A great drill to work on your setup is to use golf shaft alignment sticks on the ground. Most players have no idea how far left they have been aiming to attempt to stop slicing.
So when you first decide you are ready to fix a slice, get your setup in order so that you can move on to any other issues that you may be experiencing. For some lucky players, fixing the setup is all that is necessary to fix the slice.
Fix Swing Path
Fixing the swing path is the part of this process that most golfers are going to struggle with.
The swing path is a harder fix than the grip or the setup; however, it is possible.
For golfers that slice, there are positions in the swing where your right elbow and left arm are likely in a bad spot. A good cause for this is typically the takeaway of the golf swing. The takeaway starts a little too far outside, and the club never drops back into the proper plane.
One of our favorite ways to work on the golf swing path is to put a headcover under your right arm (For a right handed golfer). This headcover will represent the connection that needs to happen between your body and the club to make a golf swing that is on plane.
Take some practice swings with this headcover under the arm. You will feel that it must stay in place the entire time you are swinging until you make impact with the ball and finish your swing.
Keeping the body connected throughout a golf swing is an entirely different feeling and will take a bit of time to get used to. The idea is that if you take the club back a bit more on the inside and return it from this better position, the club face should be quite a bit more square.
Video & Review
Many golfers will know that they are slicing the ball and have a good idea of why they are slicing the ball but can’t really feel or see it.
With the availability of video for golfers, it is essential to take videos of your swing. Have you ever seen those weight loss pictures where a person will show their progress each month?
This is what you need to do with your swing. The videos do not have to be done by a professional; simply have your friend take a down-the-line and front-angle video using your cell phone.
Amateur golfers will take practice swings and feel they have everything in place to hit a straight shot. When the golf ball is put down, things typically revert back to the old ways.
Continue to work on the setup, the grip, and especially the drill to stop the ball from coming over the top of your swing. Take a look at the video progression and see if you are, in fact, moving towards better swing habits.
The issues that cause a slice will stand out quite well in the video most of the time. Learning to play good golf means that you must understand your strengths and weaknesses as a player.
Practice Routine and Drills For Future Growth
Once you have these basics down, you will need to create a practice routine for yourself so that the golf slice will stay away. Unfortunately, even if you do a great job of fixing your golf slice, it may not be gone for good.
Find some things that have helped you along the way in this how to fix a slice guide.
Did you benefit from setting up with alignment sticks?
Was your grip further off than you thought?
Does the swing path drill with a headcover help you feel more connected?
Are videos what you need to make a visual connection to the issues in your game?
Whatever has helped you feel as though your days of the golf slice could soon be done, you must ensure that you keep these thoughts in mind. Fixing a slice on a practice range and fixing a slice on a golf course is different. Be prepared for this process to take a bit of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
As you can see, there is really no simple solution when it comes to fixing a slice. Golfers must learn the fundamentals and apply them. Becoming a great player means having a lot of awareness of where your golf swing is and how you are hitting the ball.
The process takes some time, and for a while, it may feel strange. Here are a few questions that amateur golfers have asked us about how to fix a slice.
Can A Bad Slice Be Fixed?
Are you one of those players that hits a ball down the center, and the slice takes it two fairways over?
The more club head speed a player has, the worse a slice can get at times. Ball speed in golf is a great thing, but it won’t help if it is applied incorrectly.
A bad slice can be fixed. Start with a stronger grip, get the setup square again, or even slightly closed. Make sure that the club is starting back on a slightly inside path and then learn to release the club.
Players with a bad slice should first reduce the slice and then learn to hit the ball straight. One simple drill to help a player like this is to learn how to hit a hook. Sometimes if you can get the ball going in the opposite direction, you will feel what is causing the issue and start hitting some of your best shots.
Why Do I Slice My Driver But Not My Irons?
One of the most common questions in golf is why it is so hard to fix your slice with a driver, but it is not nearly as difficult with the irons. This has everything to do with the length of the club and the general makeup of the golf club.
The longer a golf club is, the harder it is to release the club. With great timing and fundamentals, it is very possible; it just takes a bit more effort.
The driver is considerably longer than something like your pitching wedge. Therefore when you swing with the driver, it takes quite a bit more effort to swing the club on a path and release it at the right time.
If you slice your driver but not your irons, you are not alone.
Work on the same fundamentals that we talked about in our guide on how to fix your slice. Chances are you are doing some of these things already in your golf swing with your irons so that you will learn them a bit quicker.
A good practice drill is to hit a few nine irons and then switch to a driver. Your body may start to feel the differences between these two swings and make some natural adjustments.
Do All Beginners Slice Their Driver?
A large majority of beginner golfers are going to slice their driver. Proper setup, a good swing path, and a release of the club can feel strange when you are new to the game. Hitting the golf ball with a slightly open club face is the common miss for the newer player.
The good news is that once you can feel what causes the slice and put the time into fixing it, you may never have to deal with it again. The better player typically has a miss that is more like a hook, and these will get you much more distance.
Conclusion
Learning how to fix a slice will be quite a project. This is where you will really start to see why people say that golf is one of the hardest sports. It takes time, effort, mental strength, and physical awareness to fix your slice. However, it is possible.
Golfers that head out to the golf course every Saturday, run to the first tee, and take a big swing are going to probably have a hard time getting rid of the slice anytime soon. If you are serious about fixing this issue, then you must practice at home, watch videos of your swing, take practice swings when you are in your office.
The time you put in will lead you to a square club face at impact and a much more desirable ball flight. Every great golfer fights the slice at some point in their career. Finishing this battle and moving forward to other issues in your swing is a great accomplishment.
For a shortcut, read our review of the best drivers to fix a slice!
