How to Fix a Fade in Golf

That frustrating left-to-right curve on your golf shots, known as a fade, can quickly turn a promising round into a battle for pars. While a gentle, controlled fade can be a weapon, an unintentional one robs you of distance and lands you in trouble. This guide will walk you through the common causes of an unwanted fade and give you clear, straightforward steps and drills to straighten out your ball flight for good.

First, Is It a Fade or a Slice?

Before we go any further, let's make sure we're talking about the same thing. Golfers often use "fade" and "slice" interchangeably, but they are different. Think of them as cousins, not twins.

• A fade is a controlled shot that starts slightly left of the target (for a right-handed golfer) and gently curves back toward it. Many professional golfers play a fade on purpose because it's predictable and often lands softly.
• A slice is the fade's unruly relative. It's a much more aggressive curve that starts left (or straight) and then veers wildly to the right, often a high, weak shot that bleeds distance and accuracy.

If your ball is making a dramatic banana-shaped curve to the right, you have a slice. If it’s a more managed, but still unwanted, left-to-right flight, you have a fade. The good news is that the mechanics behind them are the same - the slice is just a more extreme version. The fixes we're about to cover will help tame both.

Understanding Why the Ball Fades

Your golf ball doesn’t just decide to curve right on its own. It's following basic laws of physics that are dictated by two things at the moment of impact: your clubface angle and your swing path.

A fade is born when your clubface is open relative to your swing path. Simple as that. The left-to-right spin is imparted on the ball in that moment of truth. Let's look at the two most common ways this happens:

1. The "Out-to-In" Swing Path: This is the most frequent cause for amateurs. Your club travels away from your body on the downswing and then cuts across the ball from outside to inside your target line. If your clubface is square to the *target* but your path is out-to-in, the face is actually open relative to that path. This produces the classic pullback fade or, in more extreme cases, a slice.
2. The Open Clubface: You might have a perfectly fine "in-to-out" or neutral swing path, but if you deliver the clubface to the ball in an open position (pointing right of the target), the ball will generally start right and curve even further right (a push-fade).

Fixing your fade comes down to fixing one or both of these elements. Let's start with the easiest and most influential part: your hands.

Fix #1: Check Your Grip Strength

Your grip is the steering wheel for the clubface. A small error here will require major compensations in your fluid, fast golf swing. A “weak” grip is one of the biggest reasons a golfer’s clubface is open at impact. A weak grip doesn't refer to pressure, but to the position of your hands on the club.

How to Spot a "Weak" Grip

For a right-handed golfer, a weak grip is when the left hand is rotated too far to the left (counter-clockwise), so the thumb is more on top of the shaft. This position makes it very natural for the clubface to open up through impact as your hands release.

The Fix: Strengthen Your Grip

We want a more "neutral" to "strong" grip to encourage the clubface to close or square up at impact. Here’s how to do it:

1. Set Your Left Hand (Lead Hand): Place your left hand on the club so you can see at least two, maybe even three, knuckles when you look down. This means you’ve rotated your hand a bit to the right (clockwise). The 'V' formed by your thumb and index finger should point toward your right shoulder or even slightly outside of it.
2. Set Your Right Hand (Trail Hand): Your right hand should fit comfortably over your left thumb. The palm of your right hand should face the target more. The 'V' on your right hand should also point generally toward your right shoulder.
3. The Feeling: This will feel strange at first. It might feel like you're going to hook the ball off the planet. Trust it. Hit some small, easy shots at the range to get used to it. You will likely see your left-to-right curve diminish immediately, and you might even hit some draws. You can always dial it back once you get a feel for how this new grip affects the ball flight.

Fix #2: Correct Your Setup and Alignment

Many golfers who fade the ball unknowingly set themselves up for failure before they even start their swing. Your body's alignment dictates your swing path. If you aim your body incorrectly, your swing will follow suit.

The common mistake is aiming your feet, hips, and shoulders to the left of your target. Players do this subconsciously to "play" for their fade. But what this does is force you into an out-to-in swing path. You've essentially guaranteed a fade before you take the club back.

The Fix: Aligning Square to the Target

1. Get Parallel: Imagine a set of railroad tracks. The ball and the clubface are on the outer rail, aimed directly at the target. Your feet, hips, and shoulders should be on the inner rail, parallel to the target line, but pointing to the left of it. Many faders get this confused and aim their bodies *at* the target.
2. Use Alignment Sticks: The best a practice tool you can own. Lay one stick on the ground pointing at your target (your ball line). Lay another stick down that's parallel to the first, just inside the ball, to represent your body line. Set up so your toes, hips, and shoulders are square to that second stick.
3. Ball Position: Make sure your ball position hasn't crept too far forward in your stance. For mid-irons, the ball should be in the center. As the club gets longer, it moves slightly forward. A ball that's excessively forward can sometimes promote an open face at impact because you haven’t had enough time to square it up.

Just by fixing your grip and your alignment, a majority of golfers will see a dramatic reduction in their fade. It corrects the open clubface and encourages a more neutral swing path.

Fix #3: Master the Swing Path

If your grip and alignment are sorted but the fade persists, the final piece is the swing shape itself. We need to turn that "out-to-in" path into an "in-to-out" path.

This sounds complicated, but the goal is simple. On the downswing, you want to feel like the club is approaching the ball from inside the target line and then swinging out toward the right of the target after impact (for a righty). Think about a tennis player hitting a topspin forehand, they aren't slicing across the ball.

A Couple Drills to Reshape Your Path

1. The Headcover Drill

This is a an all-time classic because it works. Place a headcover (or a water bottle) on the ground about a foot outside and slightly ahead of your golf ball. If you swing with an out-to-in "over the top" motion, you will hit the headcover on your downswing. The goal is to swing down and miss the headcover, which forces you to drop the club into the "slot" and approach the ball from the inside. Your brain will learn very quickly to reroute the club.

2. The Gate Drill

Place two tees in the ground to form a "gate" just in front of the ball. Set up the gate so that it’s angled slightly to the right of your target. To hit a solid shot and have your club travel through the gate post-impact, you have to swing on an in-to-out path. If you swing out-to-in, your club will miss the gate far to the left.

The "Right Field" Feeling

A good swing thought for this is to feel like you're trying to hit the ball to "right field." This mental cue encourages you to extend your arms and the club away from your body and out toward the right after impact, promoting that in-to-out path we're looking for.

Final Thoughts

Eliminating an unwanted fade comes down to methodically checking your fundamentals. By neutralizing your grip, ensuring you align correctly, and grooving a more in-to-out swing path, you Attack the root causes of that left-to-right ball flight. Be patient, use these drills, and you’ll be on your way to hitting stronger, straighter shots.

Diagnosing these things on your own can be hard. Sometimes you can't tell if it's the grip, the setup, or the path that's the real problem. This is where Caddie AI comes in handy. You can describe your shot miss and get instant, tailored feedback on the likely causes and a personalized drill to work on. If you're stuck on the course with a weird lie from a stray fade, you can even take a photo and get a smart strategy on how to play the shot. We created it to take the guesswork out of your game so you have an expert opinion right in your pocket.