How to Fix a Right Curve in Golf

Nothing sours a round of golf faster than watching your ball take a sharp, uncontrolled turn to the right after every swing. That dreaded curve, known as a slice, can turn a perfect drive into a frantic search in the trees and transform a straightforward approach shot into a scorecard-wrecking disaster. We aren't going to talk about the frustration, we're going to fix it. This guide provides a complete, step-by-step plan to diagnose the root causes of your slice and give you the actionable drills to finally straighten out your ball flight.

Understanding Why the Ball Curves Right

Before we can fix the slice, we need to understand what causes it. In the simplest terms, the ball slices because the clubface is open relative to your swing path at the moment of impact. That’s it. While other factors contribute, an open clubface is the primary villain. Think of it like this: your swing path determines the initial direction the ball starts, but the angle of the clubface at impact creates the spin that makes it curve.

• If your club path moves "out-to-in" (a common slicer's path) and your clubface is pointing even further right of that path, you get a weak slice that starts left and curves dramatically right.
• If your club path is perfect (straight down the line) but your clubface is open, you get a "push-slice" that starts right and curves further right.

Many golfers try to fix their slice by only focusing on their swing path, swinging more and more to the left to compensate. This is a losing battle. The true, lasting fix begins before you even start the swing, with the things you can control: your grip and your setup.

Fix #1: Mastering Your Grip (The Steering Wheel)

Your hands are your only connection to the golf club, making your grip the steering wheel for your entire shot. The number one cause of an open clubface is a "weak" grip. A weak grip isn't about hand strength, it's about the rotational position of your hands on the club. Slicers typically have their left hand (for a right-handed golfer) rotated too far to the left, underneath the grip, and their right hand too far over the top. This position makes it incredibly difficult to rotate the clubface square through impact.

Let's build a stronger, more neutral grip that encourages a square clubface.

Step-by-Step to a Slice-Proof Grip

1. Set the Clubface Square: Before you even grip it, stand the club up so the leading edge is perfectly vertical and aiming at your target. This ensures you're starting from a square position, not a pre-set open or closed one.
2. Position Your Left Hand: Place your left hand on the grip so that when you look down, you can clearly see two to two-and-a-half knuckles on your index and middle fingers. The "V" formed between your thumb and index finger should point towards your right shoulder or even slightly outside of it. If you can only see one knuckle or none, your grip is too weak.
3. Position Your Right Hand: Now, bring your right hand to the club. The "V" formed by your right thumb and index finger should point in a similar direction as your left hand's V - towards your right shoulder. Fit the lifeline of your right palm over your left thumb. This helps the hands work together as a single unit rather than fighting each other.
4. Choose Your Connection: Whether you prefer an interlocking, overlapping, or a ten-finger grip is a matter of personal comfort. Choose the one that feels most secure and allows your hands to stay connected.

Fair Warning: This new grip will feel strange. It might even feel like you are pre-setting the club to hook the ball. Trust it. You are simply moving from a position that encourages an open face to one that promotes a square or slightly closed face at impact. Hit short, easy shots at the driving range just focusing on getting used to this new hand position.

Fix #2: Building a Solid Setup and Alignment

Many slicers, knowing their ball goes right, develop a bad habit: they aim their entire body far to the left of the target. While it seems logical, this adjustment actually makes the slice worse. By aiming yourself left, you force your swing path to cut even more across the ball from out-to-in, increasing the sidespin that causes the big curve.

A correct setup has your body aligned parallel to your target line, creating the space for your club to swing down from the inside.

Core Principles of a Proper Setup

• Ball Position: For mid-irons (like a 7 or 8-iron), the ball should be positioned in the center of your stance. For longer irons and woods, it moves slightly forward, toward your front foot. With the driver, it should be positioned just inside your lead heel. A ball position that is too far back encourages a steep out-to-in swing.
• Body Alignment: Lay two alignment sticks or clubs on the ground to check this. Place one stick so it points directly at your target. Place the second one parallel to the first, just inside the ball, representing your body line. Your feet, hips, and shoulders should all be set parallel to that second stick. Most slicers unknowingly open their shoulders and hips at address, pointing them left of the target.
• Posture: A common fault is standing too upright. Hinge at your hips, pushing your backside out slightly, and let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders. This athletic posture puts you in balance and creates space for your arms to swing freely without getting stuck.

Fix #3: Retraining Your Swing Path (Ending the "Over-the-Top")

With a good grip and setup, you're halfway home. The final piece is smoothing out that "over-the-top" swing path. This move happens during the transition when, instead of starting the downswing with your lower body, you fire from the top with your hands, arms, and shoulders. This throws the club outside the proper swing plane, forcing it to chop down and across the ball.

We need to develop the feeling of the club dropping "into the slot" and approaching the ball from the inside.

Drills to Promote an Inside-Out Path

The Alignment Stick Gate Drill

This provides instant feedback. Place one alignment stick in the "body line" position mentioned earlier. Place a second alignment stick just outside your ball and a few feet ahead of it, angled slightly inward toward your target. This creates a "gate" for your club to swing through. An over-the-top swing will hit the outer stick. Your goal is to swing the club under the first stick and out through the gate, encouraging your path to travel from in-to-out.

The Right Elbow Tuck Drill

This is more of a feel-based drill. During your practice swings (and eventually, full shots), focus on the sensation of your right elbow (for righties) tucking in close to your right hip on the downswing. Slicers tend to let this elbow fly away from their body, causing the over-the-top move. As you start down, feel like you're dropping the elbow into a slot right beside you. This will naturally guide the club onto an inside path, allowing you to attack the ball from the inside.

Fix #4: Learning to Release the Clubface

The last step is allowing the clubface to rotate naturally through impact. Because they're so afraid of the dreaded right miss, many slicers physically prevent happening, a move that only guarantees the face will be wide open when it meets the ball. With your new, stronger grip, you now have the power to let the club turn over.

The release isn't a handsy, forced manipulation. It's the natural result of a good swing sequence. As your body rotates through the shot and your arms extend towards the target, the clubhead will want to pass your hands.

Drill: The "Two-Tee" Low Shot

1. Push one tee into the ground as you normally would. Place a second one about a foot in front of it, directly on the target line.
2. Take a half-swing with a mid-iron focusing on one thing: After you hit the ball off the first tee, your clubhead must continue low to the ground and clip the second tee.
3. To accomplish this, your arms have to extend and the clubface has to release (turn over). If you hold the face open, you'll tend to pull up and miss the second tee entirely. This drill trains the feeling of full extension and release past the ball.

Final Thoughts

Eliminating a slice is a process built on fixing its root causes, not on applying band-aid compensations. By first correcting your grip and setup, then training a more inside-out swing path, you create a foundation for a powerful and consistent draw or straight ball flight. Commit to these fundamentals, practice the drills with intention, and that frustrating right curve will finally become a thing of the past.

Fixing these mechanics requires focus, but sometimes you need real-time, objective feedback tailored to your swing on a specific day. For this exact reason, we developed our app, Caddie AI. Instead of guessing why that one shot sliced harder than the others, you can capture it on video for an instant swing analysis. It helps give you clear, actionable advice right when you need it, turning frustrating range sessions into productive, game-changing practice so you can get rid of that curve for good.