How to Hit a Golf Ball Without Slicing

There are few things in golf more frustrating than watching your ball slice helplessly into the trees or the next fairway over. That big, curving shot not only robs you of distance but shatters your confidence with every swing. The good news is that a slice isn't a permanent flaw - it's a correctable habit. This guide will walk you through the real reasons you slice the ball and give you simple, actionable changes to your grip, setup, and swing to help you straighten out your ball flight for good.

Understanding the Slice: Why Your Ball Curves Right (for Righties)

Before we can fix it, we have to understand what causes that dreaded banana ball. A slice is the result of putting sidespin on the golf ball. This happens due to a simple mismatch between two things:

1. Your clubface angle at impact.
2. The path your club travels on.

For a right-handed golfer, a slice is caused by a clubface that is open relative to your swing path when you strike the ball. The more open the face is to the path, the more dramatic the slice will be.

Now, what about that swing path? Most golfers who slice have a path that moves from out-to-in across the ball. This is the classic "over-the-top" move you've probably heard about. When this cutting motion combines with an open clubface, you get that weak, curving flight that lands nowhere near your target. Our entire mission is to get that clubface square and get the swing path working from the inside, not over the top.

Fix #1: Your Grip Is Your Steering Wheel

Your hands are your only connection to the club, and they control the clubface. For a high percentage of slicers, the problem starts right here with a "weak" grip. A weak grip is positioned too far to the left (for a right-handed player), making it very difficult to square the clubface at impact. The club naturally wants to stay open through the hitting area.

We want to promote a more "neutral" or slightly "strong" grip to help your hands release the club properly. Here's how to check and adjust yours:

Step 1: Check Your Lead Hand (Left Hand for Righties)

First, place your left hand on the grip. When you look down, you should be able to see at least two knuckles, and maybe even three, on your left hand. If you can only see one knuckle or none at all, your hand is rotated too far under the club (a weak position).

• Rotate your left hand more to the right, on top of the grip, until those knuckles are visible.
• The 'V' shape created by your left thumb and forefinger should point somewhere between your right ear and your right shoulder.

Fair warning: If you've been using a weak grip for a while, this new position will feel incredibly strange and "closed." Trust the process. This adjustment gives your hands the leverage they need to close the face naturally during the downswing.

Step 2: Position Your Trail Hand (Right Hand for Righties)

Now, bring your right hand to the club. A common slicing error is to place the right hand too much on top of the grip, which also helps hold the face open. Instead, we want the right hand to fit more on the side of the grip, underneath the left hand.

• The palm of your right hand should face the target.
• Another checkpoint: The 'V' a formed by your right thumb and forefinger should also point up toward your right shoulder, parallel to the V on your left hand.

When you put it all together, your hands should look like they are working as a single, unified unit, not fighting against each other. This grip change alone can significantly reduce your slice by allowing the clubface to rotate closed through impact.

Fix #2: Building a Setup for an Inside Path

Your address posture sets the stage for the entire swing. If you set up with your body aimed incorrectly, you're practically forced to make a slicing motion to get the ball back toward the target. The most common setup flaw for slicers is open alignment.

Check Your Alignment

Many slicers, afraid of hitting the ball left, unwittingly aim their body far to the left of the target. Your feet, hips, and shoulders might all be pointing left, which encourages that out-to-in, over-the-top swing path. To fix this, you need to feel what "square" actually is.

• Place two alignment sticks (or two golf clubs) on the ground parallel to each other.
• Aim the outside stick directly at your target.
• Set up so the inside stick runs along the line of your toes. Your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders should all be parallel to these two sticks.

Stand behind the sticks and check your work. For many slicers, a perfectly square setup feels like they are aiming miles to the right. This is an illusion because you've become so accustomed to aiming left.

Posture and Ball Position

Posture dictates balance and your ability to rotate. Don't stand too rigidly or too far from the ball. Stand athletically, leaning forward from your hips (not your waist) and letting your arms hang down naturally below your shoulders.

Ball position is also a factor. With irons, a good starting point is the center of your stance. As the clubs get longer, move the ball slightly forward. For the driver, the ball should be positioned off the inside of your lead heel. A ball position that is too far forward can make it harder to square the clubface in time, so don't overdo it.

Fix #3: Creating a Proper Backswing

A good downswing starts with a good backswing. The slicer's backswing often goes wrong in one of two ways: they either lift the club straight up with their arms or pull it way behind their body too early. Both moves set you up for an over-the-top move coming down.

The goal of the backswing is rotation, creating a circular motion of the club around your body that is powered by your torso. You should feel like your shoulders and hips are turning away from the target, not swaying from side to side.

The One-Piece Takeaway

Imagine a triangle formed by your arms and shoulders at address. The first move away from the ball should maintain that triangle. Your hands, arms, and clubhead should all start moving back together, powered by the turn of your chest.

• Turn the belly button, chest, and shoulders away from the target.
• Let your arms and club go along for the ride.
• When the club is parallel to the ground, the clubhead should be in line with your hands or slightly outside them, not sucked way inside.

By rotating wider and keeping the club in front of your chest early on, you create space and set the club on a path where it can easily drop to the inside on the way down.

Fix #4: Shallowing the Club on the Downswing (The "Over the Top" Killer)

This is it. The moment of truth. The transition from backswing to downswing is where most slices are born. Slicers initiate their downswing with their shoulders and arms, throwing the club "over the top" of the correct swing plane. We need to do the exact opposite.

The correct downswing sequence starts from the ground up. Your lower body initiates the move, your hips start to unwind, and this drops the clubhead down "into the slot" behind you. This is called "shallowing" the club.

Drill: The Pump Drill

Here’s a fantastic drill to feel the correct motion:

1. Take your normal setup and make a full backswing. Stop at the top.
2. From the top, start your downswing by feeling your lead hip bump toward the target. Feel the club "drop" down slightly behind you. Your hands will feel lower. Do not let your right shoulder lunge forward.
3. Bring the club back up to the top of the swing.
4. Repeat this dropping motion two more times, like you're "pumping" the club into the correct slot.
5. On the third pump, continue the downswing and hit the ball smoothly.

This exaggerates the feel of letting the club drop from the a inside rather than throwing it out from the a outside. Your focus should be on shifting your weight and turning your hips, not on forcing the club down with your hands.

Final Thoughts

Curing a slice involves putting a few key pieces together: building a stronger grip to control the face, aligning your body squarely to promote a better path, and sequencing your downswing from the ground up to get the club attacking the ball from the inside. Be patient with these changes, they may feel awkward at first, but with practice, they will overwrite your old habits and lead to straighter, more powerful shots.

Putting these feelings into practice on the course is the finall step. It helps to have a clear plan, and that's somewhere I find a tool like Caddie AI to be exceptionally helpful. By giving you a simple, smart strategy for each hole, it takes the guesswork out of where to aim and which club to hit, so you can focus entirely on making a good swing. When you're confident in your plan, it’s much easier to commit to the shot and trust the new moves you're building.