How to Hit a Slice in Golf

Intentionally hitting a left-to-right shot, or a slice, can be a tremendously useful tool on a golf course, turning you from a one-dimensional player into a shot-shaping artist. This article will break down exactly how to control your club path and clubface to produce a reliable fade on command. We will cover the setup, the swing mechanics, and a simple drill to help you master this valuable shot.

Why Would You Want to Hit a Slice?

For most golfers, the slice is public enemy number one - a power-robbing, out-of-bounds magnet that you'd do anything to fix. But what if I told you that the best players in the world not only know how to hit a slice but do it on purpose all the time? They just call it by its fancier name: a "fade."

A controlled slice is one of the most valuable shots in golf. It allows you to navigate the course with more creativity and precision. Here are a few situations where a fade is the perfect play:

• Dogleg Right Holes: Instead of hitting your drive straight down the middle and leaving a long second shot, you can shape the ball with the fairway, cutting the corner and leaving yourself with a much shorter approach.
• Getting Around Trouble: Stuck behind a large tree that's blocking your path to the green? A slice allows you to start the ball to the left of the obstacle and curve it back toward your target. This can turn a guaranteed bogey into a par-saving opportunity.
• Attacking Tucked Pins: When the pin is on the right side of the green, a fade is safer. The ball cuts in from the left and lands softer, with less side-spin-induced rollout than a draw. This gives you more green to work with and a better chance of holding the surface.

Shifting your view of the slice from an accident to an asset is a big step in your golfing development. It’s not about hitting that wild banana ball, it’s about learning to produce a smaller, controlled curve that you can predict and repeat.

The Simple Physics of a Slice

Before we learn how to hit it, it helps to understand why the ball slices in the first place. You don’t need a degree in biomechanics - the concept is fairly simple. The curve on a golf ball is caused by one thing: the relationship between your clubface angle and your swing path at impact.

Here’s the recipe for a slice:

1. The Swing Path: For a right-handed golfer, the club travels from "out-to-in." This means your clubhead is moving from outside the target line to inside the target line as it strikes the ball. Think of it like a tennis player hitting a slice serve - they cut across the ball.
2. The Clubface Angle: At impact, your clubface is "open" to your swing path. However, and this is the important part for a controlled fade, the clubface is still pointed at or very near your final target.

Let's clear that up because it can sound confusing. Imagine your target line is 12 o'clock. For a fade, your swing path might travel towards 11 o'clock (out-to-in). Meanwhile, your clubface is pointing at 12 o'clock at impact. Because your face is "open" relative to your 11 o'clock path, it imparts left-to-right sidespin, and the ball starts left and curves back to the target. That’s it. Now let's put it into practice.

How to Hit a Controlled Slice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Mastering the fade is about making a few simple adjustments to your normal setup and swing. We're going to bake the ingredients of the slice right into your address position, so you don't even have to think about it in your swing.

Step 1: The Setup - Aim for the Curve

This is where 90% of the work is done. By adjusting your alignment and grip, you create the perfect conditions for an out-to-in swing path without needing to make some wild, contorted motion.

Body Alignment

This is the most important tweak. Instead of aiming your body at the target, you’re going to open your stance. This means aiming your feet, hips, and shoulders left of your final target (for a right-handed player).

• Stand behind your ball and pick your final target - the flagstick, for example.
• Now, pick a new intermediate target that is 15-20 yards left of that final target.
• When you address the ball, aim your feet, hips, and shoulders along the line of this new intermediate target. Your body is now aimed left, creating the foundation for an out-to-in path.

Clubface Alignment

This is what directs the ball back to the hole. After you align your body to the left, you need to point the clubface at your actual, final target. Looking down, it will feel like the clubface is very open relative to your feet and body, and that’s exactly what you want. You are now pre-setting that "face open to path" relationship we talked about.

Grip Pressure and Position (The Weaker Grip)

A "weaker" grip will help you keep the clubface from closing too quickly through impact, further promoting the fade. For a right-handed player, this means turning both hands slightly to the left on the club.

• Take your normal grip and then rotate both hands about a quarter-inch to the left (counter-clockwise).
• From your perspective at address, you might see one less knuckle on your left hand than you normally do. This isn't a huge change - a little goes a long way.

Step 2: The Swing - Trust Your Setup

Good news! With the setup adjustments made, you don't need to do anything drastic in your swing. The goal now is to trust your new alignment.

Simply swing the golf club along the line of your body - that line aimed to the left of your target. Don't try to steer the club or "hold off" the release. Take your normal backswing and downswing, letting the club follow the path dictated by your feet and shoulders. Because your body is aimed left, the club will naturally travel on that out-to-in path relative to the final target line. The pre-set open clubface will take care of the rest, putting the correct spin on the ball to bring it back to the flag.

The feeling is one of cutting across the ball. But remember, you created this feeling in the setup. The swing itself should feel like a normal, committed motion.

Practice Drill: The Two Alignment Stick Method

Visualization is powerful, and this drill makes it impossible not to see what you're trying to do.

1. Lay one alignment stick on the ground pointing directly at your final target. This represents your target line. Place your ball just inside this stick.
2. Lay a second alignment stick on the ground, but aim it to the left of the first one. This stick represents your body line - the line your feet, hips, and shoulders should follow. The angle between the two sticks visualizes the out-to-in path you want to create.
3. Set up with your toes parallel to the body line stick (the one pointing left).
4. Aim the clubface down the target line stick (the one pointing at the flag).
5. Take your swing, focusing on swinging the club parallel to the body line stick.

Using these sticks makes the abstract concept of path vs. face alignment crystal clear. Hit a bucket of balls this way, and the feeling will become second nature.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Swinging Over the Top: Do not add an extra lunging, "chopping wood" motion from the top of your swing. The setup does the work. Attempting to add more out-to-in action actively will usually lead to an ugly pull-slice that starts left and goes further left.
• Decelerating Through Impact: A fear of slicing it too much can cause golfers to "quit on the swing." You must commit and accelerate through the ball. The fade-setup only works with a confident, full swing.
• Opening the Clubface Too Much at Address: A little goes a long way. Just aim the face at the target. Opening it to the right of the target will often produce a push-slice that starts on-line or right and goes even further right.

Final Thoughts

To hit a controlled slice, or fade, you simply need to create an out-to-in swing path relative to an open clubface. The easiest and most repeatable way to achieve this is by presetting this relationship in your setup: aim your body left of the target, aim your clubface at the target, and then make a confident swing along your body line.

And as you start to get comfortable shaping the ball, figuring out when and where to use it on the course becomes the next challenge. When you’re standing over a a tricky shot, trying to decide if the fade is the right play, having a second opinion can be a real confident booster. Our app, Caddie AI, gives you an on-demand golf expert in your pocket for exactly these moments. You can ask for a smart strategy to play any hole or even snap a photo of a tricky lie to get an instant recommendation, taking the guesswork out of your course management and helping you commit to every shot.