That unwanted left-to-right curve on your golf shots can be one of the most frustrating things in a round of golf, robbing you of distance and confidence. The good news is that a slice or a weak fade is almost always caused by a few common mechanical issues that are entirely fixable. This guide will walk you through why that fade is happening and provide you with actionable drills and setup changes to straighten out your ball flight for good.
First, let’s be clear: not all fades are bad. The best players in the world often play a gentle, predictable fade because it’s a very controllable shot shape. A fade happens when your club face is slightly open to your swing path at impact. For a right-handed golfer, this means the club travels on a certain line (the path), and the club face is pointing a little to the right of that line when it strikes the ball.
The problem arises when this becomes an uncontrollable, high-arcing *slice*. This is what we want to eliminate. A slice is just an exaggerated fade, typically caused by one or both of these issues:
When these two things combine, you get a shot that starts left of your target and then curves dramatically to the right, loses energy and distance, and often finds trouble. To stop the fade, we need to address the root causes: your grip, your setup, and your swing path.
Before you can fix the problem, you need to do a little detective work to figure out what’s causing it. For most golfers, the slice stems from one of the following three areas. You might be struggling with one, or a combination of all three.
The grip is your only connection to the club, and it has an enormous influence on the club face. A "weak" grip is one of the most common reasons golfers slice the ball. A weak grip isn't about hand pressure, it's about the rotational position of your hands on the club.
For a right-handed player, a weak grip means the left hand is turned too far to the left (counter-clockwise), so you might only see one knuckle or even none when looking down. Simultaneously, the right hand is often positioned too far on top of the club. This hand position naturally encourages you to leave the club face open through impact, creating that slice spin.
Many slicers, without realizing it, set up to compensate for their ball flight. Knowing the ball is going to curve right, they start aiming their body - feet, hips, and shoulders - far to the left of the target. You might think this is a smart defensive move, but it actually makes the problem worse.
By aiming your body left, you almost guarantee that you will swing the club "over the top," or on an out-to-in path relative to the target line. You're basically pre-setting the exact motion that creates a slice. Your body is aimed left, you swing along your body line, and you cut across the ball, sending it spinning off to the right.
This is the big one. The "over the top" move is the slicer’s arch-nemesis. It happens during the transition from the top of your backswing to your downswing.
Instead of the club dropping onto a shallower plane and approaching the ball from the inside, the hands, arms, and shoulders throw the club outward, *away* from the body and over the ideal swing plane. From there, the club has no choice but to travel from outside the target line to inside it as it moves through the ball. It’s a chopping motion rather than a swinging motion, and it puts enormous slice spin on the ball. If you often take deep, gouging divots that point to the left of your target, this is almost certainly your culprit.
Now that you have an idea of what might be going wrong, here are some practical, step-by-step methods to fix your fade.
Fixing your grip can feel very strange at first, but it is the fastest way to start influencing your club face. The hold of the golf club is unlike holding anything else.
Practice Drill: Hit short, easy shots at the range with your new, stronger grip. The ball will likely start going left at first. This is a good sign! It means your club face is no longer wide open at impact. Don't fight it. Learn to embrace the feeling of the club face rotating through impact.
We need to stop aiming left to compensate. Let’s get your body lined up properly so you can swing down the target line.
Getting your alignment square will feel like you’re aiming way to the right of the target at first. Trust the alignment sticks. This position gives you the room to swing the club from the inside, which is the key to stopping your slice.
This is where the magic really happens. Drills are the best way to retrain your swing motion from an out-to-in path to an in-to-out path
This is a classic for a reason. It provides instant feedback.
If you make your typical "over the top" move, you will hit the headcover on your downswing. To avoid it, your body will have to adjust by dropping the club more to the inside, promoting the in-to-out path you’re looking for. It forces you to attack the ball from the inside, which is exactly how you hit a draw (or at least, a straight shot).
The transition from backswing to downswing is where the over-the-top move is born. This drill focuses on sequencing.
Many slicers start the downswing with their shoulders and arms, which is what forces the club out and across the ball. By training your lower body to initiate the sequence, you put the path on the right track from the start.
To finally stop that weak, slicing fade, you have to be methodical. Start by checking your grip, then use alignment sticks to ensure your setup is square, and finally, use drills to train a new in-to-out swing path. It will feel different and maybe a bit awkward at first, but stick with it. Changing a long-standing swing habit takes patience and repetition.
Perfecting these movements often comes down to understanding your specific tendencies, and that’s where an objective eye can make a huge difference. As we developed Caddie AI, our goal was to give you that expert feedback anytime you need it. You can snap a photo of a tricky lie that’s causing you issues or ask specific questions about your swing path, and Caddie will give you personalized, actionable advice in seconds, helping you turn practice into real, on-course improvement.
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