How to Stop Golf Shots from Going Right

Watching your golf shot sail helplessly to the right is one of the most frustrating experiences in the game. That single-miss ruins scorecards and shatters confidence, but fixing it is more straightforward than you think. This guide will walk you through why your shots are going right and provide a clear, step-by-step plan to get your ball flying straight at the target.

Understanding Why Your Shots Curve Right

Before we can fix the problem, we need to properly diagnose it. For right-handed golfers, a ball going right is typically one of two shot patterns: the Push or the Slice.

• A Push is a shot that starts to the right of your target and flies in a relatively straight line, never curving back.
• A Slice is the far more common and destructive miss. It starts left of the target, or sometimes straight, before taking a dramatic curve to the right in the air.

These two different ball flights are caused by a combination of two variables in the swing: your clubface angle at impact and your swing path.

1. The Open Clubface: This is the main culprit for any shots that go right. At the moment of impact, if your clubface is pointing to the right of your target, the ball will start its journey in that direction. The more open the face, the more pronounced the effect will be. A slightly open path causes a push, a very open face combined with a specific swing path produces a slice.

2. The "Over-the-Top" Swing Path: This is the classic slicer's move. An ideal swing path travels from inside the target line, to the ball, and back to the inside. An "over-the-top" path, however, is an out-to-in motion. Your club starts the downswing by moving outward (away from your body) and then cuts across the ball from right to left (for a right-handed player). When this out-to-in path is combined with an open face at impact, it imparts the nasty left-to-right sidespin that creates a slice.

So, to stop your shots from going right, we need to do two things: square the clubface at impact and train a more inside-to-out swing path. Let’s start with the part you have the most direct control over: your hands.

The Command Center: How to Fix Your Grip

Your grip is the steering wheel of the golf club. It has an enormous influence on where the clubface is pointing during the swing and, most importantly, at impact. Many golfers who fight a slice have what is called a "weak" grip, which promotes an open clubface.

A weak grip is not about pressure, it’s about positioning. It’s when your hands are rotated too far to the left (toward the target) on the handle. From here, it's very difficult to get the clubface back to square without some wild compensations. Let’s build a better, more "neutral" or "stronger" grip that helps you deliver a square face automatically.

Step-by-Step Guide to a Neutral Grip

Step 1: Get the Clubface Square

Before you even place your hands, set the clubhead on the ground behind the ball. Make sure the leading edge, the very bottom line on the club's face, is perpendicular to your target line. If your grip has a logo on it, ensure it's pointing directly to the sky. You cannot build a proper grip on a crooked foundation.

Step 2: Place Your Top Hand (Left Hand for Righties)

Bring your left hand to the side of the club so your palm is facing more inward. You want to hold the club primarily in the fingers, not the palm. Think about the club running diagonally from the base of your little finger to the middle knuckle of your index finger. Once the fingers are on, wrap the hand over the top.

The Checkpoints:

• Look down at your grip. You should be able to clearly see the knuckles of your index and middle fingers. If you can only see one (or none), your grip is too weak. If you see three or more, it might be too strong a change at first. Aim for two.
• The "V" formed by your thumb and index finger should be pointing roughly toward your right shoulder or right ear. In a weak grip, this V points more toward your chin.

Step 3: Place Your Bottom Hand (Right Hand for Righties)

Bring your right hand to the club. The lifeline in your right palm should fit snugly over your left thumb. Just as with the left hand, you are holding the club in your fingers.

The Checkpoints:

• The "V" formed by your right thumb and index finger should also point toward your right shoulder, parallel to the V in your left hand.
• The hands should work together as a single unit, with a feeling of being comfortably intertwined.

An Important Note: This new grip will feel bizarre. If you’ve spent years with a weak grip, making this change will feel unnatural and awkward. Trust the process. This feeling is a sign you are making a meaningful change. Go through the steps and hit short, easy shots at the range until this new position begins to feel more familiar.

Building a Solid Foundation: Setup & Alignment

Your grip is fixed, but you can undo all that good work with a poor setup. Many slicers subconsciously aim their bodies far to the left of the target, hoping to "play" for their slice. Paradoxically, this alignment makes the slice even worse by encouraging an even more severe "over-the-top" swing path.

Aim Correctly in Two Parts

The correct way to aim is a two-step process: First, aim the clubface, and second, aim your body.

1. Aim the Clubface: Stand behind the ball and pick an intermediate target - a spot on the ground a few feet in front of your ball that is directly on your target line. Walk up to your ball and set the clubface down so it’s aimed squarely at that intermediate target. This is the most accurate way to align the part that actually hits the ball.
2. Position Your Body: Once the clubface is aimed, set your feet, hips, and shoulders on a line that is parallel to your target line. A great visual is to think of a railroad track. The ball and clubface are on the outer rail aimed at the target, and your feet are on the inner rail aimed parallel to the left of it.

Posture: The Athletic Stance

Good rotation starts with a good posture. A powerful golf swing needs space for your arms to swing around your body. To achieve this posture:

• Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart for a mid-iron.
• Bend forward from your hips, not your waist. Feel like you are pushing your rear end back while keeping your spine relatively straight.
• Let your arms hang naturally down from your shoulders. This is where you should be holding the club. Many amateurs stand too tall and too close to the ball, forcing their arms into an unnatural position and restricting their body turn.

This athletic setup enables the rotational action that is fundamental to a good golf swing. Without it, your body won't be able to turn properly, and you'll rely on your arms and hands, leading to that inconsistent, over-the-top slice.

The Real Engine: Correcting Your Swing Path

With a solid grip and setup, we can now address the real power-killer: the out-to-in swing path. To fix this, we need to change how you start your downswing - what we call the "transition."

Slicers almost always start the downswing by firing their right shoulder and arms toward the ball. This throws the club "over the top" and outside the proper swing plane. The feeling you want is the exact opposite. The downswing should start from the ground up, initiated by the lower body.

The Proper Sequence

1. The Backswing: Complete your turn. The goal here is a full shoulder turn, feeling like your back faces the target. This creates the time and space needed for the proper downswing sequence.
2. The Transition: The very first move from the top should be a small shift of pressure toward your front foot. Feel your lead hip start to rotate open and clear out of the way. This movement *drops* the club onto a shallower, more inward path instead of throwing it outward.
3. Unwinding the Body: As your lower body continues to rotate open, your torso, shoulders, and arms naturally follow. The club is pulled down from the inside, approaching the ball with a much-desired "inside-to-out" path. This path, when combined with your new, square clubface, will produce a shot that either flies straight or has a gentle right-to-left draw - the opposite of a slice!

A Drill to Train the Path

This is a fantastic drill to get immediate feedback on your swing path.

• Place an object - like a headcover or a second golf ball - about a foot behind and a foot outside your primary golf ball.
• Your goal is to swing and hit the inside golf ball *without* hitting the outside object on your downswing.
• If you have an "over-the-top" swing, you will hit the outside object first. This drill forces you to start the downswing correctly, dropping the club to the inside to avoid the obstacle. Start with slow, half-swings and build up speed as you get the feel for it.

Final Thoughts

To stop slicing and pushing the ball to the right, you need to focus on squaring your clubface and training an in-to-out swing path. This starts with correcting a "weak" grip, being meticulous with your alignment and posture, and learning to start your downswing with your lower body, not your arms and shoulders.

At times, working on swing changes can feel challenging without a second pair of eyes. For moments when you need instant, on-demand clarification or feedback on the course or range, we developed Caddie AI. You can use it to get a quick analysis of your swing from a video, get guidance on a specific drill, or even snap a picture of a difficult lie to get a smart recommendation right away. We designed it to be your 24/7 golf coach, taking the guesswork out of your game so you can play with more confidence and enjoyment.