What Causes a Golf Slice Off the Tee?

Nothing sours a round of golf faster than watching your tee shot start majestically down the fairway, only to take a hard right turn into the trees or the next fairway over. That banana-ball slice is one of the most common and confidence-destroying shots in golf, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent part of your game. Understanding exactly what causes a slice is the first step to fixing it for good. This guide will break down the true reasons your ball is curving so much and give you actionable fixes you can take to the range today to start hitting straight, powerful drives.

The Simple Physics of a Golf Slice

Before we touch on your grip or your swing path, it’s good to know why a ball slices in the first place. It’s not a mystery, it’s just physics. A golf slice is caused by a specific combination of two factors at the moment of impact: your club path and your clubface angle.

• Club Path: This is the direction the club head is moving as it strikes the ball. For slicers, the path is almost always “out-to-in.” Imagine a hoola-hoop angled around your body. An out-to-in path means your club starts outside that line and cuts across it, moving towards your body through impact.
• Clubface Angle: This is the direction the face of your driver is pointing when it makes contact with the ball. A slice happens when the clubface is “open” (pointing to the right of the target for a right-handed golfer).

When you combine an out-to-in path with an open clubface (relative to that path), you impart a huge amount of sidespin on the ball. The ball starts left of your target (because of the initial path) and then curves dramatically to the right (because of the side spin from the open face). This is the anatomy of every slice you’ve ever hit.

The good news? Every fault that we'll cover is a direct cause of one or both of these slice-inducing ingredients. Fix the cause, and you fix the slice.

Cause #1: Your Grip is Too "Weak"

Your hands are your only connection to the golf club, making them the steering wheel for your shots. An improper grip is easily the most common starting point for a slice, as it sets you up for failure before you even start your swing. The typical slicer’s grip is called a “weak” grip.

This doesn’t refer to grip pressure but to the rotational position of your hands on the club. In a weak grip, the top hand (left hand for righties) is rotated too much to the left, so you can only see one knuckle or less. The bottom hand (right hand) is then rotated too much over the top of the handle.

Why It Causes a Slice

A weak grip makes it incredibly difficult to square the clubface at impact. As you swing, your hands and arms naturally want to return to a neutral position. If they start in a weak position, their natural rotation through impact will leave the clubface wide open. You would need an extraordinary amount of last-second-hand manipulation to close the face, which is impossible to do consistently.

The Fix: Build a Neutral Grip

A neutral grip puts your hands in a more powerful position to control the clubface. It might feel strange at first, but sticking with it is the fastest way to see straighter shots.

1. Set the Top Hand (Left Hand): With the clubface square to your target, place your left hand on the side of the grip so you can clearly see at least two knuckles (the index and middle finger knuckles). The "V" formed by your thumb and index finger should point toward your right shoulder.
2. Set the Bottom Hand (Right Hand): Bring your right hand to the club. The "V" on your right hand should also point to your a right shoulder. The palm of your right hand should essentially cover your left thumb. Whether you interlock, overlap, or use a ten-finger style is up to personal comfort, but the hand positioning is what matters.

This neutral position pre-sets your hands to deliver a square clubface at impact with a natural, powerful release. It’s the foundation of a good swing.

Cause #2: "Aiming for the Slice" Alignment

It sounds logical: if you slice the ball far to the right, you should just aim far to the left, right? This is a trap that countless golfers fall into, and it only reinforces the very problem you’re trying to fix. By aiming your body to the left of the target, you are subconsciously telling your body to swing "across" the ball to get it to fly toward the fairway.

Why It Causes a Slice

When you aim your shoulders and feet well left of the target, you essentially force yourself to make an out-to-in swing path. From that alignment, it is the only way to start the ball anywhere near your intended target line. You are physically creating the exact out-to-in path that, when paired with even a slightly open face, produces a massive slice.

The Fix: Use Guides to Align Square

You need to break the cycle by learning to trust proper alignment. The easiest way to do this is with alignment sticks, but you can use two extra golf clubs on the range as well.

1. Lay one club or stick on the ground pointing directly at your target. This is your target line.
2. Place the second club parallel to the first, just inside where you'll stand. This is your body line.
3. Set your feet, hips, and shoulders all parallel to the second stick. This will feel like you're aiming straight (and maybe even a little right) at first, but stick with it.

This drill trains your eyes and body to understand what "square" actually feels like. From this neutral setup, you're free to make a swing that travels down the target line, not across it.

Cause #3: The "Over-the-Top" Swing Path

This is the classic, textbook slice move. “Over the top” describes a downswing sequence flaw where the golfer initiates the move down with their arms and shoulders instead of their lower body. This action throws the club head up and "over" the ideal swing plane, forcing it to travel on a steep, out-to-in path down into the ball.

Why It Causes a Slice

This move is a pure slice-generator. The desire for power makes us want to swing hard from the top with our strongest muscles - our chest and shoulders. But this instinct ruins the swing's sequence and path. When the club comes down steeply from the outside, it chops across the ball, generating massive cut spin. You may even see sky marks on the top of your driver from this steep attack angle.

The Fix: Starting the Downswing from the Ground Up

The correct downswing sequence is a chain reaction that starts from the ground and works its way up. You need to groove the feeling of the club dropping to the “inside” as your lower body starts the unwinding motion.

Drill 1: The Headcover Gate

Place a spare headcover or an empty water bottle on the ground about a foot outside of your golf ball. If you make an over-the-top move, you will hit the headcover on your downswing. To miss it, you must bring the club down on a more inside path. This provides instant feedback without you having to overthink the mechanics.

Drill 2: The Pump Drill

This drill helps ingrain the correct swing sequence feeling.

1. Take your normal backswing to the top.
2. Start the downswing by bumping your hips toward the target, allowing the club to drop slightly inward, about halfway down. Don’t complete the swing.
3. Return to the top of your backswing.
4. Repeat this "pump" motion two or three times, just feeling the lower body lead and the arms drop.
5. On the final pump, go ahead and swing through to hit the ball.

This rebuilds the motor pattern of "hips first, arms second," which is the ultimate antidote to the over-the-top swing.

Cause #4: Poor Body Rotation (Swaying and Sliding)

A powerful, consistent swing is a rotational action. Slicers often fail to rotate correctly. Instead of turning their hips and shoulders around a stable spine, they sway their body laterally away from the target on the backswing and slide too far forward on the downswing.

Why It Causes a Slice

If you sway your hips to the right going back, your upper body often tilts back towards the target in an attempt to stay balanced - a "reverse pivot." From this unstable position, the only move you have is to throw your arms and shoulders "over the top" to try and generate any power. This puts you right back in that steep, out-to-in path. Lack of proper rotation kills your power and sequence, forcing your arms to take over and create a slice.

The Fix: Stay Centered and Turn in a Barrel

You want to feel like you are rotating your body within a tight space, not moving side-to-side.

1. Start in a good, athletic setup. Imagine you are standing inside a narrow barrel.
2. On your backswing, focus on turning your right hip *back and behind you*, not just sliding it to the right. You should feel your weight shift into the inside of your right foot, but your head should remain relatively centered. A good checkpoint is to see your back facing the target at the top of the swing.
3. To start the downswing, feel your hips turn and rotate toward the target, which will then pull your torso, arms, and club through efficiently.

Learning to rotate instead of sway establishes a stable axis for your swing. This allows you to stay in sequence and deliver the club powerfully from the inside, erasing the slice and replacing it with a strong, straight ball flight.

Final Thoughts

A golf slice is a stubborn problem, but it’s not an unsolvable one. By understanding that it stems from an out-to-in path combined with an open clubface, you can attack its root causes: your grip, your alignment, and your swing sequence. Fixing these fundamental pieces takes patience, but it will give you full control over your drives and your game.

Tackling these changes on your own can feel isolating, and sometimes you just need an expert opinion right when you need it. On the course, that's where we wanted Caddie AI to help. Instead of just guessing at a strategy to avoid slice-prone trouble, you can get a simple, smart plan for how to play the hole. It helps you make better decisions, removing the doubt so you can commit to your swing with confidence and keep those big numbers off your card.