What to Do if Your Golf Ball Goes Right

Watching your golf ball slice aggressively to the right is one of the most maddening experiences in the game. You took a good swing, you felt powerful, but the ball seemed to have a mind of its own, curving away from the target and likely into trouble. This article cuts through the noise and provides a clear, step-by-step guide to understanding why your ball is going right and, more importantly, what you can do to fix it. We will diagnose the issue and give you concrete drills and swing thoughts to start hitting straighter, more powerful shots.

First, is it a Slice or a Push?

Before you can fix the problem, you need to be a good detective. A ball that ends up right of the target can get there in two main ways, and understanding the difference is step number one.

• The Slice (or Fade): For a right-handed golfer, a slice is a shot that curves to the right during its flight. It might start straight or even a little left of your target, but heavy sidespin causes it to bend right. This is the more common struggle for amateur golfers. A slice means your clubface was open relative to your swing path at impact.
• The Push: A push is a shot that starts right of the target and flies on a relatively straight line, never curving back. It just starts right and stays right. A push means your swing path was traveling too much from in-to-out, with a clubface that was square to that path but open to the target line.

While both shots end up in a similar place, their root causes - and therefore their fixes - can be different. Most chronic right-misses are slices caused by a combination of path and face angle, so we’ll focus on solving that puzzle first.

Check Your Steering Wheel: The Grip

Your hands are your only connection to the club, making them the steering wheel for your golf shot. The most frequent cause of an open clubface and a nagging slice is a "weak" grip. Don't mistake "weak" for a lack of grip pressure, it's about the rotational position of your hands on the handle.

The Problem: A "Weak" Grip

A weak grip is when your hands are rotated too far to the left (counter-clockwise) on the club. This position makes it very easy for the clubface to swing through the impact zone in an open position. It requires extra manipulation during the swing to square the face, and under the pressure of a full-speed motion, most golfers just can't do it consistently.

The Fix: Finding a Neutral Hold

A neutral grip puts your hands in a more powerful, natural position to control the clubface. As the instructional videos explain, aiming for this position can feel odd at first but is fundamental. Here’s how you check it:

1. Your Lead Hand (Left Hand for RH golfers): Place your left hand on the club so you can see at least two knuckles on the back of your hand when you look down. The 'V' shape formed by your thumb and index finger should point towards your right shoulder.
2. Your Trail Hand (Right Hand for RH golfers): Your right hand should cover your left thumb. The 'V' formed by your right thumb and index finger should be parallel to the left-hand 'V', pointing roughly towards your chin or right shoulder. The palm of your right hand should feel like it's on the side of the handle, more toward the target, not sitting completely on top.

Simple Grip Drill: Take your new grip and your normal setup. Without moving your body, just hinge your wrists to lift the club to be parallel with the ground. Look at the clubface. Is the toe of the club pointing straight up to the sky? If so, you're in a good, square position. If it’s angled back, your grip is still too weak. Getting this hold right is a huge step toward eliminating that right-sided miss.

Your Foundation: Setup and Alignment

You can make a perfect swing, but if you're aimed in the wrong direction, you'll get a poor result. Many golfers who slice subconsciously aim their bodies far to the left of the target to compensate for the ball's curve. Ironically, this setup actually makes the slice worse.

The Problem: Open Alignment

When your feet, hips, and shoulders are all aimed left of your target (an open stance), your body has one natural path to swing the club: from out to in. You cut across the ball, imparting that signature slice spin. It’s a vicious cycle - you aim left because you slice, but aiming left promotes the slice.

The Fix: Set Up Parallel to Your Target

Great setup breeds consistency. The goal is to get your body lines (feet, hips, shoulders) parallel to your intended target line.

Alignment Stick Drill: This is the easiest way to check your alignment and train better habits.

1. Lay one alignment stick (or a golf club) on the ground, pointing directly at your target. This is your target line. Your ball will be on this line.
2. Lay a second stick parallel to the first one, but just inside the ball, where your toes would be. This is your body line.
3. When you take your setup, your toes, Knees, hips, and shoulders should all be squared up to this second stick. Your body is aiming parallel-left of the target, which enables the club to swing down the correct path *towards* the target.

Also, check your ball position. As a general rule, shorter irons (Wedge, 9, 8) play from the very middle of your stance. As clubs get longer, the ball moves progressively forward, a ball at a time, until the driver is played off the inside of your lead heel. A ball position that is too far forward can make it harder to square the face.

The Launch Sequence: Path and Downswing

If your grip and alignment are solid, the last and biggest piece of the puzzle is the swing itself - specifically, the transition from backswing to downswing. This is where most slices are born.

The Problem: The "Over the Top" Swing

The "over-the-top" move is legendary for a reason - it’s the classic engine of a slice. It happens when the first move from the top of the backswing is an aggressive rotation of the shoulders and an outward "casting" of the hands. This throws the club outside the proper swing plane, forcing you to pull it back across your body through impact. This out-to-in path is a slice-generating machine.

The Fix: Start the Downswing From the Ground Up

Your body is the engine, and power flows in a specific sequence. Trying to fire from the shoulders first is inefficient and causes mis-hits. A powerful, on-plane swing starts with the lower body leading the way.

Drill 1: The Pump Drill. Rehearse the feeling of letting the club drop from the inside.

1. Take your normal backswing.
2. As you start down, consciously feel your lower body shift slightly toward the target, letting your arms and the club simply "drop" behind you. Drop the club down until it's parallel with the ground.
3. From this parallel position, go back up to the top.
4. Repeat this "pump" two times, then on the third pump, continue down through impact and hit the ball. This drill ingrains the feel of dropping the club "in the slot" rather than throwing it over the top.

Drill 2: Right Elbow Tucked. Watch any good golfer - on the downswing, their trail elbow_ (right elbow for a RH golfer)_ drops down in front of their right hip, staying connected to the body. Slicers let this elbow fly away from their body, which gets the club steep and outside. As a swing thought, feel like you're keeping your right elbow tucked close to your side as you start down. This will force the club onto a more inside path, allowing you to swing out towards the target instead of cutting across it.

This sequence change is a feeling. It requires patience, but it’s the most impactful change you can make. The body should unwind from the ground up: a slight shift of the hips toward the target, followed by the rotation of the torso, which then pulls the arms and club through. It feels less rushed and far more powerful.

Your Mid-Round Swing Thought

It's tough to work on major swing mechanics in the middle of a round. If the slice monster shows up, try this one simple mental image to get you through: "Swing to right field."

For a right-handed golfer, picture a baseball diamond. Your target is the pitcher's mound. Instead of pulling the club across your body towards third base (the out-to-in slice move), feel like you are trying to hit the ball to the "second baseman" or "right fielder." This external thought promotes swinging the clubhead more from a shallow, inside path and releases it out towards the right, neutralizing the slice path without being overly technical.

Final Thoughts

Fixing that dreaded right miss comes down to diagnosing the real issue and making a focused adjustment. Check your steering wheel - the grip. Check your foundation - your alignment and setup. And finally, fix the engine - the downswing sequence. By building your swing on these solid fundamentals, you can turn that weak slice into a strong, straight ball flight.

Understanding the "why" behind your shot shape is the first major step, but getting an objective look at your swing can fast-track your improvement. At its core, that’s our goal with Caddie AI. We give you tools to act as your own diagnostician, analyzing your swing and shot patterns to see if it’s path, face, or alignment causing you trouble. You can get instant advice on club selection, strategy for a tough hole, or even snap a photo of a difficult lie to get immediate guidance. It’s about taking the guesswork out, so you have the confidence of an expert opinion right in your pocket and can commit to every swing.