Seeing your golf ball sail helplessly to the right of your target is one of the most maddening experiences in the game. It’s a shot that can drain confidence and wreck a scorecard in a hurry. You’re not alone in this fight, and the good news is that the solution is almost always simpler than you think. This guide will walk you through the common reasons for hitting the ball right, helping you diagnose your specific issue and providing clear, actionable fixes to get you back on track.
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First, a Quick Diagnosis: Is It a Push or a Slice?
Before you can fix the problem, you have to know what the problem is. A ball that ends up right of the target gets there in one of two ways. Understanding the difference is the first step toward a permanent fix.
The Push: This is a shot that starts right of your target line and continues flying on that same straight path. It never curves back toward the target. Think of it as a straight shot, just in the wrong direction.
The Slice: This is the more common - and more dreaded - mishit. A slice typically starts on or even a little left of your target line before taking a sharp, banana-shaped curve to the right, often ending up in the next fairway over.
So, which one are you hitting? A push is almost entirely a swing path issue. A slice is a combination of your swing path and an open clubface. Let's look at the mechanical failures that cause these two different headaches.
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The #1 Reason: Your Grip is Leaving the Clubface Open
Your hands are your only connection to the golf club. They act as the steering wheel, and if your hold is off, you’re going to be fighting the club for the entire swing. The most common grip fault for golfers who hit it right is a “weak” grip.
For a right-handed golfer, a weak grip means your left hand is rotated too far to the left (counter-clockwise) on the handle, so it’s more "under" the club than on top of it. Your right hand then often sits too far "on top" of the grip to compensate. This hand position makes it incredibly difficult to square the clubface at impact. The club's natural tendency will be to return to the ball with the face pointing right.
The Grip Check &, Fix
A neutral grip promotes a square clubface. It might feel strange at first, but stick with it. Here’s how to build a better hold:
Set your top hand (left hand for righties): Let your left arm hang naturally at your side. Notice how your palm isn’t facing completely forward or backward. You want to place your hand on the club in that same neutral position. When you look down, you should be able to see at least two knuckles on your left hand. The "V" formed by your thumb and index finger should point toward your right shoulder.
Add your bottom hand (right hand for righties): Slide your right hand onto the club from the side. The meaty part of your right thumb's palm should cover your left thumb. The "V" on your right hand should mirror the one on your left, also pointing toward your right shoulder.
Connect Your Hands: You can use an interlock (pinky finger of your right hand linking with the index finger of your left), an overlap (pinky sitting on top of the gap between your index and middle finger), or a ten-finger grip. None is inherently better than the others, choose what feels most secure and comfortable for you.
Changing your grip feels uncomfortable, but it’s often the fastest way to stop hitting the ball right. Spend time at home just holding the club with this new grip until it starts to feel normal.
System Error: Your Setup is Sabotaging Your Swing
A good swing can’t happen from a bad starting position. If you're hitting it right, there's a strong chance your problem starts before you even move the club. Here are the three most common setup flaws.
1. Aim & Alignment
This is a classic trap. You hit a few shots to the right, so what do you do? You start aiming your body far to the left to compensate. While this might feel logical, it creates a horrible cycle. By aiming your body well left of the target, you instinctively create an "over-the-top" swing path to try and get the ball back toward the flag. This outside-to-in motion is a primary ingredient for a slice.
The Fix: Use alignment aids. Lay one club or an alignment stick on the ground pointing at your target. Then, lay a second stick parallel to the first, just inside your feet. Your feet, hips, and shoulders should all be set up parallel to the target line, not pointing directly at the target.
2. Ball Position
Where you place the ball in your stance has a huge effect on when the clubface is square during your swing arc. With a mid-iron, an ideal swing bottoms out at or just after the center of your stance. If your ball position is too far back (toward your right foot), you will make contact before the face has had a chance to rotate back to square. It will be open, sending the ball right.
The Fix: For your mid-irons (7, 8, 9-iron), the ball should be positioned exactly in the center of your stance. An easy way to check this is to take your setup and bring your feet together. The ball should be right in the middle. Then, take equal steps with both your left and right foot to create your stance width. The ball will remain perfectly centered.
3. Posture
If you stand too tall or too rigid at address, without enough tilt from your hips, you rob yourself of the space needed to swing the club on an inside path. This forces you to lift the club with your arms and then chop down on it from the outside - another recipe for a slice.
The Fix: Feel athletic. Hinge forward from your hips, not your waist. Your back should remain relatively straight while your bottom sticks out slightly. Your arms should hang down naturally from your shoulders, with the end of the grip about a hand's width away from your thighs. This creates space and puts you in a powerful position to rotate.
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This is the classic swing flaw for players who hit it right. "Over the top" simply means that on your downswing, your club moves from outside your target line to inside it. It’s a steep, chopping motion that cuts across the ball, imparting that nasty slice spin. This move almost always starts with the upper body. Instead of starting the downswing by shifting weight and unwinding the lower body, you fire your shoulders and arms "from the top."
Drills to Flatten Your Swing Path
The Headcover Drill
This is a fantastic visual and physical aid to stop you from coming over the top.
Place a headcover or a rolled-up towel on the ground a few inches outside of your golf ball.
Your task is to hit the ball without hitting the headcover.
If you swing over the top, you'll clip or smash the headcover on your downswing. To miss it, you are forced to drop the club "into the slot" and approach the ball from an inside path. This shallows out your swing and promotes an in-to-out path.
The Right Elbow Tuck
This is more of a feel-based drill. An over-the-top move happens when your right elbow (for righties) flies away from your body at the start of the downswing. The goal here is to keep it connected.
Take slow-motion practice swings. As you transition from the backswing to the downswing, feel your right elbow dropping down and tucking in toward your right hip.
This sensation keeps the club behind you and prevents you from casting it "out" and across the ball. Visualizing this move before you hit a real shot can make a world of difference.
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Correcting a shot that goes right is a process of elimination. The ball is rarely lying, it’s telling you that at the moment of impact, your clubface was open relative to your swing path. By systematically checking your grip, setup, and swing path using the tips and drills above, you can identify the root cause and build a swing that sends the ball flying straight toward your target.
Diagnosing these things on your own, especially during a round, can be tricky. It's tough to be your own coach when you're just trying to find the fairway. That’s a big reason we developed a tool like Caddie AI. When you hit a shot deep into the trees and don't know the smart play, you can snap a photo of the situation and get instant, objective advice on how to handle the shot and avoid a disaster. Furthermore, the 24/7 coaching means you can ask about these very swing concepts at any time, getting simple explanations for things like "what's the feeling of a shallow swing?" to help you understand not just the 'what' but the 'why' behind your game.
Spencer has been playing golf since he was a kid and has spent a lifetime chasing improvement. With over a decade of experience building successful tech products, he combined his love for golf and startups to create Caddie AI - the world's best AI golf app. Giving everyone an expert level coach in your pocket, available 24/7. Caddie's mission is simple: make world-class golf advice accessible to everyone, anytime.
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