Why Do I Keep Hitting Right in Golf?

Seeing your golf ball sail helplessly right of the target is one of the most common and confidence-sapping experiences in golf. Whether it's a weak slice that peels off into the trees or a dead-straight push into the bunker, getting it straightened out is a must for lower scores. This guide is designed to act as your personal coach, breaking down the exact reasons you keep hitting it right and giving you simple, actionable drills to finally tame that right miss.

Is It a Slice or a Push? Understanding Your Right Miss

Before we can fix the problem, we need to properly diagnose it. A ball that goes right can be a “slice” or a “push,” and they have different causes. Pinpointing which one plagues your game is the first step toward correcting it.

• The Slice: This is the bane of most amatuer golfers. A sliced shot starts relatively straight or even slightly left of your target before taking a sharp, banana-shaped curve to the right in the air. This shot robs you of distance and lands you in big trouble.
• The Push: A pushed shot is different. It flies on a fairly straight line, but it starts right of your target and stays on that line all the way. It feels more solid than a slice, but landing 20 yards right of the green isn't helpful.

Knowing the difference is vital because a slice is almost always caused by an open clubface combined with an “out-to-in” swing path, while a push is typically an “in-to-out” swing path where the clubface fails to square up to the target. Let's look at the causes and fixes for both.

The #1 Culprit for Hitting it Right: An Open Clubface

No matter what your swing path is doing, if your clubface is pointing right of your target at the moment of impact, the ball will go right. Physics makes no exceptions. More than 80% of a golf ball's initial direction is determined by the angle of the clubface. Your first order of business is to make sure your grip isn't leaving the face open by default.

Fault: A "Weak" Grip

A "weak" grip is not about pressure, it's about the positioning of your hands on the club. For a right-handed golfer, a weak grip is one where the hands are rotated too far to the left (toward the target). This position makes it very difficult for your hands and wrists to naturally square the clubface through impact. The result is often an open face and a weak slice.

The Fix: Building a Neutral, Powerful Grip

A neutral grip puts your hands in a position of strength, allowing them to deliver a square clubface without extra manipulation. Here’s how to build one:

1. Stand up and let your arms hang naturally by your sides. Notice how your palms aren't facing dead forward, they're turned inward slightly. This is the natural position we want to recreate on the club.
2. Take your lead hand (left hand for righties) and place it on the side of the grip, replicating that natural hanging position. The club should primarily run through the base of your fingers, not the palm.
3. 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 roughly toward your trail shoulder (right shoulder).
4. Now, bring in your trail hand (right hand). The "V" formed by your right thumb and index finger should mirror the left, also pointing toward your trail shoulder. The palm should cover your left thumb. This puts both hands in a position to work together.

This will feel strange at first if you're used to a weak grip. Stick with it. Hit short, easy shots at the range until it starts to feel more comfortable. It is the foundation of squaring the face.

The Slice Machine: Correcting the "Over-the-Top" Swing Path

If you're hitting that classic banana-ball slice, you almost certainly have an "out-to-in" swing path. This means your club is approaching the ball from outside the target line and cutting across it to the inside as you swing through. When this path combines with the open clubface we just discussed, you get that nasty slice spin.

The most common cause of this path is the dreaded "over-the-top" move.

Fault: Initiating the Downswing with Your Upper Body

The over-the-top move happens in the transition from backswing to downswing. Instead of the lower body starting the downswing sequence, the golfer's first move is to aggressively lunge at the ball with their right shoulder and arms. This throws the club "over the top" of the proper swing plane and puts it on that destructive out-to-in path.

Why do we do this? Usually, it's a subconscious effort to generate power. We feel like we need to "hit" the ball hard, so we use the big muscles of our chest and shoulders first. In reality, a correct swing sequence - starting from the ground up - is far more powerful and consistent.

Drill #1: The Inside-Out Gate

This drill gives you instant feedback on your swing path. It's simple but incredibly effective.

• Take your setup. Place an object (like a headcover, a small towel, or an empty golf ball sleeve) about a foot behind and a few inches outside your golf ball.
• Place a second object about a foot in front and a few inches inside your target line.
• You've now created a "gate." Your goal is to swing the club a ays it misses both objects. To do this, you have no choice but to approach the ball from the inside and exit the same way. If you swing over the top, you will hit the rear object on the way down.
• Start with slow, half rehearsal swings to get the feel, then gradually build up speed.

Drill #2: The Right-Elbow Tuck

This drill helps you feel what it means for your arms and body to stay "connected" and prevents that right shoulder lunge.

• Tuck a headcover or a small towel under your trail armpit (right armpit for righties).
• Your goal is to make swings without dropping the headcover until after you have made contact with the ball.
• If you throw your shoulder "over the top," the headcover will drop immediately in the downswing. To keep it in place, your trail elbow must stay closer to your body, forcing the club onto an inside path. This promotes a body-led rotation rather than an arm-dominant swing.

The dreaded Push: Getting Unstuck and Rotating Through

If you're hitting pushes - straight shots that start and end right of the target - you have a different issue. Your swing path is likely coming too far from the inside, and your clubface is open to the target line at impact (though it's often square to your extreme in-to-out path).

This often happens when your arms get "stuck" behind your body on the downswing, and as a survival mechanism, you stop rotating your body and just "flip" your hands at the ball, blocking it out to the right.

Fault: A Stalled Body Rotation and Early Extension

"Early Extension" is when your hips and pelvis lunge towards the golf ball in the downswing instead of rotating around and out of the way. When your lower body moves closer to the ball, it crowds your arms, trapping them behind you - the "stuck" position. From here, you have no room to swing properly, so your body's rotation stalls, and the only way to hit the ball is to push it right.

Drill: The Chair Drill for Rotation

This drill gives you the unmistakable feeling of maintaining your posture and rotating your hips correctly.

• Grab a sturdy chair and place it directly behind you so that when you take your setup, your rear end is just lightly touching the chair.
• Take slow backswings. Your right glute should press more firmly into the chair as you load into your trail side.
• Now for the key move: as you start your downswing, your left glute should rotate along the chair, replacing your right glute. Your objective is to keep your backside in contact with the chair throughout the entire swing until you finish.
• If your hips lunge forward (early extension), you will immediately feel yourself separate from the chair. This drill forces you to keep your spine angle while learning to clear your hips a ays allows your arms the space they need to swing freely and square the club up.

Combine a proper grip with a more neutral swing path, and you have the complete recipe to turn your frustrating right miss into a confident, fairway-finding shot.

Final Thoughts

Hitting the ball to the right consistently boils down to one of two main issues: an open clubface at impact or a flawed swing path. By checking your grip for a “weak” position, fixing an “over-the-top” motion, and learning to rotate your body correctly, you can fix the root cause of the problem and end that right miss for good.

Perfecting these mechanics feels a lot easier when you have an expert opinion right in your pocket. At Caddie AI, we’ve designed a tool that gives you that on-demand expertise. You can ask any question, from simple fundamentals to complex strategy, and get instant answers. You can even send a photo of a tricky lie from the course for real-time advice on how to play it. We help you take the guesswork out of improving so you can play with more clarity and confidence.