Watching your golf drive sail majestically… to the right, yet again, is one of golf’s most common frustrations. That unwanted curve, often called a slice or a high fade, robs you of distance, sends you into trouble, and can make the game feel impossible. This article will break down exactly why that ball is curving right, pinpoint the most common causes in your grip, setup, and swing, and give you practical, easy-to-follow fixes to start hitting straighter, longer drives.
Before we can fix it, we have to understand the basic physics behind a slice. Don't worry, this isn't a high school science class. It's actually very simple and comes down to the relationship between two things: your clubface angle and your swing path at impact.
A slice is born from a simple mismatch: for a right-handed golfer, the clubface is open (pointing to the right) relative to the swing path. The most common combination for amateurs is an "out-to-in" swing path with a clubface that is open to that path. This puts "slice spin" on the ball, causing it to start left of the target and then curve dramatically back to the right, often ending up in the trees or the next fairway over.
To hit a straight shot, you need your clubface to be square to your swing path at impact. Our goal is to fix the common flaws that cause that open-face, out-to-in combination.
Your hands are your only connection to the club, making them the primary communicators of what you want the clubface to do. The most frequent cause of an open clubface at impact is a grip that is too "weak." In golf terms, "weak" doesn't mean your grip pressure, it refers to the rotational position of your hands on the club.
For a right-handed player, a weak grip is one where the hands are rotated too far to the left (towards the target). While it may feel natural, this position makes it very difficult for your wrists to release properly through impact, leaving the clubface open as it meets the ball. It almost pre-sets the clubface in a slice-ready position.
Let’s build a more "neutral" grip that promotes a square clubface. It might feel strange at first, which is a good sign you’re changing something significant.
Commit to this new grip for a few range sessions. It takes time for it to feel normal, but it's the foundation for giving you control over the "steering wheel" and allowing the clubface to square up naturally.
Before you even begin your swing, your setup can put you on a path to failure. Two common setup mistakes - poor alignment and incorrect ball position/posture - actively encourage the movements that produce a slice.
Many slicers, often without realizing it, aim their shoulders and feet far to the left of the target. They do this to compensate for the slice they expect, but it just reinforces the problem. By aiming left, your brain knows the target is actually to the right, which encourages an "over-the-top" swing as you try to reroute the to hit the target. It's a vicious cycle.
With a driver, we want to hit the ball on the upswing to maximize distance. Many golfers play the ball too far back in their stance, like an iron shot. This promotes a steep, downward strike that often goes with an out-to-in path. Furthermore, standing without a slight tilt away from the target at address makes it hard to swing from the inside.
This is the big, ugly move that defines most slices. "Over-the-top" describes what happens at the start of the downswing. Instead of the lower body initiating the movement and allowing the club to "drop" into a position to swing from the inside, the golfer’s first move is an aggressive rotation of the shoulders and a throwing of the hands "over" the swing plane. This sends the club on a steep, out-to-in path, forcing you to cut across the ball and generate massive slice spin.
Nine times out of ten, it’s a sequencing issue combined with a desire to hit the ball hard from the top. So many golfers think power comes from the arms and shoulders. In reality, a powerful and efficient swing is a chain reaction that starts from the ground up: feet, legs, hips, torso, then arms and hands last. Rushing the downswing with your upper body "all at once” is the killer move here that promotes the slice action.
Often, an over-the-top move is a reaction to a poor backswing. Golfers who don't rotate their torso and hips enough on the way back find themselves with very little room to do anything but swing over the top. The backswing isn't just about getting the club up, it's about shifting your weight and creating space for the downswing turn.
A good backswing is not an "up and down" motion with the arms. It is a rotational movement in which the club moves around the body, powered mainly by the turn of your torso and hips.
Taming a slice isn't about finding one secret tip. It’s about understanding that your ball curves right because the clubface is open to your swing path, and then addressing the root causes in your grip, setup, and swing sequence. By working on a more neutral grip, setting up for success, and training a better swing sequence that starts from the ground up, you can transform that slice into a straight flight or even a powerful draw.
Sometimes, figuring out the *exact* cause of your slice feels like trying to diagnose your car’s engine trouble by just listening to it. When you need a more precise diagnosis for what to do next to play great golf, our goal with Caddie AI is to take the guesswork out of it. It’s like having a 24/7 personal coach who knows your game, you can simply ask about your slice and get simple, personalized advice on what to fix. It can also provide a smart strategy for every tee shot, helping you avoid those big misses and play with more confidence from the start.
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