Curing a Slice

The slice is one of the most common problems in amateur golfers. Sometimes it may seem like the farther left the ball is aimed, the farther right it will travel. Curing a slice can be challenging, but once you identify what you are doing wrong; you can easily turn that dreadful slice into a beautiful fade!

The Problem:

For a right handed golfer, when the ball is sliced, it will travel on an extreme left to right trajectory. The ball will land significantly farther right than where it was aimed. Some people try to overcompensate for their slice, aim very far left, and hope that the ball ends up on the fairway. In most cases the ball will end up traveling even farther right. Even if the ball somehow it hits the fairway, much distance will be lost. Therefore, even if you manage to “play your slice,” it is beneficial to fix it for the purpose of gaining more distance.
The slice is caused by a golfer having an out to in swing path. Imagine a line through the ball, pointing towards the target. On an out to in swing path, the club will be on the opposite side of the imaginary line during the downswing. They club will strike the ball, and cross over this imaginary line. The clubface is hitting the ball at an angle. This gives the ball the spin that carries it so far to the right. When a golfer tries to compensate for the slice, and aims left of the target, this only adds to the problem. In aiming to the left, you are actually creating an even more extreme out to in swing path, putting even more spin on the ball.

Curing a Slice:

In order to get rid of this out to in swing path, you must set up aiming towards the target. Then, concentrate on making your swing path an in to in path. Again imagine the imaginary line. Think about having the club travel inside of this line on the backswing. Then the club will meet this line at the ball, and again travel inside of the line on the follow through. The one tip that helped me cure my slice the most was to concentrate on where the clubface is making contact with the ball. Imagine the ball as a globe. Looking straight down on the ball, the equator will be on the target line. Concentrate on striking the ball slightly below the equator.

Curing a slice can be a daunting task. Just remember to restrain from bringing the club outside of the target line. Do not try to compensate for you slice, as that will only add to the problem. Practice at the range, and soon enough you will be confident out on the course.