Every golfer hates slicing the ball to see it go way offline, find the trees, hazards, or even worst, the outer bounds. Fixing your slice will take time and practice, but following the correct steps will put you on the right path and on your way to improving your golf game. It may feel that the harder you try to fix your slice, the worst it gets, but there are steps to help you get that beautiful straight shot every time.
Understanding why you slice your golf ball is as important as fixing it, and if it feels like nothing you have tried works, these tips are what you need to get you back on top of your golf game. Slicing in golf is no rarity; luckily, there is a solution to rid yourself of that frustrating feeling when you feel your golf ball does what it wants. Here are steps to help you with your slice problem.
How To Fix A Golf Slice
There are a few things that cause your golf ball to curve, and mainly three steps you can take to try and fix your slice. Sometimes you only need to fix one of the three steps to resolve your slice problem, but in most situations, addressing all three is necessary.
The first step is addressing the clubface position when it connects the ball, the second step is addressing the swing direction, and the third step is addressing the clubface strike position:
Step 1: Addressing The Club Face To Fix A Slice
If your golf ball curves off to the right-hand side most of the time, the angle of the clubface is open when it comes into the golf shot. If the clubface points too far right and your club’s swing direction too far left, the combination of these two and the swing path direction causes the golf ball to spin, resulting in a slice.
To fix your slice, first, you must address the clubface position and your hands position, grip controls it, and the simplest way is to strengthen the grip a little bit.
- Hold the club straight down in front of you with the front of the grip nice and straight.
- Focus on your grip position when you put your top hand (left hand) on the grip and hold it in a slightly stronger position.
- Twist your top hand (left hand) around the grip a little more so you can see two or even your third knuckle.
- A strong grip will help you control the clubface and get it to turn more to the left, and very important if you are trying to fix your slice.
- Take your bottom right hand and place it more to the side of the grip.
- Do not place it on top of the grip because it will cause the face to open too much, resulting in a slice.
Changing your hand position will help control the clubface and force it towards the left, and if you normally slice your golf ball, that is a good thing. Changing your grip will result in your golf shots going to the left but do not worry because it is only the first adjustment to fix your slice and the ball going left is normal. Before you take the next step to resolve your slice problem, hit a few balls to get a feel for the adjusted grip.
Because you are holding the grip in a stronger position, you will notice that you are hitting the ball to the left, do not worry if it does. If your ball does not go left, try to get your right arm to extend and cross over your left arm on the follow-through until the shot goes to the left. Make sure you master the grip and the golf ball going left before moving on to the next step, changing the swing path.
Step 2: Changing The Swing Direction To Fix A Slice
After you have mastered the clubface allowing it to rotate, and you are hitting the ball more to the left, the next step is to change your swing direction. You must consider the angle at which your club comes into the golf ball because if you slice it, you are playing with an open face, and your swing moves more out than in. It would be best to hit more from inside the golf ball to fix your slice problem.
- Place your ball position forward just inside the left heel.
- Use a t-peg to substitute your golf ball to practice the swing.
- Slightly tilt the top of your upper body so that your right shoulder is lower than your left.
- Pull your right shoulder back slightly.
- Take your right foot back so you have a wider stance and your body alignment is slightly more to the right.
- Practice your swing in this position using the t-peg as your golf ball.
- Draw the club back until you get to the top of your backswing.
- Drop the club behind you before you swing toward the ball (tee).
- Swing outwards, but the club must drop behind you as you swing from in to out.
At first, these changes may feel awkward but remember you are doing something completely different from before.
Step 3: Strike On The Club Face To Fix A Slice
Where the golf ball hits the clubface is as important as the other two steps, and it will unlock your potential and improve your shot. A slicer strikes the clubface with the golf ball toward the club’s heel.
When you hit the heel, it causes the ball to curve more to the right.
The heel of the clubface is the part of the club head closest to the shaft, and if you slice your golf ball, you must avoid striking the golf ball in this area. Ideally, if you slice the ball, you must hit it in the center of the club head or more to the toe, which is the end portion of the club head.
Good balance will help you hit the center of the clubface, starting with how you bend your back, knees, and hips; when you set up your golf shot, the correct balance will get your center of mass toward the ball.
Tilting your body to get the center of mass toward the ball will help you hit the golf ball in the center. To get the correct balance, experiment by bending your knees until you get the correct value, but it must feel comfortable.
- To help you see where the golf ball connects to the clubface, spray it with athletes’ foot powder. The spray whitens the clubface and leaves a mark where the golf ball connects to the clubface.
- Spread your body weight evenly over both legs and ensure it is slightly forward toward the front of your feet.
- Avoid placing too much weight on your toes, or your heels will activate your body’s balance-correcting mechanism to correct itself as soon as you start your backswing.
- To confirm if your balance setup is solid, you should not topple over if someone gives you a slight push from behind.
- Your weight will shift as you start your backswing, and if your knees are bent correctly, and your weight evenly spread on both feet, it should not throw you off-balance.
- As you start your backswing before you follow through, the pressure must move away from your toes and slightly to your heels, but the pressure must return to the front of your feet.
- Adjust your bends if you do not find your balance during your swing and are still missing the center of the clubface.
- Continue adjusting your bends until you strike the ball in the middle of the clubface or toward the toe.
Avoid placing your weight on your heels when you set up for your shot because you will most likely end up striking the ball on the club’s heel because your brain reacts to maintain balance. If the brain senses that you put too much weight on your heels instead of the front part of your feet, it forces your body to counter the imbalance to avoid you toppling over.
Conclusion
Resolving the problem of slicing your golf ball will take effort and practice. Changing your grip to realign your clubface angle, correcting your swing direction, and improving your balance to get an accurate strike on the clubface are three tips you can use to resolve a slicing problem.
