A slice on golf shots results from a natural outside-to-in swing path, and this physics phenomenon plagues both recreational and professional golfers. You can use a variety of techniques to tame this problem, making adjustments to your stance, ball placement, and grip on the club. Knowing how to get your club face square at contact will keep you in the fairway, and in contention.
Strengthen Your Grip
A stronger grip results from the palm of the lower hand facing more up than down. Using a stronger grip will help you get the club face straighter at impact, rather than moving from right to left, or outside to in, if you are a right-handed golfer. This outside-to-in swing path puts the right-to-left spin on the ball that creates a slice.
Place Your Ball Up
The farther back in your stance you place the ball, or the closer you put the ball to your back foot, the more likely it is you will slice. When you make contact with the ball farther back in your stance, your club face will be more open at impact, which is one of the causes of a slice. Move the ball slightly forward in your stance to see if this helps cure your problem.
Don't Stand Too Close
If you stand too close to the ball, you'll create an outside-in swing path. This is because during the backswing, your club naturally moves away from your body as you straighten your arms, and it ends up to the right of the ball, or outside it. As you bring the club forward, your arms must travel from right to left to bring the club toward a ball that is too close to you. Try placing your ball slightly farther away from you to help fix a slice. If you are on the driving range, keep moving the ball farther away until you create an inside-out swing that creates a hook, then bring the ball back to find the happy medium.
Snap Your Wrists
Your wrists naturally open during the backswing, creating what is known as palmar flexion. If you keep your wrists locked in this position during the forward swing, your wrists will be laid back at contact, creating an open club face. Prior to making contact with the ball, snap your wrists into the shot by turning your hands over, resulting in your top hand facing upward as it becomes your trailing hand. You'll need to experiment with the timing of your wrist snap, because an ill-timed wrist snap can lead to a hook.
Tee It Higher
According to instructional guru David Ledbetter, golfers who slice often do so because they are trying too hard to get under the ball. Teeing your ball up higher means you don't have to try so hard to get under the ball, and can concentrate on a more straight swing path, eliminating your slice.
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