A slice is one of the most frustrating, and common, errors in golf. Because it has plagued so many golfers, instructors have identified the causes and developed ways to fix this oft-cursed swing error. Learning what is causing your slice, then trying two or three adaptations to your stance and swing, will help you straighten your shots, get closer to the hole and improve your scores.
Step 1
Take several practice swings and note your distance from the ball when you hit a slice. Standing too close to the ball causes you to swing from inside your shoulders to the ball, or an inside-out swing. Take more practice swings, stepping slightly farther away from the ball. This may cure your slice. If it does not, stand slightly closer to the ball. This should create a hook, or right-to-left flight path. If you continue to slice when you are close to the ball, your problem is most likely a stance or swing problem.
Step 2
Place the ball closer to your front foot and take more practice swings. Placing the ball too close to your back foot, or back in your stance, can create a clubface/ball interaction that puts sidespin on the ball and creates a slice. Keep moving the ball forward until you begin to hook the ball. Find the correct ball placement in your stance between one that causes you to slice and one that creates a hook.
Step 3
Change to a stronger grip, with the heel of your lower hand facing up, rather than forward. A change from a weak to a strong grip often eliminates a slice with no other adjustments.
Step 4
Practice taking the club back by pushing your arms backward with your shoulders, rather than pulling your upper body backward with your arms. Pulling the club back with your arms can cause a misalignment that brings your club forward inside out.
Step 5
Start your forward swing with your hips, opening your shoulders and pulling your arms forward. Starting your forward swing with your arms can cause an inside-out swing.
Step 6
Snap your wrists into the ball just before contact. If your clubface is open at impact, it often strikes the ball from the right side, causing the sidespin that creates a slice. Accelerate your wrists to create a square clubface at impact.
Step 7
Tee the ball higher to reduce the need to swing down, recommends internationally renowned golf instructor David Leadbetter. Teeing the ball lets you create a shallower swing path forward, rather than a chop downward.
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