How to Stop Slicing The Golf Ball

In an ideal world we all dream of hitting arrow straight drives, rifling irons to the heart of greens and draining birdie putts for fun.

That’s the dream. The reality is, of course, somewhat different.

Perhaps the most destructive shot in golf - and the one that club golfers are most badly afflicted by, is the slice. For me, it is the worst shot in the book because you lose a huge amount of distance and you may just have noticed that evil course designers seem to set up their layouts with most of the trouble on the right.

It is also the fault for which there are more supposed fixes than every other swing flaw put together! If you doubt it, just do a quick internet search - it is positively mind-boggling.

I know lots of golfers who routinely slice the ball and they NEVER play for it. They stand over the ball, driver in hand, thinking they are aiming down the middle of the fairway. And off it sails into the trees, rough or water. Never to be seen again.

I want to make it clear here and now that I am NOT a golf instructor but I do have sufficient knowledge of the game to be able to identify the most common reasons why golfers slice the ball.

Grip

A weak grip will mean you are highly likely to slice the ball. What is a weak grip? It is when you look down at your left hand and can see no knuckles and when the vee formed by the thumb and forefinger on your right hand aims too far left. 

When Jack Nicklaus joined the paid ranks he decided that he wanted his stock shot to be a fade so he perfected a weak grip. But you are not Jack Nicklaus. In an ideal world you should have a neutral grip where you can see between one and two knuckles on the your left hand and the vee on the your right hand points just inside your right shoulder. The size of your hands will dictate whether you should opt for the interlocking or Vardon grip. Nicklaus had small hands so used the interlocking grip but most top players use the Vardon grip, where your right pinkie overlaps your left forefinger. Grip pressure is also a killer - holding the club too tightly is also going to encourage a slice.

Address

If you want to hit the ball straight, where should you be aiming? Obviously, your feet, hips and shoulders should all be in a straight line towards the target. Lee Trevino was a proper force in the world of professional golf in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. He won six majors and should probably have secured several more. Why am I telling you this? He used to aim miles left, with feet, hips and shoulders all wide open - and he hit everything with a slice. But he was able to control it. I once watched him on the driving range at Royal Birkdale and have never seen shotmaking like it. 

So here is the thing - countless club golfers unwittingly address the ball with feet, hips and shoulders aiming left, and then wonder why they slice everything.

Takeaway

I guarantee that if you stand behind the first tee at your golf club and watch high handicappers teeing off then you will see the vast majority of them taking the club away way on the outside line and that will dictate a swing plane that sees them cutting across the ball at impact. That can only result in one ball - a huge slice from left to right.

Ball Position

Ball position is key. Time without number I have played with golfers who tee up the ball way outside their left foot. In an ideal world, with a driver in your hand, the ball should be in line with the heel of your left foot. I was recently playing with our club captain and he was slicing drive after drive. The reason was pretty obvious to me - the ball was in the wrong position at address. I advised him to move it back three inches. The result? He immediately started drawing the ball. With exactly the same golf swing!

Slow it Down

One of the most common faults committed by club golfers is that they attempt to hit the ball too hard - and that is another flaw that is almost certain to lead to a slice because when they get the club face back to the ball it is still open. If you slice the ball, try slowing down your golf swing. You just might be surprised.

Equipment

Not everybody who slices the ball has the time or inclination to either have lessons or take the necessary steps to eliminate the faults that cause the problem. So here’s a radical idea - consider investing in a set of offset clubs. These are specifically designed to help you eliminate the slice and will almost certainly radically improve the way you play the game.

What The Pros Say…

This is what England Golf has to say on the subject, and I am delighted to confirm that they say much the same as I have:

Gripping The Club

A slice happens because the club face is open to the direction the club is swinging. A simple tip to strengthen your grip and ensure the club face is aiming in the correct position is to make sure you are holding the golf club in the correct position - in the fingers of your hand rather than your palm. A grip in the palm of your hand will weaken the grip and open the angle of the club face whereas a grip in the fingers of your hand will help encourage a more neutral to stronger grip and therefore, improve the club face.

Swing Path

An important element to fixing a slice is the direction the club is swinging. You should focus on swinging with an inside-out club path, ensuring you are swinging away from your body rather than towards it. Turn your body, swinging the club away from you as you move. The more you are turning the club away in an inside-out shape, the more you will encourage the golf ball to draw.

Take Aim

Rather than compensating for a fade or slice and aiming down the other side of the fairway, trust your grip, swing, and aim straighter. Aiming to counteract a fade will only increase the chances of swinging across the back of the ball. Instead, align your body and your swing down the centre of the fairway, focus on hitting the ball with a neutral or closed club face, and swinging away from your body in an inside-out shape.

So there you have it. If only it were really that simple!

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