5 Simple Ways to Fix Your Golf Slice

In his latest video, golf pro Rick Shiels breaks down five simple yet effective techniques to eliminate the dreaded slice with the driver. A slice—a shot that curves off to the right for right-handed golfers—can sap both distance and accuracy. Shiels explains practical ways to fix this common problem, helping golfers hit straighter, more controlled drives. Here’s a summary of his key points:

1. Strengthen Your Grip

One of the main causes of a slice is an open clubface at impact. Shiels advises strengthening your grip by adjusting your hand positions:

• Top hand: Make sure you can see 2-3 knuckles on your left hand when gripping the club.
• Bottom hand: Position it slightly on the side or even underneath the grip.
  This change helps prevent the clubface from opening and encourages the ball to go left initially. Even if the first shots hook left, it’s a positive step toward fixing the slice.

2. Control the Clubface in the Backswing

Shiels emphasizes that many slicers tend to open the clubface too early in the backswing. To counteract this, try these two adjustments:

• Keep the clubface slightly pointing toward the ground during the takeaway.
• Bend or “bow” the wrist at the top of the backswing so the back of your hand faces more upward.

These changes create a stronger clubface position, making it easier to close the face at impact and straighten your shots.

3. Check Your Path

While grip and clubface control are crucial, the swing path also plays a significant role. Many golfers slice because they swing out-to-in, cutting across the ball. Shiels recommends focusing on swinging more from the inside, which promotes a straighter or even slightly drawn ball flight.

4. Shift Your Weight Correctly

Improper weight transfer can also cause slicing. Make sure to shift your weight forward during the downswing, allowing your body to rotate fully through the shot. Staying too much on the back foot will leave the clubface open, causing the ball to slice.

5. Practice with the Right Mindset

Finally, Shiels advises golfers to be patient with these adjustments. It’s common to hit some shots left initially when making these changes. The key is to embrace the progress and understand that these tweaks will eventually lead to straighter drives with more distance.

By following these five steps—adjusting your grip, controlling the clubface, fixing your swing path, managing weight transfer, and maintaining patience—you can reduce or even eliminate your slice. Implement these tips, and you’ll be hitting longer, straighter drives in no time.

Check out Rick Shiels’ full video for a detailed walkthrough of each step.