How to Fix a Slice: Top Tips For a Straighter Ball Flight

Driving Range Practice
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If you’re like 99.9% of golfers, I’m sure you’ve asked yourself (and the Golf Gods), “How do I correct my slice?” 

It’s a great question because a slice off the tee has ruined so many golfers’ potential. I’m convinced that nearly all players at some point or another have had to overcome this swing issue. 

It’s just a natural part of the game but the good news is that you can learn how to fix a slice by changing a few pieces of your golf swing. With some changes to your setup position, ball position, and takeaway, you can finally learn how to hit it straight (or even hit a draw). 

Keep reading to learn how to fix a slice quickly. 

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How to Fix a Slice – 5 Long-Term Strategies 

A slice in golf is a tough shot to play consistently for a few reasons.

First, a slice kills your distance which is more important than ever in today’s game. The longer you hit the ball (even if it’s not always the most accurate), the easier it is to score well. Since a slice has so much side spin, it won’t carry or roll as far which hurts your total distance.

Second, not only does it hurt your distance but a slice hurts your accuracy too. Slicers tend to live more in the right trees than the fairway, oftentimes having to hit difficult recovery shots just to get the ball back in play. 

Finally, it’s a frustrating shot that seems to get worse sometimes during the round. This can lead to confidence issues and thinking way too much about your swing and mechanics, instead of focusing on scoring well on the course.

So if you can relate to one or more of these issues, I’m here to help. Before sharing the best ways to correct a slice, first make sure your driver is in the right setting. 

If your club has sliding weights or an adjustable hosel, make sure it’s set to a draw and/or toe weighting. While this isn’t a long-term fix it can help minimize your slice in the short-term while you make these swing changes for the future. 

Here are five strategies so you can learn how to fix a slice fast. 

1. Strengthen Your Grip 

The grip is one of the most important parts of golf as it’s the only part of your body touching the club. Your grip position and grip pressure play a big role in your ball striking and shot shape. 

The reason most golfers slice the ball is from a grip that is too weak. This could be from a weak left hand and a weak right hand too. In general, it stems mostly from the left hand (assuming you’re a right-handed golfer) as it’s the dominant hand holding the club.

When you strengthen your grip, it will make it easier to take the club back more neutral and on the proper swing plane. Even a neutral grip (vs. a strong grip), will make it easier to reduce your slice, hit it straight, or even draw the golf ball.

Buy a Grip Training Aid 

One of the easiest ways to feel the right grip position is with a grip training aid like this one. The modified grip will make it easy to position your hands in the right spot and feel a stronger grip. Use this trainer all the time, even when you’re just watching TV, to get comfortable with your new grip.

Fair warning, changing your grip will feel extremely uncomfortable in the beginning, especially if you’ve had a weak grip for a long time. That’s why I suggest using a training aid like this one to get into the right position. 

Then, practice this new grip on the driving range with plenty of balls before heading to the golf course. While it will feel different for a while, it will lead to straighter, more consistent shots too. 

While there might be an uncomfortable and awkward transition between grips, it’s worth it. Having a neutral or strong grip will lead to straighter shots and more power fades, not slices off the tee. 

Also Read: Hit It Long & Straight – Best Straightest Golf Balls

2. Create an Outside Takeaway 

Aside from a weak lead hand grip, another common reason so many players slice the ball is an inside takeaway. 

An inside takeaway leads to an over the top, steep downswing. This leads to cutting across the ball and producing the dreaded slice that you want to avoid. One of the common causes from this is too much forearm rotation and not enough wrist hinge. 

If you take the club back too far inside, it’s nearly impossible to hit it straight or draw the golf ball. Remember, the golf swing is a big loop – when you take it outside then loop it back inside it helps you create lag. This is known as “shallowing” the golf club or an in to out swing which creates a draw. 

Best Drill to Fix Inside Takeaway 

Here is a great drill from Chris Ryan Golf to stop rolling the club back inside and around vs. picking it up for an outside takeaway. Here’s how to make this move on the driving range or at home:

  • To get started, grab a mid-iron and address the golf ball like normal. 
  • Instead of taking the club back, move the club head straight up so that the butt-end of the club is facing your belt buckle.
  • Then, rotate your shoulders until you complete your backswing. 
  • If you’re on the driving range, you can hit balls using this drill as well.

This drill will add a wrist set and get the clubhead outside the shaft once the club is parallel to the ground. Your forearms will keep rotating the club around your body and get into a much better position at the top of your backswing. 

3. Fix Your Alignment 

Alignment is another vital part of the swing that can lead to better ball striking and reducing that frustrating banana slice. When most golfers think of alignment, they tend to think of feet but neglect the hips and shoulders. Your feet could be aimed perfectly but if your hips or shoulders are off, it will likely contribute to a slice.

The best way to check your natural alignment is to have a friend record your swing on the course. Have them record a few swings during the round and evaluate at home. 

After the round, see where your hips, feet, and shoulders are aimed. This is much more beneficial than recording in practice with alignment aids as you can spot your on-course tendencies. 

A common mistake from slicers is setting up with shoulders open to the target. This makes it easy to get too steep on the downswing and not attack the ball from an inside position.  

As Alistair Davies talks about in the below YouTube video, the feet play a very minimal role in slicing the golf ball. Instead, shoulder alignment plays a much bigger role and you want them neutral or even slightly closed to your target.

Additionally, don’t forget to look at your forearm alignment too.

If your right arm is well above your left forearm, that means they’re open to the target and encourages an over the top swing. It’s also a good idea to have your right shoulder slightly lower with the driver so you hit up on it, which also adjusts your forearm alignment too. 

This small move at setup will also encourage the right arm to stay more tucked in the swing.  

While feet don’t matter as much, try to get into a neutral shoulder position to quickly correct your slice. 

Related: Open Stance Golf Swing – How to Clear Your Hips Faster 

4. Stop Aiming Left

Changing your grip and ball flight in practice is one thing, but doing it on the golf course is very different sometimes. One of the biggest mistakes that so many golfers make is aiming further left when they see a slice happening off the tee.

Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense… when you’re tired of missing it right and think that aiming more left will help play the slice. But usually, this only compounds the mistake which is even more frustrating! Or, you might hit it dead straight but end up in the rough due to overcorrecting your aim. 

Instead, aim for the left center of the fairway. If you hit straight, you’re in the short grass and if you have a fade you should be okay too. 

If there is trouble you want to avoid on the right side but still need a driver, tee up on the right side of the tee box. This will open up more of the left side and hopefully keep your ball from finding water, sand, or other hazards on the right side. 

5. Buy a New Driver

The final tip to help you correct a slice is looking at your equipment. 

As I mentioned in the beginning, so many drivers have adjustable settings that can help you straighten out your ball flight. While they can’t correct everything due to bad mechanics, they can certainly help. 

I saved this for last because I don’t want you thinking a new driver is the band-aid fix for correcting a slice. However, if you’re playing old, outdated, or equipment that doesn’t match your swing, you’re making things harder on yourself. 

A new club, with the other four tips from above can lead to longer and straighter drives for the long term. Here are three great picks for drivers that can help you quit slicing the golf ball.

  • Cobra LTDX Max: This driver is incredibly forgiving and has an adjustable heel weight to finely tune how much draw you want on your tee shots. It has three settings and the most correction includes 18 yards of draw!
  • Cleveland XL Lite Draw Driver: While this club doesn’t have any adjustability features, it’s meant to help you deal with that pesky slice. It’s very lightweight and meant for golfers with slower swing speeds who need help with a left to right ball flight. The reworked chassis and XL head design will help you hit longer and straighter off the tee.
  • Callaway Rogue ST Max D: Another great pick is the latest driver from Callaway. The Rogue is a popular driver among all types of players but the Max-D is ideal for slicers of the golf ball. The club has very high MOI which means it’s extremely forgiving plus it has a more upright lie and reduced face progression (aka, anti-slice technology). Plus, it’s one of the longest clubs out there.

Related: How to Hit Longer Drives 

Wrapping Up 

Anyone that says you can fix a slice immediately might be oversimplifying the process. Don’t get me wrong, you can fix a slice sooner rather than later, but it might not happen instantly. 

Changing your ball flight from a slice to a straight ball, draw, or power fade comes from changing the fundamentals of your swing. Your grip, takeaway, and downswing all play a role in making sure the clubface isn’t open at impact. 

Fixing those issues and playing the right equipment can help you avoid the right trees and play better golf. Just remember, when you do hit a slice on the course, stick to the basics and stop aiming further left as you risk compounding the issue. 

As a last resort, don’t be afraid to keep the driver in the bag and use 3-wood until you can make these changes stick on the driving range. 

What’s the best tip you’ve ever received about fixing a slice? 

Let us know in the comments below. 

Michael Leonard

Michael Leonard

Michael Leonard is a full-time writer, author, creator of Wicked Smart Golf and +1 handicap amateur golfer. He left his corporate career in 2017 to pursue entrepreneurship and professional golf; since then, he’s competed in 160+ tournament days and went to Q-school in 2019.

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