Common golf mistakes: fix your miss by ball flight
Quick answer: Fix common golf mistakes by reading the ball flight first to find out what the club did at impact. Each miss leaves a clue, such as a slice, hook, shank, fat, thin, or topped shot. Start with one quick check at the range for your specific miss and practice at half speed.
Common golf mistakes leave a clue in the ball flight. Pick what the ball did, a slice, hook, shank, fat, thin or topped shot, and start with one check.
⚑ Ball flight
The common golf mistakes, sorted by ball flight
Most common golf mistakes are not mysteries. The ball tells you what the club did at impact, and each miss has a short list of usual causes. Read the flight first, then the fix. Trying a fix for the wrong miss is how golfers end up with two problems instead of one.
| What the ball did | What the club did | First check | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curves right | Face open to the path | Lead-hand knuckles: one or none showing? | Slice |
| Curves hard left | Face closed to the path | Lead hand turned too far to the trail side (three or four knuckles showing), or the hands flipping? | Hook |
| Shoots low and sharp right | The neck (hosel) hit the ball | Standing too close, or weight moving to the toes? | Shank |
| Club hits the ground first | Low point behind the ball | Ball too far forward, or weight hanging back? | Fat shot |
| Low, hot, runs a long way | Leading edge hit the ball's middle | Standing up through impact? | Thin shot |
| Rolls or hops along the ground | Club met the top half of the ball | Trying to lift the ball into the air? | Topped shot |
How to use these pages
Pick the miss you hit most often in your last round, not the one that looked worst. Each page has a check that takes a minute and a fix with five steps or fewer. Hit ten balls at half speed with the fix before you judge it. A half-speed ball that starts closer to the target is a win, even if it is shorter.
Two misses often travel together. A slice and a topped shot can both come from a swing that cuts across the ball; a fat shot and a thin shot are often the same low-point problem on two different days. If a fix makes the first miss better and a new one appears, open the page for the new one rather than undoing the fix.
Many misses start before the swing. Grip, aim and ball position cause many of these shots, so each page links to the grip, the golf stance or ball position when that is the likely cause.
Free printable checklists
Each miss page now has a one-page printable checklist with 9 or 10 checks you can tick off at the range: the slice, hook, topped shot, fat shot, thin shot and shank. Print the one that matches your miss, take it to the range, and work down the list in order before changing anything else. Many misses come from one or two of the early checks, such as grip, aim or ball position, so do not skip ahead. If the ball flight does not match any of these, the table above helps you find the right page.
Common questions
What causes a slice?
A slice curves right due to the clubface being open relative to the swing path. This is often caused by a weak lead hand (one or no knuckles showing) leaving the face open, or an out-to-in path.
Why does a hook happen?
A hook curves sharply left because the clubface is closed relative to the swing path. This can happen if the lead hand is turned too far to the trail side (three or four knuckles showing) or the hands flip at impact.
What is a shank?
A shank is when the ball is struck by the hosel of the club, causing it to shoot low and sharp to the right. This usually happens when the golfer stands too close to the ball or shifts weight to the toes.
What causes a topped shot?
A topped shot occurs when the club hits the top of the ball, causing it to roll along the ground. This is often due to the golfer standing up through impact or the ball being too far forward in the stance.
Related fixes
Last updated: 2026-10-21
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