11 Ball flight
The slice
The ball curves to the right because the face is open to the path the club is traveling. Speed will not close it.
Home / The slice
The situation
For a right-handed player, a slice bends to the right. Often it starts left of the target and then peels away. Sometimes it starts at the target and curves from there. Both are the face open relative to the path.
If the ball leaves low and sharp with almost no face on the strike, that is not this page. That is a shank, the hosel, the neck of the club.
A check you can do
Put one club on the ground along your toes, pointing at the target, and another just outside the ball, also at the target. Make a slow swing and see where the clubhead crosses the outside club. If it crosses from outside the ball toward you, you are cutting across it. Then do the knuckle count on the weak grip page. One knuckle plus a cut across the ball is the usual pair.
The fix
- 01Strengthen the grip before you try to swing left Turn the lead hand until two knuckles show. The Vs point up the trail shoulder. Do this even if you would rather think about the swing. An open hand will reopen the face on the way down.
- 02Move an iron ball back if it has crept forward A ball up by the lead toe gives the face more time to stay open. Mid-iron position is on ball position. The driver stays forward. Do not drag the iron forward to copy it.
- 03Let the hands drop as the first move down The slice path throws the clubhead at the ball from the top, from outside the toe line. A useful feel is the hands falling as the first move down, so the shaft is not laid across your toes. You are not aiming the swing left. You are stopping the cut across.
- 04Finish with the chest at the target Weight ends on the lead foot and the chest points where you wanted the ball to start. A slice finish often stalls with the chest still facing the ball and the club low around your trail side.
- 05Ten balls at half speed The win is a ball that starts nearer the target and curves less, not a longer ball. If it now starts right and never curves, that is a push. Check aim before you touch the grip again. If the ten-finger hold is what you use, the same knuckle rule is on the ten-finger page.