We have a lot of recreational golfers coming to us who are frustrated about slicing their driver. Ultimately what is going on when someone is consistently slicing is that their club face is open relative to the path. This is sometimes called and out-to-in path or and over-the-top swing.

It’s pretty easy to see when you are slicing your driver and the need for a launch monitor isn’t really necessary. However, when you are working on “fixing” your driver, it’s MUCH easier to work on these drills with a shorter iron like a 7. So for this fix, grab a shorter club.

First of all, it is IMPERATIVE that you set up with good alignment. It’s pretty tough to figure out what’s going on in your swing if your alignment is bad. 99% of people who don’t practice with alignment sticks do not have good alignment. Make sure when you set up with the alignment aids, they are parallel.

Second, make sure you are setting up with a proper grip. Now you can focus on your swing path. If you are swinging the club out-to-in, chances are you feel like you are swinging the club straight at the target. So start trying to swing the club more in to out or to the right for a right handed golfer.

Chances are, the first couple of times that you try to swing the club more to the right (for a right handed golfer), you won’t make great contact. Part of the reason for this is that when you try to swing the club out to the right, you may throw your hands out away from you. However, when you do that, your entire club will be farther away from you and it’s really hard to connect with the center of the club face. So another way to think about this is to try to keep your back pointed at the target a little bit longer in your backswing as you unwind toward the target. This will help you unwind with your lower body first. This will help you shallow the club under the previous plane. Try this without a ball first to get the feel for it.

Another thing you can do is start to get more aware of the club face and feel like you are moving the toe of the club past the heel.

I’ve been playing the game a really long time and chances are, if you are new to the game, this will not come easy to you. However, if you keep working at it, it will become easier and will definitely help to fix that slice!

Did you know that hitting up too much can actually be causing your slice?

Before we get into it though, I have to start with the fundamentals. First off, you can’t expect to play good golf or to make an efficient swing and good connection if you don’t line up with your target. If you are consistently lining up incorrectly, you are going to incentivize yourself to make an inefficient swing in order to get the ball where you want it to go.

It’s very easy to set up with poor alignment without the use of proper aids.

Here I am using two golf shafts as my alignment aids.

The best way to insure that you are doing this is to use 2 sticks to help with alignment. One of the sticks should line up to the ball - this is your target line. The second stick, running parallel to the first stick will assist with lining your feet up to the target - this line will be parallel to your target line.

Okay, so now we get to the dreaded slice! A slice is a ball that curves dramatically to the right for a right handed golfer. Yeesh. That is ugly! Very often a slice can result from a weak lead hand grip. However, if you have checked your grip and made sure it was stronger and you are STILL slicing. What then?

Next, check your ball position. If your ball position is too far forward in your stance, you may be catching the ball as your club is traveling to the left which can result in a slice (for a right handed golfer). In other words, you will be catching the ball too much on the upswing.

Remember, if you have the ball too far forward in your stance, you may be catching the ball on the upswing as the club is going out to in which will very often result in a slice!

Are you struggling with a slice? Comment below.

Most golfers, when they have been playing for a little while, come to me with the hope that I can help them hit their driver better. I am going to give you a drill that will help you start hitting your driver better but it does require practice and a certain amount of discipline. The goal is to take a full swing with the driver but only 50% speed. So if you normally hit your driver 220 yards, during this drill, you will only hit it 110 yards. During the drill, the goals are to make center face contact and for the ball to be relatively straight.

It’s actually much harder to do than it looks. When we tell our students to swing 50%, it usually ends up being more like 80-90%. If you can manage to swing slower, it will help you get a feel for the club face, the path, and most importantly making center face contact.