Top 5 Ways to Fix Your Slice: Master Your New Golf Swing with My Proven Techniques!

Updated: Nov 20

Hi, I'm Coach Erik from EJS Golf Academy in Scottsdale, AZ. As the number one rated golf coach in the area, I've helped countless golfers fix their slices and improve their overall golf game. In this comprehensive guide, I'll share my expertise to help you stop slicing the ball and develop a more consistent and accurate swing.

Imagine this, not having to stand on the 18th tee with water on the right and worry about going in the water. What would that feel like to you? Can you imagine the confidence this. would breed?

Fix Your Slice

Understanding the Slice: The Science Behind the Curve

As a golf coach, I often see players struggling with a slice, which occurs when the ball curves dramatically to the right (for right-handed golfers) or to the left (for left-handed golfers). This typically results from an open club face at impact, causing the ball to spin clockwise (right-handed golfer) or counter-clockwise (left-handed golfer).

By addressing the root cause of your slice, you can work to eliminate it from your game and improve your overall accuracy. Do not swing to the left to fix an open club face issue. Look to your club face first. If you take anything away from this post and videos, let it be that you will fix your club face!

Master Impact and Fix your Slice

The Importance of Proper Grip

In my years of coaching, I've found that the foundation of a good golf swing starts with the grip. If you look at slicers, they, for the most part have very weak grips that are sitting int their palm instead of their fingers. Follow these steps to ensure you have a proper grip:

The left hand (for right-handed golfers): Place the club in your fingers, not your palm. The base of your pinky should rest on the grip, with your thumb pointing down the shaft.
The right hand (for right-handed golfers): Position your right hand below your left, allowing your fingers to interlock or overlap with your left hand's fingers. Your right palm should cover your left thumb.
Grip pressure: Maintain a firm, but not overly tight grip on the club. Your hands should feel secure and connected, allowing for proper wrist hinge and clubface control.

A correct grip will help ensure that the clubface remains square at impact, reducing the likelihood of a slice. Look for other articles that I have written about the pressure points in our fingers.

Setting Up for Success: The Correct Stance and Posture

A proper stance and posture are crucial to achieving a straight and powerful shot. Follow these guidelines for a solid foundation:

Stance width: Position your feet shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointing slightly outward.
Ball position: For most shots, place the ball midway between your front and back foot. Adjust the position based on the club and shot type.
Posture: Keep your back straight and bend at the hips, allowing your knees to flex slightly. This posture will promote a balanced and powerful swing.

Perfecting Your Backswing and Downswing

The backswing and downswing are crucial components of an accurate golf swing. Here are some continue tips I've shared with my students for mastering these elements:

Backswing: Maintain a smooth and controlled motion, allowing your hips and shoulders to rotate as you bring the club back. View the backswing as a windup to gain power for the downswing.
Downswing: As you transition from the backswing to the downswing, shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot, initiating the movement with your hips. Rotate your body towards the target, keeping your arms and wrists fully engaged. This motion will generate power and ensure a square club face at impact. The Importance of a Balanced Follow-Through A balanced and controlled follow-through is essential for consistency and accuracy. Keep these points in mind:
Maintain balance: As you complete your swing, your weight should be primarily on your front foot, with your back foot pivoting on its toes.
Extend your arms: Both arms should fully extend towards the target, with your club finishing high above your shoulder.
Hold your finish: Hold your finish position for a moment, ensuring a stable and balanced finish. This will help reinforce good habits and muscle memory.

Drills to Reinforce Good Swing Mechanics

Practice is the key to improvement. Here are some drills I use with my students to help them eliminate their slices and develop a more consistent swing:

Tee drill: Place a tee in the ground about one foot in front of the ball, and slightly to the right (for right-handed golfers). As you swing, focus on hitting the tee with your club after making contact with the ball. This encourages an in-to-out swing path, reducing the chance of a slice.
Alignment rod drill: Place an alignment rod on the ground, pointing towards your target. Position another rod perpendicular to the first, mimicking your clubface angle. As you swing, ensure that the clubface remains square to the target line, promoting a straighter shot.
Head cover drill: Place a head cover just outside of the ball and practice swinging without hitting the head cover. This will help you maintain an in-to-out swing path and avoid coming across the ball, which often results in a slice.

Additional Tips to Keep Your Swing on Track

In addition to the techniques outlined above, consider these tips to help you fix your golf slice:

Strengthen your grip: Experiment with a stronger grip, rotating your hands slightly more to the right (for right-handed golfers). This can help keep the club face square at impact.
Monitor your path and face: Maintain a good face to path ratio. The more the ball curves, the more you have a large difference between face angle and your club path. See my blog on the ball flight laws.
Seek professional guidance: Consult with me, Coach Erik, for personalized advice and tailored instruction to address your specific swing issues.

Conclusion - Fix Your Club Face

By following this comprehensive guide and dedicating time to practice, you can effectively eliminate your golf slice and develop a more consistent and accurate swing. Remember, fixing your driver slice is achievable with the right guidance and practice. Visit my website to start your journey to curing your slice today. Also, look for other posts on how we learn. The quickest way to get better is to learn to be a master at the process of learning and not the master of looking results. The latter is a recipe for failure and I guarantee success when you are process driven.

Click here for lessons in Scottsdale. For anyone not here but elsewhere in the world, click here to sign up for the chance to reach your goals and dreams!

Erik Schjolberg

EJS Golf Academy

coach@ejsgolf.com

Transcripts from video

If you slice the golf ball does it start to the right go further right you start it left it goes right you stand on the T sometimes and do a little prayer oh boy don't go out of bounds so if that is you I have a great drill for you well that works great so let's think about this so what is the cause of your slice what if why is it happening is it your shoulders your hips your feet your knees it's your Club face okay your Club face is open to your club path that combination there is going to produce a slice okay so if my club path let's just assume it is a long basically a club path is at the ball let's assume along my target line which is where this is extending through the ball let's say I come through and it's at a zero okay which would be perfect and let's say my face is open at four so the ball would start to the right and go to the right so remember this other fact where the ball starts is about 90 influenced by your plug face okay.

if the ball starts to left face was closed okay so now that you understand what is causing your slice let's talk about how to fix it another great tool now I'm indoors but if you're Outdoors you can grab a lineup stick just put it in the ground and what you want to do is put it right over the golf ball okay just like I'm doing right here so I have it right over the golf ball give yourself enough room so you can take the club away comfortably and what we'll do is we'll just set up and I'm going to show you here so if I go to here and I have an over the top golf swing which I typically see from slicers I'll nail this okay what we want to do is this I'm not going to get a real technical here on the swing because what you're going to have to do is do this to fix it what does that mean you're gonna have to do a little shift with your body towards the Target and then unwind nicely like this underneath using something like this is going to help you figure it out on your own instead of bringing a magazine or whatever and say do this with your hips your angle of this and get your shoulders here this will bring you into your own golf swing so it works okay so typically we're seeing this with slicers over the top starting with shoulders we want to get more in here like that and this is the drill I would do a practice like I did a bunch of times getting that feel after that you're ready to hit it okay so folks thank you so much for watching.

Once again, I look forward to seeing you live on the lesson tee.