There is an old saying that says “be certain the cure isn’t worse than the ailment”. Lee Trevino always said you can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen. Despite the wisdom of these sayings most golfers do want to know how to cure a slice.

The reasons for this are partly driven by psychology. For some reason it’s perceived as more macho or more of a real golfers problem to hook the ball than to slice it. Yet, golfers who hook the ball wildly frequently score much higher than their slicing counterparts. However, since slicers want to know, here is how to cure a slice.

A slice occurs when the clubface is open at impact relative to the swing path of the club. This imparts a clockwise spin on the ball making it curve to the right. For those who want to cure a slice, the ball is probably spinning wildly to the right.

Here is what feeds a slice. Usually slicers have an open stance. Their feet, hips and most importantly shoulders are lined up well left of the target. The shoulders are most important because they are the single biggest influencer of the swing path. Your shoulders must be lined up square or in a slicer’s case probably closed to your target line. This will help get the club moving on the correct path making it easier to square at impact.

In addition, slicers tend to have a weak grip or at least their grip is not strong enough to square their clubface. You need to take a stronger grip on the club. Start with the left hand and turn you hand more to the right on the grip. Make sure that the heel pad of your left hand is on top of the grip and not resting on the side of the grip. Then fit the right hand to the left.

There is also a separate group of slicers who actually have a very strong grip. If you fall into this category, you tend to take the club back very closed because you don’t rotate your forearms on the backswing. Since the body seeks equilibrium you then begin to open the clubface on the downswing. We call this shut to open and it can produce some big slices. To cure a slice like this it is actually ok to weaken your grip but you must begin to rotate your forearms clock wise on the backswing and counter-clockwise on the downswing. Right now you probably have no forearm rotation in either direction or worse your forearms are rotating in the opposite direction from what you need to cure a slice.

So how to cure a slice comes down to alignment and grip. Both of these are things that can be addressed without swinging the club. Work on your grip and your alignment. 99% of all slices happen due to problems in one or both of these areas. You can work on this at home without hitting balls or playing golf. Actually, its been proven that you will learn a good grip and alignment better if you don’t hit balls and work at it away from the distraction of where you tend to hit the ball.

The slice swing is one that tends to cut across the ball from right to left. The reason for this is that you try to hit the ball to hard and don’t pause long enough at the top of your backswing. When you get to the top of your backswing you need to pause for just a split second with your hands and arms to let your lower body get in the proper position for the downswing. It’s not a big move and it’s not a big pause. But to cure a slice it has to happen. This way you can eliminate that out to in swing path. Try swinging at 75%-80%. You will find that you don’t lose any distance and you might even gain some because your body is more synchronized.

If you follow this advice you will cure a slice. You may even see a hook develop so get ready to see the left side of the course. Let’s hope that the cure isn’t worse than the ailment.