How to Fix Slice with Driver? | Break the Curve

A driver slice happens when your clubface is open and your swing path is outside-to-in; fixing it means strengthening your grip and swinging from the inside.

Few things ruin a round like watching your drive start left and curve hard right into the trees. The fix for the slice with your driver isn’t a mystery—it’s a combination of grip, alignment, ball position, and a swing path that approaches from inside. The good news is that all of these are learnable, and you can start correcting them on your next range session.

Why Your Driver Keeps Slicing

The slice is the most common miss in golf because it involves two compounding errors. Your clubface is open relative to your swing path at impact, and your swing path is moving from outside-to-in. Together, those create sidespin that curves the ball hard right.

Before you touch your swing, check three things with a club laid on the ground:

• Grip strength: For a right-handed golfer, you should see two or three knuckles on your lead (left) hand at address. A weak grip leaves the face open at impact.
• Alignment: Lay a club on the ground across your toes and check that your feet, hips, and shoulders point straight down the target line—not left of it.
• Ball position: Play the ball forward, in line with your lead toe, so you hit up on the driver. Too far back in the stance promotes a steep, cutting path.

Setup Changes That Fix the Slice

Most slicers never realize how much their setup contributes to the miss. Fixing these two elements alone can straighten out a significant number of shots.

Square the face at address. Flex or bow your lead wrist and extend or cup your trail wrist slightly, so the clubhead sits behind your hands rather than pointing at the ball. This keeps the face square through impact instead of wide open.

Move the ball up. If the ball sits in the middle of your stance, you’re hitting down on the driver, which adds backspin and makes the slice worse. Move it forward so you catch the ball on the upswing, which promotes a straighter, higher launch.

The Swing Path Fix: Stop Coming Over the Top

With the setup corrected, the next battle is the transition. Slicers almost always start the downswing with their upper body, throwing the club from the top and sending it outside the target line. The fix is to start the downswing with your lower body.

Feel your hips lead the way while your right shoulder (for right-handed golfers) drops down and back, letting the club “lay down” and approach the ball from an inside-to-out path. Two drills make this feel concrete:

• The split-hand drill: Separate your hands on the grip before swinging. This breaks the connection between your arms and body, forcing your lower body to start the downswing while the club stays behind your hands.
• The alignment-stick path drill: Place a stick in the ground outside your back foot at a 45-degree angle, pointing toward the target. Swing under it. If you come over the top, you’ll hit the stick.

After each swing, check your impact location with painter’s tape on the clubface. Heel strikes add rightward spin and worsen the slice; center or slightly toe-side contact is your goal.

What About Your Driver Settings?

Driver settings can support your swing changes, but they can’t replace them. Making the club more upright can also reduce the rightward tendency.

But don’t rely on the hosel to fix your swing. Set the club back to neutral, identify the swing cause, and fix the path and face control first. A good swing will hit straight with any setting within reason.

If you’re in the market for a new head that’s genuinely easier to hit straight, our tested roundup of budget drivers built to reduce the slice covers the models that reward a forgiving strike.

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