How Can I Fix My Slice: 7 Best Drills

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How Can I Fix My Slice?

If you have ever stood on the first tee, watched your ball start left of the fairway and then curve helplessly into the trees on the right, you already know exactly why you clicked on this article. The slice is the most common miss in golf, and it is also one of the most frustrating, because it robs you of distance, accuracy, and your confidence. So, How can I fix my slice? I have been there more times than I can count, and I spent years chasing that big banana ball before I finally got serious about fixing it for good. And trust me, it’s worth it.

I already broke down the actual causes of a slice (open club face, an out-to-in swing path, and everything that feeds into it) in my full slice fix guide, so I will not rehash all of that here. What I want to give you instead is something more useful: seven drills that actually retrain your hands, your body, balance and your swing path so the slice stops showing up in the first place. These are the most effective drills I’ve found and I want to share them with you.

A quick note before we dive in. You do not need to do all seven drills every single range session. Pick the one or two that match your specific miss. A lot of this comes down to whether you are fighting an open club face, an outside-in path, hips opening too early, etc. If your slice is mostly showing up with the big stick, my driver slice guide digs deeper into that specific version of the problem.

1. The Headcover Drill

This drill is so simple guys and honestly a perfect startup for a range session.

Place or tee up a ball like you normally would, then take a headcover (or glove or towel) and place it on the ground either above and behind the ball or on the on the inside corner where you’d follow through. The goal is simple: swing down and through impact without clipping the headcover. If you are swinging over the top and cutting across the ball from outside to in, which is the number one cause of a slice, your club is going to smack right into that headcover before it ever reaches the ball.

I love this drill because it gives you instant feedback without any fancy tools. You do not need a launch monitor or a swing coach standing over your shoulder to know if you are coming over the top. You just need to know whether or not you hit the headcover. When I first tried this drill, I found that I was very uncomfortable with having the headcover there. As I got more comfortable with hitting golf balls, it made me a bit more confident in my swing path.

Start slow with half swings so you can actually feel the path change, then build back up to full speed once you are consistently missing the headcover. This video describes the drill perfectly, please give it a watch:

2. The Bowling Drill

This one will feel funny the first time you try it, but it teaches something a lot of slicers desperately need: how to actually release the golf club through impact. And equally as important, an in-to-out swing path which also prevents your hips from having a chance to open up too early.

The Drill: Take your normal setup, and drop your back foot back. Your back toe should line up roughly with the middle or heel of the front foot. This is why it feels uncomfortable though as your body is completely closed off.

Most slicers keep the club face wide open all the way through impact and this drill essentially eliminates that possibility. One of the keys to this drill is to keep your back foot down as long as possible. Don’t let that hip turn early! Again, I’d ask that you watch this quick video to better understand the drill but this drill could debatably be in that first spot.

3. Strengthen the Grip

I know grip changes can feel uncomfortable, and honestly this drill is less of a “drill” and more of a setup fix, but it belongs on this list because a weak grip is one of the most common slice causes I see. It’s also one of the easiest to correct. If you’ve ever watched Scottie Scheffler play, he looks at his grip before every single shot. It’s important.

Here is a simple check: look down at your lead hand (which is the hand closest to your body) at address. If you can only see one knuckle, or none at all, your grip is too weak, and a weak grip typically results in leaving the club face open at impact. Rotate that hand slightly to the right so you can see two to three knuckles when you look down (opposite for lefties). Then check your trail hand and make sure it matches, sitting more on top of and behind the grip rather than underneath it.

A stronger grip makes it much easier for your hands to naturally close the club face through impact without any extra manipulation. Feel free to practice this at home with no ball at all. Just take your grip, check your knuckles in a mirror, and make some slow practice swings so the new grip starts to feel less foreign. It will feel strange, but stick with it. If you want the full rundown on building a proper setup from scratch, my beginner’s guide to golf covers grip and stance basics in more detail.

For the purposes of this drill/technique and article, I have another video that talks about this in solid detail:

4. Alignment

One of the most common things I see in golfers who slice the golf ball is simply “playing their slice.” Yes, I know, it’s funny when you’re playing with your buddies and he’s forced to aim at a million plus dollar home, just to attempt to find the fairway. But, if you’re serious about fixing your slice, you need to practice aiming properly with correct alignment.

Grab one or more alignment sticks (or a couple of golf clubs) and lay one on the ground pointing at your target in front of your feet. In fact, perfect alignment should have your feet aiming just left of the target (for a right handed player) and then your club should be square with the target itself. If you have multiple alignments sticks, or clubs, then you can have another one closer to your ball to simulate more of a gateway drill. This forces your feet and club to stay in alignment all throughout the drill.

The problem we’re trying to fix here is that aiming left encourages an out-to-in swing path, which just feeds the slice even more.

Once your alignment sticks or clubs are setup, hit balls and pay close attention to your setup relative to those sticks every single time. This drill alone will not fix your swing path, but it removes one of the variables that makes the slice worse, and it pairs really well with the headcover drill above. Get your alignment sticks out before every range session for a while. It becomes a habit fast, and it is one of the simplest changes that actually moves the needle.

Again, I have a video that walks through this for you:

5. The Gateway Drill (Second Headcover Drill)

How can I fix my slice? Pay attention because this is a heavy hitter of a drill that WILL make a difference.

This can be done with one or two headcovers, gloves, towels, alignment sticks etc…The idea here is that you’re essentially making a gateway for your club path and the area which you want it to travel through. The gap should be relatively small so that it subconsciously makes you feel that they are there and you should absolutely do your best to not hit them!

If your swing path is too far out-to-in, or if you are cutting across the ball, you will clip one of the headcovers. If your path is good, the club swings right through the gate and into the ball.

I like to pair this drill with slower, controlled swings at first so I can actually feel the club traveling through that gate rather than just muscling it through. If shallowing the club out on the downswing is something you struggle with, my guide on how to shallow the golf club is a great companion to this drill.

For a better understanding, watch the video below:

6. The Balance Drill (Narrow Stance)

How can you fix your slice you ask? I generally think this is one of the best drills out there because it takes out some of the variables that cause a slice in the first place. As per all these drills, it’s simple to do and a great drill to start your range session with.

Start by bringing your feet together so they are only a few inches apart or even touching. The closer the better but all people are built differently and it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.

With your feet that close together, you physically cannot get away with a big lateral slide or an overly aggressive lunge toward the target on your downswing. Both of these moves are extremely common for folks tend to slice the ball because it often forces the club to be thrown outside the proper path or leads to early extension in the hips. Instead, your body has to rotate around a stable center to keep your balance, which naturally promotes a more rotational, on-plane swing instead of a lunging, over-the-top one.

Start with short irons and easy, three-quarter swings. If you lose your balance a few times at first, that’s okay and that is honestly the point. It teaches you where your weight actually needs to go and when. Once you can hit balanced, solid shots with your feet together, widen back out to your normal stance, slowly, and try to keep that same balanced, rotational feeling. A lot of golfers notice their contact gets more consistent too, not just their ball flight.

As you requested, here’s a video explaining the drill further.

7. Ball Position and Weight Back Drill

The last drill on this list is really two small fixes rolled into one, and together they clean up a lot of the rushed, lunging moves that cause a slice. This drill is a little bit more geared toward a driver but it can be applied elsewhere.

First, check your ball position. For your driver, the ball should be positioned off the inside of your lead heel, essentially right off your front foot. Too many slicers play the ball too far back in their stance, which encourages them to hit down and across the ball before the club face has time to square up.

Second and for the drill portion, let your weight sit on your back foot almost completely, even through impact. Then, and this is the part that trips people up, swing at about 75 to 80 percent effort instead of trying to kill it. When slicers swing at 100 percent, they almost always speed up their upper body and rush into impact before their lower body and club face catch up, which opens the face and steepens the path. Swinging a little easier lets everything sequence properly and helps perfect this drill. Then, as a result, the club face actually has a chance to square itself by the time it meets the ball.

This drill is less about one single mechanical move and more about tempo and sequencing. Hit ten balls at 75 percent effort with your ball position checked and your weight starting back, and pay attention to how much more solid and how much straighter those shots feel compared to your normal, full effort swing.

Video demonstration below:

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FAQ: Common Questions About Fixing a Slice

Final Thoughts

I will not pretend fixing a slice happens overnight, because for me it did not. It took consistent work with drills like these, some patience with a grip change that felt awkward at first, and a genuine willingness to swing a little easier. But every single one of these drills gave me something concrete to feel and check, which made all the difference compared to just vaguely “trying to swing better.”

Pick one or two drills that match your miss, spend real range time on them, and trust the process. Your slice did not show up overnight, and it will not disappear overnight either, but it will disappear. I am proof of that, and so are plenty of golfers I have shared these same drills with.

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