How to Fix a Slice: Strengthen Your Grip and Close the Clubface

Piece: Tee shots | Level: Break 100 | 5-minute read | Part 3 of 4 in the Fix Your Slice series

An open clubface at impact is the main cause of the push slice and a big contributor to every other slice. A weak grip makes it hard to close the face in time. This article shows you how to strengthen your grip in small steps and train the face to close. Everything here is written for right-handed golfers; lefties, mirror it.

The leak: a weak grip and an open face

A weak grip means both hands are rotated toward the target. From there, the clubface has to rotate a long way to get square at impact, and most golfers can’t do that on every swing. The face arrives open, and the ball starts right or curves hard right.

On the scorecard, that’s a drive that finishes right of the fairway, an approach from the rough, and a bogey you didn’t need. A neutral to slightly stronger grip makes the square face the easy position instead of the hard one.

The fix: build the grip in four steps

1. Left hand: rotate it away from the target until you see two to three knuckles when you look down. The V between your thumb and index finger should point at your trail shoulder.
2. Right hand: the pad of the palm covers your left thumb, and its V also points toward your trail shoulder.
3. Pressure: light enough to feel the weight of the clubhead, about a 4 on a 1-10 scale. A tight grip blocks forearm rotation.
4. Change it in small steps. Move one notch, hit 10 balls, and check the start line. A stronger grip often produces a few hooks at first. That’s the face closing, which is the goal. If hooks start to dominate, back off a notch.

The drill: hook it on purpose

With your new grip, hit 10 balls trying to start the ball right of the target and curve it left. You won’t pull it off every time, but the attempt trains the forearm rotation that closes the face through impact. Success: at least 6 of 10 balls finish at or left of where they started.

Your 7-day game plan

• Day 1: take a photo of your current grip and compare it to the four steps above.
• Day 2: make the first notch change and hit 10 balls with a 7-iron.
• Day 3: hook-it-on-purpose drill, 20 balls.
• Day 4: one more notch if you’re still fading, and 10 test balls.
• Day 5: 20 normal shots, aiming to start the ball on your target line.
• Day 6: repeat the 10-ball test and compare it to your Part 1 tally.
• Day 7: play nine holes using the rule below.

Your rule for the next round

Check your grip as part of your pre-shot routine: two to three knuckles on your left hand, V’s pointing at your trail shoulder, every tee shot.

The measure

Count how many of your 10 test balls start at or left of the target line. Aim for 6 of 10 by the end of the week. That’s a target, not a guarantee.

Next piece on the path

A closing face still needs a path that doesn’t cut across the ball. Next is Part 4: Fix an out-to-in swing. See the full Fix Your Slice guide and the Path 2 Par blueprint.