The average slicer faces a conundrum each time he or she steps up onto the tee to hit a drive. Do you aim down the middle of the fairway, hoping to avoid hitting a slice? Or do you aim down the left, planning to let the ball slice back toward the short grass? For many golfers, the answer is the latter. They will aim down the left, swinging across the ball in order to curve it back. While this might sound like a reasonable plan, it is actually part of the problem.

When you play for your slice, you take away the incentive to make it go away. Instead of actively trying to hit straighter shots by improving your technique, you will wind up accepting the slice. You’ll just keep swinging across the ball, and you’ll keep hitting shots that curve dramatically from left to right. If you are ever going to break this pattern, you need to aim at targets that are going to encourage straight shots rather than slices.

To start with, try finding a middle ground in terms of your targets. You don’t have to aim directly at the target, but try not to aim way out to the left, either. In other words, you are going to play for a fade rather than a slice. With time and practice, you should be able to continue moving your aim point back in closer and closer to the target itself.

Playing with a persistent slice can be frustrating, to say the least, but you need to look on the bright side if you are going to overcome this issue. Don’t give in to the fact that the slice is going to be a permanent part of your game. Rather, embrace the challenge of fixing it and work on making your swing better one shot at a time. Good luck!