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What Is The Difference Between A Sliced And A Faded Golf Shot?The difference between a fade and slice comes down to three things; the target, swing path and club face position at impact.


From these three factors all the ball flights available can be figured out, however, the difference between a fade and slice has everything to do with target.

Both the ball flights move from left to right during the air and both begin their journey when hit to the left of the target line. A slice, however, will move more in the air and finish well right of the target.

The swing path for a slice must travel from out-to-in cutting across the target line. This is what causes the ball to start left. To move the ball right in the air golfers need to have an open club face at the point of impact. The club face will be open to the path and target producing counter clockwise spin and a curving flight to the right.

With a fade the club will also travel on an out to in swing path cutting across the target line, however, the club face position is different. At impact the club face will be open to the path but closed to the target. This position will cause enough clockwise spin to be placed on the ball so it curves back to the target and not beyond.

The straight and draw shots require different club paths and club face positions at impact. To hit straight shots the club face will travel on an inside-to-square-to-inside swing path with the club face square to the target line at impact. To hit a draw, the club will have to travel on an in-to-out swing path with the club face closed to the swing path but slightly open to the target line.
The differences between a slice and a fade have everything to do with target.

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This is the classic slice shot! Its probably the most common and destructive shot suffered by golfers across the globe. Players looking to fix a slice should first try to accomplish hitting a fade before altering their swing path to try different shot shapes.

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This is where many players become confused about the shots they are hitting. Balls which fly right of the target before curving further right are known as push slices. These are different than normal slices because the club path must have travelled from an in to out path with the club face open to the path and target.

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This is known as a push and like a push slice requires an in to out swing path. However, a push features a square club face in relation to the path and therefore no movement through the air.