A slice golf shot is a shot where the golf ball initially flies left of the intended target and then curves to the right whilst the ball is in the air, finishing off target and to the right.

This shot is produced when the swing path of the golf club that is the club head’s direction of travel through impact, is out to in. The easiest way to explain an out to in swing path is to place an alignment pole or golf club on the ground so that it points directly at the target. If you now stand ready to take your golf shot as though the ball were on this pole, the outside of the line is the far side of the pole and the inside is the side that you are standing on. A slice occurs with an out to in swing path, so the club head is on the far side of the pole as it swings towards the ball and then it strikes the ball and moves across the pole to the inside. If the club face is aiming right of this direction of travel, but left of the target, the ball will fly initially to the left of the target. However, because there is a difference between the club’s swing path direction and the club face’s direction of aim, there will be tilted axis spin on the golf ball that will produce a curved flight to the right in this case.

One reason that the club head can get pulled to the inside of the target line with the club face aiming to the right of this direction of travel is because of the action in your left arm (if you are a right handed golfer) through impact and the resulting chicken wing position that your left arm moves into.

A chicken wing means that as you strike the golf ball, your left arm moves into a position where the elbow points upwards towards the sky following impact. This action pulls the club head to the inside of the target line and because of the elbow position, you cannot rotate your arm counter clockwise through the shot and as a result of this the club face aims to the right of the club head’s swing path, or direction of travel.

The correct movement in your left arm through impact is for your left arm to be straight and extended downwards at impact and then to extend along the target line following the strike, with your left arm and hand rotating counter clockwise. This results in your elbow now folding and pointing downwards on your follow through, rather than upwards. You will also notice that your left and right forearms remain close together with this action, rather than pulling apart with the chicken wing position.

To achieve this, take two of your head covers. Place one of these about one foot to the right of the golf ball and about three inches on the outside of the target line. Place the other head cover about one foot to the left of the golf ball and about three inches on the inside of the target line. Work on swinging the golf club along the target line, without hitting either of the head covers. Do this slowly at first and without the golf ball, but as you gain confidence with the new movement gradually swing the club head with more speed and re-introduce the golf ball. If you swing the club head without hitting the head covers and keep the club face aiming at the target as you do this, you will begin hitting straight golf shots, directly at your target.