The open clubface is the technical cause of every slice but it is also the term that is responsible for much of the confusion and misunderstanding regarding the slice.

When I was just learning to play golf I was constantly fighting the slice. When I took a lesson my pro told me my slice was caused by hitting the ball with an open clubface. I then changed my grip and made sure I was hitting the ball with the clubface square to the target. I still sliced! Boy was I confused!

The problem I had was, like most golfers, I thought open meant having the clubface pointing to the right of the target. I was wrong. When referring to a slice, open is more correctly defined as the clubface pointing to the right of the path on which the club is swinging.
-- A Former Slicer

For example, your clubface could be closed to the target and yet still be open to your swing path and you will get a slice. That one really gets everybody confused! We don’t expect you to understand that right now. We will explain and illustrate the “open clubface” in detail in the section covering the “slice angle.” Just remember, you must always be very careful of the word open when talking about the clubface.

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