The slice is a shot that curves frustratingly to the right. It is the most common fault in golf. The slice occurs because the golfer imparts some left to right sidespin to the ball in addition to backspin. This is caused by hitting the ball with the clubface aimed to the right of the direction in which the club is being swung.

The fundamental cause of the slice is the clubface being open at impact. When I say this, I mean the clubface is open to the swing path (the direction the clubhead is traveling). Another way to put it is that your clubface is looking right of the direction in which your clubhead is moving. Your clubface can be perfectly square toward your target, but if you are cutting across the ball (outside-to-inside), you are going to get a slice.

If you cut across the ball and your clubface is square to your swing path you will get a pulled shot to the left. If you swing straight down the target line and your clubface is open (open to your swing path), your ball will take off straight and then slice. Your goal during the swing is to have the clubhead travel straight down the target line (for the period just before impact, during impact, and just after impact) with the clubface square.

When the ball is struck by a clubface that is open to right, the force imparts a spin to the right (clockwise) to the ball, as well as some backspin. The spinning causes a lower air pressure on one side of the ball. It’s like the baseball pitcher intentionally putting sidespin on a pitch to make it curve. The faster he can make it spin when he throws it the sharper the pitch will curve.

A golf ball spins on every golf shot. The question is: Which way will it spin? If it spins straight backwards around a horizontal axis, like a car tire spinning backward, you’ll have a straight shot with backspin, which will help get the ball into the air. If it spins toward the right around a vertical axis like a merry-go-round, you’ll wind up with a ground ball because there is no backspin to create the lift necessary to get the ball up in the air. If you combine backspin and sidespin, you wind up with a slice curving off to the right. Most shots will have a limited amount of side spin. Those will be the fades and draws.