Why You Slice — And How to See It in Your Own Swing Video
The slice is the most common miss in golf, and also the one that lasts the longest. The reason is simple: most golfers treat a slice as one mistake. It is not. A slice is the result of two numbers, and until you can separate them, practice tends to move you sideways rather than forward.
A slice is two numbers
At impact, two values decide what the ball does.
- Face angle — where the clubface is pointing at the moment of contact
- Club path — the direction the club head is travelling through impact
Modern ball flight research settled the relationship between them: the direction the ball starts is mostly determined by face angle, and the amount it curves is determined by the difference between face and path. With a driver, roughly three quarters or more of the starting direction comes from the face.
So a slice is not defined as "the ball curves right." It is defined as the face being open relative to the path. That distinction matters, because the face can be closed to the target and the ball will still slice, as long as the path is further left than the face.
What the ball tells you — separate start from curve
When you watch the trajectory on video, read two things separately: where the ball started, and which way it bent. The combination is the diagnosis.
| Starts | Curves | Name | What actually happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left | Right | Pull slice | The most common version. The path is steeply out-to-in and the face is open relative to that path. The face itself may still be closed to the target. |
| Straight | Right | Straight slice | The face is pointing at the target but the path cuts across to the left. Path is the only thing to fix here. |
| Right | Right | Push slice | Both face and path are open to the right, with the face open further still. Face control comes first. |
| Left | No curve | Pull | Not a slice at all. Face and path are matched and both are pointing left. |
The point is that the same "ball that curves right" calls for completely different fixes depending on where it started. Watch only the curve and you will end up working on the wrong thing.
Why aiming further left makes it worse
Seeing the ball curve right, most golfers aim further left. This is the single most common way a slice gets worse instead of better.
Aiming left steepens the out-to-in path. If the face does not move with it, the gap between face and path widens, and a wider gap means more curve. More curve, more aiming left, more curve. That is the loop.
To reduce a slice you have to move the path back to the right. Not the aim. The path.
How to see it on video
Everything above depends on being able to see where the ball started and how it curved, plus which way the club travelled. Without a launch monitor, video is the practical alternative.
- Camera position — down the target line, directly behind the ball. This is the only angle where starting direction and club path are both readable. From the front or the side, left-right deviation is distorted.
- Camera height — between waist and chest. Too low and the path will look more in-to-out than it is.
- Frame rate — 30fps is enough to see the ball flight, but to read club path through impact use 60fps or slow motion. A driver head is moving well over 40 metres per second near impact, so at 30fps that part of the swing can fall entirely between two frames.
- Background — a ball crossing sky or any plain background is detected far more cleanly than one against trees.
Shashot draws the ball flight, the club head path, and the hand path onto that video. No extra equipment is needed — one phone clip is enough. Read start and curve from the ball line, read the path from the club head line, and the table above applies directly.
What to change first
Path comes first. Curve is produced by the difference between face and path, not by the face on its own, so moving the path back to the right reduces the curve even at the same face angle. Forcing the face closed instead tends to push the start line left and turn a slice into a pull.
And film from the same position every time. The value of video analysis comes from comparison, not from a single swing. Change the camera position and last week's swing is no longer comparable to today's.
Common questions
What is the difference between a slice and a fade?
Physically, nothing. Both have the face open relative to the path. The difference is degree and intent: a fade keeps that gap small and controlled, a slice lets it grow until both distance and direction are lost.
Will changing clubs fix it?
Draw-biased drivers and offset irons help the face close and will take some curve off the ball. The out-to-in path is still there, so the cause remains.
Can I check this at an indoor range?
Starting direction is readable for as long as the ball is in frame, and club path is fully readable. Curve will not develop over a short flight, so indoors it is better to work on path.
Do I need a tripod?
No. Shashot stabilizes hand-held footage before analysis. Filming from the same spot each time matters far more than holding the phone still.