Why Does My Golf Ball Curve Right?

Ball flight in golf can be challenging to understand, and while most golfers strive to hit the ball straight, many, especially weekend golfers, struggle to do this. For most players, the dreaded slice or uncontrolled fade is common– but why does your golf ball curve right?

Your ball will curve to the right because it has sidespin imparted by the path of the clubface at the point of impact. Your clubface is slicing across the ball due to the out-to-in swing path, and this causes the golf ball to fade or cut and curve to the right.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at what causes the golf ball to curve to the right and how you can fix it in your own game so the next time it happens; you have some idea about the cause and the remedy!

What Causes The Golf Ball To Curve Right

The slice or cut is one of the most common errors experienced in golf, and while the explanation for it is pretty straightforward, the cure for it is a little more complex.

The simple reason your golf ball will curve right, whether a gentle fade or out-and-out slice, is because as the clubface makes contact, it imparts spin onto the ball, causing it to rotate in a clockwise direction. We take a look at this is our what is a cut in golf article here on the site.

When this happens, aerodynamics takes over, and the air pressure on the left side of the ball is higher than that on the right, so the ball will move toward the lower pressure area – causing the ball to fade or cut.

The sole cause of this result is the club’s path or the swing path, and if you have heard the term ‘over-the-top,’ this is used when the club travels from an outside line to an inside line, causing the clubface to cut the ball at impact.

What Causes An Out-To-In Swing Path

A few reasons can cause the out-to-in swing path, so let’s look at each of those closely.

• The club shaft is ahead of the hands at impact
• Your alignment is incorrect
• The ball is too far back in the stance
• There is too much weight shift in the swing
• Your driver shaft flex may be wrong

The Club Shaft Is Ahead Of Your Hands At Impact, Causing The Ball To Curve Right

Another common mistake is having the club shaft lean backward toward your right side (as a right-handed golfer ) at impact. Getting the clubface back square to the ball is virtually impossible if the shaft is leaning backward.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, check that your hands are always slightly ahead of the ball at address and that your golf club shaft is leaning to the left and not to the right.

Your Golf Ball Curves Right Because Your Alignment Is Incorrect

This is common but is relatively easy to fix. Many golfers think they are squarely aligned at the address, but when using a camera, it becomes evident that the clubface is open or that the shoulders are aiming to the left.

When the shoulders are open, this will cause the out-to-in swing path, as the upper body will turn to the left quicker through the downswing, causing the clubface to cut across the ball, and the dreaded slice ensues.

To prevent this, use a mirror or camera and alignment sticks to check that your feet, hips, and shoulders are lying square to the target line at address.

The Ball Will Curve Right If It Is Too Far Back In The Stance

Having the golf ball positioned too far back in the stance – toward the right foot for a right-handed player- means that the club will not have enough time to close and square up to the ball at impact, and this will either send the ball right or cause the ball to slice or fade.

If the player is trying to release the hands (i.e., turn the hands over to bring the clubface back square) during the downswing, but the ball is too far back, there is not enough time to do this, and so the clubface won’t be square at impact, it will be open and facing right.

To prevent this, you should be hitting your short and mid irons with your ball in the middle of your stance, and with the longer clubs like the 3W  and driver, the ball should be more toward the left foot.

For the driver, the ball should be just inside the left heel at impact.

There Is Too Much Weight Shift In The Swing

To get a good strike on the ball, your weight needs to be moving forward during the downswing, which means shifting it to the left for a right-handed player.

If the weight at impact is either on the left side or in the middle of the stance, the clubface will get ahead of the hands, and this will cause the ball to curve to the right.

Again, the result is the clubface not coming back square to the ball and target line and ending up cutting across the ball to produce the left-to-right spin and causing the ball to curve right.

While the weight shifts to the left and right during the golf swing, keeping your weight in the middle of your stance or on the left side will cause a fade or slice, so you need to work on weight transfer to the right during your downswing.

Your Driver Shaft Flex May Be Wrong, Causing The Ball To Curve Right

Having your swing speed measured and then getting fitted with the right shafts, especially for your driver, can make a world of difference, especially when you struggle with the slice or fade.

While many never consider that it could be the clubs and not the player and simply continue to try and fix the issue, it may sometimes come down to whether your equipment matches your game and swing.

If the drive shaft is too stiff and your swing speed too slow, this will cause the slice on the ball as you don’t have enough swing speed to get the clubface back square to the ball at impact.

This is an easy fix, and getting your swing speed measured and then fitting the shaft matched to that speed will sort that out, and the same for your irons and woods.

We have a selection of articles on golf Balls here on the site. You can check out some in the list below.

• How do you know where the ball lands.
• How many dimples on a golf ball
• How far can a golf ball travel
• How fast is a golf ball
• why does my golf ball curve right
• Can you keep golf balls you find
• Why are golf balls white?

Conclusion

There are several reasons your golf ball will curve to the right, and most of them have to do with poor swing mechanics and the over-the-top or outside-to-inside swing path.

Fixing this will take some lessons and time, but in the meantime, make sure your shafts match your swing speed and check your alignment to rule those possible causes out.

Resources

https://www.golfcartreport.com/why-does-my-golf-ball-go-right/

https://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-instruction/lower-scores-start-controlling-your-ball-better