Fix a slice 1 Oct 2026 8 min read

Can a Shorter, Wider Backswing Help Fix Your Driver Slice?

If your driver keeps peeling right, it is tempting to rebuild the entire downswing. First check which part is making the clubface difficult to return. Ray, a six-handicap golfer, had a right miss he did not trust. Andy Proudman saw a swing path that was largely in a good place. The more useful change for Ray was at the top: his arms and club kept travelling after his body had made its turn.

The short answer: a shorter, wider backswing can help when excess arm travel is part of your face-control problem. It is not a cure for every slice. Keep your body turning, give your trail arm some space, and check the move on video and in ball flight before making it your new swing.

Why path is not the whole answer

Ray’s driver could go badly right, but Andy’s down-the-line check found the club returning close to his swing plane. The face-on view showed another clue. Ray reached a useful stopping point, then his arms continued and the club went well past it. At that longer top, his upper body began to shift forward. He had speed, but had given himself more moving parts to time before impact.

That is why Andy focused on controlling the length of Ray’s arm swing, rather than telling him to overhaul a path that looked fairly neutral. Do not make the same diagnosis from a single right-curving shot. Compare your own face-on and down-the-line views, and check your start line and curve. If path is clearly the dominant fault, you may need a different fix.

Make the trail arm wider

Ray’s right arm, his trail arm, folded close to his body as the club continued back. Andy asked him to feel that arm stretch a little farther away, leaving some space between arm and torso. This was about width in the arm structure, not forcing the wrists into a new position or locking the elbow straight.

Try a slow rehearsal in front of a mirror or camera. Turn back, then stop before the club and hands disappear farther behind your head as they did in Ray’s old move. Let the trail arm have space without making your shoulders rigid. On replay, compare the top to your usual swing. It will probably feel much shorter than it looks.

If you have heard that the trail elbow must stay tucked, be careful not to squeeze it so tightly that you reproduce Ray’s narrow position. The feel is personal; the picture and subsequent shots tell you whether it helped.

Rehearse the boundary drill

Andy gave Ray a clear stopping cue by holding a club near the end of his arm travel. Ray rehearsed until he could stop before his arm reached that boundary. The exercise deliberately made the top feel extreme. That was the point: his familiar “short” feeling still allowed the arms to run on.

You can take the feedback idea into your own practice without placing a person or club in your swing path. Make a slow backswing, stop at the intended top, then check the frame on video. Repeat until the club stops where you intended; only then make a free-flowing practice swing with the same feeling. Keep any physical marker safely outside the club’s travel. The marker is feedback, not something to strike.

No product is needed for this drill. If a physical practice cue appeals to you, the MMG-owned full-swing training aid collection lists options. Check the current product details before choosing one.

Keep the turn while shortening

Shortening Ray’s backswing did not mean freezing his body. After the first rehearsals, Andy checked that Ray still turned back over his trail leg while keeping the arms wider. When Ray concentrated only on the turn, the arms lengthened again. For your own practice, do not overcorrect by stopping the body simply to shorten the arms. The useful change was to match the arm stop to a full, balanced turn.

In your rehearsal, feel the chest turn away from the target while your trail arm keeps its space. Stop before the arms add a second, late movement. If your upper body shifts toward the target at the top, or if the club runs far beyond your intended position, reset slowly. The aim is not a fixed backswing length for every golfer; it is a top position you can return from without a rescue move.

Pause without the extra bump

The next step was simple but demanding: swing to the new top, pause, and start down without taking the club farther back first. Ray repeatedly wanted to add a little extra lift before he went. Andy asked him to go straight from the stopped position into the downswing, with no rush to hit hard.

A way to practise the lesson is to make two slow stop-and-go rehearsals, hit one ball with a brief pause, then make a flowing swing while retaining the same top-of-backswing feel. For the first few balls, judge the movement before the result. Did your arms stop where you meant them to? Did the turn stay? Did you sneak in a second backswing bump? A face-on replay is more useful than your feeling alone.

Ray was concerned that the shorter motion would take away speed. In individual paused swings during the lesson, Andy called out roughly 100, 101 and 106 mph. Those are Ray’s lesson readings, not a promise that anyone will gain speed or distance. Andy used Swing Coach video views for feedback during practice. Compare your rehearsal and actual swing yourself; no single app view proves the cause of your miss.

Check the result and keep practising

After the pause work, Ray blended the feel into slower, unpaused swings. An exaggerated wide feel could send his ball left; the old long move tended to send it right. Andy wanted a playable middle, not a perfect-looking pose. A small, predictable fade can be more useful than chasing a forced draw. For a broader approach to choosing a repeatable driver shot shape, keep that distinction in mind.

Make your own test over several balls: note start line and curve, then check whether your top position stayed shorter and wider. If the right miss remains while your top has improved, do not simply exaggerate the feel forever. Check your grip and release as a separate diagnostic, or work with a coach to identify the next cause. Ray’s lesson does not show that width alone fixes every right miss.

The final comparison showed Ray’s club shorter at the top and his upper body in a more useful position than in the old past-parallel swing. One shot carried 226 yards, but that single ball is not a before-and-after distance test. The meaningful takeaway is a position he can rehearse and verify. Andy expected the full-speed swing to take continued practice.

Still seeing the same right miss after checking your swing? An in-person session may help you find the next cause; Me and My Golf Golf Schools is one route. The lesson also points to Full Swing for equipment and The Grand Golf Club for the course. Check current details before making plans.

Frequently asked questions

Why can my driver miss right if my path looks neutral?

Path is only part of the picture. In Ray’s lesson, Andy judged the path fairly neutral and focused on how his long, narrow arm swing made the face harder to return consistently. Your own face and path relationship needs checking before copying that correction.

Will a shorter backswing cost me driver speed?

You may swing slower while learning. Ray’s paused swings still had speed, but the lesson does not show that he preserved his earlier average. Keep your turn and judge your own strike and ball flight as you blend the feel into a full swing.

Should I keep my trail elbow tucked?

Do not force it against your body. Ray needed more trail-arm space because his arms folded too close and kept travelling. Use a slow rehearsal and face-on video to see whether your elbow position helps you stop in balance.

What if the wider feel sends my drive left?

That happened with Ray’s extreme rehearsal. Back off the exaggeration and look for a playable, repeatable flight between the old right miss and the overcorrection. If the pattern remains confusing, get a diagnosis rather than making the drill more extreme.