The phrase "a smooth path to" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe an easy or uncomplicated route to achieving a goal or reaching a destination.
Example: "The new policies are designed to create a smooth path to success for all employees."
Alternatives: "an easy route to" or "a clear way to".
It wasn't a smooth path to city hall.
It was assumed that Kim Jong-il wanted to ensure a smooth path to power for his son and successor Kim Jong-un.
No one is betting on a smooth path to true multi-party democracy.Guinea has been shaken since President Lansana Conté died just before Christmas in 2008.
And if the White House really wants a smooth path to confirmation, the strategy is simple: propose Ms. Yellen as chairwoman and Thomas Hoenig as vice chairman.
A Gingrich victory would be a major setback for Romney, who arrived in South Carolina with what looked like an unassailable lead and a smooth path to the nomination.
When Nora S. Anderson rode a well-financed campaign to victory in the Democratic primary for Manhattan Surrogate's Court judge last month, it should have cleared a smooth path to the office.
Although the special visa classification expires in three years, Mr. Ashcroft said it could be a smoothed path to eventual citizenship.
While he would seem to have a fairly smooth path to the final, Djokovic does have the toughest opening match of the Big Four, with a first-round test against last year's quarterfinalist Florian Mayer.
But it doesn't seem that Mr. Gingrich is likely to threaten Mr. Romney in states like Illinois that are more important for Mr. Romney in maintaining a relatively smooth path to the nomination.
Meanwhile, Vice President Al Gore appears to be treading a relatively smooth path to the Democratic presidential nomination, and the Republican battle royal has distracted public attention from Mr. Gore's often-truculent exchanges with his rival, former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey.
Nonetheless, Mr. Rumsfeld's extensive business investments and a conversation he had with President Richard M. Nixon 29 years ago emerged as pointed rocks on an otherwise smooth path to confirmation.
