In Golf the driver is the most fun club to hit, everyone loves seeing that ball fly! However, it is the longest club and most difficult club to hit with the highest margin for error. If you can hit iron shots no problem, but struggle to hit long and straight with the drive here’s why.
Irons have an easier control club plane because the angle of attack is steeper, with Driver the club path is curved making it harder to control. The driver has minimal loft compared to irons, so mishits are worse and it’s harder to create spin and easier to create side spin causing worse mishits.
Think of the driver being the RPG of the golf world, it’s the longest club so we have a tendency to develop bad habits like trying to smash it as hard as we can, this is the opposite of what you should do.
Keep reading, and I will explain more about why the Driver is harder to hit and the steps you can take to immediately improve your driving and learn to drive as well as your irons.
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Why Is The Driver The Hardest Club To Hit?
The driver has the lowest loft of any club and creates the fastest ball speed, shots hit with the driver due to increased clubhead speed will stray off target more than shots hit at a lower speed with lofted irons.
With irons it’s easier to control the swing plane because the angle of attack is steeper as your closer to the ball and the ball should be in the middle of your stance, making it simple to swing down on the target because you are square to the ball.
With the driver, the ball should be a ball outside your left heel(or right heel if your left-handed) naturally, this makes the clubhead path more curved since the clubhead has to travel further distance compared to an iron resulting worse shots with a higher margin for error.
When you hit your irons you want to hit down on the ball(square), but when you hit the driver you want to hit up on the ball(curved), many people struggle with this but don’t worry I got you covered in this article.
If your struggling to understand the difference between the iron and driver swing path check out the above YouTube video for a visual explanation.
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How To Hit The Driver Straight Everytime
- Stand more upright and feel the swing is going up and around not up and down like a seesaw
- Make sure you’re measuring your setup angle
- Don’t hit the driver hard use your wrists to hinge for an open clubface at impact
- Keep your head behind the ball
Stand More Upright Not Tilted
The driver’s stance is the opposite of the putting stance, you want to feel upright to swing up and around in a curved path. If you too titled it is difficult to create the necessary swing and clubhead speed to get the ball high and straight as the driver has the lowest loft of any club.
Don’t have a seesaw motion where your going up and down, as hitting up on your driver via a curved swing is the key to making those long satisfying golf shots.
Whilst there are some professional golfers who hit down on their driver like Bubba Watson, this is very rare and they only get away with it due to incredible clubhead speed and still having their clubhead open at impact which is super difficult for a weekend golfer to emulate.
Makes Sure You Have The Correct Driver Setup Angle
When you set up the driver the ball position should be one ball outside your left (or right heel) but where people go wrong is the butt end of the club should be positioned between your belly button and hip bone.
This created the Y position for your arms slightly left of middle rather than more further forward.
If you naturally have your hands pressed forward due to the position of the ball will make your swing more inconsistent which will affect your swing plane, as your hands will struggle to get back into a good position automatically; a neutral hand position is key to the driver consistency.
A lot of golfers tend to leave their shoulders more open due to the left position of the ball when driving, this is WRONG as your shoulders should always be square to the ball no matter what position apart from a slight 5-degree angle turn when chipping.
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Don’t Hit The Driver Hard Instead Hinge Your Wrists
If you find you’re slicing your driver then you’re hitting the driver way too hard which results in a closed clubface at impact.
The driver has minimal loft compared to the more forgiving irons as they have a higher loft and more back spin, it is harder to create backspin and easier to hit side spin for the driver resulting in worse mishits and more random distribution of the golf ball.
When you swing the driver think of your wrists like a door hinge this will make your clubhead far more open at impact resulting in a more consistent and further drive.
If you tense up and swing the driver way too hard with your arms, naturally this locks the clubhead before impact resulting in a less consistent more ugly, and ineffective golf swing.
Think, do you see Boxers tense up when they jab or are they more loose and fluid like a slingshot? Your golf swing should be the same, the most tense and rigid you are the less effective force you can create.
Modern cavity back irons are designed with a larger club head sweet spot, which safeguards bad shots, with a driver you don’t have this safeguard so your golf swing performs as it should. To know if beginners should use bladed irons check out my article.
For tips on hitting the driver consistently straight and further see my post.
Keep Your Head Behind The Ball
If you find yourself constantly skying the ball, likely you are leaning forward as you swing resulting in the ball hitting the crow of the clubhead and a bad shot.
The solution? It’s simple, just keep your head behind the ball! If you do this you will never top the ball ever again. Buying a pair of alignment sticks that you can get from Amazon is a great way to keep your head behind the ball.
Simply set up one stick horizontally behind the ball whenever you drive, this gives a mental cue telling you if your head is behind the ball, get a friend to film your swing to see how much you lean forward as you swing; a video never lies it’s tough to watch but invaluable for your golf game.
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