Why the Driver Feels So Inconsistent
Let’s be honest, the driver can be one of the most frustrating clubs in the bag. One day you’re finding fairways with ease, and the next, you’re missing by 40 yards in either direction—even though nothing feels different about your swing. I’ve seen it time and time again in my 30 years of coaching. The truth is, while grip, stance, and swing are important, there’s one skill that will make the biggest difference to your driver accuracy: learning to control the club face at impact.
The Real Key: Club Face Control
When most golfers come to see me, they’re told to aim the club at the target and set their feet parallel, like railway lines. But even with a good strike, many still see that dreaded curve to the right—a slice. That’s because the single biggest influence on your ball flight with driver is where the club face is pointing at impact. It can be straight, open (to the right), or closed (to the left). The challenge is not just hoping for straight shots, but learning how to influence and repeat your club face position through impact.
Experimenting With Ball Flight
Instead of always aiming to hit the perfect straight shot (which is incredibly tough, even for the best in the world), try experimenting with shot shapes. Intentionally try to slice or hook the ball to get a feel for how you deliver the club. For most golfers, especially slicers, the club face is open to the target at impact. If you’re a slicer, start by deliberately trying to slice one—set up as normal, rehearse the feeling of the heel of the club winning the race, and notice the result. Most find this quite easy, and it helps highlight what an open face feels like.
Learning to Close the Club Face
Now, if your usual miss is a slice, the next step is to imagine closing the club face at impact. Practise some swings where you feel the toe of the club is getting to the ball first. Many golfers feel their hands and arms are working more actively and earlier in the downswing. Set up aiming straight and focus on letting the club face close through impact. You’ll probably see the ball shape the other way—maybe even too much at first. That’s fine. It’s all part of the learning process.
Embrace the Learning Experience
Don’t worry if you start hitting some wild shots left as you experiment. If you’ve always come back with the face open and can now close it enough to hook one, you’ve made huge progress. From here, it’s all about dialling it back. Think of it as a scale of one to five—aim for a little less closure with each attempt until you find a shape that’s playable. This is about developing a skill, not obsessing over technique or numbers.
Consistency Over Perfection
If you can learn to control your club face and produce a consistent shape, even if it’s not perfectly straight, you can start to aim accordingly and hit more fairways. The best players in the world aren’t always dead straight, but they keep the ball in play and give themselves chances to attack greens. For most golfers, just getting rid of the big slice and learning to hit a controlled draw will add both distance and accuracy.
Practical Steps to Take
- Deliberately slice or hook shots during practice to learn what open and closed faces feel like at impact.
- Overdo the correction—if you’re a slicer, try to hit a big hook so you can feel the opposite extreme.
- Dial it back by experimenting with different levels of club face closure until you’re hitting playable shots.
- Aim straight during practice so you can see exactly how much the ball is curving and adjust your alignment for your most consistent swing.
If you’re interested in taking your driver performance even further, I offer online lessons where we can work together to find your best swing and help you control your club face consistently.
Build a Foundation for Better Scores
I genuinely believe driving is the foundation of the golf game. If you’re always in trouble off the tee, it’s tough to make good scores. By focusing on club face control, you’ll start finding more fairways, enjoying your golf more, and seeing those scores come down.
Watch the Full YouTube Video
To see these concepts in action and learn more, watch the full lesson on my YouTube channel.
