Some days, hitting the driver straight feels nearly impossible. Even though it’s the most forgiving club in your bag, it can still cause plenty of frustration. Last winter, I found myself stuck in a slump with the driver. While I was picking up speed—and distance—my accuracy suffered. Missing the fairway with a bit more distance isn’t the end of the world, but when a big miss creeps in, things can go downhill fast.
The miss I dreaded most was the high, spinny shot that drifts right. It comes off the face weak, hangs in the air forever, and leaves me miles from the green. If you struggle with a right miss off the tee, don’t worry—the fix is simpler than you might think.
During my “Driving Accuracy Bootcamp” with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile, he shared a simple feel he teaches his students to straighten things out. First, he placed a second tee about a club-length behind my ball and slightly inside my target line. Then he told me to focus on squaring the clubface to that second ball as early as possible in the swing.
“I call it ‘Turn 4 at Talladega,’” Jason said. “If the face is open to Turn 4, you’ll have to twist the steering wheel a lot. But if I get the hood ornament of the car—the sweet spot—square to the arc early, then I don’t have to twist the shaft at the bottom.”
When your clubface stays open past P6 in the downswing (shaft parallel to the ground), one of two things happens: you leave the face open and send the ball right, or you twist it closed just before impact, resulting in a nasty hook. Visualize that second ball on your swing arc, then try to square the clubface to it as soon as possible. Doing so eliminates the need for compensations through impact—you simply rotate your body, and the clubface will be square to your target.
“Any ball that starts too far right, square it early,” Jason said.
Remember that key, and you’ll stop losing balls off to the right—and start hitting more fairways.
