Golf Tips – How to Drive a Golf Ball Straight

I’ve put together a couple of great golf tips to cure your slice and hook and help you get more distance and more fairways. Being able to drive a golf ball straight is a result of practice, but fixing small issues with your swing can help you improve quickly. Let’s assume you have at least developed a good consistent golf swing. Regardless, after impact your golf ball is flying right or left.

There are a lot of ways to try to correct this problem. Don’t be too concerned, millions of golfers have corrected a slice or hook, so you can too. In fact, I’d only briefly hesitate to say that the majority of golfers have a consistent slice. Also, there are usually corresponding problems, like pop-ups and over correction.

Do you usually hook it right after cracking a horrible slice? That’s how I used to play. So you’re not alone. It’s possible the reason you have problems with your slice or hook is an off-plane backswing. This is one of the major things you need to overcome to learn how to drive a golf ball straight.

Let me give you a great tip. Try holding your golf club parallel above the ground across your shoulders. If you are right handed your clubhead should be on your right. Address the bass and take a backswing. Now, just a caution. This drill of often done incorrectly. See, your shaft shouldn’t point at the ball. If it does then your angle is too steep – which is what may be causing your slice. On the other hand, a flat golf swing that results in your handle aiming beyond the ball leads to a hook. To drive a golf ball straight your handle, over your left shoulder if you are a right-hander, should be aiming about a foot past the ball. If it is you have got it right. Now practice integrating this shoulder motion into a smooth swing and you’re almost there.

Let me give you another example of a drill that can be effective. If you are a right-hander, put your watch on your left wrist (if it isn’t already). Now sneak a pen under the watch face pointing into the back of your left hand. Take a swing. Did the pen dig into your hand? If it did, then you’re cupping your wrist at the top of the backswing. This will cause a wide rotation of the clubface and you’ll have to compensate in your downswing. Doing anything that causes you to have to compensate is a mistake. You need to have your left wrist flatter at the top of your take-back. That will help open your clubface at impact. Don’t overdo it though. Bowing your wrist will have the opposite effect, causing you to exaggerate your hook.

Practice is the only way to eliminate all of these small problems and overcome a slice or a hook. Finally, take note of your head position. This can have a big impact on whether you are able to get a clean inside-out swing. Usually, this will only cause a subtle slice. But if you can eliminate this you should. I find taking my focus off the golf ball and onto the swing path helps here. Otherwise my swing tends to follow down the target line instead of coming from the inside. You could try rotating your head to the right for a right-hander so that your eyes go ‘inside-out’ and off the line.

These golf tips should help you to hit the golf ball straight and stop the cutting motion at impact that is one of the biggest problems for most golfers. If you can get control of this then you are also in a good position to start developing a well executed and controlled draw. Learning how to drive a golf ball straight can be very hard. You need to practice these golf tips to succeed. Don’t give up. If I can do it and millions of other golfers can then so can you.