Ok im set up for my Drive off the Tee and once i hit it it feels good and looks straight then in mid flight it veers off to the right...however when i take a 3 wood off the tee i tend to keep it dead straight...any ideas on the whole Driver issue?

just a guess, does your driver have a more flex shaft than your 3-wood?

Need more info such as, your HCP range, the distance you hit Driver and the loft you currently use.

As a general note, 3 woods are by design promoting a right to left flight and most Drivers are the opposite and promote a fade due to the lack of loft. So something as simple as getting a Driver with more loft could improve this situation for you. It's still best to figure out what you might be doing to cause it before blaming equipment, but understanding your equipment will help too.

Need more info such as, your HCP range, the distance you hit Driver and the loft you currently use.

As a general note, 3 woods are by design promoting a right to left flight and most Drivers are the opposite and promote a fade due to the lack of loft. So something as simple as getting a Driver with more loft could improve this situation for you. It's still best to figure out what you might be doing to cause it before blaming equipment, but understanding your equipment will help too.

Johnny Miller offered a simple tip to ensure a certain draw: Slow the downswing. Whatever you lose in distance due to clubhead speed you will make up in accuracy and better ball flight.

It's usually very simple; the lower the loft, the more your swing flaws show up.

Any golfer above a 15 should hit a 12* and above.

I'd second this as a 17-18. My last and only two drivers were fit with 12 degree drivers. Also, probably easier to get a shorter shaft.

I'd even go one step further and suggest anyone over 15 (and not necessarily looking to improve) shouldn't even carry a driver.

I shot in the mid 80's about a 1/3 of the time with just a 3 wood in my bag. My best round ever still remains a 83 with no driver. I definitely took a step back putting a driver in my bag.

i think this advice is extreme. i agree with it if the driver is a very inconsistent club for you, but it could be just the opposite.

i am way over a 25 HC, but the driver is easily my best club. it used to, but no longer gets me in trouble. i now normally hit 50% fairways, and lose only 1 ball out of bounds per round. my driver is 9.5, and i get plenty of loft with it. OTOH, i started keeping stats for shot for the green inside 150 and 100 yards. there are holes where it takes me 3 to get on the green from 75. then there are the constant 3-putts.

i fully concede the fact that i should be practicing my short game 90% of the time rather than hitting the driver, but it clearly lowers my score to be able to drive well. i probably shouldn't play from the white tees though. i should get comfortable from the forward tees first.

Yeah, that's probably a bit extreme. Probably better worded as you don't need a driver to have a hcp over 15.

As far as the original post about stopping ball going right, here are things i've been taught or learned over the years.

1. Get your swing plane straight first, i.e. a divot comes through straight and his headed down line.

Assuming your swing is more or less "straight", then basically work on things to draw the ball. Once you can draw it, you will no longer be slicing the ball. Then obviously dial your swing back to only "draw" it a little..and ball goes straight.

2. Put the ball on a tee and try and whip the toe of the club through and hit the ball with the toe. You'll probably never actually hit it with the edge of the toe, but if you even come close you'll put a wicked draw on it.

3. Twist the club counterclockwise with your wrists on your back swing. On your forward swing you should release your wrists, which should be closing the club at impact and not leaving it open.

4. I've never found it useful but some people focus on the follow through of the swing, like end up with your arms and club on your back (not up in the air like a when someone hits a fade). Or there is Gary Player's (?) idea of stepping through your shot with your back foot.

5. One thing I still do to hit a 90 degree left fairway is to aim the club face left a little bit but aim straight. This is more of a shortterm fix, will deloft the club and is what some anti-slice drivers do.

6. You can also close your stance to promote a draw just as you open it to hit a fade.


I'd only work on one thing at a time and find something that works for you.

The most important thing to do first is to introduce a draw into your game. Use the advice in this thread and work on hitting a consistent draw on the range, maybe just a 3/4 swing and the result should be a low and left type shot.

The ability to hit this draw will help you find a happy medium between the draw and the fade.

One thing you might be doing is keeping your head down through impact. This is a myth, you should be looking at the flight of the ball after the shot. 95% of your body weight should end up on your left foot and your hips and shoulders should be square with the flag. You may also want to work on your rotation of the shoulders ensuring you are taking your right shoulder back and not making your swing "arm-sy". Ensure you are using the bigger muscles and things will become a lot easier...

If I find I'm hitting fades, I roll my right wrist over on the grip ever so slightly. This causes me to square the club face, hitting it straighter.

I was working on this at the range Saturday. I found that if I put my right/rear foot a few inches off my target line (further from the line than my left/forward foot) my big fade became almost straight. I don't think it's a good long term fix, but something I may try if I'm hitting the fade and come to a hole where a fade is doom. Going with a stronger grip has also worked in the past, but then my normal grip winds up feeling wrong and leads to all sorts of other problems.

I'm a high-handicapper.

I found something on the range too this weekend.

My forward swing tempo seems to be fairly constant.

If I slow up my backswing a bit, I'm more likely to draw the ball. I guess this explains most of my pull hooks. If I've lost confidence on the course, I must slow up my backswing trying to be more careful.

If I get too "quick" and try and speed everything up, only my backswing speeds up and then I can't get the club head through fast enough on the forward swing. When this happens, the ball is at best a fade and worst a big slice.

When I have a good swing tempo the ball goes straight.

I like this advice and just started to implement it. My drives are a lot straighter, and it seems to give me a better swing in which my elbows are a lot closer to my body.

all this advice is great but you are hitting driver straight and then the ball fades off.

sounds like your swing isnt far off. i'd seriously consider an equipment change. go to the range, get warmed up and experiment with different drivers if you can.

ive had 4-5 different sets of clubs in my life and all sets were completely different from the others. i had clubs that for the life of me, i couldnt hook(exagerating a bit) and vise versa. i always made every set work however with a lot of adjustments which is lame as hell, but whatever.

ive also had certain clubs that were like radar for me. i had one of those steel shaft taylor mades from the 80's and everyone loved that club. it always hit the ball straight and long. then i switched to big bertha and all hell broke loose but it was an easy adjustment considering the first and most big berthas were and still is excellent equipment.

anyway, try a different driver and save yourself the hassles.

for those recomending a draw swing. thats all fine and dandy but i played golf for years and that damn swing is just not in my wheel house. i would expect that there are many others with similar problems just like certain people cant perform other shots. i used to hit a power fade and made it work for years but its phoney. i decided to straighten out my game and it screwed me up for 2 years. it took a long time to condition my mind to feel comfortable and natural about squaring up to the line instead of that pleasant feel of cutting across.

i dont recomend a fader learning a draw. could be suicide.