Biggest Driving Mistakes... And How To Fix Them!

Getting off the tee well is a guaranteed route to lower scores. In the video below, Neil Tappin is joined by renowned tour coach Liam James to look at the biggest driving mistakes and how to fix them - starting with power and swing speed.

Power & swing speed

1. In trying to hit it further, many golfers start moving too much laterally – off the ball on the driver backswing and then towards the target through impact causing them to hit down on the ball more and slice it. In a bid to hit it harder and further, they end up hitting it shorter.

2. There are a few things you can do at set-up to help generate a little more speed without losing control of your striking. You need a nice wide base with the ball just inside your left heel and your toes fractionally turned out to help you rotate your hips and make a full turn.

PGA pro Liam James demonstrating how staying centred will help golfers drive the ball better — Turning your toes out at address will help golfers stay centred and generate more power

3. The key is to make sure you’re winding up behind the golf ball rather than moving off it. The body should stay centred around. Turning your toes out gives you the bigger range of movement needed in the hips and shoulders for the big wind-up.

4. It’s all about more rotation rather than necessarily more effort. The biggest driving mistake here is feeling like you’re doing things faster. All you’re doing by turning your toes out is freeing up your knees and hips to complete a full turn and, as result of that, you will then produce more speed through impact.

Slices & hooks

1. Creating the perfect golf grip gives you a far better chance of returning the clubface to the ball correctly at impact. Many golfers have their left-hand grip too much in the palm whereas in a neutral golf grip it is more in the fingers so that you can see two knuckles as you look down at address. To keep your grip consistent, place your left hand on the club first and check it is neutral. This will really help you to keep the clubface square throughout the swing.

2. Those who have the club too much in the palm in the left hand have a weak golf grip and will tend to slice the ball. The first problem is that it gets you leaning a little too much towards the target at set-up causing you to cut across the golf ball. It also causes the clubface to open up too much on the way back, so you approach the ball from outside the line with the face wide open – the perfect recipe for a slice.

PGA pro Liam James demonstrating how to grip the club properly in the lead hand — Creating a more neutral grip starts with holding the club in the fingers with your lead hand

3. Those who have an excessively strong golf grip tend to hook the ball. Strong doesn’t mean gripping too hard but having your left hand too much on top so all four knuckles are showing. As a result of this, there won’t be much loft on the club at the top of the swing, with the clubface too closed. The compensations required on the downswing to get the ball up in the air typically lead to a lot of leaning back, which is going to cause a hook.

Root cause

There are many reasons for slices and hooks, but the grip is often the root cause. Get this right and other issues you’re having may fall into place automatically.

In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he went on to become a feature writer interviewing many of the biggest names in the game including Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Rory McIlroy and Arnold Palmer.

A 5-handicap golfer, Neil is a club member who takes a keen interest in the health of the game at grassroots level. You’ll often now find him writing about club-related issues such as WHS, membership retention and how best to bridge the gap between the range and the course.