Why Can I Hit My Irons But Not My Driver?

Hitting a driver well is one of the biggest challenges many golfers face. Even if your irons are dialed in, the driver often lags behind because it requires a few adjustments to the setup and swing. If you can hit your irons but not your driver, try making these tweaks.

Low-point mismanagement

When you hit an iron shot, you want the swing’s low point to be just after the golf ball. This lets you hit the ball first and then take your divot. With the driver, you want the low point to be just behind the ball so you hit it on your upswing.

If your driver misses include sky marks on the top of your club or big slices, it could be due to low-point mismanagement.

Quick Fix: Move the ball forward in your stance and play it just off the lead heel. Keep your chest slightly behind the ball at address. You will feel like the club reaches the bottom of the arc just before impact.

The swing path is too steep

Many amateur players have a swing path that is too steep. While you can get away with a steeper path when hitting an iron, there is no room for error when you have the driver in your hands.

A steep or downward angle of attack will likely leave you hitting a slice, pulling it and sometimes even taking a divot when hitting a drive.

Quick Fix: Feel a more shallow backswing. Use an alignment stick in the ground behind you to ensure your takeaways are on the proper path. You can also try this drill from Clay Ballard which helps exaggerate the feeling of a shallow swing.

Incorrect tee height

Not only does an incorrect tee height cost you some yardage, you’ll also notice inconsistencies in your ball striking. Driver faces are large and if you tee the ball too far down, it may promote a downward strike. Teeing the ball too high can cause you to sky shots off the driver’s crown.

If your drives look like line drives or low hooks or you have marks on the top of the driver’s head, check your tee height.

Quick Fix: Tee it so half the ball sits above the driver’s crown at address. Adjust slightly higher or lower if you see consistent low or high impact marks on the face.

Lack of spine tilt

To promote an upward strike on the golf ball, you need a bit more spine tilt with the driver than you do with the irons. Irons can work with a neutral spine angle. With a driver, the trail shoulder should be lower than the lead shoulder at address.

If you are hitting down on the ball, losing distance or slicing, make sure your spine tilt at the address is correct.

Quick Fix: Set your lead shoulder slightly higher at address; feel your head behind the ball at impact.

Wrong driver loft or shaft

If your driver loft or shaft flex is mismatched to your swing, you won’t get the correct ball flight and launch. If you are playing with the wrong shaft, you will likely struggle with the ball flight being too low or high. You also may notice large misses left or right of the target.

Some golfers can even feel that the shaft is too stiff or whippy.

Quick Fix: Get a professional driver fitting. Despite all the testing we do and the data we generate about driver performance, we still recommend getting fitted for a club that meets your specific needs. Proper loft and shaft flex can significantly improve launch, spin and consistency.

Lead arm lifts and gets too high

For golfers who tend to use their arms more than their body in the swing, the lead arm could be getting too high, causing an incorrect path. If you struggle with excess arm lift, you probably feel your driver is more of a “chop” swing. You may hit slices and big fades.

Any independent lifting of the arms in the backswing without shoulder and body rotation makes it hard to hit a great drive.

Quick Fix: Let your shoulder and lower body rotate so the club travels more around you. The lead arm won’t be straight up and down. Of course, you can exaggerate this concept and start taking the driver too shallow. This video gives a great alignment stick drill and a visual of what this all should look like.

Putting it all together

Now that we have gone through all the major reasons why you are hitting your irons well but not your driver, here is a basic recap:

• Irons are designed for a downward strike. The driver should be hit on a level or slightly upward path.
• Keep the ball position forward. Use a tee that gives you enough height to strike the center of the face.
• Look at the Best Golf Driver testing we did and then get fitted for a club that matches your needs.
• When practicing on the range, use alignment sticks to check the swing plane and ensure you are on the right path.