How to Hit a Golf Ball Straight: 13 Proven Tips & Drills for Consistent Straighter Shots

Does your golf ball go anywhere but straight? If so, you aren’t alone.

Unintentionally hitting shots left and right of your target can be really frustrating.

There is more than one way to hit a golf ball straight and while it’s not easy to do it every time knowing these strategies could take your game to the next level. Here are 13 tips on how to hit a golf ball straight.

Hitting a Golf Ball Straight (Key Takeaways)

Here are a few of the most important takeaways about how to hit a golf ball straight.

• Ensure your feet are aligned correctly with the target line using alignment sticks.
• A neutral grip with appropriate pressure is crucial. Too strong or too weak can lead to hooks or slices, while the right grip pressure allows natural club movement.
• Correct wrist positioning is vital for delivering the clubhead square at impact.
• Regularly check your backswing length, as both too long and too short can impact your shot’s accuracy.
• Ensure your clubs are properly fitted.
• Maintaining a consistent tempo in your swing helps in making cleaner, straighter shots. Practice with a metronome to improve your swing tempo.

13 Tips & Drills to Hit a Golf Ball Straight Every Time

Feet Position Square to Target Line with Toes Flared

Your setup is your first opportunity to control ball flight and it’s the easiest place to make a mistake. Before every shot, take the time to align your feet parallel to your target line. Use alignment sticks on the range to train your eyes and body to see “square” correctly.

Flaring your toes slightly (especially the lead foot) can improve hip rotation without opening your stance. This can help you deliver the clubface square at impact without compensating mid-swing.

Incorporate this check into your pre-shot routine so alignment becomes automatic.

Bottom line: Square feet, parallel to the target line, with slight toe flare will promote proper rotation and help you return the clubface to square at impact. The video below is not just for senior golfers it’s for anyone looking to lock down the perfect stance for better drives and straighter shots.

Check the Grip

With all the tips to drive a golf ball straight, the most overlooked one is the grip.

The grip is boring to practice. However, practicing the grip and getting the position right can be a complete game changer.

A neutral grip position is where your hands are not too strong or too weak on the club. In addition, you will want to ensure that grip pressure is not too high.

A strong grip is suitable for correcting a slice; a weak grip helps when fixing a hook.

The weak and strong grip are good to know. Neutral is where your hands should be if you want to hit a straight shot.

Bottom line: A neutral grip with light, consistent pressure gives you the best chance to deliver the clubface square and hit straighter shots.

Pressure in the Hands

Grip pressure should allow for the club to feel as though it rests in your hands instead of you holding the club as if you are wrangling it!

Use HackMotion to create a consistent grip. With the HackMotion measuring wrist angle at setup, you can see if your hands are positioned on the club the same way each time. Consistency in the grip helps promote more consistency at impact.

Then, work on lowering grip pressure so you can rotate and square the golf club through impact.

Bottom line: Light, consistent grip pressure allows the club to release naturally and keeps the clubface square through impact.

Know the Correct Wrist Positioning

One of the more common mistakes that amateur golfers make is not knowing the correct positioning for their wrists.

Although we like to use larger muscles like the core, shoulders, and legs to control the golf swing, there are still positions that the wrist needs to get in for the club head to be delivered square.

The wrist controls the clubface.

HackMotion is a feedback tool and training aid for golfers that allows for proper wrist positioning at the beginning, middle, and end of the swing.

With more than 1,000,000 golf swings analyzed, the HackMotion wrist sensor will give you wrist patterns and movement that can help you make instant improvements in your golf game.

Bottom line: Correct wrist positioning controls the clubface, and a square clubface is essential for hitting straight shots.

Get Your Backswing to the Right Length

Backswing length plays a major role in shot direction. Too long, and it’s harder to control the clubface; too short, and you may not have enough time to square the clubface at impact.

Check your backswing regularly with video or on-course feedback. Sometimes a slightly longer backswing, paired with good rotation, can produce more consistent and straighter shots.

A simple way to train this is with the three swings drill:

1. Pick a target and hit a full swing shot.
2. Repeat with a ¾ swing.
3. Repeat with a ½ swing.
4. Switch clubs and repeat the process.

Most golfers find that a ¾ backswing is the easiest to repeat and control.

Bottom line: The right backswing length improves clubface control and makes it easier to hit straight shots.

Equipment Upgrades and Enhancements

Golf clubs currently fitted to you as a golfer with the recommended specifications will give you a better chance of hitting the ball straight.

The biggest mistake amateur golfers make is the incorrect shaft placed in their golf clubs.

With the wrong shaft, it doesn’t matter if your swing is perfect, your setup is perfect, etc. You must do a lot of work to square up the clubface and hit a great shot.

It makes sense to get fitted every few years.

Bottom line: Properly fitted clubs, especially the right shaft, make it easier to square the clubface and hit straighter shots.

Tempo Check

The tempo of your golf swing is critical.

Tempo is not necessarily how fast you swing but how long it takes you to complete your golf swing from the start to the end.

The amount of elapsed time and how you divide that time will work to create your tempo.

Golfers with a smooth tempo tend to take about two counts to swing the club back and one to get through the ball and to their finish position.

If you have a great tempo in your golf swing, there are fewer unnecessary movements, making it easier to hit the ball straight.

Set the Club Down Straight

It sounds simple, but many golfers set the club down assuming it’s square without actually checking. If the clubface is even slightly open or closed at address, it’s almost impossible to hit the ball straight without compensating during the swing.

To learn what square looks like, hold your clubface against a 90-degree angle, then replicate that position at setup. Practice on the range with your driver to see which clubface position produces your best results.

Bottom line: Always check that the clubface is square at address, starting with a square face is the easiest way to hit a straight shot.

Relax the Arms and Stop Casting

Arms play a supporting role in the golf swing; they guide the club, but the power and direction come from your legs, hips, and core.

If your arms tense up, they take over the swing, often leading to an early cast (throwing the club from the top) and weaker, less accurate shots.

One of the best ways to feel the right arm action is with the Casting Drill:

Bottom line: Relaxed arms working with the body, not against it, help you maintain lag, prevent casting, and deliver the clubface square for straighter shots.

Keep Your Head Steady

Your head position plays a big role in returning the clubface to square. Excessive lateral movement (side-to-side) or vertical movement (up-and-down) during the swing makes consistent contact much harder.

Focus on keeping your head stable from the takeaway through impact. This doesn’t mean locking it in place, just minimize unnecessary motion so your body can rotate around a steady center.

A simple way to check this is by recording your swing. Watch for any noticeable head lift, drop, or sway, then work on reducing it during practice sessions.

Bottom line: A steady head position improves balance, helps you return the clubface square, and makes hitting straighter shots more repeatable.

Learn How to Hook and Slice

If you want to hit the ball straight, it can help to know how to hit a slice and how to hit a hook.

The clubface gives us the most insight into which direction the golf ball is going to travel.

The more you know about how to control the golf ball, the easier it is to hit a golf ball straight every time.

With the use of golf launch monitor data and technology, we have learned that the wrists are directly in control of the angle of the clubface.

Bottom Line: If your wrist position is correct, the clubface is square at impact. Use your wrists and the HackMotion to learn to control the clubface of your golf shots.

Practice Putting with Lines

If we are talking about straight shots, we can’t forget the importance of a straight putt. Hitting straight putts starts with consistent alignment and a square clubface.

Practicing with visual guides, like chalk lines (if allowed) or alignment sticks, helps train your eyes and stroke to stay on line.

Set up the line toward your target and work on rolling putts that start and finish along it. This reinforces proper face angle and path on every stroke.

For even more feedback, use HackMotion to track your wrist angles during practice. The best putters keep wrist movement consistent from stroke to stroke, reducing variables that can push putts offline.

Bottom line: Training with putting lines builds face control, improves start line accuracy, and makes straight putts more repeatable.

Make Your Practice Worth Your Time

Practicing without clear goals won’t lead to lasting improvement. HackMotion’s interactive drills turn practice into targeted training, helping you fix faults and develop a straighter ball flight faster.

Too many golfers focus on swing plane and path without realizing their wrists are the real issue. With HackMotion, you can measure and train your wrist positions in real time, using drills that give instant audio or visual feedback when you’re in the correct range.

A key focus for hitting straighter shots is reducing lead wrist extension at the top of the backswing and moving into a flexed position at impact. HackMotion’s on-screen graphs and challenge modes make this measurable, and repeatable, on the range or indoors.

Bottom line: Use HackMotion’s interactive drills to train your wrists into tour-level positions, turning every practice session into measurable progress toward straighter shots.

• Driving Range Practice Plan
• Short Game Practice Plan
• Off Season Practice Plan
• Tournament Practice Plan

FAQs

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about hitting a golf ball straight every time.

Why don’t my golf shots go straight?

Your golf shots do not go straight because you are not delivering the clubface to the impact position when it is square. If your clubface is open or closed, the golf ball goes right or left and not straight.

Why is it so hard to hit a golf ball straight?

Hitting a golf ball is like trying to take a spot the size of a quarter and hit it on something the size of a dime. Now you must try and swing at nearly 100 mph of speed.

It’s hard to do, and there are many moving parts that make it much more complicated.

How do you straighten a shot?

In order to straighten a golf shot, you need to find which area of your swing is causing the issue. It is set up, clubface control, the swing plane, the path, etc.

Is it better to hit straight or draw?

Many golfers prefer a draw ball flight as it goes a little further and can feel more natural. If you know the golf ball is going to draw each time you hit, then it’s perfectly acceptable to use that.

Summary

With these 13 tips on how to hit a golf ball straight every time, you should be well on your way to becoming a better player.

Try to remember that hitting a golf ball straight does take some practice.

First, ensure all the basics are in place, and then move on to more complex aspects, such as the swing plane, path, and correct wrist positioning.