Driving tips 17 Aug 2026 9 min read

How To Release The Driver And Stop Slicing It

If your driver keeps leaking right, the problem may not be that your body is lazy or your swing is too fast. Very often, the real issue is simpler: the club face is arriving open, and the rest of your swing is reacting to that.

That is why trying to “keep your head down,” “keep your lead arm straight,” or “swing slower” can make the driver feel even harder to control. Those thoughts may tidy up the look of the swing for a moment, but they do not teach the face how to square.

The driver move better players do naturally is a freer release through impact. For a slicer, that usually starts with club face control, a grip that gives the face a chance, and hands that are soft enough to let the toe of the club pass the heel.

Why Your Driver Keeps Going Right

Most golfers who slice driver start by blaming the big movements. They think their shoulders are wrong, their hips are not turning, their lead arm is bending, or they are standing up through the shot.

Those things can matter, but they are often symptoms. If the face is open, your brain knows the ball is heading right. So your body starts inventing ways to save it: slowing down, lifting up, holding the arms, steering the club, or backing out of the shot.

That is why a player can have a two-way miss and still be dealing with one main problem. The right miss is the pattern. The left miss is often the correction.

The first job is not to rebuild the entire driver swing. It is to find out whether the face has a chance to be square.

The Club Face Problem Most Golfers Miss

A driver swing can look tidy going back and still deliver an open face into impact. In Sandy’s source lesson, the takeaway and backswing were not the main issue. The club was getting delivered with the face looking too open, which forced the body to compensate.

That matters because the face is what gives the body permission to move. If the face is open, the body often has to slow down or stall so the hands can make a last-second save. If the face is more predictable, you can move more athletically and stop steering the club.

This is the order to use:

1. Check the club face.
2. Check the grip.
3. Train the release.
4. Add speed after the face starts closing.

If you want help seeing what is actually happening in your swing, use the Swing Coach app to get clearer feedback before you start guessing at fixes:

Start With The Grip That Helps Square The Driver

For a slicer, the lead hand is often too weak for the face pattern they are delivering. The fix is not to twist the club shut or make an extreme grip change. It is to move the lead hand into a position where the face can return more square.

For a right-handed golfer, that may mean the lead hand sits a little more on top and around the grip, with more knuckles visible and the thumb slightly to the trail side of the handle. To the player, this can feel “stronger.” In reality, for this pattern, it may simply be more neutral.

The first few shots after a grip change are not about perfection. They are feedback. If the ball stops leaking right and starts missing left, that can be a good sign. It means the face is finally changing.

The trail hand matters too. Set the right hand more in the fingers rather than buried underneath the grip. If it gets too far under, a freer release can turn into a hook. If it sits too tight and locked in, the release gets blocked.

The feel should be lighter, rhythmical, and less forced. If your grip pressure feels like you are trying to stop the club escaping, the face will be harder to release.

Stop Trying To Keep Your Lead Arm Straight

One of the most damaging thoughts for a slicer is “keep the lead arm straight” after impact. It sounds sensible because good players often look extended, but the thought can create the wrong action.

When you try to keep the arm straight, the lead hand can keep facing up and the club face can stay open. The arms may look tidy, but the face has not rotated enough. That means the ball still wants to start or curve right.

Instead, allow the club to release. The lead arm can fold naturally after impact. The hands can roll enough for the toe of the club to pass the heel. That is how you release the club face through the ball rather than hold it open.

This is not about throwing the club at the ball with no control. It is about giving the face permission to close while the grip and hands stay soft enough to let it happen.

Use The Toe-Beats-Heel Cue Through Impact

The simplest feel from this lesson is: let the toe beat the heel.

Imagine the toe and heel of the driver head are in a race through impact. If the heel wins, the face is still open and the ball wants to leak right. If the toe wins, the face is closing and you have a much better chance to start turning the slice into a draw.

Use this slow rehearsal:

1. Take your improved grip.
2. Make a small through-swing.
3. Let the toe of the club pass the heel.
4. Stop when the butt of the club points more down the target line.
5. Check that the lead arm has folded naturally.

For many slicers, this will feel exaggerated. That is normal. You are training the opposite of the old held-open face pattern. Over time, the same face awareness also helps you understand how to draw or fade the ball with more intention.

Add Speed Only After The Face Is Closing

Once the ball starts missing left instead of right, do not panic. For a player who has lived with a slice, a left miss can be useful feedback. It tells you the face is no longer stuck open.

The mistake is adding full speed before the new face pattern is stable. Speed brings old habits back quickly. That is why the practice order matters:

1. Grip first.
2. Toe wins the race.
3. Soft hands.
4. Then start adding speed.

If the ball goes right again, do not add five swing thoughts. Go back to the face. Did the heel beat the toe? Did the hands get tight? Did the old weak grip sneak back in?

The goal is not to swing slowly forever. The goal is to earn speed by giving the club face a better job to do. When the face is more predictable, you can start to hit driver straighter without feeling like you have to steer it.

FAQs

Why do I slice my driver?

Most driver slices happen because the club face is open to the path at impact. Your body may then compensate with tension, a held-off release, or a slower swing, but the face is usually the first place to check.

How do I release the driver properly?

Start with a grip that gives the face a chance to square. Then rehearse the toe of the driver passing the heel through impact. Keep the hands soft enough that the face can close rather than being held open.

Can a weak grip cause a driver slice?

Yes, it can. A weak grip can make it harder to square the driver face, especially for a golfer already missing right. Do not make extreme changes blindly, but test whether a slightly stronger-feeling, more neutral grip changes your ball flight.

Should I keep my lead arm straight after impact?

Not if that thought makes you hold the club face open. The lead arm can fold naturally after impact as the club releases. A forced straight-arm look can make a slicer worse.

What does toe wins the race mean?

It means the toe of the driver head passes the heel through impact and into the release. That is a simple feel for closing the face instead of leaving it open.

Final Thought

If your driver feels like hard work, stop trying to fix every visible piece of the swing at once. Start with the face. Build a grip that helps it square, let the hands soften, and train the toe to beat the heel before you chase speed.

That is the driver release move most amateurs miss: the face closes first, then the body can move with freedom.

For clearer feedback on what your driver is actually doing, use the Swing Coach app here: