Why you keep hitting off the toe (and how to fix it), per top teacher

Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a GOLF.com series in which we’re sharing improvements, learnings and takeaways from amateur golfers just like you — including some of the speed bumps and challenges they faced along the way.

While the issue has (thankfully) been fixed, for a few months last summer, I had some incredibly bad driver yips.

Instead of experiencing my normal left-to-right ball-flight — a.k.a. the dreaded slice, an issue many amateurs struggle with — I was hitting pull hook after pull hook, costing me yardage and oftentimes leaving me with a difficult second shot.

Instruction

There are lots of reasons why a player may hit the toe of the club — like poor golf posture, an inconsistent grip, and an over-the-top path. In my case, I checked off pretty much each one of those boxes.

After getting my first-ever golf lesson, I was able to diagnose the problem and start working toward a remedy.

But it wasn’t easy.

While many amateurs may think they need to do wholesale swing changes to avoid hitting off the toe of the club, there are easier ways to correct the issue.

To help, I reached out to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Bryan Lebedevitch and asked him to share ways players of different abilities can avoid hitting the toe. So take a look below at what he told me.

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Common reasons why you hit off the toe of the golf club

“Off-center hits have many potential causes,” he says. “Therefore, specific fixes need to be applied for different situations.”

For newer golfers

Most newer players have problems keeping the correct arm structure in the swing, so they might struggle with impact conditions because their elbows are separating too much. When their elbows separate, the club moves inward toward the body, which shortens the distance to the ball and creates a substantial toe strike.

In this scenario, I suggest a couple of ideas that would help and implement the changes. First, build a practice station to help prioritize a center hit. Next, consider introducing a training aid that will help keep the arms longer through the bottom of the swing.

Be very specific with the proper size and effort level until you start to understand and feel the necessary changes.

For intermediate golfers

If you’re an intermediate player who has an open face relative to their path (a common scenario), you’re likely inclined to swing into impact from the outside, causing the arms to buckle going through. The outside and across downswing motion helps mitigate the open face, but it can also lead to hitting off the toe of the club.

In this scenario, I would explain that the reason the path is to the left is to accommodate for the face. So consider different ideas for creating a stronger face, which will allow you to help the path and arms through the bottom half of the swing. Build a station and work smaller and slower until the change is — as the clubhead path improves, you’ll begin making more center-face contact.

For more advanced golfers

Most advanced golfers who experience toe hits have a steeper start to the downswing. This causes the shaft to raise vertically too much at impact; leading to a toe strike.

I suggest taking a detailed look at your swing data and identify if there are any serious club or body movement issues that are contributing to the steeper start down. Once you do this, build a practice station and rehearse the necessary moves for a better transition, while also getting the shaft angle into impact.

By creating a better start down and awareness of the lower handle and body at impact, you’ll begin to move ball contact away from the toe of the club.

A good drill to avoid hitting the toe of the club

“The off-center hit is something that golfers struggle with at many different stages of development,” says Lebedevitch. “Most amateur golfers aren’t even thinking about hitting the center of the club — which is an interesting phenomenon, since it’s the most important factor to produce a great golf shot.”

Lebedevitch says more amateurs should watch the practice tendencies of Tour players, who follow a structured plan for consistent ball-striking.

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“If you look closely at how Tour players practice, you’ll notice that they tend to be very detailed,” he adds. “They use whatever training aids possible to help get to a better result as quickly as possible; because they don’t like to waste any time.

“As you can see in the video below, Tommy Fleetwood has built a practice station that helps him be super specific with where the club goes through the bottom of the swing. This places center-face contact very high on the priority list.”

There are different scenarios that can cause shots off the toe, so a question Lebedevitch says he asks students is a basic one: Are you focused on making center-face contact?

“I think that’s a huge factor, and if the golfer isn’t, then many poor patterns/habits can begin to form,” he adds. “In all three scenarios above, the explanation and delivery of necessary changes is of the utmost importance. The coach and player need to control the environment to have a chance at positive change.”

Lebedevitch also says it’s imperative to make changes slowly, resisting the urge to go full speed right away.

“Most golfers think that they can make changes immediately in full motions at their regular speeds. Sadly, that usually isn’t the case,” he proclaims. “We might not be able to hit the ball like a Tour player, but you can learn a lot by watching how detailed these players are when trying to make a certain area of their game better.”