Instruction
Gear Effect: Controlling your driver
More than 10 years ago at a university lecture on materials science, it finally dawned on me.
[quote_box_center]“Ah, that’s why a driver is so much more chaotic.”[/quote_box_center]
Last week, I discussed the twisting of the club head on off-center hits, as well as how this causes something called “gear effect.” This week, we are going to understand why a driver can be so infuriatingly difficult to control. It might also explain why you get different results with your irons compared to your woods.
Location, location, location
Where the center of mass of a club is situated is massively influential on the amount of gear effect produced. To help you understand the concept, let’s examine the illustration below.
The illustration shows a “toe hit.” The center of mass (pink gear shape) is traveling along the pink line (swing path). The ball is struck on the toe of the club, and this creates a twisting of that contact point around the center of mass. In other words, the yellow line will twist in the direction of the blue and white arrow, similar to a clock going from 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock.
As the club rotates along the blue part of the arrow, the contact point on the club face will travel more to the right before traveling increasingly more backward (and less rightwards) as it moves along the white part of the arrow.
The bluest part of the arrow (the part where the contact point is shifting more rightwards) is where the most gearing occurs, applying an opposing twist to the ball. So, as the club face opens up clockwise, the ball will rotate counter-clockwise.
Remember that the exact opposite twisting of the clubhead and ball occurs on a shot contacted on the heel of the club.
Iron it out
With an iron, the center of mass is much closer to the face than with a metal wood, so the twisting at impact can produce a different result.
A similar scenario to our driver shot is illustrated below.
The iron is traveling along the pink line and when the ball is hit on the toe of the club, it produces a clockwise twisting of the club face. We can see from the blue-and-white arrow, however, that the iron will behave more like a screen door — rotating nearly straight back with almost no rightward movement of the contact point on the face.
There’s still a little rightward movement, of course, but nowhere near as much as with a driver. As a result, gear effect is minimized and can be overridden by the opening of the face.
Bulge
Have you ever wondered why the face of a driver is not completely flat? Take a look at your driver now, and you will see that it is slightly convex — something called “bulge.” This was introduced first by Spalding decades ago, and is a way of counteracting gear effect.
With a perfectly flat club face, a toe hit would produce an insane amount of gearing, launching the ball with a lot more hook spin (or less slice spin) than it would have otherwise. By adding bulge, toe hits start more to the right (for a right-handed golfer) and heel hits start more to the left. This gives golfers of all levels a much better chance to hit the fairway when they don’t hit the ball exactly on the sweet spot — which by the way almost never happens, even for the best golfers in the world.
Take action
The first thing to realize with all of this is that a driver is going to be far more difficult to consistently control simply because strike location plays such an important role in direction.
With that said, you should never underestimate the power of simple drills, such as using the dry erase marker, foot spray or face tape to identify your strike location. I see so many golfers hit a heeled slice with the driver and then try and fix their swing path when it was never the issue in the first place.
If you can get better at identifying whether a strike was heeled or toed, as well as improve your ability to hit the desired location, you will see far more consistency in your game.
Here is a simple exercise which can help with the awareness element.
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- Step 1: Mark a range ball with a dry erase marker pen.
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- Step 2: Place the ball as shown. You can tee it up or lay it on the ground. All the matters is that the dry erase marker dot is on the back of the ball facing the club head at address.
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- Step 3: Hit the shot, and check your club face to see where you contacted the ball.
- Place a dot on the back of the ball with a dry erase marker pen.
- Hit the shot.
- Based on the sound, feeling of twisting and the ball flight, try to guess where you hit the club face (too high/low, too heel/toe).
- Take a look and see how close your guess was to reality.
I have found a clear correlation between a player’s ability to identify where they hit on the club face and their handicap level. I have also seen simple improvements in awareness create lowered handicaps.
Editor’s Note: Adam is Author of the amazon bestseller “The Practice Manual,” where he discusses some of these concepts and more. You can purchase the book here.
The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.
“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.
If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.
Understand What Cold Does to Your Game
Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.
Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.
Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.
Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing
Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.
Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.
Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.
Take More Club Than You Think You Need
This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.
The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.
Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.
Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens
Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.
Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.
Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.
Embrace the Mental Challenge
Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”
That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.
Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.
Warm Up Longer and Smarter
This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.
Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.
The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.
So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.
Stop Overthinking Every Shot
Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.
This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.
How to actually do this:
On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.
Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.
If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.
This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.
Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)
Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.
Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:
Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.
Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.
Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.
Save Your Best for When It Counts
Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.
How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.
Here’s what actually works:
Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.
Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.
Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.
The Bottom Line
Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.
You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.
Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.
Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.
Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee
Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.
Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.
Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.
The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.
Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens
This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.
How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.
Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.
Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.
When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.
Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient
Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.
He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.
Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.
Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.
Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
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Todd
Oct 27, 2015 at 2:22 am
Who says gear effect is a bad thing?
Jim Maron
Sep 30, 2015 at 2:44 pm
I pretty much know where I’ve hit a ball on the face by the feel. You can also tell how well your hitting it as the clubs get older…how small is the circle of wear on the face and where is it relative to the sweet spot.
Saw an article once the showed the wear circles for a pga tour pro, a scratch and various handicaps 10 to 30….the smaller the circle the better the golfer.
marcel
Sep 28, 2015 at 9:13 pm
knowing why you shanking wont help you to improve it – not in golf. yes its good to know why but… without a coach you not gonna be able to fix this 0.5cm difference. thats why the pros have coaches on their bags and during season and off season.
also the proper fitness – you might have the best coach ever but… if you legs and lower back are not strong and conditioned you fade / you shank / you hook etc. etc. etc. golf is a very physical and precise game to be taken lightly.
Brad
Sep 27, 2015 at 4:42 am
Which would have the greatest effect on mis-hits, gear effect or moi? If I was to hit 0,5cm off center which would end up closest to where I was aiming? Would I be correct in saying that for example a G30 driver has a higher moi than for example a SLDR and vice versa, SLDR has less gear effect than a G30 because of where the CG is located?
Hippocamp
Sep 26, 2015 at 8:59 am
Thanks for this explanation. Really very clear. Here’s a question. To reduce the gear effect in drivers, it should help to move the center of mass closer to the club face, so it is more like an iron. Weight-forward drivers like some of the low spin models should show a reduced gear effect, right?
The lack of forgiveness in these clubs would then seem to be more a matter of loss of ball speed at heel and toe rather than a loss of directional control. Or am I missing something?
other paul
Sep 25, 2015 at 12:31 pm
Adam, can we get an article on how rate of closure effects gear effect on the face. I have a huge problem with hooks (shut face) and was able to beat it by slowing my closure rate down with a bigger grip. I hit 6/10 dead straight with it. The other 4 weren’t bad either.
Adam Young
Sep 25, 2015 at 1:16 pm
Hi Paul,
rate of closure only minimally affects the gearing at impact, but it works in reverse, with a higher rate of closure causing more fade spin. However, this can be easily offset by the club face being more close to the path at impact.
Gear effect is only really an issue on off-centre strikes. I wouldn’t worry about gearing on middled contacts – be more concerned with face and path relationships. Although, it makes sense that your hook may have minimised as you tried to hit a hold off shot.
John Grossi
Sep 25, 2015 at 11:44 am
Adam, thanks for another informative article. I understand toe shots produce hook spin. I have read that the most common miss from mid to high handicap players is a toe shot. Why then do most of these players slice the ball? Based on your previous articles and your book, I am thinking swing path is out to in. It can be confusing. John
Adam Young
Sep 25, 2015 at 12:04 pm
Hi John,
The majority of slicers I see hit the ball from the heel. This can sometimes be the cause of the slice, but more often simply correlates with an open face to path and left swing direction.
I always use marker pens to monitor strike location, and use Trackman to quantify path numbers. I can also get an idea from the face/path/spin axis relationships to see where the ball was hit on the face
Huge
Sep 25, 2015 at 11:41 am
You realize this will make no sense whatsoever to high handicappers who can’t hit the ball straight at all. Because all they see, then, in this article’s analysis, is that the driver’s face shouldn’t be this large! They’re going to ask, well, then, why don’t you guys make driver faces and heads the same size as an iron, so there is less twisting???? They’ll also ask you, is this why most players struggle to hit the hybrid properly???? but can hit the iron better?
So why do we make such huge driver heads?
Brian
Sep 25, 2015 at 3:19 pm
You’re a silly dude.
BIT
Sep 25, 2015 at 6:12 pm
Brian’s an idiot
TR1PTIK
Sep 25, 2015 at 10:21 am
I’ve used foot powder spray at the driving range and found it extremely helpful in identifying impact location. Depending on the location of the strike, the sound and feel is entirely different. I now know that a muted “ting” combined with a “hard” impact means that I hit the ball low and out of the heel (my most common miss). A louder “crack” combined with a “medium-hard” to “hard” impact means I was close to center, but high on the face (second most common). A loud “crack” combined with a “soft” impact means I was much closer to finding the club’s CG.
Good article Adam. Keep it up.
Christestrogen
Sep 25, 2015 at 9:19 am
What if the gears were nails?
Mind blown ***
Brian
Sep 25, 2015 at 9:49 am
Haha!
Adam Young
Sep 25, 2015 at 1:17 pm
stay tuned next week for ‘wrench golf’ ;p
other paul
Sep 25, 2015 at 12:28 pm
Stop picking on the poor guy. He was made fun of a lot for that article. But it is a good starting point for beginners. So you really shouldn’t mock him for it. Not everyone can be a pro WRXer like you… Or me ????
Christestrogen
Sep 26, 2015 at 9:02 am
I love adams articles….