It's every golfer's nightmare - a narrow fairway lined with trees or flanked with bunkers and heavy rough. Being uneasy about it is likely to result in strife down that kind of fairway. Feeling uptight can impact your golfing muscles by tightening them up and affecting your action.

On no account try to guide the ball off the tee, it very infrequently works. Just remember the two essentials for how to hit a driver straight - swinging freely with rhythm and making sure that you release through the ball.

It is vital to always visualize your shot before you make it. Visualize the hole shot, the flight path and where it lands. Selecting the right club will be easier if you see the shot in your head.

Know what distance you are capable of hitting with each of your clubs so you can choose the most suitable club for the circumstances. It isn't good to step up to the ball with the aim of smashing it as hard as you possibly can. This almost never works and inevidtably ends up in a really bad shot.. You should concentrate on swinging the club faster rather than hitting the ball harder to acquire distance. Increased club head speed will add a surprising amount of distance to your shots with all your clubs.

Another common mistake is the tee itself. It's important that you tee your ball up at the correct height. If you tee the ball too low there is a good chance you will hit the ground or the ball on too vertical a bias. Really bad shots can result from the tee being too high as your club head will tend to go underneath the ball. The ideal height is to have the ball sitting at the same level as the sweet spot of the club you are using.

If your grip is too strong or weak it will cause the ball to start straight but then hook or slice. If you can see the first two knuckles of your left hand (for Right Handed golfers) your grip should be correct. If there are no knuckles visible your grip is weak and will likely lead to a slice. If you see more than two knuckles, you are in a strong grip and this frequently leads to hooking the ball.

If you are playing in the wind try to use less lofted clubs to help keep the ball low. A low-flying ball is often the only real option you have on very windy days. This can be particularly useful if you are playing on fairways that have trees on either side as these trees may act as a buffer against the lowest winds.

By working through these tips and some trial and error you should be able to fix your problems and start to learn how to hit the driver straight. If you put the work into lots of practice in all aspects of your game you will rapidly lower your handicap.