I had a 9mm at the range one time with my son and had a hard time shooting a decent group. Then I tried his .45 and had much better luck. He said the 9mm had a much sharper and narrower graph for plotting the recoil than a .45, which was much more of a push. He called the 9mm snappy. He has gotten used to the difference and shoots verry good. He is an investigator with the Federal Protective Service. Me, I am just an average guy with a CHL, so I’ll stick with the .45.
There could be a number of reasons for the grouping not being to your liking, but the 45 is a rather easy gun to shoot. They tend to be accurate. And, if it was a 1911, the single action trigger is like no other.
Hence, one good way to train new shooters, in handgun proficiency is, to train them on a double action revolver. And only let them shoot double action. Once they can shoot a double action revolver well, shooting a semi-auto is a walk in the park.