How many of you do not use a driver?

[Joe Grod]

Somewhere on one of these threads I had announced that I acquired a used TM 1.0 Burner and an R7 Draw 7 wood.

Everyother day, I have been trying to hit a bucket of balls with both of these clubs and realize that when I take a slow comfortable approach, both these clubs are a plus. I found that by teeing the Burner high and resisting the temptation to clobber the ball, I get the expected flight and distance. With the 7 wood, the use of a shorter tee with the visualization of the smaller club head, forces me to swing slower and more deliberate, thus gaining more distance than I had expected.  My point being that using a fairway wood or hybrid with a smaller head, versus using a canteloupe on a stick (driver), may force you into a better swing, producing a straighter shot, a greater percentage of the time.

[DaSportsGuy]

Any course much more than 6300 or 6400 you almost have to hit driver at least a handful of times unless you feel comfortable hitting a 3wood and hybrid into greens.

[RyderJ]

I slightly disagree with this. I would imagine it depends on how far your average 3 wood travels off the tee. For longer hitters (100mph+ SS) a solidly struck 3 wood should travel between 245-260...with roll, at least from my experience. Obviously not EVERY par 4 is going to be really long on a 6300-6400 yard course, but for those that are long, laying up and leaving yourself with a short chip/pitch to the green, followed by a short par putt is PERFECTLY acceptable.

Originally Posted by DaSportsGuy

Any course much more than 6300 or 6400 you almost have to hit driver at least a handful of times unless you feel comfortable hitting a 3wood and hybrid into greens.

[Laws of Woo]

I've only just recently started using a driver again (about 3 months). I had an old Hogan driver that I hit pretty well, but it cracked and I wasn't hitting my back up very well. So I ditched it in favor of my 5 wood from a starter set, nothing special, but I hit it with great distance and dead straight. A couple months back, I borrowed a friends Speedline 9064LS and I was hitting that really well. Picked one up for myself and I've been hitting the driver when needed ever since. But I'll typically only use it if the hole is 375+ yards.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by DaSportsGuy

Any course much more than 6300 or 6400 you almost have to hit driver at least a handful of times unless you feel comfortable hitting a 3wood and hybrid into greens.

I agree with this.

Playing a 6800 yard course this weekend, I hit 3i off the tee on the couple par 4s in the 360-380 yard range, since that still gives me 7i-9i to the green and my driver wasn't feeling great.  But there are also a bunch of par 4s longer than 420 yards on that course, and I really don't want to be hitting 2h-3i, or 3i-4i to get to the green if I can hit driver-PW or driver-9i.

On top of that, I'm a pretty long hitter and there are days when  my driver is the best club in my bag longer than 8i.  On those days it's a huge advantage for me on a 370 yard hole to hit driver and then have 75-90 yards to the hole instead of teeing off with 3i and having 140-150 yards to the hole.

[darkhunter139]

Originally Posted by DaSportsGuy

Any course much more than 6300 or 6400 you almost have to hit driver at least a handful of times unless you feel comfortable hitting a 3wood and hybrid into greens.

Agreed, I only use a 3 wood right now but I do have to go 3 wood hybrid a lot.  I am going to add the driver back to my bag pretty soon.

[sean_miller]

If you choose to hit less club off the tee, don't just whack it out there. Learn to aim at a very small target off the tee. Use as much focus as you would using that club to hit into a green.

[LankyLefty]

Personally I think anyone who never uses a driver is just handicapping themselves. Almost every course I play has either a very short par 4 or a very long par 4/5 where being off to the left or right significantly is not very punitive and even being well into the rough gives you a very solid second shot. My driver is not terribly consistant but I still use it in places where their are holes where length is more valuable then aim.

If I am playing a course where there are no holes, or only 1 hole like that, yeah Ill bench the driver, but I think as a blanket rule not keeping all your options available is going to hurt scores.

[mrchi]

I say hit which ever club gives you the most confidence. For me it's driver. If I feel like I'm hitting a little loose, I'll choke down just a little to boost my confidence.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by mrchi

I say hit which ever club gives you the most confidence. For me it's driver. If I feel like I'm hitting a little loose, I'll choke down just a little to boost my confidence.

This!

And I'm with you on the driver.  Like I said above, there are definitely days when my driver's feeling very inconsistent and I'm teeing off with 3i on holes shorter than 375 or so, but there are also definitely days when my driver feels like the best club in my bag longer than the scoring irons.  On those days it would be a really dumb play to tee off with 3i when I'm even more confident with a club that will go 60-70 yards further and leave me with a little 50-80 yard (assuming we're talking about shorter par 4s here) up and down for birdie!

[JasonFL]

When I leave my driver in the bag it normally saves me 4 maybe 6 strokes.

However a few things have helped me recently.  I bought a G20, its about as forgiving as you can get.   Gripping down on my driver to ball park 44" (marked it with tape).   My swing thought is "Im swinging an 8 iron", that way my backswing stays the same (screw the huge backswings the pros use, Ill never be one).

Played 9 the other day, hit 5 fairways.  One of the ones I missed I should never have used driver.  Put me 100 yards out and behind a tree (and I was only 3 yards off the fairway).  But it cost me a stroke.

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by RyderJ

I slightly disagree with this. I would imagine it depends on how far your average 3 wood travels off the tee. For longer hitters (100mph+ SS) a solidly struck 3 wood should travel between 245-260...with roll, at least from my experience. Obviously not EVERY par 4 is going to be really long on a 6300-6400 yard course, but for those that are long, laying up and leaving yourself with a short chip/pitch to the green, followed by a short par putt is PERFECTLY acceptable.

I won't say either whether leaving the driver in the bag helps or hurts because it depends on the golfer. I will say that anyone who hits a 3w 245-260 straight down the fairway more than likely won't have any trouble with a driver. I'd bet 90% of average golfers don't come close to hitting a 3w that far in fact the average golfer doesn't even hit a driver that far.

[mymizunosrock]

We have 13 driving holes. On 5 of those holes, I use a 3w and depending on the wind, it may even be a hybrid. Using the 3w that much has given me so much confidence to use it in places I used to hit the driver. My 9th hole, a par5 is an extremely tight driving hole where I used to hit a fade with the driver. Sometimes, I used to over cook it or hit a pull, both resulting in wet drives. Now, I hit the 3w with far less risk and to the same point as the cut driver. Hitting it so good I even put the 2nd in a green side pond a further 240m down, flat and no wind on Saturday. I think it all comes down to telling yourself to keep the ego in check. Seems most people hit irons and fairway woods nice and smooth and generally within themselves but the minute they get the big dog in their hands seems like they have to let it eat. Treat it like any other club and keep it smooth and controlled. The loft and length of the club will do the rest.

[sean_miller]

If someone can't get their driver to 250, they need to get some lessons, work on their fitness, and then get a driver fitting. OR, they could just play up a tee box (or two).

Originally Posted by clubchamp

I won't say either whether leaving the driver in the bag helps or hurts because it depends on the golfer. I will say that anyone who hits a 3w 245-260 straight down the fairway more than likely won't have any trouble with a driver. I'd bet 90% of average golfers don't come close to hitting a 3w that far in fact the average golfer doesn't even hit a driver that far.

[RyderJ]

This....

Originally Posted by sean_miller

If someone can't get their driver to 250, they need to get some lessons, work on their fitness, and then get a driver fitting. OR, they could just play up a tee box (or two).

[inthehole]

Actually, as a new golfer, I can hit my driver 250, but chose to hit it 220-230 in an effort to reliably stay on the fairway.     You're being a tad simplistic ...

Originally Posted by sean_miller

If someone can't get their driver to 250, they need to get some lessons, work on their fitness, and then get a driver fitting. OR, they could just play up a tee box (or two).

[RyderJ]

There's nothing wrong with that at all! I do however, understand where he was coming from though...

Originally Posted by inthehole

Actually, as a new golfer, I can hit my driver 250, but chose to hit it 220-230 in an effort to reliably stay on the fairway.     You're being a tad simplistic ...

[sean_miller]

I suspect you're not playing from the tips. That's what I was getting at.

Originally Posted by inthehole

Actually, as a new golfer, I can hit my driver 250, but chose to hit it 220-230 in an effort to reliably stay on the fairway.     You're being a tad simplistic ...