How many of you play without a Driver? - Page 4

I always messed around with hitting a driver, last year was the first year I consistently had a driver in my bag since I took up the game 15+ years ago. I went and got fitted for new clubs and was told the driver I had in the bag at the time (Ping G15) had a shaft length of 47" which while I may crush a drive every now and then would not let me consistently hit the fairway. I now have a RBZ 44" driver in the bag and love it. I also took out my 3-wood all together and replaced it with a wedge as I'm not a "big hitter" and don't go for par 5s often enough to warrant carrying it in the bag.
 

So I'm not quite sure what to do at the moment. I have an rbz 10.5 driver stiff shaft, and I thought I hit it well. However I just purchased an rbz stage 2 3w and hit it the same distance if not further on most occasions. What the heck?

This is close to my situation. I can hit my Driver usually 250 but probably not straight. I can hit my 3 wood about 230-240, but it is usually straight. I don't really use the Driver anymore. I will not bring my Driver at the next tournament I'm playing in.

You, Sir, are a wise man.  I should do as you do since my distances and inaccuracies sound similar.

 

BUT you forego one of life's great pleasures:  that of watching your ball as it arcs down the fairway and lands in the short grass, leaving a short iron to the green.  I will continue to use driver for many par 4s/5s (unless they're fairly tight) and hope that I start hitting more fairways. 

 

The triumph of hope over experience I guess.

Wishing you the best in success with your driver.

I'm just not able to do so, but, yes I wish I could crack a 275 yard drive off the tee every time and be in the middle of the fairway.
It would be great.

Doc
 

Doc,
Actually I'm of two minds. If I left driver in the garage I'd definitely shave a few strokes off but otoh by hitting it at least some of the time - and suffering the consequences - I'm putting pressure on myself to practice and improve. Also I figure that improving my driver will help my other clubs as well - swing flaws are exaggerated with the big stick.

But to each his own.
Cheers, C.

You are correct, what works for a golfer is what they should work on. I just can't make a turn due to 3 herniated discs and my right knee is bone to bone so I end up with a limited swing range. My hybrids don't require as much movement or motion for me to hit them well while my lower loft driver does.

Enjoy the game.

Doc

I agree that many beginners will be better served without a driver in the bag.    With that said, these players will never get far beyond the beginner status without it.   At some point, they'll need to learn to get past beginner golf.

I don't know if that applies to all beginners, high handicappers or even those with handicaps between 12 and 15. The driver is over stressed in todays golf. Sure the pros hit the ball 300, but with a less than 60% in the fairway result I'm not certain it's wise or worth it to be in the rough, woods, next fairway over and such. It would be great to hit the ball with a driver and be in the fairway all the time but it's not even done by pros so that proves how hard it can be with distance. Most golfers, over a round of golf that I play with and use a driver, don't average (I said average) more than 250 to 280 and half the time they are not in the fairway for their second shot. Now I don't play with everyone that plays with golf but this is pretty much the case at country clubs here in Texas that I play, and muni's as well.

I'll never be a long hitter but I can break into the 85 or less range by the end of next year and I'll be really pleased with it after only playing golf by then for @ 1.5 years after an 18 plus year hiatus. I may never get any better than the low to mid 80's but that's really an achievement for a weekender IMHO since the average reported handicapped round of golf for a weekend golfer (one who plays 36 rounds of golf a year or more) is 100 according to the PGA. Then again my game may fall apart and I'll be up in the 90's for the rest of my life, who knows.

Play by the rules affects lots and lots of golfers real score since most golfers here in Texas (and many other states I have played in) call it 'summer rules'? Improve your lie, kick it out from behind a tree or bush, lay one out that went into the water or is lost, OB, mulligans; all without penalty strokes. I guess it's the culture here. I've played 18 holes dozens of times over the last 10 months and have counted as many as 18 additional penalty strokes that were never counted by a person I was playing with. Most of those problems came into play due to a poor drive or tee shot.

I'm just thinking if every stroke really was counted, HC's would be much different.

But then again as I said, what works for one golfer is what that golfer should do. None of us (99.9999%) will ever make our living playing professional golf but we can still enjoy the game.

Wishing you all the best.

Doc
 

I often play with guys (bogey golfers) who hit the fairway >80% of the time while I'm at about 20-40%. I generally out drive them by 20-40 yards, which gives me a momentary feeling of pleasure. You know the rest ..... :)

Back about 1987, I hooked my driver grip on a sharp piece of metal on the ball washer and ripped it. I sent the driver in to be  regripped, but it got returned to the wrong golf course, and was "missing in action" from May to July.

 

During those weeks, I shot in the mid-80s, a few strokes better than normal. After I got my driver back, it seemed like my score crept up 2-3 shots a round.

 

Looking back, I know what happened. I got better control from the 3W off the tee, and developed better performance on FWs from hitting them 20+ times a round. Also, the shorter 3W tee shots put me at about 210 yds. out on the long par 4s, meaning I had a 4W into the green, rather than a 3 iron I would have after a good driver shot. 4W normally produced more solid shots off the turf than the 3i.

 

Historic note: Hybrids had not been invented back then.

It's definitely something to consider, as it's my least consistent club. I've heard more and more about this recently. In fact, I just read this book, Golf For The Rest Of Us, in which the author suggests playing without a driver. He even suggests that a newbie could play with just a five-iron (on a tee for the first shot) and a putter. Maybe simplifying the game would work.

I hit my driver ok, but just as a matter of discipline in mastering ALL my clubs, sometimes I leave the driver at home and use a 3 wood instead. I hit my 3 wood only 15 yards shorter than the driver, but much straighter.

I used to leave my driver at home occasionally but not any more.  Since the larger head drivers have become so popular it's much easier to hit the driver

than it was prior to the new designs.

Every hole is a strategic decision.  If I want chance at par on a 400+ yard par 4, I will hit the driver.  If I'm looking at a 320-380 yard hole, I'll pick the club that puts me in the best position for my 2nd shot.  Just because you are carrying a driver doesn't mean you have to use it on every tee.

i played yesterday and on the first hole i hit my driver 263 yards, and on my second hole i hit the 3w and i hit it 263 yards also.

 

normally my driver is closer to 270 and the 3w closer to 240 though.  really those 30 extra yards can make the difference between a hybrid and a 6 iron.  i'm much more accurate with the 6 iron.  it would seem silly to me to move up a tee and throw out the driver as well.  are you really playing better or just cheating the game a little bit?

 

plus all the penalty shots are worth it to me to belt one out 335 yards every now and then.  let's face it: the driver is a fun club when hit right, and probably more fun than any other club in your bag.
 

 

I'm in this camp. I ditched the driver for a while, but soon realized I'm just as likely to hit a bad shot with my 3 wood as I am a driver. Now, I'm thinking about sidelining the 3 wood as I rarely pull it out of the bag any more. It's usually my 4 hybrid or driver. I hit the hybrid off the tee on a par 5 on my course because the fairway tightens up right where I land my drives. Hit whatever will give you the best chance at a second shot from the fairway.

I have ditched it for a round, but never for good.