Slice Machine!

Hello,

I am by no means a good golfer, but when I play with people who complain about their slice I've never been that impressed.  I don't always slice, that's actually a new thing I picked up recently as I used to always hook.  My instructor told me its because I have a tendency to leave me clubface open.  When I'm in slicing mode, my average drive is 250-280 yards in the next fairway, huge high slice, and I always tell the person I'm playing with now thats a slice!  The reason I say all of this, is I recently went out for a round, and didn't bring a driver, or any wood with a graphite shaft for that matter.  The only one a had was Steel Shafted 3wood and all my hybrids.  I played the best round of the year, no lost balls( thats a big plus for me) 13 out of 18 fairways , my misses except for one huge hook were minimal.  Now I'm not saying I'm going to stop using my driver, because 260-280 yard 3 wood drives aren't going to cut it for me, but from a mental standpoint it seems to help being in control of the ball for a round or two and then going back out there and easing the driver and graphite shafted woods back into my game.  Wondering if anyone else had similar experiences.

I have hit the ball 260 - 280 yards maybe 5 or 10 times in the last 3 years.  Is that a similar experience?

Distance isn't the point, its not losing my balls/mind and being in control of my game.  Seeing if anyone tried a similar experiment and ease back into their longer clubs.

If you can hit the ball 260-280 yards and straight with a 3 wood, and you're HC is a 25, I would leave the driver at home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsc123

If you can hit the ball 260-280 yards and straight with a 3 wood, and you're HC is a 25, I would leave the driver at home.

Agreed.  Very few regular people can hit a 260+ 3-wood with any consistency.

Why wouldn't they cut it?  Despite what you read people claiming on the Internet, the average drive for most golfers is probably in the 240-250 range.  Sure, there are those who can bomb it 300 regularly, but those who can do that with any consistency are fairly rare.  Hitting two of fourteen fairways with a 300-yard bomb is not a good driver.

In any round, you can likely reach a majority of the par-4's with two 5-irons.  No need to hit a 300-yard bomb on every one.  I'm not saying put the driver away completely because a good drive and a 9-iron is more likely to score than two 5-irons, but it needs to be a consistent driver.  I'd take a 250-yard straight drive all day long without hesitation.

If I could hit the ball 260-280 in the fairway every time, I would probably be a 10-12 handicap. That's about what I shoot when I play executive courses.  On a full length course, I am probably a 18-22 or something because I either mishit my driver into the bushes or hit 190-200 yard tee shots with my 3 iron - leaving a mid to long iron to the green.

There are about 20 PGA tour players who average less than 280 off the tee . .so I would think a consistent 260-280 yard 3w in the fairway would be something you could work with.

Luke Donald averages 280.1 and he seems to do ok with it.

What type of shaft, is in your driver?  a reg  shaft would not be good  Try stiff or xtra stiff. The real problem is either the grip, hands turned to far to the left  Vs pointing at your chin ,or too stiff in the arms and wrists at impact. Try turning your left hand more to the right so your V is pointing between your  right ear and right shoulder. Check your right hand too. If it is on top of the grip you won't be able to rotate the arms.

I think you answered your own question. Do whatever helps you shoot the lowest score possible. There is a course here in San Antonio that plays about 6900 yards from the tips. I might hit driver 4 or 5 times a round, depending on how the wind is blowing because driver just seems to bring more trouble into play. But I always score well at that course. There's an obvious correlation between hitting more fairways and shooting better scores.

The only reason I say 3w isn't going to cut it for me, is not because of the distance( i read what I wrote and didn't mean for it come out that way) it has more to do with I want to be solid with all my clubs, and that includes driver.  The reason I say I'm a 25 handicap is because a.  I don't keep it, and I've had a range of 13 over to 33 over so its kinda of useless until I'm more consistent.  I will easily take whatever ever clubs will give me the best score, I almost didn't even bring the 3w, but that shorter steel shaft is relatively easy to keep in play.   And I don't want to give the impression that I think I can normally go out there and hit that many fairway in regulations with the current swing I have, I know I need to be more consistent, and thats why I'm taking lessons.  And to Frank h my grip is certainly one of my biggest betrayers, and something I'm currently working on, and driver a KZG with X stiff UST Proforce 65