Irons Only - No Driver, No Woods?

[NZ Golfer]

  On 8/29/2020 at 10:53 PM, RyanG94 said:

Been there my friend, I still do this every now and again just to keep a bit of a rhythm going, I find standing on the tee box for too long and I lose a bit of rhythm and momentum, would much rather hit a different club and play shorter but keeping the flow going is preferable.

on the topic itself I must say although I now have my new driver and hit it well, I do find myself using it far more sparingly than I used to, unless it gives me a huge advantage on a big wide fairway or unless it’s a long par 4 or 5 I prefer hitting my driving iron or even a 5 iron a lot of the time. Scores haven’t suffered in the slightest, improved if anything, and I feel so confident I’ll stick it in the fairway hitting the irons off the tee!

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Yes I agree I've always just grabbed the driver for a long time (even on really tricking PAR-4s) its certainly an ego thing as I hit a BIG drive at times..last year I got sharp deal on a matching 3W to my driver same shaft etc and have really enjoyed hitting the 3W at times as the distance isn't all that shorter ... hitting the 4I I've hardly ever done off PAR-4-5s think If I do head out tomorrow we have 10x PAR-4s .... I'll only use driver on two ... see if I have a better round... force myself to play smarter hunt centre fairway Vs Distance ... use 8i - 9i Vs wedges going for the green not going be that much of an issue

Edited August 30, 2020 by NZ Golfer

[DrvFrShow]

I did this for my last round. Irons only. My back has been really bothering me and my last trip to the driving range I when I was hitting my driver I got into that reverse C position and it hurt like hell for the next couple of days. It doesn't seem to bother me when I hit irons or hybrids. I usually play the senior tees or the white tees depending upon the length of the course. For this I moved up to the red tees and used my 6i which I get 175 carry plus roll out. On the 5200 yd course this left me my usual second shot distance.... except i was in the fairway most of the time which was unusual. Except for the first 5 holes on which I had horrible ball striking but managed to get 5 straight bogeys due to outstanding short game work, from holes 6 to 14 I played some decent golf. Then my back started getting sore. 

I must have had an extra bowl of Wheaties in the morning because I was missing greens long. Sure the ball was landing, but it was landing too far to the rear of the green and rolling off. I guess I'm not used to hitting approach shots from the fairway and need to take less club. 

I had fun playing. It was fun not looking for the ball in the woods every hole. But it really didn't affect my score at all. I made it through 18 holes. I may have to play out the rest of the season like this. But that's okay.

 

[Mr22putt]

  On 9/5/2020 at 10:21 PM, DrvFrShow said:

For this I moved up to the red tees and used my 6i which I get 175 carry plus roll out.

 

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You must be a unicorn...I've played golf golf for 52 years and have yet to play golf with or see a 60 something female golfer who has the skills to carry a 6 iron 175 yards with a good driver SS of 94-95 mph with a 19 handicap.

[Bonvivant]

  On 8/30/2020 at 9:31 AM, NZ Golfer said:

force myself to play smarter hunt centre fairway Vs Distance ... use 8i - 9i Vs wedges going for the green not going be that much of an issue

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True stats would tell you otherwise. Unless you are hazard or behind a tree, 20-30 yards is worth the penalty of the rough. I could see a case if you are on a tough course that isn't long though.

It's kind of in the same vein as thinking you have a better chance of a 6 ft uphill putt than a 5 ft downhill putt. Being closer to the hole is always better unless you don't have a shot to get it closer than the alternative place.

[Piz]

A nine or eighteen hole golf course is no different than a nine or eighteen turn road racing course: there are places to pass and places not to pass.  If you set up your car, or bag, to maximize your effectiveness on certain sections of the course; you accept that you are not going to be set up for every situation...only those that count.

[DrvFrShow]

  On 9/6/2020 at 2:58 AM, Mr22putt said:

You must be a unicorn...I've played golf golf for 52 years and have yet to play golf with or see a 60 something female golfer who has the skills to carry a 6 iron 175 yards with a good driver SS of 94-95 mph with a 19 handicap.

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I'm 5'11", athletic, and the loft on the 6i is 25.5 degrees. It's all swing tempo and timing. 

[MarvChamp]

I was just thinking...The Lowest Score Wins, someone said. A person who can hit fairways with a long driver shot has a tremendous advantage.

On the other hand, if a person can score well using a snow shovel. does it matter? Yes, yes, it does. A long soaring golf shot, well-struck, touches something in the human soul. So, I for one keep trying to achieve that even as an old man. Best, -Shivas Irons

[knott]

You cant appreciate good shots unless you do bad ones

[RyanG94]

On this subject, I have got the SIM Max after a fitting, and I love it, even so I have been sticking with my new aim of not going to auto pilot and pulling driver on every opportunity. I hit the Driver on 3 holes today, 2 par 5s and one long par 4 into the wind, hit the Driving Iron off most par 4 tees and a 5 iron on 2 of them. I must admit if I can get my putting sorted a bit I would have easily shot 75, came in with a 78 with more than a few missed opportunities on the green. Scores haven’t suffered a hit and if anything the consistency of my scores has improved. Before I could go round in a 78 hitting driver all the time and play really well, and the next be 85-90 if my driving was off that day. Since employing a more conservative approach to using the driver I’ve played about 10 times and had scores all between 78-83. 
 

definitely a good choice getting the driver, so thanks to the good folks here who advised dropping it totally wasn’t a great idea, but also using it more sparingly or rather “when I need driver” has been a great strategy. 
On a side note anyone who thinks they may have a use for a Driving Iron, give the P790 UDI a go, that thing is an absolute rocket!

[Bill W]

I got back into golf after retiring at 61 and have steadily improved over 5 seasons.
I've been using a set of used Mizuno irons the past few years (JPX 900 Hot Metal), 5-PW.  I didn't carry the 5 for quite a while due to difficulty hitting it, instead depending on hybrids.  But I got the hang of the 5 this year, becoming ecstatic with the beauty of well-played longer iron shots, and then went and found a matching 4-iron. I yanked the hybrids from my bag a few weeks ago to force myself to go to the longer irons.
Now, league season is over, and I've devised a plan to practice, and to play some practice rounds, with no woods in the bag -- just irons -- with the hope that with more frequent use, I'll become more proficient with the 4 & 5 irons, both off the tee and from the deck.
First such range session will be tomorrow, and first practice round on Monday.

[Esox]

When I was in my 30's, I used to frequently play a course that was but 6400 yards from the tips, and had some pretty tight holes. I would often, especially on windy days, go all day without pulling a wood. But back then I could actually hit a 1 iron. Set was usually 1,3,5 woods, 1,  3-SW irons, putter. Seldom carried a 2 Iron, really never needed a 2,3 or 4 on that track, even the par 5's would be 1i, 1i  short iron or wedge.

Now days I usually carry 1,3,5,7,9 woods and 6-P, gap, sand and lob wedge. I could lose the 3 wood, it's pretty much only used off the tee. But since I got the T300's, the 4 & 5 irons get played in lieu of the 7 & 9 woods on windy days, such as today will be, winds gusting to the high 20's. Tee time at 12:34. Long/mid irons I can actually hit consistently at 62. What a concept. Glad I swallowed my pride and got fitted into these....

[golfmark8621]

I am currently "between" drivers myself as a habitual buyer/seller of clubs to find the perfect blend. Have I missed it? no.

My SIM2 3 wood @15 degrees is my new driver! Averaging 250 yds from the tee with it and finding so many more fairways leading to more GIR. A much simpler game of golf from the fairway and the confidence has spread to other aspects of my game. Find a club to tee off that you are confident with and you will swing smoother and with freedom-this will lead to more FIR and lower scores. It can be a 3 wood, 5 wood even a hybrid, I for one am content sacrificing a few yards for less sideways recovery shots from rough and trees!

[The Flush]

You could try this..

 

 

[boogielicious]

  On 10/20/2021 at 12:31 PM, The Flush said:

You could try this..

 

 

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@Adam C, is it still performing well?

[Adam C]

  On 10/20/2021 at 4:37 PM, boogielicious said:

@Adam C, is it still performing well?

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It's great still. Of course I can't leave well enough alone. After playing East Lake a few weeks ago from the tips I realized I need a driver still. So back to hunting for a driver combo that works. Just grabbed a very old TM Max Limited I had around and cut it down to 43 1/2. Took it out and hit pretty well. Only 1 or 2 mph less than my 45 1/2 driver. Though the 2 wood I get the same basic speeds with and a more versatile club. Always something!!!

[RustUK]

I can relate to this.  4 years ago I was playing off 24, my weaknesses were being wayward off the tee with my driver and being very suspect at any partial shots.  My course is relative short and most par 4s are between 300 yards and 350 yards, so a good drive leaves a shot of between 60 yards and 100 yards generally.  This quite often left me with a horrible partial wedge shot which I hated.  

So, I made the decision that I would take an iron off the tee instead of driver and leave myself between 120 and 150 into the green allowing a full shot into the green whilst having a safer tee shot.  This worked like a dream, I started shooting high 80s/low 90s consistently every week and my handicap dropped to 16 within a year.

However, I then found that I couldn't break 85, I had very few looks at a decent birdie putt and more often than not, was tapping in for bogey.  After staying at around 16 for 2 years, I realised that I needed to improve my wedge game and my driver.  After working hard with a local pro I have managed to improve both areas quite dramatically and now after hitting driver off the tee, being in the 60 to 100 yard region is a blessing rather than a curse as I feel like I can get it within 15 feet most of the time and am now having a good look at a birdie putt but have a guaranteed 2 putt most of the time.

And now, 85 is easy to break, I have had several rounds in the 70s this year with my lowest being 75 and I have achieved my long term goal of a single figures handicap.

So, the moral of the story is, irons off the tee, good short term fix, but work on your driver and approach shots if you want to get your handicap really low.