Experiment: Driverless round.

[Fat Slice]

Well I played my usual crap game today. 45/51 with lots of big numbers. Looking back on the holes, the driver got me in trouble more than any club. I am pretty good (meaning satisfied for now) with the irons and hybrids, so so at chipping and OK at putting. I've been shooting in the mid 90s for what seems like too long.

I've always wanted to try a round without my driver but never got around to it. Next round I swear that is exactly what I am going to do. If that gets my score down, I will play like that while taking lessons for the driver.

Stupid?

[JWILL203]

Not at all...some of the best golfers I have played with use their 3 wood off the the tee and only use the driver on par 5s. If you can keep it in play and on the fairway you will for sure lower your scores.

[Saig55]

I adopted a different policy this year. If I can at least drive to the 150 marker, I hit my 3 metal. It has paid off. My scoring has really improved.

[Shindig]

Simple strategy: if the club's gonna get you in trouble, don't use it.

There are also plenty of "fix my driving" threads to consider for when you're preparing for practice sessions. Unless you are already a long ball hitter, you need to get good with the driver eventually. But that day is not today.

[hipcheck4u]

A while back, I took the driver out of the bag and just hit my 4i off the tee for a few rounds. My scores did not suffer, and it got me to realize that I do not need to swing the driver hard, just controlled. My driving has been more consistent since then, with fewer slices into the woods.

[chef35ca]

Not stupid at all.

Use the club that will put you out of danger & in position to hit the GIR. I spent a whole summer without a driver & the score didn't suffer at all. Broke 90 for the first time without the 'big dog' ITB.

More balls & strokes are lost off the tee with the driver than any other club.

I'm currently driverless again & loving it. On men's night i don't get a realistic crack at long drive, but who cares?

[mrmiller8]

I rarely use my driver anymore and I shot a 73 about three weeks ago with only using it 3 times (the three long par 5's). Keeping the white ball in play and giving yourself opportunities to hit greens is the name of the game. Oh yeah, there is also that thing called putting too....but lets not get hung up on details....

[saevel25]

I use my driver nearly all the time. The only time i pull out a 3-wood is if i can drive it through the fairway on a dogleg or some hazards is brought into play.

[te3point5]

I recently came to the same conclusion that my inconsitancy withthe driver really has cost me more strokes than I thought.

I also realized that when I do hit a consistant drive, it only goes slightly further than my trusty 2 hybrid off the tee.

I have always wanted to go driverless, maybe I'll give it a shot too. The thing is, on a nice long hole, i'll look over, see the driver, and no matter what I'm thinking, logic goes out the door and I pull out the driver.

[James_Black]

  te3point5 said:

I recently came to the same conclusion that my inconsitancy withthe driver really has cost me more strokes than I thought.

You've got the wrong driver for you then.

[double_j]

I'm usually the same way. If a 3 wood or hybrid (or shorter) will put me within a 8 iron or better off the tee, there's no reason to hit driver.

That said, just be careful that you don't get overly cautious and ignore the driver at all costs. If even a perfectly struck 3 wood, etc. would leave you a low percentage shot for your second (e.g., long iron into a green surrounded by OB/trouble), then sometimes it might better just to rip the driver off the tee to hopefully set you up for a more reasonable approach.

And lets not forget the fact that oftentimes for a mid/high capper, the problems that affect driver also tend to affect all of the long clubs. Just because it's not a driver doesn't necessarily mean it's safer (in all circumstances).

[GolfBear]

A couple of years ago I remember a player winning a tour event and one of the comments after the win was that he didn't use a driver during any of his rounds. His comment was that the extra yardage wasn't worth the loss of accuracy. I just wish I could remember who and what tourney....

I played 2 years of competitive golf in high school, never lost a match and hit exactly ZERO drivers. Our home course was long but tight as hell and a ball hit offline was almost a surely a lost ball. I think we all tend to put waaaaay too much emphasis on the "show" portion of golf!

[Shindig]

  GolfBear said:

A couple of years ago I remember a player winning a tour event and one of the comments after the win was that he didn't use a driver during any of his rounds. His comment was that the extra yardage wasn't worth the loss of accuracy. I just wish I could remember who and what tourney....

If we're thinking of the same guy and tournament (2006 British Open), this isn't quite right. He did hit one driver. One. And he made a bogey that hole.

[Yukari]

  JWILL203 said:

Not at all...some of the best golfers I have played with use their 3 wood off the the tee and only use the driver on par 5s. If you can keep it in play and on the fairway you will for sure lower your scores.

That is exactly what I have been doing until this year when I decided to hit the driver more often.

Typically, I don't need to hit the driver as my 3 W distance is about 250 yds. But since I got the new driver, I decided to hit that more often than not. Typically, with a driver I am using gap wedge to 9 iron for my approach. With the 3 W, I was using PW to 8 irons for most of my approaches. I like to play 6500-6800 yrd tees (that's typically blue on most of the courses that I play).

[golfaddiction]

For me, its about thinking carefully about the tee shot on every hole. Reachable par 5 with a fairly open fairway? Driver. Short, tight par 4? Iron. The key is understanding that hitting a shot from 70 or 80 yards is not any easier than from 100 or 130 yards (full SW/PW for me), so why not hit it accurately to where your best approach distance would be? On Sunday I used my driver 6 times total. Two of those times I shouldn't have, though I managed to save bogey after hitting one in a cross creek and one in the wrong fairway.

[WUTiger]

From long ago when I caddied a lot, we had an assistant pro who could hit a super 3W. This was in the steel-shaft, persimmon head days, and he could hit his 3W about 270 yards.

Which was good, because he couldn't hit a driver to save his life.

[timnsr72]

i have a driver and fairway wood in my bag, but dont use them, i feel much more confortable/confident with a 3 iron or a hybrid

[JWL1957]

I played alot of years without a driver in my bag. I carried a 6-7 handicap for all of those years with a 3 wood, or a 2-3 iron off the tee. The driver is a great club, but the casual player would benefit more from a 3 wood or hydrid until they get more directional control.