Driver Off the Deck

[bruce]

I've tried it twice already and it usally ends up with me saying "Damn,why did i do that"

[Leftygolfer]

No thank you.

[shankalots]

I was playing a captains choice tournament last week and on one of the par 5's 3/4 of our team hooks the ball into the woods, and our shortest, but most accurate driver placed the ball in the fairway about 255 yards from the green according to my GPS. The same guy who drove the ball then hits a decent 3 wood to about 75 yards from the center of the green. Since we already had a safe ball in the fairway I decide to try a driver off the fairway. My 3W off the fairway has gotten significantly better in the last few months so I figured I may be able to get it airborne.

I make solid contact near the center of the face, look up and expect to see it rolling, but surprisingly it is heading just right of the green. Starts a tiny draw and smacks the green, creates a nasty divot and stops about 30 feet from the hole (pin in the back). I know this was a lot of luck, and I'd only do this in a captains choice format with one safe ball. Anyone else get a driver consistently off the fairway? Any other driver stories off the ground?

[saevel25]

If i play my old 975D i can, because it spins the ball, the new Ping G10, nope, doesn't work to well. I like my 3-wood just fine, 260 off the deck baby.

[shankalots]

I wish I could hit my 3 wood 260! I don't think my ball stuck the green due to spin, these greens are really soft and pretty much any shot over 70 yards stops 1-2 foot from impact. you leave some nasty deep divots, way too soft IMO.

[max power]

With my old Big Bertha Warbird-yes. With my current 983E-sometimes. With a 460cc driver-not so much.

[luckyluke699]

Given the head size difference between a modern 460CC driver and a small headed 3 wood (my 3 wood is 13 degrees for example) or hybrid, is it worth the risk to hit a driver off the deck even if you can do it?

Just wondering as it sounds like showboating for the sake of it? I'd have thought the extra distance wouldn't be much right over a 3 fairway wood?

That said I'm going to try it for a laugh at the range sometime lol

[golfro]

only time i've used the driver without a tee was when my ball was lieing 1-2 inches in rough above the ground. The thick grass elevated the ball up a bit, as if the ball was teed up. Hit the driver low and the ball was right back on the fairway!

[sean_miller]

With my old Big Bertha Warbird-yes. With my current 983E-sometimes. With a 460cc driver-not so much.

Same here. I'm thinking of putting two Callaway drivers in one of my old sets. A pro series Hawkeye (low draws) and the Warbird. A nice smooth (but hard) Warbird from the fairway produces a big sweeping 260-280 yard fade.

[ohiolefty]

I used to be able to do it...years ago...when I was in high school in the 90s before the driver heads got ridiculous.

I probably COULD do it now. I've tried it, farting around, on the range and wasn' happy with the results. To me, the degree of difficulty is too high (even with a smaller-headed driver). I'd rather try to stretch out a 3W than risk the horrible, or impotent, results that I could have hitting driver off the deck.

[walk18]

Given the head size difference between a modern 460CC driver and a small headed 3 wood (my 3 wood is 13 degrees for example) or hybrid, is it worth the risk to hit a driver off the deck even if you can do it?

Some people can get a lot of extra distance with the driver off the deck over 3 wood. I saw a guy get on a 620 yd par 5 in 2 going driver, driver. But those kind of people are few and far between.

[dennyjones]

I realize this is an old thread.

I was looking at @iacas's Game Golf round a few weeks ago and saw that he hit a driver off of the deck during one of his rounds.   One of my golf partners got a newer TM M2 and during a senior scramble decided to give it a go from off of the deck.   It worked well for him and now he thinks it's his go to club over 200 yards.   (It's hit and miss)

We've seen Ricky Fowler do this on TV and it was impressive.

My question?   I've never tried and seriously don't have thoughts of entertaining this shot.   Is it something you've tried, successful, unsuccessfully, or not even considered?

[DaveP043]

15 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

I realize this is an old thread.

I was looking at @iacas's Game Golf round a few weeks ago and saw that he hit a driver off of the deck during one of his rounds.   One of my golf partners got a newer TM M2 and during a senior scramble decided to give it a go from off of the deck.   It worked well for him and now he thinks it's his go to club over 200 yards.   (It's hit and miss)

We've seen Ricky Fowler do this on TV and it was impressive.

My question?   I've never tried and seriously don't have thoughts of entertaining this shot.   Is it something you've tried, successful, unsuccessfully, or not even considered?

I use it occasionally, maybe a half-dozen times a season at most.  It has to be a situation where a complete grounder doesn't put me in trouble.  Usually its a shot into the wind, where I know I can't get a 3-wood all the way.  It has to be a good lie in the fairway. I'd say I hit decent shots 60 or 70% of the time.  I actually do practice this, just one or two cracks at the end of my normal warm-up session.  Its a really good reminder to stay stable through the swing.

If it matters to anyone, I'm using a Titleist 921 D3.

Edited June 11, 2018 by DaveP043

[iacas]

11 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I was looking at @iacas's Game Golf round a few weeks ago and saw that he hit a driver off of the deck during one of his rounds.

I didn't. It was a 3-wood.

FWIW.

I have done it, though, and usually it works out pretty well.

One of my favorite photos from The Memorial.

[saevel25]

I never really found it necessary to hit the driver off the deck. 

 

[Patch]

Hitting the driver off the deck is sort of like the Holy Graile of golf shots it seems like. 

I have done it a few times with some success. Not lately though. Maybe once a year. (?) I don't even practice this shot. I know when I do use it, there has to be alot of (wide) room in front of me. A little right hand curve in the fairway also helps. 

I just play the ball back a little, (of normal driver) and aim left of my intended target, since if I do catch the ball well, it fades pretty good. 

I use a square, low profile (pancake like) 460 driver head.  I also use my normal speed swing. Nothing fancy. 

[Moxley]

I'm very tempted to start seeing if I can do this with my mini driver, as it's probably a bit easier than my full driver. The modern drivers these days help hits low off the face go further, so even a little thin can still get a good outcome if there isn't water in the way to worry about. 

That said, I'd probably not do it from the fairway, but from a ball sitting up nicely in the first cut.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Three comments, the first one from Judy Rankin in her My Turn interview:

One shot I've seen in my TV life stands above all others. At the 1989 British Open at Troon, I watched Greg Norman birdie the first six holes. That was thrilling, but on the 16th hole, a long par 5, Greg's drive came to rest on a downslope on tight, bare turf. He pulled out a driver and I thought, No way he can pull this off. The crack of his driver striking the ball is with me to this day. He hit it as flush as a ball can be hit, a high, towering draw, and the ball stopped 18 feet from the hole. For a second I stood there frozen. I couldn't find words to describe a shot that good.

Two: Remember when you would get golf tips during a tournament broadcast? I think it was during an AT&T tournament this local pro told us how to hit a driver off the deck. When the tip was over, Gary McCord said something like, "Now I want all you amateurs out there to promise you will never, never, never, never try to hit that shot."

Three: But then one day at the range some years ago I watched this guy hit one beautiful, identical drive after another. I was really something to see. Then he started hitting his driver off the mat and was hitting one shot after another just as good. Unbelievable.