When is driver off the deck a good play?

[Papa Steve 55]

On any par 5 five where you just hit a really bad drive off the tee. Where you had a perfect lie. Your pissed and know you can hit it 300 yards off the deck if you really really swing hard. I CAN EAGLE THIS SUCKER YET!!!!

Make sure you tell you playing partners "Watch this"!,  before you swing.

[Lihu]

38 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said:

I don't remember seeing this thread before, but my first reaction is that when I've been drinking it is a good play to hit driver off the deck.

That's pretty much the only way I'd take a brand new $350 to $500 driver and scuff the heck off the bottom for that potential (and generally never realized) extra 20 yards over my 3W. . .

 

10 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

On any par 5 five where you just hit a really bad drive off the tee. Where you had a perfect lie. Your pissed and know you can hit it 300 yards off the deck if you really really swing hard. I CAN EAGLE THIS SUCKER YET!!!!

Make sure you tell you playing partners "Watch this"!,  before you swing.

Don't you mean "Hold my beer and watch this. . ." ?

[MacDutch]

Had to think about this thread yesterday. Last hole, a 440y par 4 against the wind. Light dogleg to the right, but not a good drive that came at rest just left of the fairway.

Still 240y to the flag and the ball was nicely teed up on the grass. First thought was 'hit hybrid to 80y'. But it was the last hole, not a good round and I wanted to know if driver could do the job. Hit a low ball, that kept on rolling. Just short of the green, but made up and down using the Texas wedge. 

Will keep on practicing that shot. 

[Buckeyebowman]

With the modern, big headed driver I'll generally only use it off the deck for a low punch that needs to curve right a bit. I can't get the thing to fly worth a damn!

[sac1]

On 7/30/2011 at 7:34 PM, iacas said:

1. When there's no trouble on the ground along the way.
2. When there's relatively little trouble to the right.
3. When the ground is firm and I'm into the wind.

 

I'll hit driver off the deck when there's some combination of the three things I just said. Drivers off the deck are lower, roll farther, and tend to cut a little.

I go with that too, especially for mugs like myself who struggle to get the clubface back square to the ball.  A three wood hit from an uphill lie into a strong wind can easily balloon left or right into the adjacent scrub for me.  If I hit driver off the deck here, I dont get the same amount of spin on the ball and it goes straighter and low, and further.  What I have noticed is that the interaction with the larger driver head and the ground tends to straighten it out, preventing the ball from going left - drop kicks go straight  and the outcome is generally a predictable low fade.

I look at the possible worse outcomes, topping it or fatting still goes 170+ yards and its still on the fairway.  Get it flush and it goes much further than the 3 wood into the same wind.  For me, I swing at 80% here to get the best contact I can. 

[iacas]

On 4/23/2017 at 8:06 PM, Lihu said:

That's pretty much the only way I'd take a brand new $350 to $500 driver and scuff the heck off the bottom for that potential (and generally never realized) extra 20 yards over my 3W. . .

How are you gonna "scuff the heck off" your driver hitting a ball from the fairway? Or even the rough?

[Midpack]

On 7/29/2011 at 7:32 PM, BuckeyeNut said:

driver off the deck is a 95% fail............................

It was never a good odds shot, and with today's huge heads I'd never try it. "Off the deck" I suspect I'd hit a 3w further than a driver at least 90% of the time. YMMV