Should High Handicappers use a Driver?

[robinoso]

I'm terrible and for me hitting the driver was one of the most frustrating things.  From slicing, losing balls, constant OB...etc.  However, I have just hit my year mark and I'm happy that I didn't shy away from using it.  It forced me to learn to hit it better.  You won't learn to hit it without looking stupid at first.

When the driver is working, it's a different kind of confidence.  I'm more prone to shank a PW after drive than vice versa.  I'm still not used to those fairways...I need my rough!

[saevel25]

For any high handicapper, extra distance of the driver will help. So its a big asset to learn how to use. Which means practicing with the driver.

[Caphenning]

Originally Posted by robinoso

I'm terrible and for me hitting the driver was one of the most frustrating things.  From slicing, losing balls, constant OB...etc.  However, I have just hit my year mark and I'm happy that I didn't shy away from using it.  It forced me to learn to hit it better.  You won't learn to hit it without looking stupid at first.

When the driver is working, it's a different kind of confidence.  I'm more prone to shank a PW after drive than vice versa.  I'm still not used to those fairways...I need my rough!

What really helped with my driver was when I quit trying to hit the ball. I see the swing the distance guys and pros use, and I just can't make it work. I slowed my swing speed way down and my distance and accuracy improved immediately. By the time to club would be parallel on the down stroke I would be backing off the power and acceleration and let the swing "coast" the rest of the way through. Then I started easing some more speed into the swing. I found changing my grip around forward some as I started adding power helped.

[robinoso]

Originally Posted by Caphenning

What really helped with my driver was when I quit trying to hit the ball. I see the swing the distance guys and pros use, and I just can't make it work. I slowed my swing speed way down and my distance and accuracy improved immediately. By the time to club would be parallel on the down stroke I would be backing off the power and acceleration and let the swing "coast" the rest of the way through. Then I started easing some more speed into the swing. I found changing my grip around forward some as I started adding power helped.

For me, i strengthened my grip with lead arm, choked down about an inch and did also slow my speed.  I still tend to sway on backswing if I get tired and realize that I need to turn on my backswing or I have to time it perfect to get that face closed.  I'm just happy now knowing what I need to do if it goes wrong.

[sean_miller]

When it comes to which clubs a high handicapper "should" use, there are no absolutes beyond he or she "should" use whichever clubs get them around the course in 1.) the least time, and 2.) the fewest strokes, with 3.) the least frustration, while 4.) losing the fewest balls.  If that's a driver off the tee, go for it. If it's something else, like a fairway wood or driving iron,  go that way. In my experience, MOST high index players, while working a driver into their rotation for the first time, more than make for any perceived distance gains in penalty strokes, lost time looking for balls, frustration wondering why they can't hit it like they do on television, and annoying everyone around them while repeatedly asking, "what did I do wrong on that one?." Peace out.

[rustyredcab]

Use your driver if you can keep it in play. I play with some older guys who are not very long and play to mid and high handicaps. For a short-hitting high handicapper, the driver is a safe bet on almost every hole. 190 - 220 off the tee lets them hit it straight enough to avoid trouble much of the time. Depending on the fairways, that wayward drive may be in the rough but on the course. That same amount off line on a 250 - 270 yard drive is often in big trouble.

Some beginners hit the ball a long way but not straight. If you are spraying your drives 270 yards, you are likely to get in a lot more trouble than if you are spraying them 210. Hit the longest club you think you can keep in play -- not the fairway, but in play.

[nikuk]

When I started getting more serious about my game in the beginning of this year (golfed past two seasons but rather casually) I had a mean slice about 2/3 out with the driver. I have since spent 6 buckets worth of balls exclusively on the driver this summer. Thinking and adjusting one thing at a time, hit 5-10 balls and seeing what happened.

I can now hit my driver much much much more consistenly. Now 9/10 shots will get down the fairway with a bit of a fade or a bit of a draw depending on what I do with the swing. Coming into the spring my 10 ball effectiveness was roughly: 6 high slices, 2 mid slices, 2 neat fades.

Also, without trying for distance I've managed to pick up ~20yards on average. I'm still only carrying ~225 but I'm on the fairway - MY OWN fairway!

-Nick

[rustyredcab]

225 on your own fairway does not need apology words like "still" and "only."

225 in the fairway is good golf. Everybody would like to be 295 in the fairway, but 225 in the fairway beats 295 OB. It is much more fun to play from the fairway than to be looking for balls after an out of control slice, isn't it?

Originally Posted by nikuk

...I'm still only carrying ~225 but I'm on the fairway - MY OWN fairway!

-Nick

[ggolokin]

when i was off a higher handicap i had no luck with the driver, so i learnt a "go-to" shot with my 3-wood. it's a low stinger fade. it's not that its an easier shot to hit, it's more a shot that i knew i could it, and had the proper swing thoughts, eg; play the baller closer to your right foot (if your a right hander), stand a touch closer, open the stance and hit.

it's a shot i still use now when my driver isn't quite working for me.

[GJBenn85]

Based on my history of having a terrible slice with my driver, I tend to keep it in the bag.  I think this winter I will get some lessons to help develop a proper swing for it and my fairway woods.

On a side note, I was paired up with two older guys today whose handicaps are higher than mine.  Without fail, they pulled out the drivers on all par 4s and 5s while I teed off those holes with a 2h (have not been able to hit my driver or wood worth **** the past week).  While they struggled with drives that were unpredictable--they'd balloon, go dead left, dead right, or 100 yards--my 3h was hit dead straight wherever I was aiming at a very predictable and consistent distance.  Why people insist on using their drivers when they could clearly improve their game by using other clubs is beyond me.  Just an ego thing in amateur golf...

[MiniBlueDragon]

For some people the driver is an ego thing but for others I think it's a lack of course management sometimes.

My favourite club (at the moment!) is my Vokey 50.08 which pretty much goes 100 yards on the dot. I therefore try to get myself in the position to use it by working backward on yards calculation for a hole.

For example my club has a short par 4 at 323 yards long which has three bunkers along the front of it so the only green access is from the air. I take the 323 and remove my wedge, leaving 223 which is my 3h on a dry day or my 3w if it's wet. I see people every day pulling out the "big dog" and teeing off into all kinds of trouble but it's a regular thing; I just don't know if they're hitting the driver to get as far as they can to the hole to score better and not thinking about how to best play the short game or whether it's a case of wanting a nice ego boost from a long, straight drive.

[ghalfaire]

I guess the question is an assumption that high handicapper as not good with a driver.  Maybe not so in every case.  So the choice should be an individual one.  I'm not particularly accurate with a driver so I don't often use one  (probably about 2-3 times a round) but the game is one shot at a time so I use one where it makes sense to me.

[GJBenn85]

I agree, more players need to recognize the benefits of course management and playing according to their best abilities instead of attempting to always hammer the ball as far as possible off the tee (which is generally a weak area for amateurs--just watch any range or tee box!).

Example, yesterday I was playing several holes that routinely give me trouble.  By effectively playing the hole in reverse as you described, I was able to do a short pitch onto the green (which I'm generally good at) vs. trying to stop the ball on the green with a long iron or hybrid.  I chose a 2h off the tee, a 7i to get close to the green, and then a short pitch onto the green leaving a one putt for par.  My playing partners went for the green in two which was not ideal for their game and ended up having bogeys and double bogeys.

I know quite a few golfers that have been playing routinely for 20-30 years and they struggle to score a 95 on a good day.  Most of the time it is because they insist on using a driver or wood when they clearly cannot hit them with any accuracy and predictability.  I'm certainly not a great golfer but in 7 months I am at a point that takes many amateurs quite a few years to reach and I think it is because I am willing to play within my limitations while also continuously striving to improve.

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

For some people the driver is an ego thing but for others I think it's a lack of course management sometimes.

[rustyredcab]

I used to play everything for the shot I could make instead of the shot I was likely to make. For example, If I was 230 out, I'd hit a 3-wood and try and get on the green. I could hit my 3-wood 230 off the deck and if I hit it perfectly, it would be on the green. The chances of that happening were very slim. A 3-wood off the deck was my least consistent play and often yielded very bad results. I have a much better swing now and I do not go for it from 230 unless it is wide open near the green (it never is). I lay up to a yardage or play a 200-220 yard shot short of, or just on, the green. My "go zone" is 220 and in unless it is all carry in which case it is under 200 unless the lie is perfect. Pulling the correct club is a matter of what I feel I hit consistently and what bad swings I can survive.

The same holds for selecting a club off the tee. Handicap does not always predict which club is best off the tee. Just because you can potentially cut the corner with your best swing with your driver, does not mean you should try. And just because you are a 25 handicap, does not mean that you leave the driver in the trunk.

[inthehole]

me too - slowing the swing down dramatically helped me with teh driver.    My game now is driving 220 & staying on the fairway most of the time, rather than hitting longer & more times than not, inthe rough if not OB.     The game is much more enjoyable hitting your second, albeit longer, shot from the fairway & my scores have come way down ...

Originally Posted by Caphenning

What really helped with my driver was when I quit trying to hit the ball. I see the swing the distance guys and pros use, and I just can't make it work. I slowed my swing speed way down and my distance and accuracy improved immediately. By the time to club would be parallel on the down stroke I would be backing off the power and acceleration and let the swing "coast" the rest of the way through. Then I started easing some more speed into the swing. I found changing my grip around forward some as I started adding power helped.

[Caphenning]

Originally Posted by robinoso

For me, i strengthened my grip with lead arm, choked down about an inch and did also slow my speed.  I still tend to sway on backswing if I get tired and realize that I need to turn on my backswing or I have to time it perfect to get that face closed.  I'm just happy now knowing what I need to do if it goes wrong.

LOL, Amen...

[Kobey]

In my opinion, a beginner shouldn't be worried about score anyway, so there is no harm in learning to use all the clubs.  I can hammer a 3 wood off the tee but can't hit it at all in the fairway.  So on par fives I make myself use it instead of an iron.

The biggest thing is to learn the difference in swing between driver and fairway clubs.  That's what I am working on now.  I have a decent, accurate drive, but I need to learn not to try and hit the irons and fairway woods with a driver swing.  Now if they would just change the rule to let me tee it up anywhere except the green, I would be unstoppable.

[Golfs-for-Fun]

I just started really trying to learn the right way and Ive had a lot of good tee shots with a driver so far. Im hitting the driver better off the tee than a 3 or 5 wood. Probably because theres more face area on the head.

For myself I think that its important to go ahead and use a driver so youre getting used to having to hit controlled shots with one. Anyone can go to the range and blast balls out into a 20 acre field somewhere, but learning to control the ball is the point of having the club in your bag.

I generally play only in the afternoon so the courses are pretty empty so I can get a lot of practice without slowing anyone down.