Take Your Driver Out of the Bag

[pecos24]

Ok.. you guys win.  I was able to go out after work and put 9 holes in.  On the 6 holes I used my driver on I hit 5 fairways.  This was gripping down about an inch and shortening my back swing.  On the one fairway I missed, I pushed my drive into a fairway bunker.   So I averaged around 215 off the tee which isn't far but farther than 165 yd  6i.

[Shindig]

So I averaged around 215 off the tee which isn't far but farther than 165 yd  6i.  ;-)

Whoo! Hit it long and prosper!

[AmazingWhacker]

120-shooter me did take the driver out of the bag for a while.  I did not hit the driver well at all.  I did not hit any clubs well at all - but the results were worse with the driver than just about any other club.  I kind of was kidding myself that I was better with the 3W off the tee.  I probably would've been best off hitting my tee-shots with a 7-iron.  I probably could've shot a lot better scores if I took everything lower than the 7 out of the bag . .maybe I still could, lol.

But 90-shooter me doesn't think it's a good idea to take the driver out of the bag.  The driver is pretty forgiving off the tee - at least for me.  I'd rather hit a driver than a 3-iron, that's for sure.  I hit my 4wood (don't have a 3W at the moment) better than my driver but I hit my driver well enough that it usually goes a little farther than my 4W and it tends to roll-out better, too.

Plus I like hitting the driver and, when you're as good as me (not good), it's more about what you *want* to do than what you *need* to do.

[Strandly]

Yeah... you can throw away an entire club or, you know, simply learn how to play.

[Moppy]

If I were playing for money, then sure, score is everything, but I don't, so even if I am unreliable with the club, it is part of the fun of golf to watch a well-hit drive fly. I guess some people view that like they would view playing poker with worthless chips, it's not the same game.

[Fourputt]

If I were playing for money, then sure, score is everything, but I don't, so even if I am unreliable with the club, it is part of the fun of golf to watch a well-hit drive fly. I guess some people view that like they would view playing poker with worthless chips, it's not the same game.

You can't get the satisfaction of a well played hand in poker if the chips don't mean anything.  There will always be someone at the table who will not take it seriously if there is nothing on the line, so he won't play the hand like he would if it was going to cost him money to make a stupid mistake.  I've sat at tables with low stakes and you run into the same problem - players won't fold out of a hand when they should so the strongest tool a poker player has, the bluff, becomes an impossibility.  Betting strategy means nothing when there are players at the table who don't take it seriously.

But a good golf shot is still going to be at least somewhat satisfying even if it's in the middle of a practice round that doesn't count for anything.  It won't have the same impact as it would in a competition against your arch-rival, but it will still feel good.  It won't feel as good as scoring a new personal best though, and if you are denying yourself that opportunity by playing driver, then maybe you do need to rethink your game plan.

[RFKFREAK]

You can't get the satisfaction of a well played hand in poker if the chips don't mean anything.  There will always be someone at the table who will not take it seriously if there is nothing on the line, so he won't play the hand like he would if it was going to cost him money to make a stupid mistake.  I've sat at tables with low stakes and you run into the same problem - players won't fold out of a hand when they should so the strongest tool a poker player has, the bluff, becomes an impossibility.  Betting strategy means nothing when there are players at the table who don't take it seriously.

But a good golf shot is still going to be at least somewhat satisfying even if it's in the middle of a practice round that doesn't count for anything.  It won't have the same impact as it would in a competition against your arch-rival, but it will still feel good.  It won't feel as good as scoring a new personal best though, and if you are denying yourself that opportunity by playing driver, then maybe you do need to rethink your game plan.

+1.

[tomvk77]

You can't get the satisfaction of a well played hand in poker if the chips don't mean anything.  There will always be someone at the table who will not take it seriously if there is nothing on the line, so he won't play the hand like he would if it was going to cost him money to make a stupid mistake.  I've sat at tables with low stakes and you run into the same problem - players won't fold out of a hand when they should so the strongest tool a poker player has, the bluff, becomes an impossibility.  Betting strategy means nothing when there are players at the table who don't take it seriously.

But a good golf shot is still going to be at least somewhat satisfying even if it's in the middle of a practice round that doesn't count for anything.  It won't have the same impact as it would in a competition against your arch-rival, but it will still feel good.  It won't feel as good as scoring a new personal best though, and if you are denying yourself that opportunity by playing driver, then maybe you do need to rethink your game plan.

agree on that

[DrvFrShow]

Well the proof was in the lesson. I really need to work on hitting my driver. I'm not getting my hands over fast enough, and right now that adds just one too many things to the mix of things we're working on. You know the rule: work on one thing at a time.

So I tried the TaylorMade Aeroburner mini-driver because it was short like my 3W. I tried it in 12 and 14 degrees. I hit my 13.5 degree Cobra 3W better off the tee, and I was tired. I did this with my pro watching. Saved some money.

For now, I'll play my rounds with my 3W. For another two weeks I'll work on the stuff in the lesson and groove that. Then I'll bring in the driver for my next lesson. Honestly, a 13.5 degree 3W that's nearly 44" long is pretty much a mini-driver anyway. I'm losing about a club compared to when my driver shots land on the fairway. The difference is the percentage of playable shots. +/- 20 yds off center line for the 3W vs. +/- 30 or more yds off center line with the driver. This will work for now.

[PooN]

I just picked up a set of Mizuno MP54's and decided to make a 'practice round' out of my last outing... I used nothing but irons for every shot on every hole and I feel like I did OK.  (shot 88 on a 6300 yard 70.3/125 rating) with a couple mishit 4 irons from the tee box.  I played the "only irons" rule so much so that even if I was 220+ out I would purposely pick a landing zone to break it into 2 full iron shots (ie. full PW, then full 52* or full 9i then full 56*).

It was really fun, but I don't think I would give up my driver for every round I play.  I felt like I left a lot of shots out there if I would've been up another 70 yards off the tee.