Take Your Driver Out of the Bag

[Gunther]

The drivers I had been using were 46" but I was bombing an RBZ for awhile. The problem was with my swing and because it most egregiously manifested itself with the driver swing, naturally I blamed the driver and went through 5 in about 8 months, aLL 46". No success so I simply quit for 5 months thinking that would clear my head. Getting back, my driver broke so I was stuck with only a 3w and had great success. Just got around to buying a driver yesterday. Hit it well on the range and excited to see how I game it today. It's 45", which I think helps.

[DrvFrShow]

It's kind of a give or take thing with the driver. The driver giveth and the driver taketh away. I need to practice more with it and get more consistent. I know I can hit the thing. I shortened my driver from 45.5" to 44.5". That helped me get a little better control, and because it lightened the SW of the club to a C9, it increased my SS with it to about 94 mph.

[jmsage]

I used to struggle with the driver... Then what I did was went out and tried a bunch of fairly forgiving drivers, got fit for the appropriate shaft and then cut it down to 43 inches for consistency.  The driver I went with at the time was a g25.  Over time my driver game started to become a strength and now I'm able to hit a 44 and a half inch driver constantly.

[JP golf]

I tend to do the opposite, I rarely hit 3 wood off the tee. Driver is bigger, easier to hit and goes farther. Depends on the hole but even when I don't need a "big" drive and have to "fit" my tee shot in, I typically prefer to hit an easy/choke/bunt driver than a 3 wood off the tee.

To hit a "bunt" driver like you refer to, what is your approach?  I know you choke down- but do you shorten your swing? Change your swing path any, just swing a little lighter?  What works for you to be able to pull that shot off?  What's your thought process?  Just curious.

[saevel25]

To hit a "bunt" driver like you refer to, what is your approach?  I know you choke down- but do you shorten your swing? Change your swing path any, just swing a little lighter?  What works for you to be able to pull that shot off?  What's your thought process?  Just curious.

I choke down on the club. It depends on how much I want to control it. If I want to really make sure I get some control I'll go near the bottom of the grip. Then I just try to swing 50%. By 50%, I mean slow down the backswing and downswing. I think a lot of people end up going slow backswing then full downswing.

For me my thought process is just slow and easy. But more easy than slow. I think that word works best for me.

[dkolo]

To hit a "bunt" driver like you refer to, what is your approach?  I know you choke down- but do you shorten your swing? Change your swing path any, just swing a little lighter?  What works for you to be able to pull that shot off?  What's your thought process?  Just curious.

I was practicing these today on the range. I basically just swing a little slower and don't try to get as much uppercut to the swing. Just keep it low and in control.

[Gunther]

Well, made the leap and got a driver today. 913 D3, 9.5°. Went to the range and it felt great, best 1st session with a new driver I've ever had. Was able to control traj easily, like I did 5 drivers ago. Didn't try to shape anything cuz winds were 20, right to left and into so didn't want to mess with it. Not sure how far it's going but most shots felt solid. Playin tomorrow so I'll compare against my buds and see if I've gained or lost distance. Gotta be more than the 3 but for 4 or 5 rounds, I sure didn't miss a driver.

1st round with new driver went well. Shot a no stress 80, 1 birdie, 1 double. Didn't hit any bombs with the driver but it didn't hurt me either. Interestingly, my 2 worst tee balls were back to back holes with the 3w, which I had been melting over the past 5 or 6 rounds. Stupid game. Anyway, experiment over. Love the new driver.

[MrDC]

As I may have said earlier drivers shafts are almost always too long out of the box, they can't make them longer with a fitting right? so they're ready to be cut down.

And that's why people struggle and go to the shorter shaft 3W.

I think even 45" is too long for many, I'm tall and had mine taken down to 44", yes it cost me some distance, but I rarely miss and can even work the ball both ways, that's way more important than gaining an extra 10-15 yds and being all over the place like I used to be, also with the better control I can swing faster with confidence so I'm not even so sure I've lost all that much distance.

[rdsandy]

As I may have said earlier drivers shafts are almost always too long out of the box, they can't make them longer with a fitting right? so they're ready to be cut down.

And that's why people struggle and go to the shorter shaft 3W.

I think even 45" is too long for many, I'm tall and had mine taken down to 44", yes it cost me some distance, but I rarely miss and can even work the ball both ways, that's way more important than gaining an extra 10-15 yds and being all over the place like I used to be, also with the better control I can swing faster with confidence so I'm not even so sure I've lost all that much distance.

I'm one of the oddballs that likes the longer shaft. I even put together a shaft for my Ping Driver that is 47.75 inches. I get the 10-15 more yards I need as an aging senior and don't see much difference in dispersion. I do find it harder to turn over the ball to produce a draw.

[disco111]

Here's something additional to ponder. Lots of talk about going to the 3 wood, but perhaps that's could be telling you something. How many have tried a 12 degree driver. I know it's the suggested degree for seniors, but it could help a lot more folks with the correct shaft. When I was in my prime, back in the 20th century, I played with a Hogan 2 wood - 43" - midsize grip and I could bomb it. I fully realize that youth and flexibility played a great part, but if the club is a bad fit, even those attributes can't make up for it. Do yourself a favor and give one a test drive, don't dismiss it because it has a seniors label. You might just stumble over a few tidbits from us old folks and our "I remember when" stories........

[The Recreational Golfer]

I only played 5W from the tee until my handicap dropped to 17.

Here's a guideline that I think isn't too far off -- don't play with a club that has less loft than you average score over par.

[dkolo]

Here's a guideline that I think isn't too far off -- don't play with a club that has less loft than you average score over par.

That's not good advice. Like, at all.

[saevel25]

Here's a guideline that I think isn't too far off -- don't play with a club that has less loft than you average score over par.

A golfer is giving up a huge advantage. You can improve your swing and game with out taking the driver out of the bag. To me that notion is just admitting defeat.

[Dave2512]

Probably would have been easier to just say loft up. Which doesn't mean you have to give up your driver. I average about 10 yards further total with my 12.5 than I do with the 10.5. Haven't taken it to a FlightScope session yet but I suspect I carry it further too.

[CoachCad8]

My game has always struggled off the tee box. My last round I left the driver at home and did not notice a significant change in my score. I was planning on ditching the driver for a while but now feel like I might look at the length of the shaft and see if that has an influence in my swing and find some drills to help fix my awful slice. If I could hit off the tee box my game would be a lot better. Played 18 yesterday and I would say on 12/18 holes I was hitting my 3rd shot from close to everyone else's 2nd shot. I only have a fairway 3W and am not much better at hitting that off the tee than my driver.

[Shindig]

Here's a guideline that I think isn't too far off -- don't play with a club that has less loft than you average score over par.

What would I even putt with?

[Gunther]

What would I even putt with?

Use your hybrid til you get your hcap under 4.

[DrvFrShow]

I think I'm going to my 3W. It's a glorified driver anyway. Set at 13.5 degrees and 43.75". I can't control where my driver goes and it costs me about 12 strokes or more a round. I just can't get used to the huge head on the thing. It requires almost a different swing than everything else in the bag. I'll gladly give up 10-15 yds total distance for better accuracy. Tree-line or in the trees vs. within the first cut.