Playing a round with ONLY the driver?

[mdl]

On 8/6/2015, 2:28:48, saevel25 said:

Could be just a fun thing to do. Some golfers get sick enjoyment out of making the game stupidly hard

I've never done this, but I've played 7i only with friends on an executive course (par 32, no par 5s, mostly shorter par 4s).  That game did actually force some creativity and getting more comfortable with non-stock shots and non-wedge play around the green.  Plus it made for a fun, different than normal competition.

[Matt Holm PGA]

I've done it a few times, usually betting someone giving me a stroke a hole. Orlimar 10.5 Tri-Metal worked the best. This was back in 2005.

Two over through 14 holes....beat a good player 5/4

The key is no dew.....afternoon summer conditions. I had a birdie (400 yard par four) and an eagle on a par 5.

Par threes teed off of my knees. One bunker shot using the crown/toe of the club. Chipping out of the rough with thus method. 

Try it sometime! 

 

[Aflighter]

If the course you play has a short second shot over water to the green then good luck getting that ball up fast enough  and high enough to hit green and stay.Bunkers be an issue too.

[Matt Holm PGA]

The key is don't leave yourself that shot! 

Skipping it over water......pretty cool shot....always a cut! 

[pganapathy]

I feel that any blade type iron can be used for playing every shot on the course.  After all Seve learnt the game with only a 3 iron that was gifted to him and could hit it out of a bunker better than almost anybody with a sand wedge.  When you move onto the GI and SGI irons, the thick bottom line makes lofting a club a lot harder.  Delofting of course is not a problem.  Going with anything like a wood or hybrid is just a larger SGI club in that the bottom line is even thicker and even harder to get flexibility in shots played.

Additionally, you will have a different swing on the tee and on the course, which is not really conducive to you learning to play your driver better.  There is a reason your bag has 14 clubs.  Use the relevant one and the game is so much easier.

[gregsandiego]

On 11/9/2015, 9:32:17, natureboy said:

If you feel like trying it and go in with the right attitude of humor and experimentation, it probably will be more 'challenge' than 'trial'. If you are fixated on score only then...

I think Bubba does this to force himself to really be in the moment thinking about potential shots - challenging his course management imagination and face / path awareness feels. It also adds some pressure to hit better quality long game shots (so as to avoid the likely 2+ stroke penalty for a deeper bunker). Driver off the deck is something he does in competition so it makes sense for him to do an occasional round like this, or it was practice like this that made it easier for him to pull off the shots under competitive pressure.

Much of my motivation was simply to improve with the driver - trial by fire. It's the opposite of what we often hear - put the driver away if you aren't hitting it.

[zero]

I have done various things to try to overcome an issue i.e. "oh, you sliced that one? hit another, and another, and another until you either hit the fairway or your bag is empty". However, I stopped doing that because it was just practicing bad habits and pissing me off. Yesterday, I took a down-the-line video of myself at the range and could see exactly what's causing the problem. Personally, i just stopped using my driver for a while. 

[Rainmaker]

I think playing a whole round with just a driver would be overkill.  I could see doing it with an iron.  With a driver, though, you'd be hitting way too many shots that you'd never want to hit during a round . .even if you could technically do it.  

What might be fun, though, is a game where players are incentivized or penalized by having to use the driver.  IE . .you get a free mulligan but it has to be with your driver or the winner of the last hole can force his opponent to use the driver on any one shot they choose during the next hole.