Driver: could you play without one?

[lamebums]

I could, and I'd probably shoot better. I'd lose 3 or 4 shots from not hitting the ball as far (and thus having a longer iron on the approach - my mid irons are not stellar), but I'd probably save 6 or 7 from not losing balls or having to chip out sideways. (Then again, the last time I teed off with a 3 wood, I put it in the trees, chipped out sideways, and made an 8 from there...)

[flash]

I hit my 15' 3 wood 230-275 yds. depending on shot required. Driver is in my bag for when I really need to 'nut one'.

[golf_junkie27]

Learning to keep the driver idle is what actually lowered my scores. Instead of teeing off on short par 4s with it and leaving myself in between clubs, I decided to tee off with lower to mid irons. It left me with nice and easy full shots with either my 8 or 9 iron.

The next time I'm out on the course I'm going to try and play an entire round without it.

[ks8829]

Today I hit my driver 14 times and got into trouble 1 time. I hit 12 out of 14 fairways with my driver so I usually hit my driver whenever possible. If you want to score you need to be able to hit every club in your bag and not be afraid of anyone as my old friend Tad use to say to me.

[NXT No. 3's]

For about 5 years I played without a single wood in my bag. Im a decently long hitter, but totally inaccurate with a wood in my hand. I dropped the wood, picked up a driving iron and some hybrids and begun to really work on my long irons, approach, short game and especially skilled shots (under trees, long bunker shots, buried lies). I got my handicap down near single digits and decided to pick the woods back up. Now that I have become semi-consistant with a wood, and I still have the amazing iron/ short/ skilled game from having to work my ass off around every course for 5 years, im now looking at scratch hopefully by the end of next season.

I would highly recommend this, if you are going to be playing for a couple years of course. It really made me focus hard on my short game and approaches, which are where you really lose strokes anyway. When I walk up to the tee of a par 3, im not looking to par, im looking to birdie every single time. Before I put the woods back on par 4's, I would no so much focus on getting there in regulation, but making sure I had no more than 5 foot for par every par 4. Par 3's and par 5's were my attack holes, obviously on a par 5 without a wood I wouldnt have the distance to get there in 2, so that was some pressure and possible bad decisions eliminated from my game. I would focus on getting to the green in 3 (2 iron, middle iron, wedge) lagging one up tight and walking off with a par. With this approach, Pars came easy, bogeys happened... but so did birdies.

...and now that I have the big dawgs back in the bag, and I have a huge amount of confidence in the short game, it allows me to rear back and fire off every tee box, because even if I get in trouble, I just revert back to the old ways... play for par.

[sschwarz]

[QUOTE=SuaSponteMn;88513]5 years ago, I would have said yes; today I'm not so sure. QUOTE]

I agree that the drivers today are way more accurate. I'm more confident with my driver off the tee than I am with my 3 wood, hybrid, or 3 iron. It might not make a big difference in scoring but for I'm able to take hazards that are setup 230-260 out of play plus I think it makes a difference in league play. I've won a lot of league matches because I was out driving my opponent causing them to over-swing or take a risk they shouldn't have. I'm not sure my 3 wood or hybrid would've applied the same pressure.

I'll add that I lost my PW towards the end of this golf season. I am getting new clubs this offseason so I just continued playing without replacing it. I was striking the ball the best I have all year and putting great but could not score. It made a huge difference. I went from shooting in the 70s about every other round to playing about 15 rounds before I shot a 77 to end the year.

I think not having a driver would have a small impact on your scores but not having a PW kills.

[FortAsel]

I usually only use my driver in holes where the fairway is pretty wide.

[shortgame85]

WELL my driver is my most forgiving club, therefore most consistent. It is also the longest, and as i struggle to reach 400 yard par 4s with irons as I only drive about 220-240, i need the driver

I think the questions that started this thread are great. One's first response might be, "Sure, the driver generally isn't that accurate a club and, yeah, I hit those higher lofted clubs straighter so, sure, I could leave the driver at home." And then I factor in two thoughts: 1) like Jack_2251, I'm not long off the tee or, really, in any other part of my game, and 2) drivers today benefit from such high MOI that even off center hits aren't penalized as they were even a few years ago.

So, while at first blush, I thought, especially watching long hitters often hitting hybrids, 3 woods or long irons off the tee, yeah, why not go for accuracy or at least, if only to play the parlor game, sure I could leave the big stick at home. But, in reality, at least for me, I'm short off the tee and pretty accurate with the driver. So, yes, I could leave the driver at home, but why would I?

[neudi]

I played with no woods in my bag for a few rounds. my course is 7030 yards for the back tees and I still shot 3 or 4 over. The second hole is a 520 yard par 5 and I was still able to hit it in 2. So depending on how far you hit ur long irons and how good your short game is you may be able to shoot better without and inconsistent driver.

[NXT No. 3's]

neudi did you play at the publinx at stone ridge? or did they have a site down nearer to dayton?

[neudi]

I usually play at Reid Golf Course. Next year im not sure where ill play

[albatroz]

If you leave the driver out of the equation you can take care of half your fairway problems . I have always advised would be golfers to be good with their long to mid irons prior to taking a dive with woods and the most inconsistent club next to the putter DRIVER . The plan is to put the ball in a playable lie in the fairway . Thing is 80 percent of golfers in this planet find that a herculean task to perform . So you want lower scores ... keep the driver in the bag for Display and use fairway woods and long irons more often .

[Golf Yokel]

I would trade my driver for my 3 & 5 wood and my 6 iron any day.

[RichF]

I'll always put my driver in the bag and after the first 5 holes (a 525 Par5 and two long Par4s), I'll know whether it's working for me that day or not.
If not, I'll switch to the 3-wood for a few holes and get the rythym going again until later on in the round where from Holes 15-18, there are two Par5s and another longish Par4.

I find that if I'm hitting the driver right from the 1st hole, it gives me a pretty good confidence boost for the rest of the clubs too.

[cnixon83]

a few years ago i only used my irons... didn't even carry a driver, fairway woods, hybird. i was struggling with my iron control so i decided to only use my irons to try to get things worked out. distance wasn't too bad, i could consistantly hit my 3i 240yds., i actually think it helped me become a better golfer.

[TommyD69]

Like everything else in life, "it depends". Most "regular" courses (under 6500 yards), I could get around without my driver. On some courses, I may only use my driver 2 or 3 times the entire round. A lot of players (insert a handicap index here) should leave the driver at home, and tee off only with the 3-wood. It's a penal enough game as it is, leave your penal at home, and shoot better scores.

[donkba]

i played a round at my home course this summer with only 4i-sw and putter and shot a 79 (6250 yards par 70)

[sschwarz]

Could you, yes. I don't think golf would be as fun without the driver though. My brother and brother-in-law played with more this year than any other year. I attribute this primarily to the fact that both got new drivers and they were finally getting long accurate drives. I think the new driver technology has the occasional weekend golfer playing a lot more.

Whether or not it would affect scoring depends on several things.

1. Are you smart with your layups? If you're taking unnecessary risks than leaving the driver at home might help.

2. Can you score from 100 yards in? If not you might be better off laying up.

3. Is your problem a chronic slice/hook? If so you might be better off with a higher lofted club such as a 3 or 5 wood to reduce the effects of that.

4. Is your driver less than 5 years old? If not you have old tehnology in which case a 3 wood might be more accurate.