3/4 DRIVER vs 3 iron or wood off tee

[sirhacksalot]

We have discussed at length about driver vs 3 wood off the tee with the purpose of distance but when you are standing on a tee and your landing area for your driver narrows greatly or brings hazards into play.  Do you swing a slower driver, ( ball is teed up on a tee, more forgiving, etc) or use the club to that would be your standard shot zone to get to the area where you want to hit?

[Dave2512]

Typically I hit whatever club allows me to stay in position with my normal full swing. Don't have much luck trying to control distance and direction any other way. The exception is very windy days when I hit what I call old man drives, kind of a half swing back and through that flights the ball low.

[Aflighter]

Pooch driver as  i call it.I do not believe in hitting an iron off any tee other than par 3.Driver has biggest head and a half swing or so will go farther than an iron.An iron is fine aslong as you hit it but a mishit iron off tee will cost you bigtime distance.Always used the bigger faced club.Its amazing though that theres alot of really good golfers who cant do it for some reason.Maybe an ego thing about swing easy with driver.

[No Mulligans]

Off the tee if I'm looking for more accuracy I'm going for something with more loft than the driver, I generally go with a 3 hybrid or a 4 wood.  Lower lofted clubs are just harder to hit and are less accurate.  I've experimented on the range by swinging easy and/or choking up on a driver, I have better results with my 3 hybrid and a full swing.

Try experimenting on the range yourself and report back.  I have a sample size of one and would be interested in other's results.

[sirhacksalot]

40 minutes ago, No Mulligans said:

Off the tee if I'm looking for more accuracy I'm going for something with more loft than the driver, I generally go with a 3 hybrid or a 4 wood.  Lower lofted clubs are just harder to hit and are less accurate.  I've experimented on the range by swinging easy and/or choking up on a driver, I have better results with my 3 hybrid and a full swing.

Try experimenting on the range yourself and report back.  I have a sample size of one and would be interested in other's results.

Range work is part of the reason that I brought it up, I can hit both shots on range fairly well but it seems lately if I try to hit my shorter distance club of a tee mishits are very common.  Topped to moon rockets.  However when I have decided to just hit driver I have erred in the screw it lets see how close we can get which has cost me a few shots here and there but score wise has been better.  I havent yet been able to play a round saying im going to hit this drive 180 or this one 200 on every hole.  Even if the first hole starts that way by 3 or 4 im usually just changing my aim and swinging full swings .

[CyboNinja]

Depends on the hole for me. A 1/2-3/4 driver for me is 200-220. So if its 250 to a hazard I may opt for such a swing. If there is no hazard but the fairway is simply narrow I'll just take a full swing with my driver and opt for a closer second shot likely out of the rough. If its a narrow fairway and a hazard I'll opt for an 4i or a 5i generally. 

[natureboy]

2 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

Lower lofted clubs are just harder to hit and are less accurate.  I've experimented on the range by swinging easy and/or choking up on a driver, I have better results with my 3 hybrid and a full swing.

Try experimenting on the range yourself and report back.  I have a sample size of one and would be interested in other's results.

I'd agree, except the MOI of 460 cc's really offsets the lower loft disadvantage for many.

[Grinde6]

16 hours ago, sirhacksalot said:

We have discussed at length about driver vs 3 wood off the tee with the purpose of distance but when you are standing on a tee and your landing area for your driver narrows greatly or brings hazards into play.  Do you swing a slower driver, ( ball is teed up on a tee, more forgiving, etc) or use the club to that would be your standard shot zone to get to the area where you want to hit?

I'm hitting the club that gets me the furthest without bringing trouble into play.  If you have your average club distance and know you don't have to overswing to get there, that would be the play I would go with.  People always want to smash a driver off the tee, but in reality they might be able to lower their scores by taking some hazards out of play and hitting an iron/hybrid off the tee on some holes.

[ol 3 putts]

I'll play whatever club will get me to the distance I'm looking for, with a full swing. I haven't been able to get very consistent with 1/2 or 3/4 swings so I ovoid them if I can. I'm not long off the tee so the driver may or may not be my best option.  I'll hit a full driver on par 5's and wide par 4s.  For instance there is a short par 4 on Bonita (#4) where I always hit 3 wood or 4 iron if it's windy. If and on the rare occasion I hit it well I'm left with a comfortable 8 or 9 iron to the pin.

[Shindig]

For those considering switching to a 3-Wood for some tee shots, have you tried taking an AK grip with your driver instead?  Obviously try it on the range first, but I find that to be a more effective tee shot for me than going to a 3-wood. 

[NJpatbee]

My home course has a couple of short par 4's that are loaded with trouble with no forgiveness left or right.  I pull play a 2 hybrid which I can get 200 out of and have a short iron to the pin. But I will use the driver with a full swing if I have already missed a couple of 2 hybrids from the fairway.  But the 2 hybrid for me is usually the smart play.

 

[ol 3 putts]

1 hour ago, Shindig said:

For those considering switching to a 3-Wood for some tee shots, have you tried taking an AK grip with your driver instead?  Obviously try it on the range first, but I find that to be a more effective tee shot for me than going to a 3-wood. 

Forgive my ignorance, what's an AK grip? I'm sure the answer is so obvious I'll slap my forehead.

Thanks in advance

[No Mulligans]

7 minutes ago, ol 3 putts said:

Forgive my ignorance, what's an AK grip? I'm sure the answer is so obvious I'll slap my forehead.

Thanks in advance

AK grip, I'm scratching my head on that one too.  What is it?

I googled it and came up with this:

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, ol 3 putts said:

Forgive my ignorance, what's an AK grip? I'm sure the answer is so obvious I'll slap my forehead.

Thanks in advance

Gripping down somewhat significantly to shorten the club;  it's how Anthony Kim played all his shots.

Here's a good image: 

[RayG]

I just CAN'T "3/4" a driver swing. it isn't in my repertoire. It means I try and steer it and usually end up with a nasty skittering duck hook. While I WILL choke down a bit to ease back or help accuracy, I always take a full swing. If I need 220 instead of 260, I'll take my 3 wood. If I need 240 max, then it's my "strong 3" wood (FTiZ 13*).

Irons off the tee? sure.. if it's a strong head wind to a yardage or layup, then I can knock down a 2 or 3 iron, rather than the possibility of ballooning a hybrid or something.

[DaveP043]

I think this question is one that each individual has to answer based on his own swing.  I know that I've learned to make a slightly restricted backswing with my driver, in order to hit a shorter lower "punch".  My follow-through will also be a little shorter than normal.  This works well into the wind, where a full 3-wood, or even long iron, has the potential to spin more and balloon.  The important part of this type of shot is to use normal forward-swing mechanics and sequences, otherwise its real easy to get it well off line.  Much like distance wedges, you're controlling the length of the shot through the length of the backswing.  If you find that you can't do that consistently, its better to make a full normal swing with the club that will go the right distance, considering the wind and the hazards.

[Steviestuboy]

I bought a mini driver that helped my game as in fairways hit but...  After a short time with it (and still loving it) I'm bagging both it and the driver.  Just miss that little bit extra poke the driver offers on different holes.  I don't think there is a definite answer to your question as everyone plays the game differently.  For me it would depend on how my round was going that day and how I was striking the ball. If it was going badly I'd go with whatever started to get me in play and leave the driver alone Haha.  Agree with Davep's post above. 

[chilepepper]

Ill choose whatever club has been working better in practice that week. Confidence is a big thing for choosing clubs/ shots.