Fitter told me to ditch my driver

[BristolGolf]

I am a new user here but have been lurking for a few weeks. I have taken up golf this year and have been having a blast, I have been really bitten by the bug! I started out with a bargain bag of Wilson clubs including driver and a 3 wood and took some lessons, purchased a grip trainer, joined a local club and have been pounding the range and course as often as possible. I invested in a new driver which turned out to be a poor purchase, a Wilson D200 – with a 46” shaft, I was like a one handed lumber jack, by gripping down I did manage to tame it but I am gripping down a solid 3 inches, but not before dinking a huge idiot mark in the top of it. 

Yesterday I went for a fitting and ended up investing in a set of TaylorMade irons that are now on order and are being adjusted to my swing, the one thing that came out of the session was that he told me to ditch the driver and ordered me a 5 Wood (which they are also making some alterations to), at the session I was thumbing the 5 Wood out to 230 yards consistently straight and a couple of smashes hit the 250 yard marker and bounced to the back of the ranges net, so the advice stood up well, that is about as far as I can drive with the gripped down D200 and the consistency and feel were far FAR better. 

The problem is I now have a bit of a 'bee in my bonnet' about the loss of my driver, I have invested in at least 5 lessons on that club (not to mention the cost of it at £180) and did manage to tame it about 20% of the time, but the consistency was wild the other 80% of the time (a huge slice, hook or sometimes a plain old vertical sky bomb). I am worried that if I don’t stick at it I am going to be missing out on a very important club, but maybe the fitter was right? Maybe I should just stick to the irons and 5 wood and give it a year?

Anyhow! Hi everybody :) I would appreciate any thoughts! 
 

[Hacker James]

It is not which club you use, but the results you get!  If you are hammering a 5 wood out 250 Yards, I do not see what your concern is. Most folks would die to get that kind of distance with a 5 wood. I would be more interested in what you are doing with your irons.

[Golfingdad]

I assume his suggestion was more along the lines of telling you to play the 5 wood on the course since that is what is working for you right now.  You should definitely keep practicing with the driver because at some point it will be a help to your game.

[IndianaDundee]

5 wood is a great club.  230-250 yards is more than many players get out of their driver.  I carry a 4 wood that I can use at 230 so I would think your swing speed is just a bit faster than mine.  I would think you could get a driver to fly 250 and roll out close to 300 but it would have to match your swing to get consistent results.  But a driver is the most expensive and hardest to hit club.  You really wont lose much waiting to get a driver fitting until you have more rounds under your belt.

[gregsandiego]

  On 10/6/2016 at 5:04 PM, Golfingdad said:

I assume his suggestion was more along the lines of telling you to play the 5 wood on the course since that is what is working for you right now.  You should definitely keep practicing with the driver because at some point it will be a help to your game.

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I agree with @Golfingdad

The driver is hard to hit but that seems like a bad reason to give up on it. And it is more fun when you do get a good one.

 

 

[ZappyAd]

You will definitely need to practice with your driver to get better with it!  But just because you don't hit it well doesn't mean you shouldn't use it on the course.

A big part of learning to play golf for me has been understanding what I'm capable of today and what I need to improve for tomorrow.  So when I'm out on the course I understand the risk and return of each club and can make a decision about which one to hit.  It is something that I have found really hard to get right because it makes a big different to short term scoring. 

So sometimes I've not used a club because I don't feel like I'm hitting it well enough and have to practice more with it.  And sometimes I've decided to use a club even when I know I don't hit it that well just because I feel like I need playing time with it to get better. Rotating clubs in and out of the bag based on how well I'm hitting them seems to be just a part of building and maintaining your golf game.   I think it is something that even the pros do (e.g. Stenson with his 3w/driver is a good example).

I would say if you want to play with your driver then do it.  And if the results aren't what you want then either switch to the 5w for a bit and work on your driver, or just accept that your scores are going to suffer until you get it under control.  

[Hacker James]

There is merit to both lines of thought. I never advocated in "giving up", but merely enjoy the game on the course using what benefits you the most. Confidence in the driver, or any club for that matter, will come in time with practice. To that end, I would agree with @ZappyAd in his last paragraph. Another thing you could do, would be to find a used "interim" driver to replace the one you purchased that does not seem to fit you. It would not cost you all that much and you should be able to take it to a simulator before you purchase it, or perhaps borrow one from a friend and see how it performs, then when the time comes, you could make a new purchase of a fitted driver with the same characteristics, sell the Wilson on ebay to recoup some of the cost of the interim purchase and maybe later on sell it as well. Seems as if, the element of "time" is what concerns you.

[BristolGolf]

Thank you all for the replies. I was thinking about getting a mini driver, my main issues is shaft length, I am 5.7 so the longer shafts are a problem for me, having just forked out on a club membership and a bag of custom fitted TaylorMade irons my wife might object to another custom fit driver :) 

[Hacker James]

  On 10/7/2016 at 2:50 PM, BristolGolf said:

Thank you all for the replies. I was thinking about getting a mini driver, my main issues is shaft length, I am 5.7 so the longer shafts are a problem for me, having just forked out on a club membership and a bag of custom fitted TaylorMade irons my wife might object to another custom fit driver :) 

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ha ha, well that sheds a whole different bit of light on the subject.  BTDT. Good Luck!  

[Kalnoky]

Welcome aboard @BristolGolf

 

In your first year it won’t matter if you put the big driver away. I’m in year 2 and I was also told by my instructor to park the driver. Once I got over my ego and benched that thing, my scoring and enjoyment of the game improved greatly.

I use a Mini-Driver (purchased on a lark) off the tee and I love it. For tight fairways I use a 3-hybrid. But you don’t need a Mini-Driver, a 5-wood will keep you in play. 

 

[TourSpoon]

Well, a 5 wood 230 is nothing to sneeze at. With that kind of swing speed I am not sure why he couldn't find you a driver with some loft with a shorter shaft that could give you some decent results. At any height, a 46" driver is still a 46" driver. I haven't gamed a driver over 45". If you look at some of the best players in the world, 44.5" seems to be the norm. 

If anything hang onto the Wilson for a while, maybe inquire about getting it cut down and re-swing weighted to see if that is a possibility. Eventually, you will make the shift. In the meantime, enjoy those new sticks! 

[caniac6]

  On 10/7/2016 at 2:50 PM, BristolGolf said:

Thank you all for the replies. I was thinking about getting a mini driver, my main issues is shaft length, I am 5.7 so the longer shafts are a problem for me, having just forked out on a club membership and a bag of custom fitted TaylorMade irons my wife might object to another custom fit driver :) 

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Don't tell her.

[Bechambo]

  On 10/7/2016 at 2:50 PM, BristolGolf said:

Thank you all for the replies. I was thinking about getting a mini driver, my main issues is shaft length, I am 5.7 so the longer shafts are a problem for me, having just forked out on a club membership and a bag of custom fitted TaylorMade irons my wife might object to another custom fit driver :) 

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I have used woods as my primary driving club now for a year. I can't imagine going back to a driver. They are just easier to hit. I have a cobra bio cell plus 3-4 wood that can be adjusted down to 12 degrees. These clubs are cheap now. You'd just have to get fitted for a shaft.

[TourSpoon]

  On 10/8/2016 at 2:11 PM, Bechambo said:

I have used woods as my primary driving club now for a year. I can't imagine going back to a driver. They are just easier to hit. I have a cobra bio cell plus 3-4 wood that can be adjusted down to 12 degrees. These clubs are cheap now. You'd just have to get fitted for a shaft.

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That's a great option...make your 3W a 2W which is now playing like a 43" high lofted driver. You can always adjust it back to a 3 wood if you ever decide to pick up the big stick. 

I just have a problem with the 46" that is now the standard option. I was hitting the new XR in the bay last week and the extra inch didn't get me any extra over my current 45" shaft. It's called the law of diminishing returns. In theory a longer shaft should give you more swing speed, but at some point you are going to sacrifice accuracy and hitting the sweet spot consistency so you have to find a set-up that maximizes both. The right shaft, the right loft with the right length is how you optimize a club's potential. It's funny the lengths (pun intended) that we go to to maximize results! 

A little off topic but I remember the "Killer Bee" driver that Rocky Thompson endorsed and played in the 90s. They came out in 46 and 48" models. That trend didn't last too long, but you see where we are now and how it's not a "one-size-fits-all" game as the OEM's have stretched the shaft lengths. 

[Hacker James]

messing around with shaft cutting, grip changes, is a little tricky. I have done a bit of it in the past with some fairly good results. I believe I posted a link awhile back that describes pretty well the effect of the various changes. With some of the newer adjustable drivers, it is a little easier when you can get hold of some custom weights on ebay to offset changes in length.

[IndianaDundee]

  On 10/8/2016 at 2:11 PM, Bechambo said:

I have used woods as my primary driving club now for a year. I can't imagine going back to a driver. They are just easier to hit. I have a cobra bio cell plus 3-4 wood that can be adjusted down to 12 degrees. These clubs are cheap now. You'd just have to get fitted for a shaft.

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Love this option although I think those heads are a bit small and I have never seen one for under $100.  

I use a Bang SF 2 wood at 11 degree off the tee.  When my swing is on it goes 250 yards off the tee but I need the right lie to use it on the fairway.

[BristolGolf]

  On 10/8/2016 at 11:28 AM, caniac6 said:

Don't tell her.

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So taking your advice I attempted this and picked up a TaylorMade Aeroburner mini driver, but was foiled, within 5 hours of my return home, I even put an old head cover on as an elaborate plan to hide my crime but was caught red handed.  

[Hacker James]

  On 10/10/2016 at 2:35 PM, BristolGolf said:

So taking your advice I attempted this and picked up a TaylorMade Aeroburner mini driver, but was foiled, within 5 hours of my return home, I even put an old head cover on as an elaborate plan to hide my crime but was caught red handed.  

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did you get a chance to try it on a sim?