dneid

Hey everyone. I was the original poster on this thread and just wanted to first thank you all for your advice, and second provide some feedback on how this discussion has helped me, as it may help other golfers at my same level. Today I played the same 9-hole public course I played two weeks ago, only today the difference was that I left my driver (and my 3 and 4 irons) home and teed off using a hybrid on all of the long holes. I actually had only ten clubs in my bag. Leaving the driver home helped me score a 50 today on 9 holes, shaving off four strokes from my previous score of 54. To me, over nine holes, this is a significant improvement for me from one outing to the next. Hopefully (?) this gets me closer to my short-term goal of breaking 100 on 18 holes. Unlike two weeks ago, I lost no balls today. The only holes I was unhappy with were the two on which I shanked my initial drive with my hybrid, resulting in a 7 and an 8 on those two holes. That just tells me I need to practice more on teeing off with my hybrid to hopefully do better on those same holes next week. On the holes I teed off well with the hybrid, I of course ended up in the fairway, a manageable distance from the green, with a relatively easy shot with a mid-iron or wedge. All morning as I played, I asked myself, "Why the hell have I been making this game so complicated for myself all these years?!" I honestly think that novice golfers like me too easily fall victim to either marketing propaganda by clubmakers, or more likely, to our own egos, and think that we need to use a driver on every hole to launch the ball 300+ yards, and our games/psyches suffer because we spend most of our rounds searching with frustration for our balls in the woods. Today was the first enjoyable round I had in years, because I actually kept the ball in play, I felt like I was actually improving as a player, and I hit a few great shots because I was feeling so good mentally. Based on everyone's advice and my experience, I will definitely put the driver on ice until I get lessons from a pro. This will be a good thing, as I'll now have the extra time to focus on practicing my putting and short game, and I'll become more of a "real golfer." In golf, I'm learning that simplicity leads to success, and success leads to confidence.

When you all tee off with a hybrid, how high do you tee the ball? Do I want to push the tee down almost flush to the ground? Or should I push it down to the point where the ball's distance from the ground equals the diameter of my fingers (ie, pushing the ball/tee down into the ground until my fingers are gently squeezed between the grass and the ball)? Or, do you have success teeing the ball up a little higher than that, when teeing off with a hybrid? Everywhere I look online, I see that it's important to strike down on the ball when hitting with a hybrid (whether teeing off or hitting from the fairway/rough), similar to when hitting with an iron. I'm worried that if I tee the ball up to high, then this just won't work. Thanks!

Quote: It was only worth 200-235 yards, but I was getting FIRs and I enjoyed golf more. "Only worth 200-235 yards"? I would kill to hit the ball that far of the tee, consistently!

Thank you all for your feedback. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. So I think I will try leaving my driver, and my ego, at home for a few rounds and see what results I get.

WUTiger, your feedback is greatly appreciated. I will try and get my clubs listed in the signature line. I'm embarrassed to say that other than the driver and putter, it's mostly a generic starter set.

Quick background on me. I've been playing for about five years now. I haven't been playing often enough to really improve (maybe 4-5 rounds per year) and I still need to start taking lessons, which I plan on doing next year when I can budget the money to do so. So I know everyone will tell me I need to take lessons to become a consistently better player. My short term goal is to break a hundred. I know that after playing for five years, that I should have surpassed that goal by now, and I know I probably would have done so if I took lessons right off the bat, but it is what it is. Lessons are in my plans for next year, when I can afford them. I've been trying a few different things lately and had an epiphany when I played nine holes today. I was hitting the ball straighter compared to my last round (probably b/c for the first time I used Bridgestone e6 balls, which are awesome) and I was generally happy with my progress with my irons, because I've finally learned how to take a divot, after I figured out recently that hitting off grass vs. turf at the driving range is WAY more realistic and beneficial. Long story short, my "aha" moment today was when I noticed a remarkable difference in the consistency in teeing off with my hybrid vs. my driver. My hybrid resulted in less distance off the tee than my driver, but my hybrid was in the fairway almost every time, while I lost two shots off the tee with my driver, and had a couple of other undesirable shots with the driver. I guess I'm answering my own question, but does it make any sense right now for me to even bring my driver to the course when playing rounds? My gut is telling me that when I play my next round, by teeing off with my hybrid on every long hole instead of my driver, I will score MUCH lower. What good does it do me to hit the ball farther with my driver, if I end up stuck behind a tree, when I can land in the fairway (all be it 30 yards shorter) almost all the time with my hyrid? It seems a lot more logical for me to just take the driver out of my bag for now, and perhaps replace it with a fourth wedge (as recommended by Dave Pelz) to improve my short game and possibly see other benefits. Maybe when I'm consistently below 100, I can revisit the driver. Has anybody here tried simply replacing the driver completely with a hybrid? And when I say completely, I mean for every long drive on the course, as in, leaving the driver at home altogether. If so, what kind of results did you get? Also, has anyone here tried keeping a fourth wedge in their bag? Has it benefitted your short game and overall scoring much? Thank you!