Ditch the Driver to lower your H/C .......

[forefortheday]

Don't use one, got an M3 at home that's sitting in the kitchen.

I would put myself at around the 24 mark in terms of handicap and have just started to get a repeatable swing.

There is no doubt a driver is "easy to hit" but dont mistake this for accuracy, there is a world of difference between the two.

In truth I hit my Cobra DWS 180-220 so unless it's a long par 4 getting there in two is usually down to accuracy not distance.

You use a driver approx 14 times over 18 holes if you average 100 strokes that still leaves 86, take off 35 for Putts and you still have 51 shots on the course.

If I could improve my iron play by 1 stroke a hole my score would be 80?

Yes hitting it further makes it easier but so does hitting it better.

 

[nmartyn]

i don't know about you guys but when it comes to tee shots with par4's and above i'm more comfortable hitting my driver than anything else!
when i started i used nothing but 3 and 4 irons off the tea for months, i actually got pretty good with them and was hitting them as far as most hit there 3wood. then i got a 3 wood and i really struggled with it off the tea. i eventually gave up and went back to the long irons.
after about 4months in the game i got my first driver and really haven't looked back. the only time it starts to go wayward is when i get confident/consistent with it - cos then i try to cream it for the extra few yards!

if i were to try to hit a 3 iron or even a 3 wood off the tee now i know i'd struggle compared to my driver. the margin for error on these is much bigger (in my opinion) than the driver. of course if you hit a bad shot then the effect could be exagerated cos of the greater distance off line perhaps - but i'm more likely to hit a dud off the tee 50yards or sliced/ballooned in the air with a long iron or 3 wood.

my opinion... for what its worth

 

[Twire]

I'm as confident with my driver as any other club in my bag.

I can hit them all sweet, or I can screw them all up. There is no club in my bag which I feel happier or more confident with....maybe I'm just an oddball.

 

[minty18]

Twire i'm the same other than my 6iron. I know if i've got 160 in to the green i can hit it like a peach and stick it on the dancefloor. Dont ask me why, the 6 iron just works a treat every time.

 

[RGDave]

I remain absolutely convinced that for any higher handicap player, you could knock shots off your round even using a 3Iron off the tee, 5Iron down the fairway, and pitching on etc.

Drivers, unless you hit them well, just compound your problems.

Discuss.

It's a common sense idea.
f.w.i.w. my thoughts on this are these;

1) Many moons ago, drivers were small headed and harder to hit sweetly than today. I started playing when 180cc was considered quite "melon-like". I learned to put the driver away and concentrate on 3 wood. These days, due to their size, I reckon a modern driver with a "generous" loft is probably the way to go, and have heard many pros agree with this.
2) I feel a great deal depends on the distance you hit the ball. I get by with using my driver on over 60-70% of par 4/5 holes and find myself in trouble hardly ever. OK, I may not be on the short grass, but rarely in the trees 100% stymied.
If I hit it 260-280 say, as opposed to 230-250, I'd use it much less. I've had stats like this since being off 20 h'cap. I don't think I'm more or less accurate than players off 10-20, but the 20-30 yards I'm short of "good player" average, then I can get away with things more often.
3) I have recently bought an HT driver to replace dr and 3w.....THIS could be a great idea for other players.....

 

[RGDave]

There is no doubt a driver is "easy to hit" but dont mistake this for accuracy, there is a world of difference between the two.

Good point! I reckon (untested theory) that because modern drivers go further on "directional mis-hits", a nasty hook or slice could be in more trouble that 15 years ago!

 

[haplesshacker]

There is no doubt a driver is "easy to hit" but dont mistake this for accuracy, there is a world of difference between the two.

Good point! I reckon (untested theory) that because modern drivers go further on "directional mis-hits", a nasty hook or slice could be in more trouble that 15 years ago!

Again another good point. It's no good being able to hit the ball 250 yards in the wrong direction. Rather it went 180 the right way. However, when stood on the tee.

Sammeebess point about hitting 8 irons around the course is abosolutely right. Providing that you don't fat, thin or shank it! But at least the ball will be findable. His comments make sense, but yet again, when stood on the tee, what happens? Out come the long sticks!

 

[Macster]

I think this all comes back to another point I made on the forum about long irons, and I am still convinced that most club golfers would be a lot better players IF they devoted more time to learning how to hit their long irons well.

If you can do that, it filters right down the bag enabling you to undoubtably hit all your irons sweet and with confidence.
I remember a client of mine who had got down to a 7Handicap without ever using a Driver at all.

I still maintain that far far too many club golfers simply feel that they have to get a Driver out, and accept that a 'bad Drive' will go further than they can perhaps hit their 3 iron, and its one of the reasons that they perhaps dont see their handicaps come down.

Clearly many have differing opinions.

 

[RGDave]

I think this all comes back to another point I made on the forum about long irons, and I am still convinced that most club golfers would be a lot better players IF they devoted more time to learning how to hit their long irons well.

I'm with you. When I played off 9 and was capable of mid-70s, I carried a 2 iron. (Lovely, easy to hit Big Bertha original). I hit it off holes no. 2,3,4,10,12,14,18 (all par 4s) at my old club. I used a Driver on 1,6,7,11,15,16 ONLY (long par 4s). Folks used to wonder why I did this? I was only getting 190-200 with it, but, hey, they were short holes. Better to be 190 down a 350 than 230 in the ****.

Sadly, It's retired in the shed, but I have bought a 3i and
so far, so good, I've made more pars from the fairway hitting in mid irons than sticking with the driver and facing a wedge over a bunker out of a heavy lie.....

 

[USER1999]

I play off 11, so according to Sam, I can do this with an 8i, wedge and putter. Mr Titleist will be disappointed to hear this, as I have put alot of money his way. It is amazing that I need all these clubs to score so badly, but the sad thing is, my 8i is not my favourite club. This also assumes I can putt (I can't) and I don't shank (I do).

However, I played with a 28 h/cap golfer just this afternoon. The driver was his most consistent club, going 230 odd, dead straight. His iron play, chipping, and putting was lousy. Without his driver, I dread to think what he would have shot.

 

[toyboy54]

ChrisMcC(and Murph)..Have never stuck to using a driver,tried years ago and we just didn't get on!
Since then have always used a 3wood/5 or 7wood off the tees when I need to!
Thanks to one of my playing partners(and Tommo21s reccomendation)I now use a TM V2 steel 3wood as my main club off the tee,when I slow it down to a blur boy does it go....220 to240!
Quick question to Tommo21.........Why did you get rid of your TM V2 3W just weeks after telling me to go for it???
And more importantly.........If it was so bloody good why not sell it to me???(you git,lol,no offence,honest!)

 

[hopeful]

The key qualification here is "anyone over mid-teens h'cap". IMHO, for high h'cappers the drive is the LEAST important shot, with the obvious rider that you don't actually lose it. Even with a shortish tee-shot you should still be be close to the green in 2/3 shots on a par 4/5. But I bet you've been there countless times and STILL taken four or five more to get down. I confess that I have and still do! Duffed pitches & chips, two-out-of-bunker and wayward putts rack up with maddening ease. Which is why I now concentrate practise on my mid & short game.
Easy-peasy for you single figure guys....smash it 270 yards on to the short stuff, pich on, birdie chance.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have to say that with the progression in low spinning drivers and balls that don't move so much in the air, there must be an argument for higher handicappers to use a driver, especially if they utilise a highe loft (11 or 12 degree) and if they struggle utilise the benefit of a draw bias. I know there will be those that says a draw bias only masks swing faults and I totally agree. However not everyone has the time and inclination to practive and so these type of higher lofted closed face clubs at least make the game more enjoyable.

I can think of nothing worse that having to stand on long par 4's and par 5's and without even striking the ball know that I have to hit my 3 wood or long iron well to make up for the lack of distance. Surely this creates its own pressures. It must be better to ahve one swing for all clubs including a driver and try and play within those limitations that to stand on the tee thinking "I've got to hit a 3 wood as I'm no good at driving". Bob Rotella or not, common sense says this will create negative swing faults.

My advice to higher handicappers is to get a driver lesson to learn the fundamentals (sweeping it away rather than a steep angle of attack etc) and to then go out and look at drivers NO lower than 11 degree and try out different shafts until ou find something you are fairly comfortable with.

I'm not advocating a 28 handicapper should stand on a 450 yard par 4 with OB right and trouble left and immediately reach for the big dog. The higher handicappers could lose a couple of shots by better course management. However on a wider fairway why not get the driver out. There is nothing to beat smoking one out there.

 

[viscount17]

Alot of high handicappers are decent off the tee and poor off the deck from what I've seen.
In fact, I reckon the big new drivers are the easiest clubs to hit.
I think some high handicappers should avoid using irons if they wish to come down.

This is very nearly me. I love my driver, I probably have more confidence in it than in any other - admittedly not always entirely justifiably - but 1st tee, it's out with the driver. (worked at Goswick - mostly)

Pressure shot for me is more often the second, and if this is with a fairway or hybrid the pucker factor increases. (So why use them I hear you say - because I'll never be able to unless I do)

That said this afternoon I greased the driver, then greased the 5-wood

 

[Macster]

I wouldnt dream of hitting Driver off the 1st, but fortunately I dont have to.

5 wood and then a short iron is a safe first 2 shots of the round !! (350yd Par4)

 

[Herbie]

Im not sure I have grasped the logic of this post but in the case of the high h/c player many try to exceed their capability before they have one. Im equally sure that this idea may help some high h/c players, but not all. I feel that one secret that a high h/c player needs in their arsenal is the skill of not trying too hard and try tips from pros or seasoned players rather than just listening to them, this doesn't mean ALL high h/c players come under my description of some.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Having looked on the titleist website I think the way forward has to be the AP2. They are forged so you'll still get the same feel as your blades but the bigger cavity will give you the safety net on the 3-6 irons where having seen you is where you need the extra help.

I looked at the 735 and they are very similar to the TM tour preferred. Having hit the TM's in the middle of a purple patch I can tell you that they are a great compromise away from pure blades. What I can also tell you is that despite the shallow cavity the sweetspot is still much smaller than on something like the AP's and bad shots still have no forgiveness.

In my opinion as as a mate, I would advise you to givethe 735's a miss as if I'm being brutally honest your all round game isn't quite consistant enough yet and you'l still feel like you are wasting shots with them. Off centre hits still won't go as far as the AP's. Choose the AP's and you'll get away with more and your decent short game will come into play more and your handicap will tumble.

 

[SammmeBee]

I wouldnt dream of hitting Driver off the 1st, but fortunately I dont have to.

5 wood and then a short iron is a safe first 2 shots of the round !! (350yd Par4)

Surely if you've warmed up (and I a no advocate of such myself BTW) then you can hit any club off of the first to suit any hole - driver, pitch, putt - birdie sounds the way to play it really....

Or is it in your head you 'can't' hit driver off of the first?....what would Dr Bob say?! :smirksthoughknowingnothingaboutheaddoctorstuffsmilie:

 

[GB72]

Have to disagree with the point here, my driver is one of the strongest clubs in my bag. I am fine with a driver and my short game is decent, it is the bit in the middle that causes me problems and keeps the handicap high.

 

[Macster]

Tight drive on our 1st, and I dont need to, so I dont bother, simple as.