Driver vs Hybrid off the tee?

[Region3]

This comment nails it for me.

Similar thing happened to me last week in club stableford same guy questioned on conesctutive holes why I chose to hit a 4 iron / 2hybrid instead of my driver for those tee shots.

1st time was on our 7th hole short dog leg par 4, hit the driver over the corner and you can drive it, I hit 4 iron just through the apex of the corner and a half gap wedge to 6 feet made birdie 3, he hit driver made the carry ended up in greenside bunker and made a bogey 5!

2nd time on the 8th I hit hybrid up the right half the fairway, then hit a wedge to 4 feet made a birdie 3 again. He hit driver and duffed his half wedge into the water and took a double bogey.

When i explained to him whilst waiting on the 9th tee that it'd taken him 11 shots to play those 2 holes and me 6 shots due to imo the right choice off the tee, he started leaving the driver in the bag. Sadly I still on managed 35 points and lost out by a point grrr!

Surprised the "rules is rules" guys haven't been here demanding your disqualification!

 

[USER1999]

Hitting a hybrid or fairway off the tee is fine, but;

A few of the par fours at my place are not reachable in two unless a driver is used off the tee. Well, may be two career best 4w, but then that's a high risk strategy.
If I only hit my 4w off the tee, then there are probably 5 holes where bogey is the most likely score. This leaves me with 4 shots for the other 13 holes, two of which are 200+ par 3s. I might be able to shoot my handicap, but it is unlikely to ever come down using this strategy.
If I hit a 23 degree hybrid instead of the 4w, then the rest of my game is going to have to be red hot, as I'm going to be hitting some very long second shots. It would put too much pressure on my short game.

 

[bobmac]

Some of you guys take this too seriously.
Whatever happened to playing golf for fun?
Get the big stick out and give it a rip, that's what it's there for.
And if you can't hit it straight, practice
What's the worst that can happen.....0.1

 

[Alex1975]

Some of you guys take this too seriously.
Whatever happened to playing golf for fun?
Get the big stick out and give it a rip, that's what it's there for.
And if you can't hit it straight, practice
What's the worst that can happen.....0.1

Bit of a strange one Bob... how is it less fun taking the correct club for the hole or conditions? I love to rip the driver as much as the next person but I am not going to let it become a risk club by taking it just for fun.

Take it seriously.... ye we do, its a golf forum, your always going to get a pretty polarised set of thinking, we are the geeks of the golf world but I am pretty sure fun for us is thinking, talking, lying about it...

 

[Diamond]

Only got my handicap a week before lockdown so learning the intricacies of course management. With the recent weather I am finding I am hitting the ball 20 yards plus further with every club (30 to 50 with driver).

Holes where I could get away with the driver, as it was plugging, are now at risk of hazards/losing the ball/poor lie.

I also tend to slice most drives whilst the hybrid (when not shanked off the tee) is straight. The tee I use with the driver are pink and for 7iron down to wedge for par 3s I use blue. With the hybrid in my head I am thinking even lower so use a red tee which Looks like a good lie on the fairway. Now the winter mats are gone I am realising how important the lie is and being on the fairway.

Having never played a club comp before when they eventually start up I think I will be playing more irons/hybrid off the tee, especially with a 28 handicap.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Only got my handicap a week before lockdown so learning the intricacies of course management. With the recent weather I am finding I am hitting the ball 20 yards plus further with every club (30 to 50 with driver).

Holes where I could get away with the driver, as it was plugging, are now at risk of hazards/losing the ball/poor lie.

I also tend to slice most drives whilst the hybrid (when not shanked off the tee) is straight. The tee I use with the driver are pink and for 7iron down to wedge for par 3s I use blue. With the hybrid in my head I am thinking even lower so use a red tee which Looks like a good lie on the fairway. Now the winter mats are gone I am realising how important the lie is and being on the fairway.

Having never played a club comp before when they eventually start up I think I will be playing more irons/hybrid off the tee, especially with a 28 handicap.

This needs a Yoda type response about learning ?. Course management is so important, the sooner you work out biggest is not always best, as you have, the better ?

 

[Diamond]

This needs a Yoda type response about learning ?. Course management is so important, the sooner you work out biggest is not always best, as you have, the better ?

That’s what I tell the wife, nowt wrong with average length off the tee.

 

[rudebhoy]

I've not taken the driver out the bag for the last 4 or 5 rounds, been hitting my 4 or 5 hybrid instead. My scoring has been a lot better simply because the hybrid tends to go straight. A bad drive at our place invariably means you are in the trees, if you are lucky enough to find it.

I'm actually just hitting it off the ground rather than teeing it up. I probably should do that, but at the moment I don't want to change something which is working well.

 

[Siolag]

I use a 2 iron off the tee. Not found a hybrid that works and my wood is inconsistent. I do want to get better at the driver, but that’ll be something I’ll keep working on for a while. I killed some scorecards with 3 and sometimes 5 off the tee last year and If we play any comps this year, I’ll be looking to avoid that.

 

[Fish]

There’s a few tees that I drop down from my driver to my strong 3w or even 4w, as the risk is too great and will cost me the hold of a safe par.

course management took me a while to come to terms with, but it’s key to scoring lower and getting your handicap down.

 

[Sats]

I think using the hybrid is fine (as with any other club) off the tee if the situation deems it necessary. But, and this is only my opinion: I don't want to just score well (I do want to score well btw,) but I want to get better at golf. Having lessons, practicing and getting fitted will help it helped me.

 

[ScienceBoy]

course management play the club off the tee that gives you the best shot next, whether that's a 7 iron hybrid or driver.

This, I think a bogey is much better than a treble any day of the week.

If you are happy shooting mid 80s then you don’t need a driver bar a few open holes. I much prefer a 4 iron off the tee and a few irons up to the green.

 

[bobmac]

I much prefer a 4 iron off the tee and a few irons up to the green.

Not the best route if you're looking for birdies

 

[ScienceBoy]

Not the best route if you're looking for birdies

What are those?

 

[patricks148]

bugger that get the driver out

 

[rudebhoy]

Not the best route if you're looking for birdies

Yesterday on our 372 yard 18th, I hit 4H 4H and was 5 feet from the flag. 45 mph wind behind me may have helped

unfortunately I missed the birdie putt

 

[bobmac]

You only hit a 4H 186yds downwind?
Hang your head in shame.
Forum distances, 372yds should be two 8 irons

 

[patricks148]

Yesterday on our 372 yard 18th, I hit 4H 4H and was 5 feet from the flag. 45 mph wind behind me may have helped

unfortunately I missed the birdie putt

i wouldn't be posting that on here, when i posted i'd played in the same last year was called a liar and on crack by a few of the trolls

 

[rudebhoy]

i wouldn't be posting that on here, when i posted i'd played in the same last year was called a liar and on crack by a few of the trolls

funnily enough, that is what happened yesterday, i had to post a screenshot of the weather forecast in my defence

 

[Lord Tyrion]

funnily enough, that is what happened yesterday, i had to post a screenshot of the weather forecast in my defence

I'll confirm how daft it was ?. Equally strong today.

I cancelled for today, pointless trying to play in this.