Dumping the Driver

dam dam dam dam dam.
I'm going to have to agree with Smiffy...again.
Most golfers know how far they hit each club.
150yds flat, no wind-----8 iron, 7 iron, 6 iron, whatever it is for you.
So why dont they do the same with the driver?
Find a flat hole with no wind and hit a dozen balls with a normal swing. Find the average distance and from then on try and hit it that distance.
Obviously it will go further when it's down hill, down wind or less distance when it's straight uphill, just dont try and force it.
Find a swing speed you know you can hit straight and repeat and stick to it.
 
It is probably worth most golfers getting their drivers cut down by and inch or three. You'd find you get much more control and strike consistancy which would ultimatly lead to longer straighter drives. Unless your a good driver of the ball that is, but then you probably wouldn't be looking for advice on driving!

Drivers are very useful clubs, just make sure the one you have suits you. All you have to do then is swing it as hard and fast as you can!
 
It is probably worth most golfers getting their drivers cut down by and inch or three.
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Yes, but only if your get the swing weight sorted.

2 inches off a driver would probably make it unusable....ask Tom Wishon.
 
I think this is where course management becomes imperative, lay up with a 3/5 wood or hybrid or take the hole on with a driver.

I've played with a few old boys this year who don't rip up fairways with long drives but still make good scores and its amazing how consistant they play without a driver.

In an ideal world we'd love to be able to drive 280 yds pw 110yds and a 6ft putt for birdie but it doesn't happen often.
 
I generally agree with the keeping the driver in the bag thought as my radar is still 'off' even after 20 years but there is a time and a place to get it out....

If you don't use because you feel you can't, you'll never be able to if you don't try.....
 
but wondered if anybody else has tried & hits tees shot with hybrids & improved their game, till I become better with the woods.
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I hit all sorts off the tee. Just 'cause I carry a driver, doesn't mean it gets used gratuitously.

14 par 4/5 holes at mine. Driver gets used less than 8 or 9 times most games.

If I used it more, my h'cap would be higher...no doubt...
 
There's 9 holes I use driver on at my place, 5 of them par4's that if I don't hit driver I've little chance of getting on in 2. Ok I get shots on them but if I want to get to the level where I don't get shots on them I've got to let the Big Dog out.
With good drives I can get on the 4 x par 5's in 2 as well.
 
Only 8 Holes on my Course where I'd use a Driver, so if I can take a 3 wood and put it on the fairway, perhaps still get on in regulation on half of those holes, thats perhaps 3/4 shots I'm losing to regulation.

Conversely, I'm probably gaining those shots in another way by not putting myself in the tree's/stream/bunker. So........nothing lost is my philosophy.

My success this year has proved to me that most of us overvalue a "Driver", and spending far more time on good iron play, good putting, and even more importantly, good course management, is far more valuable.
 
There are at least 8-9 holes where I need to use the driver to give me any realistic chance of getting home in regulation. Like Imurg says I get shots on 7 of these already but as my handicap hopefully falls then there is a need to hit driver. Included in these 7-8 holes is a par 4 and a par 5 that have carries and so require a driver anyway so really there are only 5 holes where driver is mandatory (4 in the summer as the ditch on 9 comes into range)
 
Three points here: 1) I'm from the school of thought that you should be able to hit EVERY club - if you can't - practice. The driver is a key club and should be used where possible (course management permitting).
2) Why do people hit their 3 wood the same distance as their driver? Surely that goes against the club distance philosophy, doesn't it? Would you carry two wedges that you hit the same distance? I hit my driver much further than my 3 wood, mainly because my driver is a much lower loft than my 3 wood. If I hit them same distance then I'd change one of them (with the help of a pro/custom fit).
3) The course should dictate whether a driver is required. My course is quite long so a driver is imperative. As Homer said, without the driver I'd struggle to play to my handicap. My Dad's course, however, is short but placement is paramount so I tend to leave the driver out and add a wedge.
 
Ive been reading an articale about dumping the driver, but as I read further, it started refering to it as dumping the woods & a high handicapper replacing them with hybrids, I can hit hybrids well, I dont mind losing the driver & 5 wood, but im not sure about the 3 wood for tee shots, which can be abit up & down with results, I havent put this into practice yet, but wondered if anybody else has tried & hits tees shot with hybrids & improved their game, till I become better with the woods.
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I'M in the "learn to hit it" corner here although the artical you refere to does seem to take a walk before you run stance which is good advice with beginners.
 
The thing people have to remember is that the Driver is by far THE most difficult club to hit consistently well.
The shaft is far longer, and therefore any slight off-timing is accentuated, with the results we all know too well.

We all have to decide what gets the ball where it needs to be, and i decided this year, that the 3wood was far more reliable, and so it proved.
However, perhaps i'm lucky in that I can hit my 5 wood 230yds, and my 3 240/250.
Friends I play with are hitting Drivers that end up shorter than my 5, but thats not important.

Sure, when I get the Driver right, it goes further, but I decided that position/consistency was far more valuable, and so it proved, as my HC dropped.
 
The thing people have to remember is that the Driver is by far THE most difficult club to hit consistently well.
The shaft is far longer, and therefore any slight off-timing is accentuated, with the results we all know too well.

We all have to decide what gets the ball where it needs to be, and i decided this year, that the 3wood was far more reliable, and so it proved.
However, perhaps i'm lucky in that I can hit my 5 wood 230yds, and my 3 240/250.
Friends I play with are hitting Drivers that end up shorter than my 5, but thats not important.

Sure, when I get the Driver right, it goes further, but I decided that position/consistency was far more valuable, and so it proved, as my HC dropped.
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But how low do you want your handicap to go?

To get to be the best golfer you can possibly be, you need to be able to maximise the use of your driver as well. It might only make a difference on 2 or 3 holes, but dropping from a 9 to a 7 purely by using the big dog effectively has got to be an attractive thought, surely ?

For a long hitting high handicapper I agree it can cause as many, if not more, problems than it solves.

But for a short hitter like me, I need the most help I can get off the tee. If that means I've got to work like crazy on my driver to make it work for me....well it's gotta be better than real work, hasn't it.

Just give me time and a lack of snow and I'll get started.

:)
 
interesting intellectual exercise this. I've just 'played' my course evaluating what I take off each tee and why.

There's only one par 4 where I never use a driver - too risky, but 5 where I could use other than the driver but rarely do. Of these, 3 would be stretching the 2nd shot to get on in two and 1 takes more risk out of the second.

It also tells me that I don't course manage that well, I don't plan to use the extra shot to get on the green (though I often do).
 
Oh I agree CrapHacker, IF I could hit the Driver consistently well, ie straight & long, then its a HUGE help, and would undoubtably be a platform to lower scores.

But, for some reason this year, it just wasnt happening, and I decided to ditch it and use the 3 instead, rather than 'trying to work the Driving problem out'

Results showed me that keeping the ball in play was MY route initially to lower scores.

Having said all that, I had a lesson in Nov which gave me things to work on in my stance, and I had every intention of having one every 3/4 weeks, but once the damn snow came, that scuppered that idea.

I'm sure I will ask him to cover my Driving too before the season starts, so maybe the Dog will return this year :cool:
 
Oooh, this continues to be very interesting.
I play (in medal, off whites) 3 par 4s as par 5s and one par 3 as a par 4.*
There is only 1 hole of the "exact length" to need driver (followed by 3 wood or 5 maybe) played as a par 4.
If I make a safe bogey on those holes* that's 4 over par. That leaves 14 holes, trying to play to 8, maybe 7 depending on h'cap.
I like using my driver but in a way I'm not the best person to ask, if I hit it 30 yards further then maybe I'd have a different perspective.
 
Oh I agree CrapHacker, When I can hit the Driver consistently well, ie straight & long, then it will be a HUGE help, and will become undoubtably be a platform to lower scores.

I will ask him to cover my Driving too before the season starts, so the Dog will return this year :cool:
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FYP ;)

PMA and all that. :D
 
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