Pride vs Consistency!

[kid2]

This is kind of following on from Drawboys thread on final distances but who among the forum does not carry a driver at all in there bag like me and what are the reasons for it.....
I havent hit mine in months and dont carry it at all......
I hit my 3 wood with very good accuracy and distance but is there really a need for a driver or is it just a keeping up with the jones' mentality that people have with the driver.....Im longer than you by a yard ....
I played today in a medal with 2 new people and my usual partner....One off of 6 the other off of 10.....
During our round they asked me my reasons for not hitting the driver and i told them....There answer to me was there is no need of a driver for you lad with the distance your hitting that wood.....
But nothing beats the feeling of letting rip with a driver and catching it square on the face and sending it into space.......Some day maybe but until then im in love with my 3 wood.


Also as im down 1 club what would you recommend putting in instead......

 

[JustOne]

I carry a driver as I can hit it miles, it's also better than a 3-wood into the wind and I can shape it left or right easier than a 3-wood off a tee peg.

Other than that I'd only carry a 3-wood

 

[JT77]

I sort of see the way you are making sense of not hitting driver, and if it works for you, then great. Henrik Stenson seems to hit 4 wood from most tee's as he does not seem to like driver either.

I enjoy hitting driver, and I am finding that the driver I currently use is going ok for me. I do however use it a lot less than I used to. Previously I would hit driver on 14 holes, over the last few years as I have improved I have hit it less often. I now often use 3 wood, or iron, and maybe hit 5-6 drives a round. I would use driver where I can clear trouble, or have a good landing zone at my drive distance, and 3 wood for accuracy, or the iron on a couple of short par 4's.

If you are seriously discounting the benefit of your driver to you and can hit the ball as far as you say, why not look at short game options, perhaps an extra wedge?
Hows your short game, chip and runs etc, I have played with some folks who cant hit chip and runs who bought niblicks and they make a big difference to thier game.

 

[kid2]

I carry a driver as I can hit it miles, it's also better than a 3-wood into the wind and I can shape it left or right easier than a 3-wood off a tee peg.

Other than that I'd only carry a 3-wood

Thanks James now im really confused....


But why am i more accurate and just as long with my 3 wood than with a drivers...

 

[Whereditgo]

Also as im down 1 club what would you recommend putting in instead......

A driver?

My 'Sunday best' 3 wood goes about 20 yards less than my average driver distance, my 'Sunday best' driver goes about 60 yards further than my average 3 wood.

We have a couple of par 4's that would take 2 consecutive decent strikes with a 3 wood to make the green, so I take driver and iron or driver and 5 wood depending on whether or not the tee shot is closer to the average or 'Sunday best'.

Also agree with Just One, in so much as into the wind my driver goes much further than my 3 wood.

 

[Muttbert]

I don't carry a driver, 5W, or 3&4 irons at the moment. At my level there's no point: I can't hit them reliably even half the time, and my scores are high enough as it is without spending most of my long shots hunting in the bushes. Leaving them at home means I get straighter, shorter shots rather than impressive sidewinders. It'll probably stay that way until the driving range teaches me different.

Though I bought two hybrids this week to take the place of 3&4 irons (and a new putter), so I'm looking forward to trying them out tomorrow.

(BTW: my first post. Hi all. )

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

Hi MattB


And Pride wins hands down but go with what feel right to you and only you

 

[brendy]

Around my own course I would hit 10 maybe 11 driver teeshots, a couple of hole, I prefer to use the 3 iron as trouble left is not worth the risk. A couple of holes are long and relatively trouble free so the driver gets hit fairly hard, aa 3 wood just wouldnt set up the same approach.
I carry a driver and 5 wood 3-pw 3 wedges and a putter.
If Im honest though I would consider dropping the pw for a 2,3 or 4 wood.

 

[sev112]

For a long while i carried 3 and 7 woods
Does depend on what sort of course you are playing

If you are not missing any obvious gaps, as your "in teh bag" suggests, why not consider a "get youu out of trouble" club - i.e. something old around about 7 iron length that you wouldn't be worried about smashing if you had to hit out of somewhere nasty; or a left handed club for when you're up against a boundary fence/wall ?

Also, i have met players (not many) who carry 2 putters - 1 for long putss and 1 for shorter putts ! (Actually Dave Pelz makes this as a light hearted suggestion in his book!) . Your partners might not appreciate it though

 

[birdieman]

It's easier to hit driver than 3 wood. Nothing to do with pride.
For most of us that hit 3 wood 220 or 230 that is often not getting the ball out there enough to get in position for the second shot.
So I guess you're either playing a short course or hitting 3 wood 270 or something?

 

[Macster]

I ditched the Driver last year, only using a 3wood, and finally got down to 9, helped by a better consistency.

Sure, a good drive puts you in better shape for the 2nd shot, but equally, for most of us, it far too frequently puts us in the trees too.

If you're serious about lowering your handicap, consistency wins every time.

Besides, Im 20/30yds further with my 4Wood than some of the guys I play with have got with their drives !

 

[RGDave]

It's easier to hit driver than 3 wood. Nothing to do with pride.

Yep, couldn't agree more.

In the good (bad?) old days "learners" would dink it around with a 3 wood all day. These days, why trouble yourself with tiny club face when a mammoth melon is ohh so good.
My feeling is if you can't hit it half decently, try more loft or a shorter shaft.
When I'm feeling insecure, I ditch my weapon of mass slicestruction for a friendly 13 degree driver with a 45" shaft.....god bless benny.

There are SO many HT/HL 12/13 degree drivers out there which are a doddle to hit, certainly easier than a 3 wood. I think the 3 wood-ers are probably no more accurate with their 3 woods, the ball just doesn't go so far into the rough.

 

[Muttbert]

That's a fair point about a melon. Then it comes down to not trying to launch the ball into space. That's the pride bit...

Christened the new hybrids and putter this morning. I really like the putter, and the hybrids feel so much easier to use (even if I did score rubbish!).

Maybe it's because the head size of my driver isn't that much different to the woods, but it seems safer to use a higher lofted wood. This could be a good excuse to think about a monster driver... what kind of loft, brand, etc, would you lot recommend for a high(est) handicapper?

 

[Junior]

Kid 2, I think if you find the right driver they are easier to hit off the tee (and are more consistent than a 3 wood. Try a 12 degree driver with a softer shaft than your using now, swing easy and see how you go.

Also, Stenson's 3 wood is 12 degree's so its a driver loft for us mere mortals.

 

[RGDave]

This could be a good excuse to think about a monster driver... what kind of loft, brand, etc, would you lot recommend for a high(est) handicapper?

I'd say go with a 12 degree or even a HT/13/Max driver.
I have a benny HT (13) and a Wilson Staff Spine 12.
Sports Direct were doing Benross extreme in "max" loft for £49.99 and last season's Callaways (460 or diablo) are around for just over £100. You could always try and find a 2nd hand Ping with 12 degrees.

 

[jammydodger]

I'll hit whatever gets me in the best spot for my next shot , simple as that. More holes than not it will be the driver , but take today for example. i've hit 4 iron off our 10th which is about 380. 3 iron off the 7th which is about the same. Who cares , if you want to hit it past me then fill your boots. Screwback always says its what you do with your 2nd shot that counts.

What my partners do has not the slightest bearing on what shot I play off the tee.

I like thumping the driver as much as the next man and with my new I15 i'm getting some extra distance too , but if you want to score better then take each tee shot separately and play what you see in front of you.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm probably one of the shortest hitters on here and probably only average about 220 with my driver so in my case its more a case of necessity especially on the longer par 4's (380 yards upwards) if I'm to have any chance of hitting the green. I can be erratic which is the problem with the big stick and I can go both left and right. I find that even when I play a course like Pyrford which I did yesterday, the 3 woods I had to hit (its a pretty strategic driving course) were no better consistancy wise than my driver.

In the good old days of persimmon early steel heads then I'd say it was a lot easier to control the drvies with a 3 wood but now that it seems to be about maximum forgiveness (unless it's a Titleist driver!!!!) then the driver is often the better option

 

[sev112]

if i hit 3 wood, it either goes straight, left or right (and high)

If i it driver i get a gentle fade if not straight

That's why i hit driver and the 3 wood's in the boot of the car

 

[Region3]

If I hit my 3 wood with any more accuracy than my driver then pride wouldn't get a look in, but that isn't the case and I'm just as likely to find trouble with whatever I use off the tee, so unless there's a hazard at driver distance that is what I'll use.

 

[Muttbert]

I'd say go with a 12 degree or even a HT/13/Max driver.

Thanks for the advice! I'm off to do some research...