Your driver

timd77

Assistant Pro
Joined
Jun 17, 2013
Messages
1,408
Visit site
2 years ago I had a nike vrs driver, I’d had it for a good few years and fancied a new one. Bought a secondhand TM m2, loved it to start off with but then started to struggle after a couple of months. Mate of mine had a ping g something or other, I had a go, hit it lovely, sold the m2, bought a ping g25. Loved it to start off with but after a few months (playing on and off due to covid), again started to struggle, so I sold it. Bought a second hand callaway rogue drunk one night, hated it straight away, sold it. Bought a Taylormade m2 again, currently absolutely lov… I’m not going to finish that sentence.
 

Crazyface

Tour Winner
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
7,223
Location
Cheshire
Visit site
I bought an Callaway X Speed with a ladies length shaft (ooer missis, there done it for you). Set at -2 and draw. I can smash the daylights out of the ball of the tee and get (usually) 240 down the middle. Smashing club and set up.

My tip is find out what works. Get it, and stick to it.
 

Robster59

Tour Rookie
Joined
Aug 7, 2015
Messages
5,483
Location
Jackton
www.eastrengolfclub.co.uk
This is going to be said while touching lots of wood. I am generally pretty straight with my driver. It really is more the Indian and not the Arrows, especially if you're changing them a lot when they're not working. Like everyone, I have the occasional bad day with it but that is definitely down to me more than the driver. Sometimes, it's just one of those days, others I know when I'm not swinging right (unfortunately sometimes it takes me to the 18th tee to realise that! :whistle:). The main trick I've learnt for myself is to shorten my backswing and keep my left arm straight. And SLOW DOWN. I don't try to smash the cover off the ball anymore. The disadvantages of trying too hard outweigh the benefits.
I've had my Callaway XR 16 driver now for 4 or 5 years. I sometimes get tempted when I read of the next big stick but in reality this is still working well for me.
 
D

Deleted member 21258

Guest
Golf without a driver is like a Sports Car without a driver. It shouldnt happen.
 

Orikoru

Tour Winner
Joined
Nov 1, 2016
Messages
26,898
Location
Watford
Visit site
2 years ago I had a nike vrs driver, I’d had it for a good few years and fancied a new one. Bought a secondhand TM m2, loved it to start off with but then started to struggle after a couple of months. Mate of mine had a ping g something or other, I had a go, hit it lovely, sold the m2, bought a ping g25. Loved it to start off with but after a few months (playing on and off due to covid), again started to struggle, so I sold it. Bought a second hand callaway rogue drunk one night, hated it straight away, sold it. Bought a Taylormade m2 again, currently absolutely lov… I’m not going to finish that sentence.
I usually find that when I've been driving well for a while, I almost mentally switch off and relax too much as if the club is going to do it all for me - or start thinking I can add loads of speed and smash it into next week because I've been driving so well lately. Either of these result in the driving going arse over tit for a while, until I can dial it back, re-focus and remember what I was doing well before, and get back to hitting it properly.
 

GG26

Challenge Tour Pro
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
1,819
Visit site
I usually hit the driver well. Our pro has told me it’s because I am the opposite of most in that I have a good tempo with the driver, but I try and hit the irons too hard and struggle to get consistent with them.
 

Barking_Mad

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2021
Messages
844
Visit site
I played on tuesday and Tricky Trev tees off with a 3 wood.Someone asked him why? He said my driver is all over the place. A guy mentioned you have had a shed load of lessons. I cannot say on here what his reply was. He played in the first fourball.
I played in the last fourball. A guy I played with plays off 9 up from 6. First time i played with him. Lovely chap. Anyway he smashed his first straight down the middle with his driver. After 3 holes he went to his 3 wood and hit it well. Once more he said “ bloody driver” he has just bought a new callaway.
Me, well my story is well documented with the driver. I am hitting the 3 Wood off the tee. My driver is doing me head in.
What I don’t understand is at one time it was like Harry Potters wand when in my hands. Now I don’t even want to look at it. Every other club in my bag I am on first name terms with. So why do folk have a love hate relationship with there drivers.

Ugh.....The problem with my driver is sometimes I just lose the ability to feel the position of the head taking it back and swinging it through. Sometimes it's from one round to the next, others I can make one bad swing and I might as well be holding a stick of wood, the next tee it's fine again. Contact is rarely a problem, even the bad shots are usually off the middle of the face - I mean these things are huge these days!
 

harpo_72

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
5,850
Visit site
He is... there isn't enough rhubarb in the PGA tour! :)

I like my driver. Nice big face, it's harder to miss the ball with that. Anyone old enough to have used wee wooden heeds would agreed!
May be we should plant some ? … if they played on some the conditions I do, I think they would be upset .
Discussion I keep having is the depth of our fairway bunkers, they are lips from mid rift upwards. So landing in some lip less wander is pretty much harmless bar the contact or balls lie.

But when you can only shuffle it 60-100 yards max that forces you to be at least 3 shots to the green.
So they should dig out the bunkers, and place them to catch the big boys forcing them back or just grow rhubarb
 

jim8flog

Journeyman Pro
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
15,490
Location
Yeovil
Visit site
My experience is that many players think they should hit a driver perfectly well every time and do not know to accept that a ball not on the fairway can still be a good drive.

Bit like playing with a 28 handicapper today who was moaning like anything when he did not par a hole.
 

Pants

Challenge Tour Pro
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
1,812
Visit site
Most shots in golf you are using a specific point to aim at - usually the flag. With a driver I tend to pick a line, not a specific point, and larrup it. What can possibly go wrong :oops:

The other truism is that the layup shot always goes straight and 15/20yds further than you wanted whereas the full wallop comes up short/left/right. If only I could play all my shots as layups:LOL:
 

Barking_Mad

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2021
Messages
844
Visit site
My experience is that many players think they should hit a driver perfectly well every time and do not know to accept that a ball not on the fairway can still be a good drive.

Bit like playing with a 28 handicapper today who was moaning like anything when he did not par a hole.

Quite true. IIRC even the pros have an average dispersion of 30 yards left and right of their target. If I've got a decent strike with a good line of sight that's a FIR in my book.
 

Tashyboy

Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
Joined
Dec 12, 2013
Messages
19,300
Visit site
Played Ramsdale today. Actually played it quite well. First drive I nobbed it with my three wood. After that I drove really well with my 3 wood. There’s one hole where it opened up. I smashed my driver and promptly slung it back in the bag. Some of my drives with the three wood were gorgeous. On the last I pulled my 3 wood drive, it went like an excocet. It went near the corner of the driving range. There must of been a hundred balls down there. Me head was like a flippin lighthouse light looking for it.
I need an hour at the range trying to get some tempo and confidence.
 

Bratty

Princess Pouty (Queen of Fish Lips)
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
4,730
Visit site
Used to hate having to pull driver out the bag. Titleist 910, Ping G10, Callaway Rogue, all awful in my hands. Since my fitting with Precision Golf for the G425 SFT, I'm reaching for it on a lot of holes. Trust it completely now.
 

rudebhoy

Q-School Graduate
Joined
Sep 3, 2015
Messages
4,769
Location
whitley bay
Visit site
My regular PP, just turned 70, hits every drive down the middle about 180-190. Every single drive (well 95% of them).

I'm quite often 30 odd yards in front of him, but scattergun. I regularly lose 3 balls a round, he very rarely loses one, and never off the tee. I really wish I could hit my drives like he does.
 

Diamond

Active member
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
691
Visit site
My regular PP, just turned 70, hits every drive down the middle about 180-190. Every single drive (well 95% of them).

I'm quite often 30 odd yards in front of him, but scattergun. I regularly lose 3 balls a round, he very rarely loses one, and never off the tee. I really wish I could hit my drives like he does.

This sounds like me 3 months ago, is your miss a slice to the right?
 

williamalex1

Money List Winner
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
13,636
Location
uddingston
Visit site
Driving has always been the most consistent part of my game, straight but has always been a really quite short.
But recently I've gained a good few yards with my new Tailormade M5 head fitted with a white tie seniors shaft and a slight swing change.
Hopefully it's not all due to the dry conditions.
 
Top