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Taking the Driver out of the bag...

If I could I would not carry a driver and I am thinking about retiring the driver and getting an rbz 3w instead. I hit my hybrid and current 3w into the fairway a very high percentage compared to my driver and my course is lined with trees and shrubs so anything any further off than the first cut costs you a shot as you chip it back into play. There is one hole however where a driver is essential for me. It is a long 500m par 5 with a right dog leg at 265 yards from the tee. With the lie of the land and the trees around if you fall short of the dog leg you have two options. One is try to slice the ball around the dog leg however if you fail you will either end up in a bunker, the river or amongst a whole heap of coffee bush that would take a few strokes to get back out of (it's a very low percentage shot at best) or the other option is to knock it past the dog leg to give a clear shot at the green. I can't get that distance without using a driver. Every other hole on my course I can live without it but not that one.
 
When I play tournaments I only hit driver on long par 4's or short par 5's.

I actually tee off with a mashie M3, which gives me repeatable distance and better accuracy.

Driver is for fun, unless you are hitting it steady down the pipe.
 
Maybe it's some curse over the drivers. That when someone stick a driver in your hand you go HAM on it and therefore play worse with it than you really can if you just slow down the tempo and dont swing That hard.
 
I actually used to play quite often without a Driver in the bag. I hit 4i off the tee and was still able to have reasonable shots into the greens.
Now I hope that I don't have to do that anymore because I think I am going to hit the 910 pretty well on the course.
 
I have been looking and from what you guys say the rbz is a monster but I'm intreegued by the 910fd this could be something for me to look at with a solid shaft offering! Unless I can get some sort of game back with my driver!!
 
The best nine hole score I ever shot didnt include any swings with the driver. I was so disgusted with how I hit my driver during the first nine (where I shot 51) I left it in the bag the second nine. Hit 3 hybrid off of the normal driver holes, hit all but one fairway and didn't make any of the big mistakes that normally plague my game. Ended up even on the par 4's, one over on the par 3's and birdied both of the 5's.
 
Did it back in the fall, left the driver and fw wood out. Played 18 shot 79, no big deal, our blue tees are only 6200 yds.
 
I have also taken my driver and 3 wood out of my bag not just for a round or two it was for a few seasons. When i was younger i could work the ball and make any shot because i played almost 3 times a week, but as i got older that stopped i began playing other sports and it took most of my time away from the sport. so a few years past where i only played once or twice a season, then i got back in to it and really playing once maybe twice a week because of my work schedule i found that i was not the golfer i once was. i would slice the ball on to other fair ways and finally i got fed up and played with just irons 2-sw that is all i carried for about 3 full seasons. then finally i went out and bought a new driver and spent a good 3 hrs at the range for a day or two to get my confidence back with the club i hated. Now it has been 4 full seasons going in to my fifth using the driver again and the 3 wood came back last season. so all in all it can be done but to me i think it is a mental thing and as well as a practice thing instead of getting fed up i should have hit the range and worked on my swing mechanics. Not say F it to now one of the best clubs I hit again.
 
I have a driver in my bag now, and play it all the time. Have had a driver in the bag for about 4 years now. I went about 10 years with no dirver in the bag becasue I couldn't hit it.

My best buddy used to say to me: Man you were kicking my azz, and when you pulled out that driver, I said to myself, I GOT HIM NOW !!!


so, I had 3w, 5w, 7w and irons only for YEARS. I decided that by golly I was gonna learn how to hit a driver. I bought a driver with 11.5* of loft. It was FAR EASIER to hit than any driver I ever had before. Xlice is, yep, but I kept after it and after about 6 months I could put in play more than 75% of the time.

I currently have a K15 that I hit about 80% of the FIR with and loving it ! I'm not a long knocker and need that distance. My guess is that my AVG drive is about 210 .... I've hit to 243 with it but that's not my NORMAL HIT, more like A+.

so .... taking the driver out of your bag for awhile isn't all that bad really, you can always put it back :)


Good Luck !

NEVER QUIT !
 
as a 18 handicap, playing a 3w and a little better course management will probably drop you to a 12-14, however, i am of the opinion that to play in the single handicaps you have to be able to hit your driver. keep practicing on the range and most important, have someone video you from behind you down the line. its amazing what you can learn just from that. you dont ave to be a great golfer to see your plane. the first time i seen mine i said " I DO THAT????? video both your driver and your 3 wood and compare. most likely youre pullin the club inside and then coming over the top.
 
I do not think that you can be a truly good player unless you can hit your driver

Tappin!
 
JesseO said:
I do not think that you can be a truly good player unless you can hit your driver

Tappin!
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While I don't agree or disagree, I know a guy who is a scratch player and doesn't use a driver. Hasn't in years. He uses a 910F-d. He's not truly good?
 
JesseO said:
I do not think that you can be a truly good player unless you can hit your driver

Tappin!
Click to expand...

Interesting. If I don't pull driver all round yet shoot even par, am I not good?
 
Thechosen1 said:
Interesting. If I don't pull driver all round yet shoot even par, am I not good?
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He did can "can hit your driver" not "actually use one."

I do see where you're coming from that what is perceived as the purist, best, + x handicap golfer should be able to hit a driver. However, saying that you can;t be truly good without being able to hit one or just not using one is ridiculous.
 
I haven't read any of this thread. But any course where you don't need a driver is not a course worth playing. Thanks, drunk Belbs.
 
the Belbs said:
I haven't read any of this thread. But any course where you don't need a driver is not a course worth playing. Thanks, drunk Belbs.
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Lol drunk Belbs. I disagree with you good sir. You don't need driver on my course and it's hard as all get-out. I like a good, challenging layout.
 
the Belbs said:
Wuss. I don't need driver either. But makes it more fun.
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I agree about the fun part. I still hit driver all the time and it infuriates my coach. Hitting driver is too much fun to not do.
 
You don't understand. The Belbs REALLY hits driver.

Kevin
 
Esox said:
You don't understand. The Belbs REALLY hits driver.

Kevin
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I've heard that. I want to witness the magic in person sometime.
 
I took the driver out of the bag earlier this week and put it in today...well, most drives were in the fairway and 15-20 yards farther than my 4 wood. Looks like the SuperTri has found life yet again.


Tap before talk.
 
HuskAir said:
Have any of you ever experimented with taking your driver out of the bag? Today, I played 9 holes, and could not drive the ball straight to save my life. It was THEE worst round of golf I think I have played, since I was in high school. So bad, that I didn't even keep score. I must have topped 3 drives; and any drives that actually made it off of the tee, wound up fading a lot (basically, they were semi-playable slices). The highlight of my round was on #8, a par 5; I sliced the ball across the #9 (not a typo) fairway, and from ~200 out, I put the ball on the #8 green with a 3-wood (from 15' out, I came up literally 1 inch short of an Eagle...my putting was alright today).
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Just as a last step before you cut the driver down or take it out of your bag - Choke down on drive a little, and only take your backswing to about midway between arms parallel to ground (9am) and 10:30. Slow down a little as well with these 3/4 swings or you'll liable not be in synch between your hips and you arms/shoulders. I can't tell you how many times I this has worked for me to help the driver stay in the short stuff. Slowing down helps too because the other problem I have found that I have is that when I start hitting it badly I start to tense up on the driver and start gripping it tighter. That really locks the muscles and the wrist up and you get 0 release.

just my two cents!
 
the Belbs said:
I haven't read any of this thread. But any course where you don't need a driver is not a course worth playing. Thanks, drunk Belbs.
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That basically was my point haha

Tappin!
 
IceJack said:
While I don't agree or disagree, I know a guy who is a scratch player and doesn't use a driver. Hasn't in years. He uses a 910F-d. He's not truly good?
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My point is..do you see any pros abandoning their drivers? The courses are so long that to be in contention they have to be able to hit it a long way to say, be able to reach the green in two on a long par five where everybody else can. I'm not saying that you absolutely cannot play well without one, but you will have much better scores if you can hit that club accurately.

Tappin!
 
JesseO said:
My point is..do you see any pros abandoning their drivers? The courses are so long that to be in contention they have to be able to hit it a long way to say, be able to reach the green in two on a long par five where everybody else can. I'm not saying that you absolutely cannot play well without one, but you will have much better scores if you can hit that club accurately.

Tappin!
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Key words.

I don't use the driver because I can't control it but my 3w is a diff story. I think that's what the OP was referring to.
 
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