We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Giving up the Driver - just avoiding the problem?

I have been planning on starting some lessons with the season winding down. I went to a local Golftec and talked to the guy there about what my game was like and what I was hoping to accomplish. I basically told him I just want to hit the ball straight off the tee. He said we'd probably start with that swing eval using my driver. This approach will still help my swing in general, right? I don't want to go there and just focus on that one club, that only gets used 14 times or so on the course. I want to fix my miraculous ability to hit terrible shots from veritably anywhere on the course!
 
I don't think there is a problem in avoiding driver on days that it's not working, cause sometimes that just happens. I also definitely don't think there is a problem in not taking driver on narrow holes, holes where you don't need quite as much distance, need to hit it straight, etc. However, I do think that you can't give up on it in the long run. Like others have said, it's still a golf club like all the others, it's just longer and amplifies whatever you are doing wrong a little bit more than your other clubs. Practice with it and maybe take a lesson to get it sorted, because it is definitely an important club and can give you a significant advantage if you can hit it well.
 
I wouldn't give up on it completely, not play it when you can get away with a 3/5wd or hybo sure. But you need to tame the beast at some point IMO.

I struggle with my driver, but I still hit it as often as I can on the course and sometimes even when not needed. I could drop strokes by hitting something else off the tee more often but don't as I feel I would be doing a disservice to myself and my game. I want to drop my score by having a complete game and taming the beast is part of that for me.
 
I think it's a good idea to put away your driver. Any swing flaw is accentuated more with the long clubs in your bag, especially driver. Most drivers these days are adjustable to compensate for swing flaws, but still doesn't resolve the underlying issue. Like someone earlier commented, is it more fun to hit 3 from the tee or your second shot from or around the fairway? If you hit your 3w more consistently, the average distance shouldn't be THAT much different anyway and that confidence will carry over for the rest of your round. Long and wrong is never a good option IMO.
 
Splendorlex said:
While every club in my bag is inconsistent, none of them are as glaringly inconsistent as the big stick. I can slice it to high heaven, pull it dead left when trying to correct for the slice, duff it, whiff it, hit it thin, fat, you name it. To make matters worse, the few times I do hit it fairly straight and the right general direction, my distance with it isn't doing me any favors. (I'd guess I hit it as far as 280 just once, one out of 10 "good" shots will top 240 or so.)

What often happens is that I flail around with it so much that I finally retire it for the day, and just hit my Adams 3H hole after hole, which I hit straight MUCH more consistently, even if it does only max out around 210ish.

So is putting the driver away just avoiding the problem, or is it smart golf? I've realized recently that one of the best ways to cut my scores down on the course is to quit trying to make shots that I have little chance of making. Sure, I have a 1 in 30 chance of hitting it just right under or through that tree, and I have a 1 in 40 chance of carrying the water hazard should I hit this shot perfect, but chances are I'll just dig myself deeper.

So have any of you retired the big stick at any point? Does anyone stay away from the "D" competely?
Click to expand...

Unless you are playing in a competition or in a money game with your friends, I would use the driver as much as possible. You can't get better with a club if you don't use that club.

I've never given up on any club in my bag. There are days when it's not working for me, but I still keep on using it when it's appropriate. In the end though, you have to go with what works best for yourself.
 
jhstew1 said:
I was just trying to point out that it's ok not to use a driver & not everyone needs a driver & using Phil as an example who currently is not using a driver. I think "disingenuous" was a bit harsh
Click to expand...

I apologize. Disingenuous was a bit harsh. But I think there's a difference between saying a guy isn't bagging a driver right now, or didn't bag a driver for a given event, and doesn't ever bag a driver. Phil went back to the driver at the start of September, and his Phrankenwood is, for all intents and purposes, a driver. IIRC, the only notable time he left both a standard driver and his Phrankenwood at home was for The Open, and even then he was packing a 12* 3W, a similar loft to the Cobra Amp Cell (11.5*) or the SLDR (12*) drivers.
 
SaffaClint said:
Sorry to chime in again but one problem I see is that hitting a 3w or hybrid etc off the tee instead of working on the driver puts pressure on your game in the long run. The reason I say this is simple, you're losing distance and end up forcing shots off the tee and end up sacrificing accuracy/consistency.
Click to expand...

But if you can't hit driver very well, aren't you putting pressure on your game by having to hit shots from the rough, the trees, or simply by re-teeing?
 
i dont see why you would force yourself to hit a stick you can't control, i'd rather play a 500 yd hole 180-180-140 than 280-40punchoutofthewoods-180
 
You need a fitting to confirm you have the right driver and shaft and possibly some professional assistance (which could correct any glaring issues with your swing) From there, it is practice all the time.

I used to fear my wedges. The only way to overcome a fear is to practice them til they become your strength. It is hard work, but really it comes down to how bad you want to hit the driver well.
 
I was scared to hit the driver when I first started playing around 11 or 12 years old. So much so that I had a powerbuilt persimmon 2 wood that I hit all the way through playing on my high school team, and even carried it to college with me. I gave up golf for about 15 years, and when I got back to the 2 wood, I found that I was old and slow enough to hit a driver slow, but accurately. It just seemed to me that driver = home run swing which in my case equals bannana to the right.


Slowing down and hitting the smaller backswing made a tremendous difference. Just my experience though. I now hit the driver long with a small fade at the end, and dont really go after it at all. That seems to be the key in allot of golf swings though doesn't it?
 
I'd say its just avoiding the problem. Im fine with not hitting the driver on the course if you struggle with it but just taking it out of the bag does nothing to fix the problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 
MPlefty said:
i dont see why you would force yourself to hit a stick you can't control, i'd rather play a 500 yd hole 180-180-140 than 280-40punchoutofthewoods-180
Click to expand...

I agree with you and have actually done similar myself. But I think a lot also depends on the layout of the hole. But also remember for the average golfer (or those other than mid/lower handicap players) two 180 shots is certainly no gimmy by any stretch at all. That's about a 6i for me and I will make a bit more 6i shots vs driver shot but I now have to make two of them. And for some people 180 may be a longer iron, or hyb, or even a shorter wood all of which are not so easy as well and again will require two of them.

So I do think one needs to use a driver but like I stated earlier it certainly doesn't have a need to come out on many holes. And when one is struggling with it they should be even more careful when to use it and when not to use it sort of like what you say above. But again also like above there is a line somewhere and many different circumstances. In a nut shell I say use it but be selective as you can be as to when you really have to use it. I think itneeds to be managed just like any other choice when playing through a given hole but I'm not a fan overall on giving up with it.
 
I carry my driver most of the time, but don't use it very often because I spray it all over the place. I can usually hit my 3 wood just as far if not farther and with greater accuracy most days. I do practice with the driver and I want to be able to be more consistent with it. I know that will probably mean a proper fitting and probably a different driver than I have in my bag right now so until the funds are available to do those things I am going to stick with my 3 wood on most tee boxes. The game for me is about having fun and it ain't no fun playing from the rough all the time or losing a bunch of balls.
 
Putting it away does avoid the problem, but fixing the problem should be done on the range with lessons and practice.
Could be a very simple fix, or one that would take awhile.
 
Continuing to struggle with it does damage to the one part of your golf game you don't want to, your head. Unless you are playing from the wrong tees or playing a really long course you may not need your driver. Playing it and hitting it into the woods, stream, fescue, whatever, all day will leave you wondering what you are doing wrong. Doing it over and over will leave you without confidence when you do hit it, and that will make it worse, and worse until we see a "what is wrong with me I took lessons and everything and I still suck" thread.

I played a couple rounds without one when my driver went in for warranty this spring. It really didn't change my scoring much. Pro's are playing higher lofted clubs off the tee so they can place the ball and hit a full club into the green. Accuracy is a good reason to hit more than driver off the tee.
 
It is all about course mangement when pulling out the big stick. I continue to practice my driver and pull it out when needed. The big question here is with three wood's getting so long will you need a driver in your bag. If I consistently hit a three wood 250 off the tee, I would leave the driver in the bag.

I think the biggest thing for me is to know what I'am doing wrong when the drive isn't working. When the driver isn't working I am not finishing my swing. When it is working I am getting my hip through and it goes 290 in the short grass.
 
I simply must have the driver. Even on some par 4's I'm hitting hybrid into the greens, so driver is a must for me. Yes, I'm already teeing it forward most of the time..... 6,400 - 6,600.

Since returning to golf though I have learned to hit it pretty straight.

JM
 
Don't be afraid to experiment with different stances and ball placement. If you aren't hitting the driver well, doing it the same way over and over will probably never fix it. I've never been able to hit a driver well using the "proper" way of having the ball well forward in my stance. When I do that it seems to amplify my problems and I'm a lot more erratic. If I put the ball more towards the middle of my stance and widen my stance, I generally hit it straight.

Unless you are going to get lessons, you have to find what works the best for you, not what everyone says is the right way to do it.
 
I got the chance to play again today. It's unusual I play days back to back, but it was nice to be able to. I decided to go ahead and use the driver when applicable all day. I also decided that I should try to take a much more smoother, controlled swing if I could and see what happened. Now, I'm not sure if it was a product of playing a day back to back, or the more controlled swing, but I did have much more success. The distance still wasn't there for the most part, but if hit it straight more often.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free
 
I think that leaving the driver in the bag is a good choice if you also struggle a bit with your other long clubs. If you're hitting wayward shots with your 3W or 5W or hybrids, there's no reason to think you'll do better with the driver.

But if you can hit consistently decent to good shots with your longer clubs, I think getting good with the driver is the next logical step. Gotta use it to get better with it, though.

Prolonged struggles with driver (including lack of significant extra distance vs. the 3W), combined prolonged lack of struggle with other clubs, would most likely be a fitting issue or a mental block of some sort. In that case, leaving the driver at home also makes sense until a fitting or some lessons happen.

Personally, I leave the driver in the bag because I'm still not as consistent with my 3W or 5W as I'd like to be, but I can clearly tell that my slices with those clubs mostly stay in play, while my driver would send those shots who knows where. If I ever feel I'm significantly improving with the 3W or 5W, then I'll go to work on the driver.
 
I think we have all, at some point, left the big dog in the bag. I recently tried to take this approach while playing with some fellow THP'ers. However, this time, I wasn't hitting my 3W or my 2hy very consistently, so I grabbed the driver and hit all buy 1 fairway on the back nine. Crazy how some days you can swing so nice on the range, smoke every shot with the driver, then hit the 1st tee and it's gone. OR visa versa, hit nothing solid on the range then SMOKE the driver the entire round. Who knows why, but I've done it.
 
The way I played today, I should have hit only the driver. I was 14 of 16 fairways, and 2 of 18 greens. I couldn't buy an iron shot. One of my 2 greens was a 200 4h that stuck like a pitching wedge.... only birde for the day. After that mess, went to the range, and found out I was hitting the ball too far back, like off of the right toe! Nailed the whole basket where I wanted them. At least I left feeling ok.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top