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Have you played a round leaving the driver in the bag?

Bunker Snot

Bunker Snot

TEEm aspirations!
Albatross 2024 Club
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My hot and cold driver can gain or lose 5 strokes in any given round, have you ever played a round and purposely not hit the driver (or even pulled it from your bag)? What were the results?
 
Not more than a dozen or so times but I rarely hit driver more than 8 times in a round. Today I played my home course which is par 73(5 par fives) from the 6,420 tees and hit driver twice.
 
Absolutely. Even from full length at 6900 yards, I will pull driver only 3-4 times a round. I get a lot out of keeping it in play with a 3H or 4w, the defensive side of my game is entirely based on keeping my wild tee shots in check.
 
Did it recently for 2 - 3 weeks (about 12 rounds) after I got my Hogan fairway woods while I was waiting for the matching driver to arrive.
 
Sox_Fan;n8883848 said:
Did it recently for 2 - 3 weeks (about 12 rounds) after I got my Hogan fairway woods while I was waiting for the matching driver to arrive.
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score go up, down or stay about the same?
 
I did it for a few weeks last year. Mostly because at the time I was having major issues hitting it, as opposed to a strategic decision.
 
I do it all the time. Even recently as my driver has has been pretty solid, 3w is more than enough to get it done
 
3 weeks ago when I got my new irons, I played 18 holes with nothing but irons and my putter. I shot 4 over par...76.
The longest club I used was the 5 iron. On the longest hole, #16 a 569 yard par 5 with the last 165 yards going severely uphill, I hit, 5 iron, 5 iron, 5 iron, 56* wedge and putt for bird.
 
Yep. When it broke on the range. I managed.
 
Yes i played a whole round with just irons once!
 
Bunker Snot;n8883858 said:
score go up, down or stay about the same?
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Stayed about the same. I was a little fortunate in that they had the tees up a little on a couple of the longer par 4's during that period. Probably would have been a stroke or two higher if the tees had consistently been where they were today. The tee differences on those 4 holes were about 2 clubs in each hole. One of them would have been tough to reach with two solid 3 woods.
 
I have played several rounds just playing my irons. Mostly because up till a few years ago when I got back in the game, swinging my driver just felt weird. It took almost a year after I got to playing again before it felt normal to swing the driver.
 
nope. it’s too fun!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
McLovin;n8883991 said:
nope. it’s too fun!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Yes, I use driver way too much and get in a lot of trouble... gonzo golf baby!!!
 
Only if I'm playing a Par 3:act-up:
 
Yup, did it today. Played well off the tee. All tee shots were playable which is a huge improvement for me.
 
I put my driver away for a couple hundred rounds after I got fed up slicing the ball. I hit a 4hy, 4i, and 5i off the tee instead. When my swing got a little more consistent and I had better control of the club face I started hitting the driver again. The results are much better.
 
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When I wasn't getting along very well with my driver early this year I decided to play a few rounds where I only took 3W off the tee, which for me is not a huge issue on most courses due to my length with my FW woods. During those 4-5 rounds I was able to keep the ball in play off the tee at a much higher rate, and scored some of my best rounds of the year. Being the stubborn player I am, I decided not hitting driver was too boring of a course management method for me and my average scores increased a bit compared to those rounds without the driver. In an ideal world I should leave the driver in the bag, but I'm a sucker for the long ball.
 
For sure leaving driver at home is a great way to shoot lower scores.
 
No I use driver unless the hole gives me a reason not to. Every once in a while I am hitting it so bad I might play safe on iffy holes but I try to get as close to the pin off the tee as I can.
 
I shot 85 for the first round back after my hamstring surgery and I can play one of our county courses without a driver (except for the forced carry on 18). My driver has gotten benched more frequently than usual this summer.
 
BuckNasty;n8884306 said:
When I wasn't getting along very well with my driver early this year I decided to play a few rounds where I only took 3W off the tee, which for me is not a huge issue on most courses due to my length with my FW woods. During those 4-5 rounds I was able to keep the ball in play off the tee at a much higher rate, and scored some of my best rounds of the year. Being the stubborn player I am, I decided not hitting driver was too boring of a course management method for me and my average scores increased a bit compared to those rounds without the driver. In an ideal world I should leave the driver in the bag, but I'm a sucker for the long ball.
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Remember that not swinging driver usually improves swing tempo/rhythm for the rest of the clubs within the bag.
 
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