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When do you hit your driver?

TheHeez said:
I hit it when the hole dictates it. There are a few holes where getting aggressive is not penal, other than that I do as you said, try and get myself in the 100-150 range.
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Ditto.

Sometimes shorter holes have little danger and sometimes longer holes have a lot.

I almost always go with driver on par 5s. I'm long enough I can reach many of them with 2 good shots so I at least like to give myself the chance. I don't always take it, but I want to be able to give myself the decision. Also if I'm laying up, I'd rather it be with a short iron than have to hit a 4 iron or hybrid from an unknown lie and position to get to the same layup spot.
 
Completely depends on the hole for me. At my home course I've gone from hitting driver on every par 4 and 5 to taking 3 or 5 wood or even hybrid off the tee. A good example is the first par 5 (hole 4). Up hill all the way slight dog leg right with bunker running along the right side of the fairway and a huge tree that comes into play on the second shot. Depending on the tee box placement I'll hit driver, 5 wood or hybrid. Hitting driver when the tee is up can result in a second shot behind a big tree and you have to shape you're second shot.
 
TheHeez said:
I hit it when the hole dictates it. There are a few holes where getting aggressive is not penal, other than that I do as you said, try and get myself in the 100-150 range.
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This here. I look at the distance, but I also look at the layout of hole as well. What going to far will do, where the safest landing area is? My home course has couple of 400 yard plus Par-4's that I hit 3-wood off of and one that is in the 390 yard range that I hit 2-iron off of. The landing area and/or tightness of holes just dictate those plays.
 
I have been guilty of hitting it more often then I should. With that being said, I have really made a solid effort this year with taking less club off the tee and playing to yardages when possible
 
One of my local home courses is all doglegs on the par4's except for one. On the few of those holes that are shorter and more sharply turning I will lay up with anything from a 4iron, 5w, 3w depending on tee placement, wind etc.. When I am driving well i can often be too long and run acros the fiarway on those shorter doglegs so I eliminate that possibility by laying up with somethin shorter. And being a shorter hole I can still end up with a shorter iron into the green.

I just dont need imo to be a pw, or aw away at risk of running the driver acros the fairway into the riough or worse into the woods. So I would rather have a 9,8,even a 7 from the fairway than be pitching out of a bad situation. The same goes for other holes at other courses where there is danger in my drivng landing area (assuming i hit it well enouigh). As long as the hole is not oo long I will throttle down my tee club choice. Its just a matter of slightly raising my percentage of being in a safer place for my second shot when the risk of danger is there. A bit further out from the green I will be but at leat I'm giving it a good look instead of having to rwecover and also still not too far away.
 
Miller Time said:
I was mashing the XH 3W yesterday the few times I hit it off the tee. I think I just need to leave Bertha in car one day and hit 3W off the tee all day.
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I slice my driver and don't feel consistent with it so I have been hitting my 3 wood instead. I figure once I get my 3 wood dialed in I can use the driver as my swing will be more dialed in for the longer clubs. It has really helped my score by leaving the driver in my bag.
 
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ATLGolfer said:
Typically I'll opt for 3W over driver if the hole is less than 400 yards. Depending on the terrain (doglegs, etc), I may pull 3W on a hole that is longer than 400 yards.
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^^^ This. If it's longer than 400 yards I will use driver (doglegs and whether it's a Par4/5 dictate as well) 375-400 is my 3W and 300-350 is a hybrid either 4/5.

Wide open holes I may pull driver as well.
 
I have switched my course management over the past year. Lots of factors involved including the risk. A drivable hole in distance would be driver for me if there was safe landing in my most common misses and little risk if I miss it. I would much rather lay up to 100 yards if the risk was high around a green. There is one short course I used to play where Driver was not the right play on any hole for me so its stayed in the bag if I even brought it at all.

That said I made a bad call yesterday and got in trouble with a 3 wood off a short par 4. The driver miss would have left me in play over some trouble but the shorter right miss put me in a hazard. So even though I would have only been 50-60 yards out from the green (not as solid as 100 yards) it would have been the smarter play--first time on the course though lesson learned. I did scramble a heck of a bogie there though!
 
Pretty much every hole. Works fine for me. If there is trouble I can reach and the hole is short enough, I'll club down, but in general I hit driver as well as the other long clubs.
 
I hit my driver when there's reasonable room to do so. Anything under 400 and I'll start considering other clubs, but usually not until it gets pretty well down into the 300s. Whatever gets me to the dogleg or spot I want, or gets me near to my layup distance. Sometimes if my driver is hot though, I'll stick with it and just play the shorter shots in. Hitting a FW off the tee for me is a much different feel, so my 3W is usually my fallback if driver isn't working.
 
I used to pull driver on most Par 4/5's; really depended upon hole layout, hazards, etc. BUT, I've been playing with a GameGolf device for the last two months and have learned quite a bit about my game, including that I consistently hit my 3W much better off the tee than I hit my driver. I'm getting 240-250yds out of my 3W with better accuracy/less dispersion than my 270-280yd driver. Just this change has improved my game by a couple of strokes. This tactic usually leaves me with several choices for my approach shot, depending upon Pin location, slope of/to green, etc.
 
Since I switched to the 14 degree mini driver, I use it on most par 4 and par 5 holes, unless there is a dogleg that necessitates clubbing down.
 
Joshsmit56001 said:
You are not a long hitter and have to hit your driver to get it to a comfortable distance. That is the key statement. You hitting driver could be like someone else hitting a hybrid to the same distance. That is where it makes sense in your statement
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For the season my average driver is 274. I hit my 4w 247 and my 3H 229. Out of the three clubs I use off the tee I am the most accurate with the driver so pull it out anytime using the club will not fly me over the green.

I mainly play the 4W if I need a running cut or draw or I'm into the wind (I hit a high driver) and the 3H if I need to lay up to a yardage or if I'm going to hit it through the fairway or into a hazard at the end of the fairway.
 
On a good day ... wind at my back ... and if the golf gods are busy ... I can get my drive 240-250 ... most of the time its 220'ish ... so I hit it every hole I can ... I actually hit it better off the tee than a 3w ...
 
Depends on how good contact is that day...will pull it on all 4 and 5's. Usually a driver wedge day. When confidence is not there...will leave it in the bag. Can still get a good second shot distance with another club. As long as I leave the testosterone in check, it's an easy decision either way.
 
JB said:
While the driver might be the longest club and the lowest loft (outside of putter), it does not always mean immediate issues. People are quick to forget that it also has the largest surface area and many would argue is as/more forgiving than choosing a fairway wood.

Just food for thought.
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This (along with not being overly blessed with length) is one of the primary reasons I'll nearly always hit driver when the hole warrants it. I typically only leave it in the bag on tree/hazard lined sharp doglegs or holes where my driver could reach a hazard/severely uneven lie in the fairway.
 
Being a shorter driver of the golf ball I pretty much pull driver on every Par 4 and 5. It's just what I feel most comfortable with so I go for it.


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I don't think my swing is consistent enough to see any benefit from not using a driver. I pull 3 wood a lot off the tee on short par 4s and doglegs, but if my swing isn't that good on any particular day, I'm just as likely (if not more) to snap hook a fairway, hybrid, 8 iron, or even lob wedge than I am driver.
 
I hit driver on almost every hole. Hell sometimes I hit it twice per hole. I'm a driver off the deck master(in my own mind)
 
jacob1 said:
I hit driver on almost every hole. Hell sometimes I hit it twice per hole. I'm a driver off the deck master(in my own mind)
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Pretty sure I've seen you hit it three times on a hole at least a few times lol.
 
Hawk said:
Pretty sure I've seen you hit it three times on a hole at least a few times lol.
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Haha.. Yeah I didn't want to seem THAT good.. I mean now people are going to be asking for lesons. Thanks alot buddy!
 
Every home unless it's thing to put me at a distance of 70 yards or brings really unnecessary trouble in to play.
 
Scarnici said:
Being a shorter driver of the golf ball I pretty much pull driver on every Par 4 and 5. It's just what I feel most comfortable with so I go for it.


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Whoa, whoa, whoa...

"Shorter" driver compared to whom? I've seen you pound it.

I don't blame you for hitting driver every hole, though. You hit your driver very well.
 
jacob1 said:
Haha.. Yeah I didn't want to seem THAT good.. I mean now people are going to be asking for lesons. Thanks alot buddy!
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I'll be on my deathbed chuckling about this:

*ball in 4 inches of rough*

"Hmmm. This one sets up perfect for driver off the deck!"
 
Hawk said:
I'll be on my deathbed chuckling about this:

*ball in 4 inches of rough*

"Hmmm. This one sets up perfect for driver off the deck!"
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I don't know why I let you talk me into these things.
 
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