Drivers are depressing

[Big SoIL]

I used to absolutely hate using driver. To the point where I would only use it on wide open par 5's. Now I love it.

Best thing I did was stop trying to kill the ball. I went from 112+ swing speed to about 105, and the results were night and day.

This^^^

I'd say this is the problem a ton of people have and I still struggle with it from time to time. I also had to change my mind set when swinging a driver. A driver is just like any other club, so use the same swing you would with any other club. Use the confidence and swing you use to hit your 5W and do the same thing with your driver.

 

[IndySC]

Driver was probably the most inconsistent club in my bag for over a decade. Then I had a fitting. It might be the most confident club I have right now if last week was any indication.

 

[JMN57]

I used to absolutely hate using driver. To the point where I would only use it on wide open par 5's. Now I love it.

Best thing I did was stop trying to kill the ball. I went from 112+ swing speed to about 105, and the results were night and day.

Absolutely agree with this.

3-4 years ago, my driver stayed in the bag and I used 3W for a whole season. The following year I decided I needed to tame the driver (wicked slice) and dedicated myself to learning to hit driver. The lightbulb went on one day when I hit garbage at the range with driver before a round. I went to the first tee saying it's going to be 3W off the tee that day. I hit 3W off #1 but #2 was a 490 yard par 4 so I just had to hit driver there. Mindset was just slow down and meet the ball to put it in play. Nice easy swing and I hit a nice baby draw about 260. Scratched my head after that one. Used driver the rest of the day and hit 13/14 fairways and probably average 250 or so. Only fairway I missed I hit it through the dogleg a yard into the rough.

I finally realized that if I hit the sweetspot with a nice, under-control swing the driver would do the work for me. Ever since then if the driver is acting up, I just slow down. I don't hit it as far as I used to (I've given up about 20 yards or so) but I hit it a lot straighter and the combo is a lot more playable.

 

[6ixOhFore]

I had a similar problem. Using 3 wood or a shorter shafted driver may help. Callaway mini 1.5 may be a nice addition

Sent from my SM-G900W8

 

[msg21]

I used to hate drivers when I first started playing golf 20 years ago. When I came back into the game four years ago, I had trouble hitting the driver. I was inconsistent. Every time I am on the tee, I literally don't know what will happen with my shot. I usually am very good from the three wood to the wedges. It's only the driver.

Two years ago, after going through different drivers that never worked, I gave the Nike Covert 2.0 a try. For some reason I gained confidence with it. I have become more consistent and never again feared the driver. One thing that I realized is that for me, personally, I love using a driver that has a heavier swing weight as I am more of a feel player rather than a technical one.

I don't have the Nike anymore as I am using the 915 D2. But since then, my confidence and consistency never disappeared. Well, except the first two weeks when I got the 915.

I hope you find what works for you because I know how frustrating it is not being able to hit the driver.

 

[musicmaster6921]

After playing for a year I can feel all aspects of my game improving except the big stick. I had lessons and loads of practice, sometimes it's alright (never great), sometimes I'm shooting boomerangs.
When I tee off its just basically a lottery and it's killing my game. Zero confidence when I address the ball. I hit my 5 wood fairly OK and I'm just thinking of grabbing a 3 wood. I may not even lose distance and I'll hopefully gain much more accuracy given that my driving is dismal.
What do you guys think?

I played for almost a year and a half with no driver, I tee'd off with my 3W and had some of the best drives ever. Actually had better distance since it was going straighter and not slicing as much. Give it a shot I know a few guys who don't play a driver.

 

[rollin]

For me...I don't believe in throwing the driver away at all. Im not going to sugar coat it by saying it will get better because there are plenty people who been trying to nail down the driver for decades. Some give up and most don't and many do get better. But its no guarantee. That said, I believe in the keep on trying camp. But if its simply just ruining your golf time and making things miserable and no longer fun for you than do what makes you happiest. For me Id be far less happy knowing I gave up on it.

 

[theoverswinger]

My driver sometimes bails out on me but that's due to lack of muscle memory but I don't get fazed. It's just part of golf and lack of practice.

What's important for me is to recall the good drives I've hit and to try to recreate those.

You might also want to get fitted. I spent a whole year searching for a driver that worked.

A nice drive in front of your buddies, with a driver you really like, can be one of the greatest joys in golf.

Sent from my SM-J710GN using Tapatalk

 

[Philo1]

After playing for a year I can feel all aspects of my game improving except the big stick. I had lessons and loads of practice, sometimes it's alright (never great), sometimes I'm shooting boomerangs.
When I tee off its just basically a lottery and it's killing my game. Zero confidence when I address the ball. I hit my 5 wood fairly OK and I'm just thinking of grabbing a 3 wood. I may not even lose distance and I'll hopefully gain much more accuracy given that my driving is dismal.
What do you guys think?

Totally get it. I'm in the process of just trying to keep the ball in play instead of trying to crush it all the time. Smooth and steady with good placement. I've lost a lot of distance, and I hate that....but it's better than being OB all the time. I'm getting some coaching and the idea is that the distance will come later. Like you, I"ve been playing for a year, and now I have a mini-driver and a driving iron for days when I just can't get driver working. And honestly, I have the best luck with my four iron off the tee in terms of consisitency. If you can hit the 3 wood in play...go for it.

I played with a guy on Sunday afternoon who was a "big hitter." I mean, he just ripped the ball and frequently could hit over 300 yards on the driving range. But in the game we were playing, he never hit one right. He was always OOB or in the trees. So being able to hit 300 didn't do him a bit of good. He's been playing for years and sometimes we'd never see his tee shot again. It was just gone.

 

[Jaymo37]

Have you thought about the mental piece of the game? Personally, if I vary from my pre-shot routine, especially on the tee box, I'm much more likely to hit a shot I'm not happy with. I find that standing behind the ball, and envisioning the drive I want to hit, rather than thinking about all the shots I hope I don't hit has helped me immensely. Visualize and execute.

 

[Annhl8rX]

I'm in the exact same boat. Driver is just a crap shoot as to whether or not I'll hit it anywhere near where I'm trying to. I'll get it straightened out in a lesson, then go right back to slicing it out of bounds when the lesson is over. I also can't hit a 3 wood to save my life. It is worse than driver. I have found a 5 wood that works well for me, and have been using it almost exclusively to tee off with. I bought the matching 3 wood, but have only swung it once so far. I'm hoping that I'll be able to figure it out and gain a few yards off the tee. I've pretty much given up on driver, though.

 

[Knot Right]

After playing for a year I can feel all aspects of my game improving except the big stick. I had lessons and loads of practice, sometimes it's alright (never great), sometimes I'm shooting boomerangs.
When I tee off its just basically a lottery and it's killing my game. Zero confidence when I address the ball. I hit my 5 wood fairly OK and I'm just thinking of grabbing a 3 wood. I may not even lose distance and I'll hopefully gain much more accuracy given that my driving is dismal.
What do you guys think?

When I struggled with the driver, I always practiced my "go to" swing.

For me, it's always been a little cut shot to about 230-240 yard.

I will make a few dozen little 3/4 cut swings and keep progressing from there to a full swing........ and this can work the same way for a draw.

I continue with it until my confidence returns.

It works for me anyways.

 

[Knot Right]

For me...I don't believe in throwing the driver away at all. Im not going to sugar coat it by saying it will get better because there are plenty people who been trying to nail down the driver for decades. Some give up and most don't and many do get better. But its no guarantee. That said, I believe in the keep on trying camp. But if its simply just ruining your golf time and making things miserable and no longer fun for you than do what makes you happiest. For me Id be far less happy knowing I gave up on it.

I have to agree with you.

I threw away a few good years by beating on 2 irons and 3 woods.

I soon got over my "phobia" of drivers after getting my ass handed to me in some of the local amateur tournaments by players who I knew I could beat.

I never knew how easy the driver was until I actually took the time to learn it. I was embarrassed for myself afterwards, after seeing how little effort it took.

I never gave up on it again, even through the bad spells.

 

[russtopher]

It took me a good 3 years to finally get my driver in a place where it was playable and fairly consistent. And a lot of that was due to 1) lessons, and 2) figuring out what worked best for me, not what 164 different YouTube videos told me to do.

The biggest part of it was me finally learning that I didn't need to try and bomb it to end up in the fairway. Once I stopped chasing distance, I actually gained distance and consistency. Keep at it! It'll come.

 

[ackman13]

i think the driver is a frustrating club for many golfers. In my younger days it was my best club but after taking some time off due to work and health reasons I found that I was struggling with it. Well, I was struggling with many parts of my game. I decided to take lessons. As my swing consistency improve my driving improved - but at a much slower pace. I had my teacher look at my driver swing and all the bad habits I had gotten into on my irons were magnified with my driver. Plus I had the tendency to swing harder and moving my body (changing the swing path, release etc). I am still working on it but I have picked up about 26 yards carry and I am hitting it straight. I still get off the rails occasionally and hit a really bad shot. But I am gaining some confidence with my driver.

So, my advice is take a lesson and have the teacher look at your swing with the driver. Make sure they have video so you can watch your swing and a trackman (or something similar) that can show swing speed, launch angle, spin and ball speed.
You may be able to see quickly what is causing your problems.

On the other hand if you can hit a three wood consistently then you may want to try that. I have played with guys who have hit three woods or utility irons great and never use a driver.
One funny (or not) side note is that after buying and trading back in several new drivers and finally being fitted for a Cobra King F6 I pulled out my old TaylorMade R9 and it as well any other drivers I had been hitting. When I checked the spin rate and launch angle it was dead on where it needed to be for my swing. Maybe that is why it always worked for me.

 

[bobcat]

Maybe you just haven't found the right one yet!

This particular Tayormade 2015 SLDR-C model is long, straight, and super-forgiving with great sound and feel. It is also available at a great price right now!

No gimmicks, just excellent all-around performance! This one will remind you of the great 'classic' Taylormade Drivers of the past, but it has all the latest technology you need! Driver clubheads just don't get any better than this! Get fitted to find your optimal shaft!

You CAN learn to love your driver!..

As you can see from the pics below, this one is beautiful to look at as well!..:thumb:

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[Daddio]

I'm agree with Nate on all fronts on this topic. I hate his current avatar too... posting some video for Freddie's expert analysis will help for sure ... driver is (or at least should be) one of the easiet clubs to hit. You get to pick out a nice level stance and swing a huge forgiving club head at a ball you set up perfectly on a tee. Get comfortable, have confidence, and don't overthink or overswing it... BOOM fairway!

I test lots of drivers and one thing I will add is are you sure your driver is right for you? I ask because the one in your signature sits on the lighter/faster end of the spectrum. It's a great driver for a lot of players but maybe not so good for some with faster overpowering swings or aggressive transitions. Also lower spinning options work much better for some swings and yours is designed more for high and straight with some extra spin and forgiveness. Even though I'm a slower swinger, drivers like yours don't fit me well at all. Just sticking with the same brand, the recent DBD lines are among the top performers for me. So to echo many responses, if you weren't fit for your Fusion you should definitely look into doing it. Your fitter might find your perfect setup with the Fusion or find you a much better fit in a different club. You mention it feeling like the lottery when you pull driver. That's a good way to describe myself with any lighter/high swing speed driver compared to those more in the middle of the spectrum. Yes I swing them faster but my odds for a two way miss shoot off the charts. Having no idea which way it's going means my confidence falls off a cliff.

Good Luck, don't give up!

 

[tahoebum]

I think many see that gigantic 460cc head and it quickens their tempo and gets their upper and lower body out of sync. Hitting the sweetspot with the driver is super important if you want to maximize distance. If I'm trying to get every yard out of my driver I take it back slow, smooth, and focus on a maximum shoulder turn at the top. Longer backswing, not faster.

 

[jlew]

Aha... he who shall remain nameless works at RBG and not Dicks...got it.

 

[Nate]

Drivers are depressing

I'm agree with Nate on all fronts on this topic. I hate his current avatar too... posting some video for Freddie's expert analysis will help for sure ...

Good Luck, don't give up!

Who wouldn't want this guy helping make 'em better with a driver swing and smile like this!

https://vimeo.com/195658139

ps this avatar still suxs.

 

[rollin]

I'm agree with Nate on all fronts on this topic. I hate his current avatar too... posting some video for Freddie's expert analysis will help for sure ... driver is (or at least should be) one of the easiet clubs to hit. You get to pick out a nice level stance and swing a huge forgiving club head at a ball you set up perfectly on a tee. Get comfortable, have confidence, and don't overthink or overswing it... BOOM fairway!

I test lots of drivers and one thing I will add is are you sure your driver is right for you? I ask because the one in your signature sits on the lighter/faster end of the spectrum. It's a great driver for a lot of players but maybe not so good for some with faster overpowering swings or aggressive transitions. Also lower spinning options work much better for some swings and yours is designed more for high and straight with some extra spin and forgiveness. Even though I'm a slower swinger, drivers like yours don't fit me well at all. Just sticking with the same brand, the recent DBD lines are among the top performers for me. So to echo many responses, if you weren't fit for your Fusion you should definitely look into doing it. Your fitter might find your perfect setup with the Fusion or find you a much better fit in a different club. You mention it feeling like the lottery when you pull driver. That's a good way to describe myself with any lighter/high swing speed driver compared to those more in the middle of the spectrum. Yes I swing them faster but my odds for a two way miss shoot off the charts. Having no idea which way it's going means my confidence falls off a cliff.

Good Luck, don't give up!

I totally get and agree with club fitting and the "whats right for you" logic. However, when/if one is talking of an inability to play a driver so poorly to the point where they even consider dropping it from the bag, that imo is quite a different story than simply what a better suited (for him) club will do. We (in this thread) are probably not talking about hitting it good vs less than good but probably much more about being outright errant and/or for the most part dysfunctional. This imo would have to be far more the Indian than it would be his arrow. no?

 

[Nate]

I totally get and agree with club fitting and the "whats right for you" logic. However, when/if one is talking of an inability to play a driver so poorly to the point where they even consider dropping it from the bag, that imo is quite a different story than simply what a better suited (for him) club will do. We (in this thread) are probably not talking about hitting it good vs less than good but probably much more about being outright errant and/or for the most part dysfunctional. This imo would have to be far more the Indian than it would be his arrow. no?

Depends on if the OP has gone through many drivers with the same results or has stuck with one or two drivers period with bad results. I've hit a few drivers over the last few years where you would swear I just started playing golf. Others, it looks like I practice 4 times a week and play 3 times a week. But would agree, if the OP has tested and tried many different recent drivers with the same results then Mr. Kong should he his next stop.

 

[rollin]

Depends on if the OP has gone through many drivers with the same results or has stuck with one or two drivers period with bad results. I've hit a few drivers over the last few years where you would swear I just started playing golf. Others, it looks like I practice 4 times a week and play 3 times a week. But would agree, if the OP has tested and tried many different recent drivers with the same results then Mr. Kong should he his next stop.

Unless one is simply so unlucky enough to have a big issue with a specific given driver, Im having (with due respect) a difficult time accepting most any relatively new driver of good quality and tech would cause one such as you (at a 2ish hc) to play like he only just began. I mean your definition of playing very poorly is of course relative to that of a 2 capper and perhaps weighs in here. If you were to blindly pick a driver out of a group of ten random ones waiting to be tested (even if a few years old) would you really be so bad as to be outright errant and/or dysfunctional where you just couldn't play it all because it wasn't the right one for you? I could be wrong I suppose but with some warm up time would be hard pressed to believe that you couldn't still survive. You may not hit it as well and maybe even play poorly vs your normal 2hc ability and average round. I will give you that much, but to think you would be dysfunctional to the point that others would think you just began playing the game would have to be stretching it.No? Not saying your lying but perhaps (as said) your definition of terrible is only a relative term being your low cap.

 

[Nate]

Unless one is simply so unlucky enough to have a big issue with a specific given driver, Im having (with due respect) a difficult time accepting most any relatively new driver of good quality and tech would cause one such as you (at a 2ish hc) to play like he only just began. I mean your definition of playing very poorly is of course relative to that of a 2 capper and perhaps weighs in here. If you were to blindly pick a driver out of a group of ten random ones waiting to be tested (even if a few years old) would you really be so bad as to be outright errant and/or dysfunctional where you just couldn't play it all because it wasn't the right one for you? I could be wrong I suppose but with some warm up time would be hard pressed to believe that you couldn't still survive. You may not hit it as well and maybe even play poorly vs your normal 2hc ability and average round. I will give you that much, but to think you would be dysfunctional to the point that others would think you just began playing the game would have to be stretching it.No? Not saying your lying but perhaps (as said) your definition of terrible is only a relative term being your low cap.

Just explaining what happened to me with one OEM driver last year. I was a hooking expert that would scare any wildlife 6 feet or shorter in height when I attempted to swing. All I'm saying is you can't rule out the possibility that the OP might not have something that suits him. If it's swing related then he's in for a much longer road in getting it fixed.

 

[luvagoodshot]

After playing for a year I can feel all aspects of my game improving except the big stick. I had lessons and loads of practice, sometimes it's alright (never great), sometimes I'm shooting boomerangs.
When I tee off its just basically a lottery and it's killing my game. Zero confidence when I address the ball. I hit my 5 wood fairly OK and I'm just thinking of grabbing a 3 wood. I may not even lose distance and I'll hopefully gain much more accuracy given that my driving is dismal.
What do you guys think?

I almost gave up on my driver, but this has been the first year for me where I figured out what I was doing wrong. Previous to this year I couldn't hit a driver without slicing the ball into the adjacent fairway or deep into the woods. Now this year I am able to hit the majority of my driver shots straight as an arrow and hit the majority of fairways on my drive. Once I learned how to correct my coming over the top of the ball which always resulted in those nasty slices, I now have confidence in my driver.

I think you too can fix what ails your driving game - don't give up