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Leaving the driver at home

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goalie

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I played yesterday on the was up to my lake place. I have been spraying both ways with the driver, so I didn't even bring it on the course.

Despite some horrible putting, I hit a lot (for me) of fairways (8) and only had one really bad tee shot (on a par 3) that got wet. Other than that, no penalties or lost in the fescue grass tee shots, despite some big wind. Fairway or first cut.

My score was better than average despite an 8 on a par 5 that involved a second shot shank into fescue, a hack out to the fairway, then an approach that would've been perfect if it went ten more feet, but, instead, caught a huge wind gust that ballooned it and it went swimming.

We played the second from the back tees, 6391 yards, and I shot a 93 on a course I'm usually high 90's on while hitting mainly 7-wood nice and straight off the tee box.

Thumper Pond today, where straight really is long. I'm gonna go driverless all weekend and see how it plays out.
 
Oh, and my tee club was a borrowed Pinemeadow Yukon 24 degree with a project X regular shaft.
 
sometimes, you need no driver in your life...enjoy your golf.
 
Enjoy your golf. If that means not bringing driver to the course, awesome.

I would not enjoy golf without my driver.
 
blugold said:
Enjoy your golf. If that means not bringing driver to the course, awesome.

I would not enjoy golf without my driver.
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How many times a round are you hitting three off the tee because of your driver, or, more accurately, your inability to hit your driver anywhere near a fairway?
 
blugold said:
I would not enjoy golf without my driver.
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Me either. I rely on my driver tremendously; every par 4 & 5 tee shot i hit is with my driver. I'm hitting 75.4% fairways with it, even though i can only hit it a furlong i'd be lost on a golf course without it.
 
I've been hitting a lot less drivers off the tee's these days. I think I figured a few things out on the range Tuesday prior to my last round, but left it in the bag for a majority of the tee shots. Just not confident enough again.
 
goalie said:
How many times a round are you hitting three off the tee because of your driver, or, more accurately, your inability to hit your driver anywhere near a fairway?
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Hitting it into a hazard is one thing. Missing a fairway is only a big deal depending on the course. If you have short rough but a wedge in hand? Send it. A mishit fairway wood sucks and isn’t guaranteed to hit the fairway, just like a driver isn’t a guarantee you’ll hit it like trash.
 
I hit driver generally well so I would think doing this might actually hurt me, but I'd kinda like to do this experiment if I get out over the offseason, just to see how much it actually affects me. And maybe I'll get a little better at fairways off the tee this way. I do know when I hit 3W well it doesn't go much shorter than a driver.
 
These threads always make me



 
It's not the driver that's the problem. It's what you're doing differently in your swing with the driver. Get a pro to figure that out.

That said, until you do, do whatever it takes to have fun on the golf course. If that means leaving the driver out until you can get a fix, so be it.
 
OldandStiff said:
These threads always make me



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i was getting the sliceys later in my last round so i grounded the driver and hit 3W the rest of the way...missed that 30yds playing from the blues :cautious: but the 3W was maddeningly good.
 
goalie said:
How many times a round are you hitting three off the tee because of your driver, or, more accurately, your inability to hit your driver anywhere near a fairway?
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Me, rarely. There's always risk and reward. There was a time when I was having a lot of issues off the tee. I spent a lot of time working on my swing and practicing so I could be confident with driver.

I don't hit every fairway, I miss a bunch, but that doesn't bother me. I easily forget about the missed fairways when I get a good one.

No way to get better without practice. Can't get better with a club if you don't use it. Granted, the beautiful thing about the game, if you tee off with a 7 wood you can always move up a tee box to make sure you have useable yardages coming in.
 
I haven’t played a driver in months. Physical limitations have prevented it. However, it has been a blessing in disguise as I have really learned I don’t have to hit it at all to score. I shot my personal best about 2.5 months ago playing alone without a driver. I missed 2 fairways all day off the tee. Now granted, my short game and putting were on point that day and I was not going to reach the par 5s in two but this is a course where most of the time accuracy is more important then distance.

It has me feeling confident that even when I am able to swing a driver again, I won’t be doing so near as much because I know I don’t need to. The hardest hole on my home course is a par 5 that is not going to be reached in two mostly do to layout but it is also fairly long. Missing left off the tee even just a few feet will usually send it in to a creek on the left side and missing right puts the ball severely above your feet in thick rough. The fairway is wide enough short but the ideal landing area is narrow at maybe 25 yards. The last few times I have played it, I have smoked a little push draw up the right edge that came back dead center of the small landing area with my 2u. I don’t even really see a lot of distance loss from some of my best drives on that hole.

Over time, you will figure out where you really need a driver and where you can get away with less(more of these then you think) by not having it as an option when you play.
 
chile said:
:cautious: but the 3W was maddeningly good.
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TRAITOR!!

I expect all your drivers to be in the marketplace by end of business today. They deserve better homes where they are loved.



Everybody else gets to play whatever they want to have fun. @chile needs to hand them over.
 
If playing no driver works for you, so be it.
But for me....

 
I joke about it after particularly bad days, but the only reason I'm bagging driver is if I'm playing a short course. Even then there's usually at least a couple holes that I'll still pull it on. I can miss with any club.
 
I should do this for a round..... should

:oops:
 
Just grab a hack saw and cut 2" off your driver shaft, it becomes so easy to hit you'll forget all about the problems, easier than a wood and longer.
 
I went without a driver for a couple months because my swing with it was just totally broken, but I can't say I was happier without it. Turns out I was standing WAY too far off the ball, and standing in closer and shortening the shaft helped a bunch.

Other than that, driver's just something you have to spend time with. It's almost like a baseball pitch... same setup and same motion every time, but both of those need to be exact.

And if driver's just not working, a 3 wood is a good replacement. The shorter shaft is more forgiving, the higher spin is more forgiving, and they don't need a positive AoA swing. You can also get there by cutting the shaft of your driver down and cranking up the loft, and I will forever be a fan of the mini-driver. Basically 3 ways to get to the same thing.
 
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Prior to the advent of metal woods I could never consistently hit a driver off the tee! I had an old Robt. Jones 2-wood, and an old Spalding Top Flite 3-wood, both persimmon, that I used off the tee. Not using a driver never hurt my scores way back when.
 
Though I always keep my driver in the bag, I am learning that it has its place on some tee boxes, but not others. Kudos to you @goalie !
 
i played a driver for 25 years without a clue and should have shelved it. congrats to you for playing what you got!
 
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