How often do you take driver off the tee?

If it's a par 4 or 5, 99% chance I'll be reaching for my driver. Unless it's some crazy dog leg or water hazard where I have to play it smart/safe
 
I pretty much tend to let the hole dictate what I play off the tee. Trouble right will take driver out of my hands quickly. If there is no trouble to speak of I am pulling driver every time.
 
I play to a number on holes I can not reach in one or two, so driver is not always the club of choice on par 4's, and we have one par 5 that has a creek right at my carry yardage, so I go less than driver there. Must play to a number (thanks JB!).
 
Currently I don't have much control when it comes to my driver and I'm taking lessons for that. As a result I use my 4i on all par 4s and 5s.
 
Every hole where I'm not going to run out of fairway. That may change though if I get some good clubs between driver and 5 iron....
 
I play to my numbers, there's some distances I'm very comfortable with and some I really dislike. I'd rather hit a full wedge or short iron then a 50/60 yard pitch for instance.

On my homecourse I generally use it only four times, five if I'm feeling lucky. (On the course I want to join this year it's more like 10.. It's just that much longer, about 900 yards from the tips.) Also we have two par4's that are driveable, but I can drive both with my fairwaywood. One of those I don't even bother trying as its green is just short of 15 yards deep and tilting away to nasty rough and bare lies.
 
Driver on any hole longer than 400 yds. And it's the right play.
 
Depends on the course and how well I'm hitting the D.

I play in one tournament on a fairly short but tight course and only use driver 4 or 5 times per round, at my home course, Driver anywhere from 8 to 14 times.
 
Interesting question - particularly as I asked it a lot over the last week. Rounds at TPC Sawgrass, Grayhawk (Raptor), Talking Stick North, Paradise Valley Country Club, Boulders South and this morning before flying out of Phoenix at Papago.

Places like Talking Stick and PVCC - a fair amount. All the par 5's and actually short par 4's. Probably 7-8 times per round.

At Sawgrass, Grayhawk and Boulders, rarely - 2-3 times per round. Only on par 5's that were open and getting on in 2 was a possibility.
So, 16 at Sawgrass isn't on it 2 as the water on the right is a problem but good landing area for the driver (I hit driver, 5 hybrid, skulled a wedge to under the tree - water spooked me - and then a pitch to 3" for a par).

Yesterday was particularly interesting as I played 18 at PVCC in the AM. I used driver on all the par 5's and 3 par 4's that were short (hit it to 40 yards on #7)

In the PM, I got in 18 at Boulders. On the range at the Boulders, the head of my 3W snapped off. Leaving me Driver and 3H as my choices. #5 is a 545 yard par 5 that I ended up playing 3H, 3H, 9i to the green. The only way that I would have used driver on that hole is if I had a 3W and thought I could get on in 2 which is a long shot play. Honestly, even with a 3W in the bag, I wouldn't use driver on that hole. I'd tee off 3W if I had it though.

I have to say that I would have rather lost my driver than my 3 wood. I tee off with 3W a lot more than driver these days.
 
With my struggles off the tee I'm trying more and more to play to a number off the tee rather than just pulling the big dog every time. I'm trying not to be too afraid of the driver though as well, as I need to get my issues there solved. I managed par on one of the par 5's last round going 4H off the tee, which really drove in to me I don't always need to hit that driver.
 
I'm not a long hitter (210-230) so I'll go with driver on almost all par 4's and 5's. Unless there is a forced carry at @ 190-240 then I layup.
 
Probably way more than I should. On average I would say 10 times a round depending on lay out. Sometimes I play smart and other times, well...
 
I'm not normal. I hit the driver more accurately (usually) than I do a FW or Hybrid, and am a short knocker, so I don't have to worry about hitting through many fairways. I find I can vary my distance by choking up on the driver. So, for the most part, I hit driver on every par 4 and 5.

You are one of the best drivers of the ball I've ever seen ken, it's a pleasure to watch you hit fairways.
 
How often do you take driver off the tee?

Depends on the day sometimes I won't pull it at all sometimes I will on every hole I can. Really depends on how comfortable I am on any given day with my driver swing. Lately it has been pretty good so I have been pulling it a good bit more than usual


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Honestly two factors come into play when I think about bringing out the big dawg. First is yardage. I generally like to be within 150 to 125 yards to the hole, so that's my first thought. Second is that lump that's three feet higher then my backside. There are times when I know that I'm on and I can't go wrong with it and then there are times when I leave it in my car because I don't want to look at it. That is my process on whether to grip it and rip it or not.
 
I grab driver on every Par 5 and Par 4 unless I'm in some sort of competitive round or my landing distance is all trouble (narrow fairway surrounded by hazard or the fairway runs out into a hazard)

I play golf for fun, and hitting my driver is fun!
 
On the course I play most, I probably use driver 12-13 times each round. Mostly based on fairway characteristics than length.
 
Almost every hole that is not a par three and some par threes! #ShortKnocker

JM
 
As new as I am to the game I probably shouldn't even carry a driver. That being said I do my best to contain myself and hit only when I think I have a chance of keeping it in play which on the course I play most is just three holes. THAT being said I probably hit it 5 times.
 
I pulled mine out all the time but the last few rounds ive been hitting my 3 wood so sweet and still getting the distance(maybe only one extra club difference), so I have been teeing of with it lately. A couple of rounds ago I hit a +2 74 and only used my driver twice on the two longest par 5's.
 
Love that this turned into a pretty solid little golf discussion!

It's something I really need to think about more, play to my numbers, and watch my score drop.
 
Love that this turned into a pretty solid little golf discussion!

It's something I really need to think about more, play to my numbers, and watch my score drop.


I totally agree Jman, I played my best golf when I played everything to my 8 iron. My teacher at the time had told me to hit 20 balls with each iron to a target and pick the club that I was the most accurate with, after several sessions of doing this the 8 was the strongest and shortly after was my first round in the 60's. I have slowly gotten away from those words of wisdom and this thread serves as a great reminder to stick with the solid fundamentals.
 
I totally agree Jman, I played my best golf when I played everything to my 8 iron. My teacher at the time had told me to hit 20 balls with each iron to a target and pick the club that I was the most accurate with, after several sessions of doing this the 8 was the strongest and shortly after was my first round in the 60's. I have slowly gotten away from those words of wisdom and this thread serves as a great reminder to stick with the solid fundamentals.
This is a solid piece of advice! I will have to try this.
 
On my home course I'll hit driver on 12 of the 14 par 4/5 holes. When I'm hitting the driver well, great. When the driver isn't working, look out.
 
Why not spark a little chatter here eh?

Was thinking about this my last round out, I'm one who falls into the habit of just grabbing for the driver automatically every par 4 and up without giving playing to my numbers enough thought until AFTER the fact. Some of this for me is due to testing, when reviewing a driver its my job to hit that driver, so slowly that bleeds into my general mindset on scoring rounds too...bad for me.

So, how often do you take driver off the tee? Are you a grab it and go no matter what golfer? Or do you play to your numbers and for the second shot with what the hole gives you?

I'm easily at 12/14 Par 4's/5's that I pull driver on my course, and honestly, thats about 2-3 too high.


I only see one answer that makes sense - I use the driver as often as I need to. If it's the right club for the shot, I use it - if it isn't, then I don't.
 
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