No more driver

[ezra76]

Played 9 with just the 3W again and ripping it. Now that I'm getting more comfortable with hitting a slight draw, I'm running this thing out to over 260 consistantly. Hit 3 of them over 280 when all was said and done. This 3W + a proV1x = some seriously boring drives. They come out low like a bullet and just rise a tad and draw a tad at like 200yds. out.

 

[mattyboy]

I quit my driver last fall & got it back after several lessons. For me, I need a 240 poke off the tee to help my game. I was hitting 200+ w/ my 5 wood but that was not cutting it. I just read an article, " drive for show, drive for dough". The old saying driver for show, putt for dough doesn't hold true anymore. Longer drives set you up for shorter approach shots. Shorter chips mean shorter putts. My game suffered with out the big dog in the bag.

 

[ezra76]

Yeah, I suppose it depends on distance as well. The course I play is not super-long at 6600 but pretty tight. Fairway is always better than rough there, regardless of distance in.

I'm actually throttling back to a 5W on a lot of holes now. I get a solid 220-225 out of it off the tee and it's been setting me up well for 8-9irons in on the 360-370 holes.

82 today and another birdie on a hole I hadn't birdied before. I've abandoned the stupid line on the ball for putting. Putting better from mid-long without it.

 

[IrishGolfer]

A little known fact fwiw.
In my lates teens and early 20s, when I was at my golfing peak, I carried only a 3 wood (12 clubs!!). I hit it long enough and straight. It was a Wilson Staff metal with a tiny head. I was hitting it about 230-250 STRAIGHT. It was only when I finished university and starting earing some $ that I reinvested in a driver.

Having said that now the driver is probably the strongest part of my game.

 

[Stanters]

I know when I am struggling with the big dog it's usually because my left hip slides forwards towards the target rather than creating resistance for me to rotate around. This shifts the club to hit across the ball rather than sweeping it away inside out and loses a lot of natural power in the swing.


I think Ernie's swing here really shows after a small initial movement to the left how he then really rotates and does not slide at all, creating that strong left side and really good balance.

YouTube - Ernie Els Driver Swing

I know his swing is a high bar to shoot at but it's a good image to have in your head when you are hitting a driver and work on that rotation and extend your arms through impact without snatching at it. Hopefully that may help some of the guys struggling to get consistency with the driver. It has me to a point but it's still the weakest part of my game and the one that I really struggle to feel confident with.

 

[ezra76]

OK, so today I switched it up. I went out with no 3W and brought the driver. As expected I hit it astray a few times. Costly OB on the 500yd. par 5 and another lost ball left on the 9th hole. Basically no really bad shots out to the right, just misses left that I yanked. I did pretty decent GIR wise and shot 89. I had several 3putts that hurt my score as well as a 7 on a par 3, what a disaster that hole was.

I actually choked it down AK style on the 387 hole with the 14yd. wide fairway. Split it on the 100marker (downhill). Seems like I probably need a shorter shaft more than anything. I measered my 5W 41 1/2, my 3W 42 1/2 and my driver is 45. If anything I should be playing it at like 43 3/4 to stay consistant with lengths, right?

 

[twofast2s]

OK, so today I switched it up. I went out with no 3W and brought the driver. As expected I hit it astray a few times. Costly OB on the 500yd. par 5 and another lost ball left on the 9th hole. Basically no really bad shots out to the right, just misses left that I yanked. I did pretty decent GIR wise and shot 89. I had several 3putts that hurt my score as well as a 7 on a par 3, what a disaster that hole was.

I actually choked it down AK style on the 387 hole with the 14yd. wide fairway. Split it on the 100marker (downhill). Seems like I probably need a shorter shaft more than anything. I measered my 5W 41 1/2, my 3W 42 1/2 and my driver is 45. If anything I should be playing it at like 43 3/4 to stay consistant with lengths, right?

i know what you mean man. i'm more consistant and further when i choke down. i don't know if i'm better fit for shorter driver, or gain more control because of shorter length. either way i'm playing my driver at 44.5, but i choke down 1.5" or more, so i'm usually playing at 43" or less.

oh and we gotta get out soon man... i haven't been playing much and i'm losing it. been shooting in mid to low 40's at the league past few weeks, instead of sub 40's like i used to.

 

[ezra76]

i know what you mean man. i'm more consistant and further when i choke down. i don't know if i'm better fit for shorter driver, or gain more control because of shorter length. either way i'm playing my driver at 44.5, but i choke down 1.5" or more, so i'm usually playing at 43" or less.

oh and we gotta get out soon man... i haven't been playing much and i'm losing it. been shooting in mid to low 40's at the league past few weeks, instead of sub 40's like i used to.

Definitely man. I still have your 905R sitting here in the corner too. I think I'm going to get that 761 you gave me into another driver head. That should be like 44.25 anyway.

 

[ezra76]

Today the driver actually helped. I belted a few deep. On the 1st hole, just 361yds., I decided to give it a shot. Hit it down to about 60yds. out for a 60* wedge to 3ft.. It got a little squirrely on a few hole but I managed. Played 27 and shot 42,42,38. Both 42's were on the front with a 38 on the back. Should have gone lower as I made a stupid double from 5ft. off the green in thick rough then missed a GD 4footer on 17 after nearly hitting the stick on the tee shot.

 

[Augster]

With your upright swing, Ez, you should be playing 44.25", 44" or less.

Tiger modded his driver to 44.25" last week and hit a ton of fairways with it. Tiger just couldn't get the timing down with a 45" driver with his upright swing. And this is Tiger Woods!

Now, if you were a bent-over, single-plane, Mark Calacaveccia-style body swinger, then maybe you could go 45". Or 46". But anyone that is an upright swinger should have a shorter shafted driver. Or at least choke it down in order to make it effectively shorter.

 

[ezra76]

With your upright swing, Ez, you should be playing 44.25", 44" or less.

Tiger modded his driver to 44.25" last week and hit a ton of fairways with it. Tiger just couldn't get the timing down with a 45" driver with his upright swing. And this is Tiger Woods!

Now, if you were a bent-over, single-plane, Mark Calacaveccia-style body swinger, then maybe you could go 45". Or 46". But anyone that is an upright swinger should have a shorter shafted driver. Or at least choke it down in order to make it effectively shorter.

Really, I knew Tiger went to a 10* but didn't know about the shorter shaft.

When I hit some balls at the Callaway demo the guy was helping me out with my swing a little. I pulled out my 3W and just belted a few 2yd. draw right up the gut. He laughed and said "totally different swing". He said my swing plane with the 42.5" 3W was almost opposite of the 45" driver. I'm definitely going to try something shorter. Just a matter of picking a head now. I like the ballflight on the FT9 and they were explaining how they get the low spin with the sloped shape of the head and weight back. My SQTP was too much spin they said.

I gripped down a little on that FT9 and used my 3W swing. Like Stanters said above, I rotated around the left hip. I "feel" like I'm staying more left side, like S&T but I know it's just the feel of not moving a lot laterally. I belted the snot out of that thing like that.

 

[twogreen]

If I could control all my clubs as well as the driver, I could easily cut 10-15 strokes from a round. I won't go so far as to say that the driver never costs me strokes; but it is rare for it to happen. I am much more likely to shank a 60 yard pitch shot into the woods than I am to lose a ball on the tee shot.

 

[ezra76]

This again... I've been doing some work and hitting the driver straighter. Distance is unimpressive though. The first hole on my course is just 360yds. and downhill to the fairway. I hit what I thought was a belted drive yesterday right up the middle and barely was in PW range.

Then on the back I hit my 13* on a hole 331 uphill and hit it into a greenside bunker.

I noticed on the range that the driver is not much longer than the 3W as well. Seems like I only get maybe 10yds., if that, with driver vs. 3W. Might be back to the 3W again. I've also noticed a pretty good gap from PW to SW so dumping the driver would open the GW spot.

 

[Slingblade61]

I saw this coming.
Unless you are taking estrogen there is no way your man DNA will allow you to leave the driver alone for very long.

 

[ezra76]

I'd have to say the driver is officially back. I played one round at this course Fenner Hill on Sunday and that got it back. I was able to hit it lot since it's more wide open and hit it fine. All I needed was a little confidence boost really. I'm still hitting a cut shot but today I was able to straighten it right out a few times when necessary. The extra 10-15yards does come in handy on a few holes.