The Driver obsession

I see so many post about the driver that I had to start this thread. Why are so many high handicappers obsessed with hitting their driver? Its a tuff club to master, even tiger doesnt have it yet but someone who shoots in the 90s wants to use it every hole anyway. I play with guys who could never fathom using anything except a driver off of the tee and their in the woods half of the time. I use a driver once a round IF im feeling really confident in my swing because theirs just no need to. Im hitting 70% of my fairways by using a 3-wood, right down the middle like moe norman. And if your a high handicapper you will probably hit the 3 wood a good 20 yards farther than a driver anyway. I think a big part of it might be ego and the fact that your trying to "kill" it, but put the ego away for just a while and you will be surprised. So anyway I just had to give a little advice and vent. I hope someone takes the advice and it helps them.

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Life is easy....Golf is hard
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself......A small bird will fall frozen dead from a bough, without ever having felt sorry for itself-
D.H. Lawerence

hi augolfer81
i learnt that lesson a long time ago!
played in a 4 ball today and matched the other guys distance's with driver using a 3wood and always in a good position for my second shot.
i carry a driver but like you only use it when i feel my swing is really on song.

augolfer,

I can think of 2 reasons off the top of my head that we have obsession with the driver.

1) It's not referred to as a 1 wood. It's called the driver. Or the big stick. It is very difficult to use when not teed up. Therefore, since most people spent $400 or more on their driver, they're not about to leave it in the bag, especially when it's only good 14 times per round.

2) Everyone has witnessed the booming drive. Almost everyone has hit one. So most people forget the 9 other bad shots hit with their driver, and remember that one boomer, and figure that they can do it again. Now, this though process isn't necessarily bad, (it's the same one that gets high cappers coming back round after round - "now if only I could hit it like that all the time!"), it's quite delusional with the driver.

I'm not afraid of my driver. I know that if I try to get far too agressive that I'll see some serious left to right ball movement, so I just ease up and know that I'll get my 240 carry, leak it right a little, and play. On my course (short, not much over 6000 yards) you really only need to hit driver on 4 holes. The rest it's more prudent to hit an iron or a fairway wood to give yourself either a better lie, a better angle to the green, or both.

But I'll admit, when the swing is feeling good, I still think I can crush one 300 yards. (Yeah, right. The sooner I come to grips with the fact I'm a short knocker, the sooner I'll shoot better scores and be in the fairway more often).

__________________
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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I relate using the driver to smoking.

People make sure that the smoker knows that smoking is bad for their health. The smoker knows and ignores (discounts) this knowledge and keeps smoking.

People make sure that the high capper knows that using the driver is bad for their score. The high capper knows and ignores this knowledge and keeps pounding the driver into the trees.

I am an ex-smoker and a high capper, so I am half way there.

Charles

LOL, I like the comments. Sounds like everyone knows its bad for your health.

I am a confessed Driver Addict. I have started therapy and I have also locked my driver in my shed.......

But yesterday, without telling myself, I took my driver out of the shed and put it back in my bag. I guess I was hoping that I wouldn't notice what I had done and take my driver to the course and waited patiently for my opportunity...

I actually only hit my driver once in yesterdays round, on the last hole. Our last hole is a long par 5 with a wide landing area and I had 34 stableford points on the card already, so no scorecard pressure.

So, I figured it was safe and I might not notice. After checking to see that I wasn't watching and I grabbed my driver instead of my 1 iron.

I swing into my tee shot and hit the ball sweetly. Looking up in my follow through I see that the ball has started a little rightish and looks like it will miss the fairway, but then, it starts to bend, drawing back along the line of the fairway. Eventually the ball lands and rolls and comes to a stop, centre right of the fairway.

I am 1 from 1 with my driver and I am happy.

After bogeying the hole I tell myself that I usually par the hole going with my 1 iron and that I am to put the driver back in the shed when I get home. I didn't listen, it's still in the bag and it's my little secret...

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

i don't know why everyone is frightened of using their driver. it's really just like using your other clubs and the only reason (for the most part) your slicing it is 1. your swing is wrong and you don't notice it as much with your irons, or 2. your trying ot hit it too hard.

the driver always stayed in my bag. 1 good lesson to learn how to draw the ball excessively and 3 weeks later your smashing your driver with a slight draw in it, and even more now that your use to the new "correct" swinging action.

3 wood is good, but you can still slice it. you just haven't teed it up as high as the driver and have it in your normal stance.... if you slice your driver, lower the height of the ball on tee and put the ball back in your stance and stay down on the ball.. dont worry where it's going, thats what your partners are there for.

my 2c

Latest Driver Usage report......

Given I was well and truly on my way to blowing my handicap after 6 holes last Saturday, again scorecard pressure was gone, so where the width of the fairway allowed, I grabbed driver. 7 holes it came out for with the following results....

7th - 445m Par 5. Struck sweetly, long but a little rightish, missed fairway "just" about 2-4m into intermediate rough.

9th - 385m Par 4. Again struck it sweetly and again lost it a little right, but it flew straight into rough and trees.

11th - 380m Par 4. Dogleg right at about 160m from green. Struck sweetly and rifle straight down the middle of the fairway. Ball runs through dogleg into left hand rough about 110m away from the green.

12th - 404m Par 4. Straightaway hole. Struck not so sweetly this time, felt I didn't get "all of it" (maybe teed the ball a little low???), again straight down centre to just outside 150m.

13th - 502m Par 5. Another Dogleg right at about 160m from green. Top it a little, but straightish right. Finds fairway, but only about 150m or so off the tee.

15th - 407m Par 4. Dogleg left at about 150m. Block it right into trees finishes up just outside 150.

16th - 338m Par 4. Massive dogleg (almost 90° Right) at about 140m from green with massive trees and OOB down right hand side. Struck sweetly over tree line to centre of fairway about 80m from green.

18th - 437m Par 5. Yet another dogleg right, again about 150m from green. Block it way right onto adjacent 13th fairway. Lovely 5 iron over the trees onto fairway about 50m short of green.

All in all, good result on 4, maybe 5 of 7. Was happy just to strike it well. Will work on tee height and ball position to "iron out" the directional kinks...

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

im trying to find the ideal tee height when using my driver
i have just purchased a 12 deg mspeeed cobra driver but i am skying too many drives!
i always used to tee the ball up so half of it is above the top of the driver.
not sure how high it should be tried lowering the height which invariably leads to topping the shot

That was the "rule of thumb" that was given to me a few years ago too Slats... Half the ball above the top of the club head when sitting on the deck...

I generally have it a little lower than this because I too hit it high...

Hi Slats,

I like to tee the ball high, it gives me more distance with a 460cc driver. I use the preset castellated grey tees for driving. If you are getting a very high flight then check ball position, try 2.5 inches back from left heel, also try to hit the ball and leave the tee in the ground.

thanks guys
i forgot about the grey castellted tee's
ive been jumping between the white one's and the golf pride colour coded ones!
brian, i have been setting up with ball position constant for a while now and in the main getting good results

Here is my take on the driver, for those that are "amatuers" including myself. It is just as important to be able to hit your driver as the pros. If you are having problems put it away, but the next time you are at the range work your problems out. If you are truly trying to lower your score you will not be able to do that by putting your driver up alone. (assuming you cant hit your 3 wood much over 230) Although this will keep you in the farway, if you are playing from the tips you will still have another 200+ yards to the green. For us "amateurs" this is a low percentage shot which results in us trying to do to much and finding trouble or simply laying up and still trying to go up and down for par, which translates to bogey golf. When im not driving well (for example right now), i dont put my driver away. Although my scores are not to impressive at the moment, I know I will get my drive straight and I will be playing par golf soon enough.
My philosophy. Dont cant hide the problem, face it.

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There are two types of criticism. They type you agree with, and the type you wont let yourself believe.

Whether either are helpfull is up to our own stubborness

But do you know why?

hi lowpost
when i use my 10 degree 460cc driver i use a 4 inch tee and set the ball so half is above the head of the driver( about 3 inch of the ground), i feel like i am sweeping into the ball from below more than striking down on the ball like i do with irons, i feel with it tee'd high i can sweep into it more and the ball started out at the right hight.
bill