i am looking for a hybrid type club i can hit off the tee  as i cant get on with a big headed driver . i have a slow swing so what sort of loft would be best i have a bafler 20 degree and 23 degree which i use on fairway but i would be better using something different from the tee thanks.

17 deg hybrid should do the trick.

It takes a great deal of technical skill to swing a 45"  driver and in my mind many golfers would be better off with softer equipment. I say "softer equipment," which does not per se necessarily mean softer shaft.

Let's put the technical suff aside for a moment and honestly look at the psychology of most male golfers:

You stand on the tee facing a 550 yards par 5 and the wind is cutting into your face. Your three pals pull out their 45" drivers pump up their chests and stretch their backs straight.  You however pull out your 39" hybrid (very likely equivalent to a 5 wood) and feel like a chap arriving at the gym. carrying a daffodil.

You feel their dismissive smirks raking across your back and you try to convince yourself that this is smart play, and it's all a good golfer really needs.  But inside you feel even worse by the second - your insecurity increases and possibly now feel like a girl going to a party in her only dress, and sadly it earlier shrunk in the wash.    

"What the fudge am I doing with this toy in my hands? I can't even hit my best drive long enough on this hole!"

So, what is the answer?

Most players don't get on with their driver not because the head is too large  (that argument is only made sound by a very skilled player)  but rather because it is too long, and also does provide adequate loft.

Very often the problem is simply solved by having a driver three inches shorter (say 42"  ) and by increasing loft from say 11d to 16d. In the process, if preferred,  head size can be reduced from 460cc to 401cc, yet  still have a top driver head:

 http://www.banggolf.com/prodgroup.asp?id=W401N

(Available in 16d, irrespective of this spec. sheet)

Come on lads admit it: Lose your faded denims and your big dog and you will feel that you don't belong. Not one of the lads. You know its true.

Do I get the prize for the most patronising post of the month? I hope so. I'm a consistent winner! But I'm rapidly running out of places at where to spend my monthly winner's voucher.

very funny Ivan http://www.golfshake.com/scripts/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.gi
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that said i did advise a friend of mine who only v recently taken up the game to get a new driver of at least 12 degrees to make his life easier

Why would you advise anyone just starting to get a driver???????????I dont understand why more people (and by that i mean men) dont hit three woods.I didnt have driver until Xmas 2010, 3 wood more consistent, more reliable, you dont try to welly it.Appreciate the macho side makes men go for the big dawg, but learning course management, choosing accuracy over distance, surely this should be the way for beginners?

I tend to only take a driver if it will give me one of the following: -

• Better positioning than a 3 wood (like making the corner of the 90* dogleg on our 15th)
• Reaching the green in two if I don't is very difficult (long par fours)
• Making the green in two is possible (shortish par fives)
• Using it will help me remove trouble (like carrying a fairway bunker)

I don't take the driver out until the 6th on one of our courses, but use it on the 1st on the other because a 250 yard drive down the middle leaves me at least a 5 iron to the green, and that's with a back wind (it's NEVER a backwind!!!).  Where possible, I take a 3 wood as it is less likely to go wrong and I hit it reasonably well anyway

Course management Chris - always a winner http://www.golfshake.com/scripts/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.gi
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Maybe drivers should have a handicap restriction, like a provisional licence - you can only get one once yr below a 20 handicap lol

I started in July and have hit my driver since day one, originally i had a big slice but this has now calmed down to a fade, but can hit most fairways with it and depending on how much left to right movement will hit it anywhere between 200 and 250 yds. I cannot however hit either a 3 wood or 5 wood or even a hybrid off the tee  at all - to me the driver is much easier to hit consistently than other woods !

stephen, look at your options, try each option before buying.

I used a 5 wood prosimmon 21* (£8) reg flex shaft  around210cc - 225cc head size.  I only used this off the tee as it had a tendency to fade off the deck.   Cheap club cost me nothing and helped me rebuild my swing from scratch.  You don't need an expensive club, you just need to find out what works for you.

I would recommend you try a wood head size from as small as 180cc upwards to the 400cc driver.  Depending how consistent you are at striking the ball in the centre of the club face may help you decide how deep a club face you require, you have a choice from around 37mm to 50mm.  You don't want to have sky marks on the top of your club head so you may want to take this into account, also the deeper the face the higher your tee.  Also, do you want to use this club off the fairway as well as teeing off..

That should give a you plenty of variety and choice of finding your best suited club.  testing these out with the right ball would be an advantage also. 

I would expect sanders to confirm that each golfers swing is unique to themselves and finding the best combination of wood head size and shaft flex to maximise your swing and swing speed is down to trial and error.  So don't just make do.

I picked up off another thread earlier this week a fantastic bit of info regarding a fairway wood shaft flex needing to be a bit stiffer than your driver shaft flex (done by cropping the shaft tip).    This made good sense and explained the ball flight of some of my fairway wood shots.     

Sanderslongdrive  is your man to explain this if you need it factually correct.