Me and my driver
Had a shocker of a round yesterday (stop beating yourself up son, your still new to the game) so to get it out of my system I went to the range tonight with the best intention of hitting some 5-iron and PW shots only just to get a feel for distances that i can comfortably hit.
Now at the minute I dont take a driver off the tee as I'm not comfortable/confident hitting with it. I normally slice 9/10 shots.
Tonight after hitting a mixture of pretty successful 5-i and PW shots, I pulled the driver out and blimey was i hitting that ball sweet (well for me anyway). About 200 yards pretty straight with the odd one slicing slightly. I was SO surprised.
So my questions are, why do i have no confidence to get the driver out on the course?. When should a fairly new player take that step-up to hit with a driver? Will confidence come in time after practicing down the range?. Should I leave it tucked away until every shot is going fairly straight and I have 100% confidence in using it. Lets face it, if i catch it correctly but slice it, Im going to be in trouble?
Your thoughts?
Last edit : Mon 23rd Feb 2009 21:54
Reply : Mon 23rd Feb 2009 21:58
Cheers Paul, I've also tried the 3w off the tee, but also seem to slice that quite badly as well. Maybe tonight was a fluke with the driver and I should leave it in the bag until I'm more confident/consistent. Tee shots for me have generally been with a shorter 18 degree hybrid that I can get about 155-165 yards with on a good day.
Reply : Mon 23rd Feb 2009 22:24
Ah, you've played the `guess which hole I'm playing game' as well Paul. lol
Hmm, all good pointers and I need to take heed of your advice..just need to drum it into this thick skull of mine. My friend says exaclty the same, "play within your comfort zone"...it's not all about the glory shot, which I more often than not duff off the tee/ground.
Reply : Mon 23rd Feb 2009 23:13
Matt
All the advice before is obviously right but there isn't abetter feeling (in golf) than gripping and ripping your driver straight down the middle of the fairway (except holeing out from distance).
I have the same problem but I'll always give the driver a go off the tee cos I can slice even with a putter.
Reply : Mon 23rd Feb 2009 23:17
Andy, I'm the same!
I would take a 5 iron from the tee for safety and still put in OOB's, so I just take my driver and swing away, then if the ball stays in play at least it's further down the fairway.
I agree with the advice about starting out with your 3 wood and then when you are happy with it move onto your driver.
Russ
Reply : Mon 23rd Feb 2009 23:38
Russell
What happens when you do the same with the 3 wood, go down to a 5? then maybe a 3 iron then a 7 iron untill you give up teeing off altogether and take a trip to the coast to play crazy golf and just get on it all day. lol
I still think driver when poss
Reply : Tue 24th Feb 2009 19:53
Matt
Only recently started feeling comfortable with a driver off the tee. For years I always took a 3 wood and on the odd occasion I did take a driver it faded or sliced. Now I don't look at the club and think I've gotta give this a whack, I just swing within myself and guess what, straight down the middle about 95% of the time. I think that may have been what you did on the range cos theres no pressure there to drive it out of sight.
Paul, your friend who only takes his irons sometimes has got a point. For a bet, I played a collegue from work with me saying I could beat him with a 7 iron, pitching wedge and a putter. Guess what, I thrashed him. I went round a par 72 course in 85 by staying down the middle and avoiding all the trouble while my playing partner who was trying to demoralise me by booming it out of sight spent more time hacking out of trees and rough.
Reply : Tue 24th Feb 2009 20:53
Hi Matt
I would have to disagree with most on this one.
When i was growing up i was always told to keep trying and practicing with the one club that i did not like and that was the opinion of many of the great teachers in that era eg John Jaccobs
Like for example Seve used to practice his 3 iron all the time because it's the hardest to hit, i'm not saying we are like Seve lol but that is the concept have benn brought up with and it did me no harm.
If you are going for you best round by all means hit a three wood but the long term keep on trying the big stick.
Good luck
Reply : Tue 24th Feb 2009 21:08
Interesting thread.
I've never been comfortable with my driver and always stuck with my faithful three wood off the tee. On good days I can outdrive some players hitting a driver with my 3 wood. Of late though even the 3 wood has been misbehaving.
I too have taken to not taking any woods out with me. I am focusing on my short game and playing a more thoughtful game (except when I get rattled) and mentally taking long par 4's as par 5's. On short par 4's there is no point hitting a driver and leaving a short pitch to the green if a 4 iron leaves a 7 or 8 iron to the green. This strategy is working and though my scores are not coming down yet I feel much happier with my irons.
On Sunday last I was favouring my 3 iron off the tee and it was behaving itself 90% of the time. In many instances is was only 20 - 30 yards being my partners tee shorts played with a driver so I was happy.
I shall continue to concentrate on the irons and the mental approach for a bit and then start getting back into the swing with the 3 wood and then I'll work on the driver.
Last edit : Tue 24th Feb 2009 21:09
Reply : Tue 24th Feb 2009 21:18
Thanks for your advice guys, much appreciated. Like I say, I seem to be able to hit the driver better than a 3 wood at present (well after last night), as that still slices big time. I'll keep on trying that driver until there is no pressure to use it out on the course...like on a 9 hole course....then I'll go with it on a few occasions.
Chris I think your right about the no pressure scenario, I was at the range thinking I really want to hit these balls straight and true, when I was managing it with the PW and 5 iron I thought theres no harm in trying the driver...lo and behold it was all good. The driver is a Taylor Made with a 9.5 degree loft. I got a 12 degree driver with my MD set but i really cant hit with that thing.
Reply : Tue 24th Feb 2009 21:35
Having swung my driver as hard as i can on the latest machine testing you would be surprised to see the results, there is only a few miles an hour difference which would give you an extra 15 yards, so the old saying swing your driver like you would your 7iron says it all.
Reply : Tue 24th Feb 2009 23:11
Martin, I trust your talking about tempo as the iron shot is different to a sweeping drive.
Matt, there's a lot of good advice above especially practicing a shot you can't do and lets face it a good drive is key to a good round. Mr P's approach is the one I took...build yourself up to it via a 3 wood.
I also think there is a big part of your question answered in your post: get used to striking the ball before you jump in with a driver. Before a game I go through my bag with 10 balls for each iron though you could gp pw,9,8,7,5,3 tee up the driving iron and leave the wedges. Then 15 balls a piece with the 3 wood and then driver. Assess how you feel. If you've hit it well then go with the driver, if not then the 3 wood, as Mr P says there's not a lot in it. If my drives are crap then I simply knock down a 1 iron.
I've done this ever since I started...out of nerves when I played in my first annual medal but then it stayed with me and if I don't get to the course 1 hr before tee off then more often than not I screw up but then afain I've always been superstitious (which could make for an interesting post in its own right). So give it a try but forget all the superstition.
Last edit : Fri 27th Feb 2009 19:36
Reply : Fri 27th Feb 2009 15:51
Its because your a west ham fan ...... you cant hit the big time ...