3W vs Driver off the tee

[bladehunter]

such a personal debate i think... and very course and hole specific.... example,,, i have a hole that i have tried the aggressive driver off tee approach and have made no better than bogey in 7 rounds.. 8th round i hit iron off the tee leaving me 145 in and made a stress free par with a god look at birdie. This hole only has water behind the green complex... and 1 fairway trap on right side... but fairway pinches in with a high slope on left at 285 yds all the way to the green ..... i ever seemed to get a flat lie with driver... would always be some buried in the rough mess that had ball below my feet 2 feet and 55 yard finese shot to the green.... id either leave it short or blow it into the water behind..... or at best hit it on the upper tier to a front pin and 3 putt.... bottom line from a long hitter... closer isnt always better... i dont fear rough..but id prefer a full shot from it .... a half to 3/4 lob wedge from a bermuda rough lie isnt fun.

[North Butte]

such a personal debate i think... and very course and hole specific.... example,,, i have a hole that i have tried the aggressive driver off tee approach and have made no better than bogey in 7 rounds.. 8th round i hit iron off the tee leaving me 145 in and made a stress free par with a god look at birdie. This hole only has water behind the green complex... and 1 fairway trap on right side... but fairway pinches in with a high slope on left at 285 yds all the way to the green ..... i ever seemed to get a flat lie with driver... would always be some buried in the rough mess that had ball below my feet 2 feet and 55 yard finese shot to the green.... id either leave it short or blow it into the water behind..... or at best hit it on the upper tier to a front pin and 3 putt.... bottom line from a long hitter... closer isnt always better... i dont fear rough..but id prefer a full shot from it .... a half to 3/4 lob wedge from a bermuda rough lie isnt fun.

 

The question, as always, comes down to just how seldom you would actually hit the short grass (and/or get a good lie in the rough) if you used driver every time. Sounds like on that hole the answer is "almost never" and hitting less than driver is the smart play.

 

The problem comes when people are tempted to extrapolate from, let's say, that one particular hole where driver is on balance a poor choice. People love simple rules or generalities and I think a lot of golfers experience a few holes here or there like the one you describe and pretty sure they just fall back to routinely hitting irons or 3-woods off the tee because it's "the safe play".

 

All of this stuff is highly situation and golfer dependent. But when discussing it on Internet forums it's surprisingly hard to keep it on that level instead of turning into warring generalizations!

[Georgie Z]

I used to only hit a 3w off the tee, but I eventually learned how to hit the driver. I felt like I was giving up too many yards.

[mcs4]

Seems to me that this decision is more to be made on a day-to-day or at least period-by-period basis. During most of my life I teed off almost exclusively with driver because I was by far the most confident that I would hit the fairway with it, to the extent that on a tight and short hole I'd typically use a 3/4 punch shot with the driver rather than something like a 3w or 5w that might fly the correct distance with a stock swing. In contrast, right now I'm much more likely to drop down below a driver for security, even sometimes on longer holes, because I've become more comfortable with my 4w and 3 iron/utility and (unfortunately) less accurate overall with my driver.

[baldandbroke]

I'm in the group that will hide behind other clubs if I have a weakness in my bag.

 

As a low-ish handicapper that may seem strange, but even when I played off scratch ... it was the double / triple bogey from the dead-awful drives that would ruin my round more often than a missed iron or putt. I once shot 1-over where I had two eagles, three birdies, two triples and a double - the rest pars!! I once had 29 / 43 for a 2 over par 72 :-)

 

Funnily enough, people that play with me think I'm a good driver of the ball ... but I think that's because in my older age I just minimise my mistakes off the tee. Over the years I've had a Callaway Deuce Big Bertha / Ping Eye 2+ 1-iron / Mizuno FliHi MP 2 iron / Louisville Persimmon Thumper Driver / Callaway Strong 4+ all become my "go to" club off the tee because I could take out the horrible drive.

 

When I play a full length bombing driver, it only takes one really bad drive for me to lose confidence in it and fall back to the next club in the bag.

 

My most recent attempt at finding a club that I can rely on is working so far ... the Callaway XR 3-Deep at 14 degrees has not given me ANY of those dreadful snap hook or blow-out pushes that I tend to produce with the 45 inch varieties AND I'm not really losing a lot of distance. I can actually hit it lower than I can hit most drivers if needed, and on those longer Par 5s that I want to have a go at in two - well, if I hit a good drive to the right spot, it is the perfect club to have a real go at the second shot :-)

 

I guess the main thing I want in my "driver" is I want to be looking for a reason to hit it, not the other way around.

 

A common mistake I see is trying to hit the club off the tee as far as you can, rather than having a distance you are aiming for like you do with almost EVERY other shot on the course. I find that having a less than "bomber" driver helps me with that mentality.

[DK<80]

I spent 3-5 years without a driver in my bag. Eventually I couldn't resist so I committed to getting it back in my bag and I'm happy to say I now love hitting driver again.

 

Personal preference? If you can forego ego and be happy hitting 3 wood straight all day, go for it! But if you're like me, you'll miss it :)

[Dan Drake]

What about skipping the 3 wood and just having 2 drivers? Heck, Lee McCoy just won the Web.com Q school with 2 drivers AND a low lofted 3w in the bag!

[baldandbroke]

My 3Deep decided it wanted to become a hook monster after about 6 rounds. I'm completely struggling to get it going right at all. Every other club is fine, but the strong 3wood has become left-left-left ... and now it's in my head. I feel like it's the shaft, as I got more used to looking down at the club I reckon I started making harder cuts at it. A 43.5" 3 wood with a not very stiff shaft is probably a bad mix for me :-(

 

Gonna give it a rest for a few weeks and try out a Aeroburner TP at 14 degrees in X-flex @ 43" and see how that goes. Happy to be experimenting for the first 8-10 comp rounds since my big layoff ... hell the whole bag is getting a work out as I find my feet again !!

[bladehunter]

I'm in the group that will hide behind other clubs if I have a weakness in my bag.

 

As a low-ish handicapper that may seem strange, but even when I played off scratch ... it was the double / triple bogey from the dead-awful drives that would ruin my round more often than a missed iron or putt. I once shot 1-over where I had two eagles, three birdies, two triples and a double - the rest pars!! I once had 29 / 43 for a 2 over par 72 :-)

 

Funnily enough, people that play with me think I'm a good driver of the ball ... but I think that's because in my older age I just minimise my mistakes off the tee. Over the years I've had a Callaway Deuce Big Bertha / Ping Eye 2+ 1-iron / Mizuno FliHi MP 2 iron / Louisville Persimmon Thumper Driver / Callaway Strong 4+ all become my "go to" club off the tee because I could take out the horrible drive.

 

When I play a full length bombing driver, it only takes one really bad drive for me to lose confidence in it and fall back to the next club in the bag.

 

My most recent attempt at finding a club that I can rely on is working so far ... the Callaway XR 3-Deep at 14 degrees has not given me ANY of those dreadful snap hook or blow-out pushes that I tend to produce with the 45 inch varieties AND I'm not really losing a lot of distance. I can actually hit it lower than I can hit most drivers if needed, and on those longer Par 5s that I want to have a go at in two - well, if I hit a good drive to the right spot, it is the perfect club to have a real go at the second shot :-)

 

I guess the main thing I want in my "driver" is I want to be looking for a reason to hit it, not the other way around.

 

A common mistake I see is trying to hit the club off the tee as far as you can, rather than having a distance you are aiming for like you do with almost EVERY other shot on the course. I find that having a less than "bomber" driver helps me with that mentality.

 

 

This describes my Driver to a T. I’ve too had the 4-5 under 9 holes only to give them all back on the next 9. Aways Driver.

 

Serious question to all. Can you name a player that is considered a great driver of the ball and is also great with a 3 wood and irons who isn’t on TV? I have utmost confidence in irons and 3 wood. Yet Driver is so fickle. Usually when you see s guy who is confident with Driver and he will hit Driver bunts vs 3 wood and the hole in his game will be iron play. But someone who covers the ball well and hits down on irons and 3 wood rarely hits Driver well. Stupid game.

[pinestreetgolf]

I'm in the group that will hide behind other clubs if I have a weakness in my bag.

 

As a low-ish handicapper that may seem strange, but even when I played off scratch ... it was the double / triple bogey from the dead-awful drives that would ruin my round more often than a missed iron or putt. I once shot 1-over where I had two eagles, three birdies, two triples and a double - the rest pars!! I once had 29 / 43 for a 2 over par 72 :-)

 

Funnily enough, people that play with me think I'm a good driver of the ball ... but I think that's because in my older age I just minimise my mistakes off the tee. Over the years I've had a Callaway Deuce Big Bertha / Ping Eye 2+ 1-iron / Mizuno FliHi MP 2 iron / Louisville Persimmon Thumper Driver / Callaway Strong 4+ all become my "go to" club off the tee because I could take out the horrible drive.

 

When I play a full length bombing driver, it only takes one really bad drive for me to lose confidence in it and fall back to the next club in the bag.

 

My most recent attempt at finding a club that I can rely on is working so far ... the Callaway XR 3-Deep at 14 degrees has not given me ANY of those dreadful snap hook or blow-out pushes that I tend to produce with the 45 inch varieties AND I'm not really losing a lot of distance. I can actually hit it lower than I can hit most drivers if needed, and on those longer Par 5s that I want to have a go at in two - well, if I hit a good drive to the right spot, it is the perfect club to have a real go at the second shot :-)

 

I guess the main thing I want in my "driver" is I want to be looking for a reason to hit it, not the other way around.

 

A common mistake I see is trying to hit the club off the tee as far as you can, rather than having a distance you are aiming for like you do with almost EVERY other shot on the course. I find that having a less than "bomber" driver helps me with that mentality.

 

 

This describes my Driver to a T. I've too had the 4-5 under 9 holes only to give them all back on the next 9. Aways Driver.

 

Serious question to all. Can you name a player that is considered a great driver of the ball and is also great with a 3 wood and irons who isn't on TV? I have utmost confidence in irons and 3 wood. Yet Driver is so fickle. Usually when you see s guy who is confident with Driver and he will hit Driver bunts vs 3 wood and the hole in his game will be iron play. But someone who covers the ball well and hits down on irons and 3 wood rarely hits Driver well. Stupid game.

 

I don't get it. Did you not hit driver for the first 9 holes? Why does the Driver get all the blame for "giving them all back" and none of the credit for putting you 4-5 under?

 

Unless your course is 3000 yards on the front and 4500 yards on the back, it sounds like a mental issue with being 4-5 under, not a driver issue.

[amateur_v1x]

I finally gave up my driver for a strong lofted 3 wood. top of bag setup is now 3wd, 5wd, 3hybrid... i am out there off the tee 250-260 next to my buddies hitting driver, but i have 1000x more confidence with it. I hit down on the ball, take a small divot with my fairway woods, and cannot hit any driver consistently. this move has been a major positive change for me. for me it was a no brainer, i wish i would have made the move years ago. play YOUR game.

[North Butte]

I would think being very good with a driver and terrible with a 3-wood off the tee or vice versa has to be 99% mental, innit?

 

Any swing mechanics that can hit a teed up 3-wood straight and long ought to be able to hit a 460cc driver straight and long. And again, vice versa.

[Bye]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

[pinestreetgolf]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

 

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

 

Iron:

 

https://www.youtube....xe4cjihVM

 

Driver:

 

 

Pause where'ever you want, they are virtually identical. Same takeaway, same hand position at the top (just to the left of his head), same left hip starts downswing, same extension, same squaring of face, same shaft angle at top, etc... etc...

 

They are identical in almost every respect, except driver is tee'd up forward to catch it on the upswing.

 

The driver has a longer shaft so swing flaws are exposed more often and it is harder to compensate for. Further, the driver hits it farther, so degrees offline equals a bigger miss. There is one optimal way for you to move a lever around your body (note: I didn't say it was the same for everyone, just that there is one for you) and it doesn't change depending on whether its an iron or a driver.

 

"I'm good at irons and not good at driver" doesn't mean they are two different movements. It means that when the shaft gets longer your mechanics break down.

[Bye]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

 

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

 

Iron:

 

https://www.youtube....xe4cjihVM

 

Driver:

 

 

Pause where'ever you want, they are virtually identical. Same takeaway, same hand position at the top (just to the left of his head), same left hip starts downswing, same extension, same squaring of face, same shaft angle at top, etc... etc...

 

They are identical in almost every respect, except driver is tee'd up forward to catch it on the upswing.

 

The driver has a longer shaft so swing flaws are exposed more often and it is harder to compensate for. Further, the driver hits it farther, so degrees offline equals a bigger miss. There is one optimal way for you to move a lever around your body (note: I didn't say it was the same for everyone, just that there is one for you) and it doesn't change depending on whether its an iron or a driver.

 

"I'm good at irons and not good at driver" doesn't mean they are two different movements. It means that when the shaft gets longer your mechanics break down.

 

Well at least I didn’t get an eye roll

 

Your argument falls down with the guy that is as good with a wedge as he is with a 3 wood. It’s the upward movement that changes things. If you don’t or can’t move your path to the right it’s going to be hard to use a driver. Yes technically there is not much difference to the eye.

[baldandbroke]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

 

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

 

Iron:

 

https://www.youtube....xe4cjihVM

 

Driver:

 

 

Pause where'ever you want, they are virtually identical. Same takeaway, same hand position at the top (just to the left of his head), same left hip starts downswing, same extension, same squaring of face, same shaft angle at top, etc... etc...

 

They are identical in almost every respect, except driver is tee'd up forward to catch it on the upswing.

 

The driver has a longer shaft so swing flaws are exposed more often and it is harder to compensate for. Further, the driver hits it farther, so degrees offline equals a bigger miss. There is one optimal way for you to move a lever around your body (note: I didn't say it was the same for everyone, just that there is one for you) and it doesn't change depending on whether its an iron or a driver.

 

"I'm good at irons and not good at driver" doesn't mean they are two different movements. It means that when the shaft gets longer your mechanics break down.

Yeah, but that's ADAM SCOTT !!! One of the best swingers of the club on the planet. His job is to play golf. He has everything in his life geared towards being better at golf.

 

I am a 45 year old youth worker, that plays on Saturdays and maybe 1 hour practice if I'm lucky during the week.

 

 

 

Also, MANY golfers at the pro level have a different swing for the driver ... even they look at Adam and go "how does he do that!?!?"

[Derek666]

I used to hit a 3 wood off the tee a long time back when i had Callaway Hawkeye 3 wood and driver and the 3 wood was very good off the tee being a deep faced titanium 3 wood and it used to be a fairway finder and long but i don't even carry a 3 wood now and always play Driver off the tee unless i can't due to the hole not allowing it and i'd just hit my hybrid or 3/4 iron.

[baldandbroke]

I'm in the group that will hide behind other clubs if I have a weakness in my bag.

 

As a low-ish handicapper that may seem strange, but even when I played off scratch ... it was the double / triple bogey from the dead-awful drives that would ruin my round more often than a missed iron or putt. I once shot 1-over where I had two eagles, three birdies, two triples and a double - the rest pars!! I once had 29 / 43 for a 2 over par 72 :-)

 

Funnily enough, people that play with me think I'm a good driver of the ball ... but I think that's because in my older age I just minimise my mistakes off the tee. Over the years I've had a Callaway Deuce Big Bertha / Ping Eye 2+ 1-iron / Mizuno FliHi MP 2 iron / Louisville Persimmon Thumper Driver / Callaway Strong 4+ all become my "go to" club off the tee because I could take out the horrible drive.

 

When I play a full length bombing driver, it only takes one really bad drive for me to lose confidence in it and fall back to the next club in the bag.

 

My most recent attempt at finding a club that I can rely on is working so far ... the Callaway XR 3-Deep at 14 degrees has not given me ANY of those dreadful snap hook or blow-out pushes that I tend to produce with the 45 inch varieties AND I'm not really losing a lot of distance. I can actually hit it lower than I can hit most drivers if needed, and on those longer Par 5s that I want to have a go at in two - well, if I hit a good drive to the right spot, it is the perfect club to have a real go at the second shot :-)

 

I guess the main thing I want in my "driver" is I want to be looking for a reason to hit it, not the other way around.

 

A common mistake I see is trying to hit the club off the tee as far as you can, rather than having a distance you are aiming for like you do with almost EVERY other shot on the course. I find that having a less than "bomber" driver helps me with that mentality.

 

 

This describes my Driver to a T. I've too had the 4-5 under 9 holes only to give them all back on the next 9. Aways Driver.

 

Serious question to all. Can you name a player that is considered a great driver of the ball and is also great with a 3 wood and irons who isn't on TV? I have utmost confidence in irons and 3 wood. Yet Driver is so fickle. Usually when you see s guy who is confident with Driver and he will hit Driver bunts vs 3 wood and the hole in his game will be iron play. But someone who covers the ball well and hits down on irons and 3 wood rarely hits Driver well. Stupid game.

 

I don't get it. Did you not hit driver for the first 9 holes? Why does the Driver get all the blame for "giving them all back" and none of the credit for putting you 4-5 under?

 

Unless your course is 3000 yards on the front and 4500 yards on the back, it sounds like a mental issue with being 4-5 under, not a driver issue.

 

When your driver is inconsistent and you lack confidence, you can fluke a few - or get away with the misses on some holes ... but eventually it catches up with you and the scorecard :-)

[pinestreetgolf]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

 

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

 

Iron:

 

https://www.youtube....xe4cjihVM

 

Driver:

 

 

Pause where'ever you want, they are virtually identical. Same takeaway, same hand position at the top (just to the left of his head), same left hip starts downswing, same extension, same squaring of face, same shaft angle at top, etc... etc...

 

They are identical in almost every respect, except driver is tee'd up forward to catch it on the upswing.

 

The driver has a longer shaft so swing flaws are exposed more often and it is harder to compensate for. Further, the driver hits it farther, so degrees offline equals a bigger miss. There is one optimal way for you to move a lever around your body (note: I didn't say it was the same for everyone, just that there is one for you) and it doesn't change depending on whether its an iron or a driver.

 

"I'm good at irons and not good at driver" doesn't mean they are two different movements. It means that when the shaft gets longer your mechanics break down.

 

Well at least I didn’t get an eye roll ��

 

Your argument falls down with the guy that is as good with a wedge as he is with a 3 wood. It’s the upward movement that changes things. If you don’t or can’t move your path to the right it’s going to be hard to use a driver. Yes technically there is not much difference to the eye.

 

There is an upward movement in every single golf swing with every club, unless you don't follow through with a wedge. You just hit the driver on the upswing. The ideal movement is identical.

[pinestreetgolf]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

 

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

 

Iron:

 

https://www.youtube....xe4cjihVM

 

Driver:

 

 

Pause where'ever you want, they are virtually identical. Same takeaway, same hand position at the top (just to the left of his head), same left hip starts downswing, same extension, same squaring of face, same shaft angle at top, etc... etc...

 

They are identical in almost every respect, except driver is tee'd up forward to catch it on the upswing.

 

The driver has a longer shaft so swing flaws are exposed more often and it is harder to compensate for. Further, the driver hits it farther, so degrees offline equals a bigger miss. There is one optimal way for you to move a lever around your body (note: I didn't say it was the same for everyone, just that there is one for you) and it doesn't change depending on whether its an iron or a driver.

 

"I'm good at irons and not good at driver" doesn't mean they are two different movements. It means that when the shaft gets longer your mechanics break down.

Yeah, but that's ADAM SCOTT !!! One of the best swingers of the club on the planet. His job is to play golf. He has everything in his life geared towards being better at golf.

 

I am a 45 year old youth worker, that plays on Saturdays and maybe 1 hour practice if I'm lucky during the week.

 

Also, MANY golfers at the pro level have a different swing for the driver ... even they look at Adam and go "how does he do that!?!?"

 

I agree that its difficult. A ton of golfers (myself included) have swing flaws that make the driver more difficult to hit. But that doesn't mean its a "different swing". Rubbish. You just can't do it.

 

The idea that no amateur golfer can be good at irons and driver at the same time is kinda silly.

 

EDIT

Put a ball really high on the tee by your left foot. Put a ball in the middle of your stance. Hover your driver head and then try to hit the ball in the middle like it was an iron (but go over it), and just go through the other one (the one on the tee) to the follow-through. Its a great way to feel it. I'm not ben hogan or anything, but trying to develop two swings is, IMO, a really inefficient way to learn.

[North Butte]

But how much more exposing of swing flaws can a 45" 10-degree driver be compared to the 43-1/2" 13 or 14-degree deep 3-woods that people seem to choose as their driver alternative? It's less than two inches and a couple degrees of loft, right? But a huge 460cc head with the driver.

 

Just seems if you can't keep the driver on the planet, hitting a slightly more lofted, two inch shorter small-headed club really well indicates a problem that isn't just a swing flaw being exposed. Otherwise they could just choke down a couple inches of their driver and kill it.

[Derek666]

I swing different with my driver with an upward AOA but with my 4 wood, Hybrid and Irons my AOA is all downward and i take divots with them all and i never use tees except for driver.

 

To say you can't be a good Iron player and hit a driver well is incorrect imo, it just takes practice - I used to play and practice every day when i was at college (wee while ago :) ) and it's amazing the consistency you get when practicing so much.

[pinestreetgolf]

But how much more exposing of swing flaws can a 45" 10-degree driver be compared to the 43-1/2" 13 or 14-degree deep 3-woods that people seem to choose as their driver alternative? It's less than two inches and a couple degrees of loft, right? But a huge 460cc head with the driver.

 

Just seems if you can't keep the driver on the planet, hitting a slightly more lofted, two inch shorter small-headed club really well indicates a problem that isn't just a swing flaw being exposed. Otherwise they could just choke down a couple inches of their driver and kill it.

 

The driver tee height creates the opportunity for some insane misses. The three wood is on the ground, which means the angle of attack can't be too crazy without completely whiffing the ball.

[North Butte]

Why not just swing the driver without uppercutting it then?

[Derek666]

I think Sergio Garcia for example hits down on the driver (Or he used to last time i saw his swing) and he's not short and has an amazing Iron game.

[ThinkingPlus]

I feel like I hit all my clubs more or less equally well. I try and choose wisely whether to hit 5i, 3h, 3w, or driver off the tee. It all depends on trouble, fairway width, and length of hole. Where I do see a difference in difficulty is between teed shots and those hit off the turf. Teed shots have a greater margin for error striking the ball regardless of club.

[Bye]

I think Sergio Garcia for example hits down on the driver (Or he used to last time i saw his swing) and he's not short and has an amazing Iron game.

 

He is swinging it a 120+. Doesn’t really matter if it’s a decending blow at that speed.

[Derek666]

Bye: Is that not the average SS on GolfWRX? :)

[Bye]

I think the good iron players have to think about sacrificing a bit of distance with driver. They are two different swings. Getting optimised is not always the best idea.

 

I keep wondering if it’s worth swapping driver for a strong 3 wood that can be used from the deck.

 

I’ve never seen anyone that is great with driver, 3 wood and irons. Good with one and ok with the other 2 is as far as I would go.

 

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

 

Iron:

 

https://www.youtube....xe4cjihVM

 

Driver:

 

 

Pause where'ever you want, they are virtually identical. Same takeaway, same hand position at the top (just to the left of his head), same left hip starts downswing, same extension, same squaring of face, same shaft angle at top, etc... etc...

 

They are identical in almost every respect, except driver is tee'd up forward to catch it on the upswing.

 

The driver has a longer shaft so swing flaws are exposed more often and it is harder to compensate for. Further, the driver hits it farther, so degrees offline equals a bigger miss. There is one optimal way for you to move a lever around your body (note: I didn't say it was the same for everyone, just that there is one for you) and it doesn't change depending on whether its an iron or a driver.

 

"I'm good at irons and not good at driver" doesn't mean they are two different movements. It means that when the shaft gets longer your mechanics break down.

 

Well at least I didn’t get an eye roll ��

 

Your argument falls down with the guy that is as good with a wedge as he is with a 3 wood. It’s the upward movement that changes things. If you don’t or can’t move your path to the right it’s going to be hard to use a driver. Yes technically there is not much difference to the eye.

 

There is an upward movement in every single golf swing with every club, unless you don't follow through with a wedge. You just hit the driver on the upswing. The ideal movement is identical.

 

Unless you change your set up like Hogan did that will result in a player hitting driver straight and hooking their irons or hitting their irons straight and slicing driver. The path has to move to the right with an upward hit.

[Derek666]

Guy i follow James on Youtube had a Max Driver swing speed today of 144mph (204 Ball Speed 5192 spin) lol and average was 138mph(196 Ball Speed 3417 spin) and his max carry was 357yards and average 337yards :)

 

He'd outdrive me with a 7 iron.