Driverless setup?

[littlepoison]

anyone else nix the big stick for control?

I'm considering, when doing my equipment evaluation, to skip being fitted for a driver at all... I think it might be best if I focus on developing a "go-to" shot or two, and putting the ball in play more often. Anyone else do this?

Would I be best trying a psuedo-two wood and four wood, or stick with the 15 degree and then a 19 degree or so? I wish I could give you more concrete info on swing speed and other stats, but that has yet to be "officially" measured. :stop:

[cmarkmyers]

Keep a driver in your bag. You may not be comfortable with it now but someday you will be, providing you work with it on the range. You probably won’t want to get fitted for a driver yet if you don’t have a bit of consistency with it.

 

Whenever I see anyone with a 4-wood they always have a driver in the bag that they can hit on occasion. My guess is if they never used the driver they would stick with a 3-wood for a bit more distance. 2-woods or 3+ woods are tough to hit, and being somewhat new to the game I personally would avoid them. I have tried them in the past and for me it was night and day between a 13* V-Steel and a 15*. Of course your mileage may vary.

[shook23]

I'm considering, when doing my equipment evaluation, to skip being fitted for a driver at all... I think it might be best if I focus on developing a "go-to" shot or two, and putting the ball in play more often. Anyone else do this?

 

Would I be best trying a psuedo-two wood and four wood, or stick with the 15 degree and then a 19 degree or so? I wish I could give you more concrete info on swing speed and other stats, but that has yet to be "officially" measured. :stop:

 

The longest club I used to carry was a 15* 3W, because at that time I couldn't control a driver.

[taylormadefan]

I'm considering, when doing my equipment evaluation, to skip being fitted for a driver at all... I think it might be best if I focus on developing a "go-to" shot or two, and putting the ball in play more often. Anyone else do this?

 

Would I be best trying a psuedo-two wood and four wood, or stick with the 15 degree and then a 19 degree or so? I wish I could give you more concrete info on swing speed and other stats, but that has yet to be "officially" measured. :stop:

 

If you swing the club below 95mph, a lot of people say that ditching a driver and going with a 3 wood is your best choice.

 

The reason is loft. The more loft you have the higher the ball will go. If you don't have a minimum swing speed with the driver, you'll never be able to get it high enough to carry as far as a 3 wood. A 3 wood will go higher and straighter, so why not.

 

However, if you're a junior or just learning, keep the driver in the bag, take a few lessons and learn how to hit it and hit it hard. It's easy to straighten out a driver, it's tough to learn how to hit it as hard as you can.

[king1066]

DONT DO IT. Hitting the driver is the best part of the game. Besides you will never be able to hit it unless you play it on the course. The driving range helps you get familiar with it, but IMO you have to play the club in order to build confindence. Hitting a driver is more set up than anything else - IE where you play the ball in your stance, how you grip the club, how you aim, how wide your stance is, how far away you stand from the ball, etc. In addition devise a pre-shot routine in order to recall muscle memory. Experiment with you drives, IE if you slice, then aim left of target and eventually you will start working that slice towards the center of the fairway b/c you will start getting thru the ball better. In addition, if your slicing play the ball more forward in your stance (if hooking then closer to the center of your stance). If your hitting it on the toe, move closer to the ball; further if your hitting the hosel. Hitting the driver is an aquired taste - You have to find what works for you, but once you do - YOUR GOING TO LOVE IT. I had trouble hitting a driver (way back in the 80's) and didnt even try until the late 90s. I picked up a Callaway Hawkeye 250cc 8 degree and smashed it - it sliced of course, but I just played the slice, which eventually (within a year) turned into a fade. Then I started hitting it straight down the middle with the occassion fade. Now I hit (85% of the time) where I aim and can occassionally work the ball exactly the way I want. Go out and play some rounds by yourself and work on the driver. It wont happen overnight, but when you hit a good shot remember what you did and try to repeat it. For example, I hit a good shot in the beginning and realized that I had interlocked my fingers - EUREKA - this worked for several months then I had to make another adjustment, but eventually I got to the point that I had confidence in my driver and would just get on the tee and GRIP IT AND RIP IT. Dont give up the driver - hitting a 300+ yard drive is, IMO, better than chipping in for birdie b/c you can hit 10 300+ drives per round and may chip in once every 3 rounds.

[Mud]

Agreed.

Keep the 3W in the bag for rounds, and just use the driver on the range until you get real consistent with it.

Before you groove on a good repeatable swing there is just too much liability in the driver.

IMO it's no concern to go 3W, 9I vs Driver, wedge.

I personally prefer hybrids over 5W though...

[littlepoison]

Thanks for all the advice :stop: My swing is miles more consistent than it has been over the past few years, but then again, this is the first year that I'm taking golf "seriously" with lessons, hopefully a developed practice plan, and of course the equipment evaluation. I was considering dropping the driver in order to help "get out of my own way" until I knew that I could count on the tres to hit nearly any fairway. Now, I may very well proceed with a driver fitting, provided the pro I will work with considers it a good idea... Plus, one less club in the bag may give me more options with the fairway woods. Right now, I feel like I could keep the three iron in the bag, but of couse, that all depends on wether or not it behaves. My goal is to take a "controlled rip" on each and every swing, establishing my standard ball flight. I will gradually start adding different shots to my repetoir. Cost is a bit of an issue so I may not dive straight into hybrid land, but then again, that's what paychecks are for :D