Over the last year or so, I've put the driver back in the bag due to inconsistency off the tee. I've been hitting an older ****ty 3 hybrid off the tee because I can count on it finding the fairway, but I've been considering switching it out for something I might be able to get more distance since this club is a piece of crap. I'm planning to go hit a few clubs, but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I've never hit a driving iron before, but that or another long hybrid might be my best bet.

And yes, I know the correct answer is go practice hitting driver at the range…

Not sure what you are asking here. You put the driver away because you are inconsistent with it, in favor of an old hybrid that you hit in the fairway, just not far. Now, you are looking for a new club that you can hit further, but always in the fairway and without going to the range. Shlt, sign me up for one of those too!

You got a trusty 3 Hybrid that is a fairway finder and you call it ****ty because it's old???

Golf gods gonna get you.

OK.. Another contrarian opinion.

For me, Driver is easier to hit than metal woods, long hybrids and long irons off the tee because quite frankly, it has a huge face and very forgiving.

In my opinion, golf balls, driver heads, graphite shafts and hybrid designs and technologies are the reasons the USGA handicap dropped 2 strokes during the past 20 years.

Driver head is 460 cc in size with slick weight distribution and high MOI to make it easy to hit.

Many advise to hit 3 wood off the tee if u can't hit a driver. To that I say **** you. 3 wood is like 1/3 the size of a driver and Maybe 2 inches shorter. Hell, why don't I just choke down 2 inches, increase the loft and hit a driver instead??

Having said that, I have no recommendation on a driving iron as it reminds me of the old 1 iron days and it's scary.

More often than not, correct driver shaft is what's missing if you can't hit a driver.

Not looking for a magical club that I can automatically stripe down the fairway, but I think it's time to improve from this 3 hybrid. It's a crappy Ram club that was part of a beginner box set from academy years ago. Over time I've swapped out all my clubs except for this one (just because I can depend on hitting it accurately).

I figure if I'm hitting this club at least once on every par 4 & 5, I might look for something I can get some extra yardage out of. Thought I'll probably try and stick with something with a shorter shaft, because I imagine that's where my inaccuracy with driver is coming from

#getalesson
Spend $100 on a lesson, then $50 on range balls. Once you get more confidence in the big stick it's a game changer. The guy is going to give you 2 pointers and it'll be night and day.

This may be my answer. My driver in the bag is an off the shelf Callaway Rogue that I bought from someone off here. May be worth trying to find a shaft and setting for the driver that will give me better accuracy

Don't knock Ram.

Fred couples took Tom Watsons wife's, I believe Ram, driver and used it as a 3 wood for years on tour. And never gave it back. I believe he cracked it.

You should treasure that 3 Hybrid. You will be rewarded.

McGibblets said:

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This may be my answer. My driver in the bag is an off the shelf Callaway Rogue that I bought from someone off here. May be worth trying to find a shaft and setting for the driver that will give me better accuracy

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I approve of this message.

go to pga superstore and try 5 different shafts in one of the big ass hybrids. The epic flash has a nice big face, doesn't have the crazy 3wood shaft length, and isn't a 20 year old Ram

Don't spend money on that calloway. It is fine, but you lost confidence in it. Save that money and apply it to a new driver.

Advice from a cheapass here: go hit new ones at the store or wherever, figure out what you like, then go buy used, or even better, buy a model or two older with similar specs. Hit your buddies and then if you like it, buy one similar, but a model newer or older, depending on the age of buddies club and your budget. If you don't like it, you should be able to sell it for just about what you paid, so long as you don't take years to decide.

I had a period of around 5 years where I refused to use driver off the tee, opting for 5 iron every time. Losing 7+ balls a round was pretty common for me before I dumped the driver. Worst club in my bag. I'm a very long hitter, so I just ironed my way around the course. Got boring.

Started working on the driver at the range a couple times a week, slowed down my swing, changed my awful swing plane, and boom, after a couple weeks I had enough confidence to break it out during rounds. Its now my most trusted club. Have knocked off 10 strokes since I went back to driver. Friends arent as annoyed playing me anymore, haha.

Spend your money on lessons to learn how to hit your driver.

Lots of mofos give me hell about my 3-wood and they typically say "why would you even own a driver" after I hit it.


Fairways are meant to be hit!

I've got an early 2000s Steelhead 3+ I'd sell for $250. Sounds like it is exactly what you need.

I'm 36 and going on 20 years of this.

Minus the range time and using my driver. Still a 3rd or 3iron off the tee. Hell I will even hit 5 iron on shorter par 4s.

Cut your driver down to 43-44". No need for most amateurs to swing anything at 45". You might sacrifice a little distance but your accuracy improvement will more than make up for any loss.

Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Cut your driver down to 43-44". No need for most amateurs to swing anything at 45". You might sacrifice a little distance but your accuracy improvement will more than make up for any loss.

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I typically don't like cutting a shaft because you can't un-cut it. Instead, I install more parallel type of grips like MCC-4 and just grip down on the club.

And just in case you want to sell the club or the shaft in the future.

evestor1 said:

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Lots of mofos give me hell about my 3-wood and they typically say "why would you even own a driver" after I hit it.


Fairways are meant to be hit!

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Assuming you can keep it in bounds, hitting driver for the average am is better than an iron off the tee. Closer to the hole has a direct correlation with scoring for the typical 10-20 hack

Learn to hit a smooth driver swing. Like a 3/4 swing that won't hurt ya. Then as you gain confidence start lengthening the backswing more.

I've been trying to encourage one of the girls on my team to hit driver for the last 2 years. Finally during our tournament last week she said, "Coach should I hit driver or hybrid." I side-eyed and said if you're asking me, you know the answer. She took driver out and nailed the best drive she has ever hit in my presence. She told me at the end of the round, the game was so much easier from 100 yards out vs 150-160. I pitted her against another girl on my team that's younger than her and told them I wanted to see which one of them would be the best driver of the ball by the end of the season. It took her 3 months, but she's been putting in the work more-so than she ever has prior to this season. No new club, just the process of practicing with a stronger desire to accomplish a goal.

I'd think the Rogue should serve you better than that RAM. Shaft fitting wouldn't hurt.

Spend some money on a good instructor and figure out why you can't hit a driver. Then go get fitted for a new one after fixing the issue. Chances are you are doing something wrong in the setup that you don't do with other clubs, that or you can't compensate for some fatal flaw with a high swing speed club that you can in the others.

You hit your 3W and rescue good because you're probably striking down on the ball as you do with irons. The driver, you want to catch it on the way up and you're probably, as most amateur players do, swinging from the outside in across the ball. Lessons will help.

Hit 2 buckets a day with your driver until you get confidence in it.

I have a few friends that play a 14 degree driver. Same big head as the driver but 3 wood loft.
Easy to hit and it goes high - tends to find the fairway more than driver for most people. You will give up about 20-25 yards probably this way.
Once you master that, transition to a regular lofted driver.

Funky Winkerbean said:

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Hit 2 buckets a day with your driver until you get confidence in it.

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Perfect way to get some exercise and make a bad swing more permanent!!!

Yep better to just avoid hitting it at all cost

AggieDruggist89 said:

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OK.. Another contrarian opinion.

For me, Driver is easier to hit than metal woods, long hybrids and long irons off the tee because quite frankly, it has a huge face and very forgiving.

In my opinion, golf balls, driver heads, graphite shafts and hybrid designs and technologies are the reasons the USGA handicap dropped 2 strokes during the past 20 years.

Driver head is 460 cc in size with slick weight distribution and high MOI to make it easy to hit.

Many advise to hit 3 wood off the tee if u can't hit a driver. To that I say **** you. 3 wood is like 1/3 the size of a driver and Maybe 2 inches shorter. Hell, why don't I just choke down 2 inches, increase the loft and hit a driver instead??

Having said that, I have no recommendation on a driving iron as it reminds me of the old 1 iron days and it's scary.

More often than not, correct driver shaft is what's missing if you can't hit a driver.

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This was going to be my reply. I didn't hit driver for almost 2 years but I could stripe a 3W. It made no sense to me.

So I got fitted for a driver and now hit that driver better than I hit that 3W and 30 yards further.

evestor1 said:

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Lots of mofos give me hell about my 3-wood and they typically say "why would you even own a driver" after I hit it.


Fairways are meant to be hit!

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Not according to Scott Fawcett. Send it.

Rusty GCS said:

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AggieDruggist89 said:

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OK.. Another contrarian opinion.

For me, Driver is easier to hit than metal woods, long hybrids and long irons off the tee because quite frankly, it has a huge face and very forgiving.

In my opinion, golf balls, driver heads, graphite shafts and hybrid designs and technologies are the reasons the USGA handicap dropped 2 strokes during the past 20 years.

Driver head is 460 cc in size with slick weight distribution and high MOI to make it easy to hit.

Many advise to hit 3 wood off the tee if u can't hit a driver. To that I say **** you. 3 wood is like 1/3 the size of a driver and Maybe 2 inches shorter. Hell, why don't I just choke down 2 inches, increase the loft and hit a driver instead??

Having said that, I have no recommendation on a driving iron as it reminds me of the old 1 iron days and it's scary.

More often than not, correct driver shaft is what's missing if you can't hit a driver.

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This was going to be my reply. I didn't hit driver for almost 2 years but I could stripe a 3W. It made no sense to me.

So I got fitted for a driver and now hit that driver better than I hit that 3W and 30 yards further.

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All MISIG

I think I should probably be hitting a R shaft instead of stiff on my M2. I've never actually switched a shaft out before, just always bought a new club when the time came. What should I look at ad how much to expect to pay?

The Milkman said:

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I think I should probably be hitting a R shaft instead of stiff on my M2. I've never actually switched a shaft out before, just always bought a new club when the time came. What should I look at ad how much to expect to pay?

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Man... This is the hard part. Majority will say go get fitted and it's probably the easiest way to do it. And once you find a shaft that's right for you, stay with it until your swing speed changes dramatically enough to warrant a shaft change.

For me, I think getting fitted has some flaws if the fitter is motivated in getting you into a $300 high end shaft and your morning swing is different than afternoon swing and your first swing is different than your 50th swing. I'm thinking it can cost a few hundred $.

What I look for in a shaft are the following criteria because I learned it over the years that's what works for me. Shaft that weighs less than 60 grams, mid flex point, torque around 3.5 deg and feel. And with my driver swing speed ( I have a skytrak and a swing speed radar) I know shaft stiffness (stiff at 6.0 or 250 CPM) that works. So for me, it's more than the flex but it's the starting point of the trial.

I can swing a 75gram shaft in a driver but this wears me out if I'm on a golf outing with 4+ rounds. Low flex point puts too much spin on the ball. High torque shaft flares my shots on mis hits.

I have a shaft puller and do most of the work so changing a shaft and adapter sleeve is no big deal. And I have tried many different shafts (buddies clubs, stock shafts, etc) and I have been able to do this at home. I tested 5 different shafts on my driver before finding the one I like 2 years ago. And I know I can use the same shaft on a different head and make it work.

Here's a very underrated shaft. I used the v1 20 years ago and I liked it. With the version V2 now, I'm using a lighter version.

Cheap and I can install it easily.

https://www.ustmamiya.com/golf-shafts/brands/proforce/proforce-v2-wood/

Quote:

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] I have a shaft puller

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Does she know you call her that?

Rusty GCS said:

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AggieDruggist89 said:

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OK.. Another contrarian opinion.

For me, Driver is easier to hit than metal woods, long hybrids and long irons off the tee because quite frankly, it has a huge face and very forgiving.

In my opinion, golf balls, driver heads, graphite shafts and hybrid designs and technologies are the reasons the USGA handicap dropped 2 strokes during the past 20 years.

Driver head is 460 cc in size with slick weight distribution and high MOI to make it easy to hit.

Many advise to hit 3 wood off the tee if u can't hit a driver. To that I say **** you. 3 wood is like 1/3 the size of a driver and Maybe 2 inches shorter. Hell, why don't I just choke down 2 inches, increase the loft and hit a driver instead??

Having said that, I have no recommendation on a driving iron as it reminds me of the old 1 iron days and it's scary.

More often than not, correct driver shaft is what's missing if you can't hit a driver.

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This was going to be my reply. I didn't hit driver for almost 2 years but I could stripe a 3W. It made no sense to me.

So I got fitted for a driver and now hit that driver better than I hit that 3W and 30 yards further.

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This has been me all my life. I slice a driver and hit it 200 yards Really don't have this problem with any other club. I can't figure it out and have had a few lessons. Maddening