DrivingDrivingAim: To make you pause for thought the next time you just lash the driver off the tee without thinking.
The driver is the biggest cause of trouble in the bag, its long but wild, and it causes some players to take leave of their senses by lashing big drives at 2 oclock snap...I smile when I see that because sooner or later they're gonna get the bananaball ! The drive serves only two purposes. First to hit the fairway if possible to allow you to play a controlled approach shot from short grass and get close to the pin without having to deal with rough/ tough lies / trees etc...Its then quite clear that you only actually need to use the drive for holes of 450 yds +, anything shorter than that and you can use a 3W or even less off the tee to hit the fairway more regularly. The second aim and the most crucial is to leave your stock shot to the green, so use the club off the tee that gives your stock shot, if you like the full 130 yard 9 iron and the hole is 350 yards long, then yes, get the 2i or 5W out of the bag and lay up to 130 yards, thats what the stock shot is for, if you use the driver at every hole then every approach will be a different distance, use a club to leave your stock shot approach and not only will you be killing the flag you wont miss as many fairways either ! Obviously there are times when you need a big heave with the driver, but thats rare. If you do have to take a risk, say to get on in 2 for a par5 or for a long hole into wind then youll have to grip it and rip it but its always better to have a tough long shot from the fairway than a shorter one out of the trees! The woods are full of long drivers ! You should know the driver carries about 255 yards then kicks on to 275-280, so make sure you are aiming at the 250 yard mark on the fairway and make sure there is enough room for the roll..dont hit a perfect tee and then run out of short grass ! The drive is your time to play it smart, to forget about long driving competitions and to use your club selections wisely to keep you in the fairway and using the same trusty shots into the green. Feel the fairway, see if you can spot any big slopes, lies that you might want to avoid, keep short of the doglegs, away from the trees and hazards and remember how jack Nicklaus pictured his holes, in reverse !..do the same thing, picture where you want your approach shot coming from and then drive to there, whatever club you need.
Top Tips:
Forget your "ego"...a drive does not necessarily mean the driver
Picture holes in reverse, pick where you want to come in from and aim your tee shot to land there
Remember to aim your driver where the carry and roll will be if you do use it
Do not hesitate to drive with a long, mid or short iron to find the fairway and have a nice approach you are familiar with
If you can't make a par5 in two hits, subtract your comfort distance for an approach, then divide whats left by two. This is your club you should hit off the tee.