Strategies off the tee...help!

OldFrog75 · June 3, 2019

> @Lefthook said:

> Imo the best way to become a consistent driver is to play long courses where you use the driver on most holes and where you really need to give the ball a solid rip to be in position for a gir.

How many times do you hit a driver on the course? Compare that to how many times you can hit a driver with a bucket of balls on the range. Why is playing a long course better?

Lefthook · June 3, 2019

Anyone can hit it on the range. Repeated use on the course helps a lot. And long holes requires commitment off the tee. It takes guiding out of the equation. That’s how it works for me, anyway.

mhawk709 · June 3, 2019

I've struggled with similar issues in the past and there are a couple of things that have helped me.

1. Scott Fawcett's Decade App - Essentially, if you don't have 70 yards between penalty hazards (OB, water, deep woods, etc.), the driver is likely not the play.

2. Go to the range and hit drivers barefooted or in socks. It greatly reduces your urge to fire at the ball and you'll swing much more in balanced. Attempt fades and draws and low and high. Which shape comes naturally? Really lock in that feeling for next time you go to the course and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how well you'll control the driver with that feel.

SNIPERBBB · June 3, 2019

> @Lefthook said:

> Anyone can hit it on the range. Repeated use on the course helps a lot. And long holes requires commitment off the tee. It takes guiding out of the equation. That’s how it works for me, anyway.

Yep, the more you can play the shot on the course successfully under some pressure will pay massive dividends in your confidence level. Especially if you got a hole like mine, a 480 par 5 from the members tees with OB right, water left and a 15yard max width fairway and only 15-20 yards max of rough on each side till you get into the OB/PA and a big acorn tree on the left making layup shots a gamble in itself. You better have your mind made up 2 holes before you reach that tee.

LeftDaddy · June 4, 2019

More good stuff. I like the barefoot driver practice suggestion! Thanks!

LeftDaddy · June 12, 2019

Went to the range today for the first time in a while. Spent most of my time working on driver, and some cuts and low draws (stingers) with 3w / 3i. I probably hit 50 shots total, and I’d say 45 of them behaved like I wanted them to.

I hit 10 shots into an imagined image of our first hole...5 stingers and 5 cuts. All literally perfect. I go directly from the range to the 1st hole to hit the tee shot, just to see how it behaves on the hole. Took me 3 shots to get anywhere near the fairway.

It is honestly hilarious if you think about it. I literally hit 10 perfect shots in a row, played them all as if I were on the 1st tee, and walked straight from the range to the 1st tee and proceed to hit two poor ones before a good one. It has to be mental. In fairness, I didn’t realize how blocked out the right side of the tee box is because of a tree. But still...just crazy how mental this game is.