Drivers - A Necessary Evil?

[asualum]

Always the most fickle - and newest - club in my bag

Was thinking about this today and wondered who shares my views about drivers.

When it comes to my golf bag, there isn't any other club that I have less of an attachment to than my driver. I absolutely love iron sets and collect them. I love putters and collect them. And wedges always tend to be some of my favorite clubs. I've had the same three wood for years.

But the driver - can't stand it, am always looking to replace it and barely get the grip dirty before I'm tweaking something. I have more of an emotional attachment to my golf bag than my driver. Am I in the minority on this one? Do you have another club that you change out more?

[GetmeouttaJersey]

For me, the driver in my bag is constantly changing. The longest I'll go with the same big stick is typically 2 years. I have similar feelings to you I guess. I played the same set of irons for 10 years and just recently made the switch to another similar set-up. I'll play wedges until the face is bare and I've had the same 3 wood for 5 years.

I typically tend to make a change with my driver and putters fairly often. I suppose it's because I am never fully satisfied with the consistency I have with my driver. I've had my current driver (FTi-z) for this full season and will probably only make a shaft change in the offseason. I'm comfortable with the clubhead and am simply looking to tweak the trajectory.

For me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it's broken just a little, there may be something out there that will instill more confidence for me. For the past 3-4 years I've gone through A LOT of putters, simply because I know I can roll it better and post better scores.

The only time I can remember NOT changing drivers alot was about 6 years ago. I was gaming the Ping G2 and was 100% confident that I could set up down the right side of the fairway and hit a soft draw. Since then I'm always looking for something better. Expensive habit

[caseyc1]

not me, i love my driver

[asualum]

[quote name='GetmeouttaJersey' timestamp='1288279627' post='2763326']
For me, the driver in my bag is constantly changing. The longest I'll go with the same big stick is typically 2 years. I have similar feelings to you I guess. I played the same set of irons for 10 years and just recently made the switch to another similar set-up. I'll play wedges until the face is bare and I've had the same 3 wood for 5 years.

I typically tend to make a change with my driver and putters fairly often. I suppose it's because I am never fully satisfied with the consistency I have with my driver. I've had my current driver (FTi-z) for this full season and will probably only make a shaft change in the offseason. I'm comfortable with the clubhead and am simply looking to tweak the trajectory.

For me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it's broken just a little, there may be something out there that will instill more confidence for me. For the past 3-4 years I've gone through A LOT of putters, simply because I know I can roll it better and post better scores.

The only time I can remember NOT changing drivers alot was about 6 years ago. I was gaming the Ping G2 and was 100% confident that I could set up down the right side of the fairway and hit a soft draw. Since then I'm always looking for something better. Expensive habit
[/quote]

That's part of it for me too, being comfortable with the club when I look down at it. I have an R9 in the bag right now and it's lasted most of the season, mostly because I feel comfortable with it. But I'm always looking for its replacement...

[asualum]

[quote name='caseyc1' timestamp='1288279899' post='2763334']
not me, i love my driver
[/quote]

But do you change drivers more often than irons? My irons stay in the bag much longer than my driver.

[caseyc1]

both will stay in my bag for at least next year then ill see, if i have the cash ill change both if something better is out but if not then it will stay the same.

[duckhook]

Only 1 club in my bag has made it more than 1 year. My Exotics 3 wood. I don't have a connection with any other club, and the only reason it's special is because I've never had a 3-wood I liked until this one. Technology advances, and as I advance in years I need all the help i can get to stay at scratch.

All my other sticks... I trade them in when I get something new. Otherwise they'd just become meaningless dust collectors.

[mp69]

Well, drivers are the fastest clubs in the bag to become obsolete since they keep making them better and better almost monthly and that's why they lose their value the quickest. In our own heads that holds true too, so there can't be any great attachment since a new better one constantly comes out and catches our attention.

[brianmontgomery2000]

Driving seems to come and go and it is sooooooo easy to blame the stick and not myself!

[JJK947]

I don't know. I am usually quick to change drivers as driving the ball was always the Achilles heel of my game but this year was the first year where there were plenty of great options for better player's drivers and I didn't change. I put all the new drivers through the motions and none could match the feel, distance, ball flight, etc. of what I am currently playing. It may be a while before I buy another driver.

[aliikane]

im the same way. the only driver that i like enough to keep is my R7 superquad. just bought a couple of drivers but not quite settle on them. i think i am going to try a tm or titleist for the adjustability.

[hittindagreens]

Seems like the the one club everyone struggles w the most. Myself included. Maybe that's why its so easy to switch. I bought my g10 used when I first picked up golf last spring. I've demo several and I'll be buried w my g10. In fact just ordered a brand new head.... just in case

[SwingBlues]

It's a love / hate. I always tweak the driver, change the shaft and then end up getting the next hot thing. So far, the best tweaking is with the Supertri. Love to tweak the weights on this driver.

[78blades]

[quote name='asualum' timestamp='1288279154' post='2763314']
Was thinking about this today and wondered who shares my views about drivers.

When it comes to my golf bag, there isn't any other club that I have less of an attachment to than my driver. I absolutely love iron sets and collect them. I love putters and collect them. And wedges always tend to be some of my favorite clubs. I've had the same three wood for years.

But the driver - can't stand it, am always looking to replace it and barely get the grip dirty before I'm tweaking something. I have more of an emotional attachment to my golf bag than my driver. Am I in the minority on this one? Do you have another club that you change out more?
[/quote]


The vast majority of teaching pro's will say, when being honest and not trying to sell equipment, that most am's shouldn't have a drive in their bag b/c it is the most difficult of the clubs to hit well & consistently. So I don't think I'd really worry about that. If you don't like it, you don't like it; and if you are anything like me, when I don't like something its hard to have confidence in it. So, 2 thoughts,
(1) get a driver >10.5*, or (2) just use you 3 wood and put another wedge in the bag.

Now on the other hand, if you are a fairly consistent ball striker with the driver and having these problems than I'd guess that you don't have the correct loft & shaft for your swing. This leads to getting on a launch monitor and seeing what loft & shaft suit your swing the best.

They really can't do much more to the drivers now days b/c the COR is limited to .83 and the size can't be any bigger than 460 cc's. Yes they can move the wt. around affecting the COG, but thats about it. What really makes the difference is the correct shaft for your swing. As for me, I really like my driver, but I do go on and off with it. When I'm off I'll usually slow my take away down and just concentrate on being smooth with a full swing.

So these are just my thoughts and not to be taken as written in stone.

[RJG]

drivers are love hate, i feel a lot of it is due to everyones heads, mine included. every couple of years, i need a new one. i always seem to find something wrong with my current one to buy a new one, which will directly affect how im actually hitting it. funny how the brain works

[matchavez]

Drivers are the club you make the worst mistakes with. People often hit driver when they shouldn't. Most players tee off when a fairway wood is the right club.

If you ever hit a driver on a par four 300y, you are likely guilty. A controlled 200 and layup 100 is way better than the assumed 250-50, but we have all done it, just for the hope that just maybe it carries long enough that we can 3 putt for par.

I say this because when you rip a drive right, duck hook it left, whatever, and it costs you at least a stroke, that sits in your memory. Most average players tee off with a driver 10 or 11 times, and should probably only do that 4-5 times a round. Thus you end up hating a club and looking to buy your way out of a course management problem.

Your driver is fine. Your decision for when to pull it out is questionable if you're swapping drivers annually.

Stats paraphrased from "How To Break 90".