when i first started, i could hit my 3 wood straighter and farther than my driver. about 220 yards. i would say no, you are definately going to want to learn how to hit the driver eventually, take a lesson or keep working at it, it will come.
Drivers can be tough for beginners, but you need one. Get a lesson on the one you have...you might find you're trying to play one that's not right for you.
i am a begginner. i always slice with my driver. will a 3 wood be a good replacement for it
A lot of the companies now offer 13* drivers. The increased loft definately helps remove a lot of the side-spin that will make your ball slice.....you might want to give one of these a demo?
REPLCE IT ! Great idea, i have been playing for a long time and i didnt own a driver untill 5 or 6 years after i started playing, 3 woods are great driver replacements try a oversized 3 wood like callaway or taylormade as a driver.After youget good swings with the 3 wood move to a driver, its much easier.
I am currently playing a 3 -wood as a driver off the tee, as I am more conssitent, BUT I am also practising at the range with a friends driver and will try out drivers from the golf shop until I find one I think I'll get along with. You'll have to learn to use a driver so don't run away from it.
(take my advice with pinch of salt - I am a beginner!)
Save your money on the equipment and invest in a series of lessons especially now that your a beginner
start with a 5 wood , move to a 3 wood and then the driver
thats what I did when I first started at 31 years old and Im a two that can break par in tourney play now
i had a ton of problems hitting my driver and one thing i did was try the inside approach or simple not come over the top, have a consistent swing, and check your hand position and even you body movement if you are hitting to far right make your body stay behind the club and if you are going to far left make your body move ahead of the club on your downswing, but remember try to keeo balanced and the weight on your inner side of both feet, rotate your body with it but keep you head positioned over the ball, tilt your head up a bit.. and anything is try ben hogan's tips.. put a glove or towel between you armpit and hold it there while swining that will prevent "over the top" alot anyway this helped me hope it helps you..
track1, when I first started, I would take a 5 iron off the tee. It was the strongest club I could consistently put into play. If there is ever a carry 150 or more yards over water off the tee, you are playing the wrong set of tees. You can play those tees that have the forced carries once you improve.
But, as was said above, it is far more important to be in play, on or at least near a fairway rather than pulling/pushing/hooking a ball 225 yards into trees or worse out of bounds. Or maybe even the more embarassing 13 yard dribbler, or the 25 yard sky-ball. With a 5 iron I had at least a 90% chance of it being in play and some 150-180 yards down the fairway.
If you can hit a 5-iron 150 or more yards, you can still post some very good scores. Unless the par 4 is 400 or more yards (there shoudn't be too many from the tees you should probably be playing from), 2 150 yard 5 irons will be less than 100 yards away, a good wedge shot gives you a very good chance of par or at the worst bogey. Compare this with lost ball penalities or OB penalties, both of which require you to re-tee and hit again and take the stroke and distance penalties -- or in other words now you have to play the par 4 being two strokes down -- if you 'par' that hole now it is really a double bogey.
If you can put the 3-wood in play, then by all means hit that. If that is wild, go to a 5-wood. If the 5-wood is still inconsistent, I'd go to a 7-wood, or a 3 hybrid or something like that until you can find the club that you can walk to the tee in confidence with.
I know when I was a beginner I also had a problem with the driver...the same held true for the 3 wood...a faulty swing is only going to improve marginally with a shorter club with a higher loft...I think you should get a 3 wood, then practice that until you hit it well, then graduate to the driver...
A good transition club "for your game" would be to go to a Thriver. Its called a Thriver because its a cross between a 3 wood and a Driver. What you want to do is get a good component head at around 12-14* of loft (depending on your swing analysis) and then put a shaft that weights between 78-85 grams in it for more control. Next what you will do is cut it down to around 44" to 43.5" which is slightly longer then your three wood.
You will find that with the bigger head (driver not 3 wood), shorter shaft, heavier overall club weight will help you keep your swing under control and the sweet spot will be alot easier to hit. The club lenght/weight helps you get around on the ball to stop the pushes.
Play / drive on course with the 3 wood, work on your swing at the range with the driver, take a lesson or two if needed, learn to hit the driver straighter.
I straightened my drive out quite a bit and then moved from a generic no-name driver to the TM 580XD...it helped polish my improved swing. I still slice on occasion, but not nearly as frequently as I did previously.
Equipment will help your game, but only when you improve it enough by working with your swing basics of grip and stance.
February 25th, 2007, 11:32 PM
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