Golf Driving Tip - When Not to Use Your Driver

What's the one thing almost every single golfer does when they step up to the first tee with their driver in their hands? If you said hit the ball as far as possible you'd be correct! However, the smart golfers say to themselves that they'd rather hit the ball WHERE they want, not as FAR as possible.

The difference is that intelligent golfers will consistently choose a target and would rather hit the ball with accuracy and precision rather than with a greater distance. Would you rather hit the ball 250 yards in the middle of the fairway? Or 290 yards into the deep rough? Obviously best case scenario would be 320 yards down the center of the fairway but if that were the case you wouldn't need to be reading this right now!

In all seriousness way too many golfers use their driver when they should be using a shorter wood or long iron off the tee. I guarantee that any golf professional who gives lessons will start an amateur golfer off hitting a pitching wedge, not a driver. The reason is simple: the longer the club, the more extreme errors become.

Unless you hit your driver with any consistency you may want to think about using a club other than your driver. Perfect example...let's look at a typical par 4. Let's say the hole is 430 yards. In a perfect world, you'd be able to rip your driver off the tee 300 yards and leave yourself with an easy 8 or 9 iron. In most cases this is pretty unlikely. If you cannot hit your driver 300 yards and cannot hit the fairway with any consistency, why use it? You are much better off using a three wood or fairway wood. In that situation, hopefully you're hitting the ball 230 yards and leaving yourself with a good lie and good line to the green. A long iron shot and your right around the green. With a good chip you're set for par. On a shorter par 4, sub-400 yards, you're in even better shape. With a nice fairway wood tee shot, you're poised for a shot at the green with a mid-iron.

I'm not saying to never use your driver. When you get up to those par 5's with no trees around I say "let 'em rip"! However on tighter par 5's and shorter par 4's, why take the risk? When you're hitting your driver consistently at the range and you feel you have confidence, THEN it is time to start taking risks off the tee. Until then, stick to a three wood and play for accuracy, not distance.

Technorati Tags: golf driving  golf tips  golf driving tips