Have you reached the point where you are completely frustrated with your driver and you are now considering playing golf without a driver? We think it might be a decent short term solution.
Golf can be an amazing game on those good days and amazingly frustrating game on those difficult days. We feel your pain you might be going through now with the game of golf. Don’t worry we have all been there and we understand how to help you get better and play your best.
We will provide 5 tips to help you play quality golf without your driver. We will then provide some help to guide you to improving your driver and point you in the direction of some excellent resources.
Here at golfjourney365, we all love golf and we want you to enjoy the game and play to your highest level possible. There are solutions to your golf difficulties and we are here to help.
Playing Golf Without a Driver
Playing golf without a driver might actually help some golfers. If you are someone that is constantly in the trees, bunkers or losing your golf ball out of bounds, taking a 3 wood, hybrid or driving iron and getting the ball in play might go a long way in helping you shoot your best score.
The last thing you need to do is to be hitting punch out shots all day or taking penalty strokes for lost golf balls.
Can you play golf without a driver?
Yes you can. In fact, you might play better golf without your drive. The key is ensuring you are in the fairway as this will help you be able to hit full shots and build the confidence to play the course instead of playing the course through the trees.
Below are our top 5 Tips to help you reach your best by playing golf without a driver.
Tip 1 : Playing Golf Without a Driver – Rediscover the Fairway
The fairway is a lovely place. You will find it much easier to score from the fairway then the three, the hazards or the bunkers. Think about this for a minute, would you rather hit a 160 yard approach shot into the green form the fairway or be behind a tree and only 130 yards out.
By sacrificing a little bit of distance you just mind discover yourself getting better with your irons and hitting more greens in regulation. The key to scoring better is hitting more greens in regulation and improving your short game. This starts with getting that tee shot in the fairway.
A 3 wood can often be easier to hit because there is more loft on the club, which reduces the amount of side spin and the shaft in a 3 wood is shorter than a driver.
I recently cut my shift down on my driver to 44 inches from 45.5 inches and have experienced an increase in my ability to hit more fairways and I really haven’t lost much distance. When I take the shorter shaft and combine it with my SuperSpeed Golf Training, I have actually increased my distance and my control.
It is amazing the scores you can shoot when you combine the fairway with a little extra distance through the proper training? We all want to play to our full potential and you can with some simple work and adjustments.
Tip 2: Playing Golf Without a Driver – Practice those longer irons or hybrid shots
Now that you have to spend less time at the driving range trying to find a driver swing that works, you can spend more time practicing your irons and your hybrids.
The key here is not to hit every shot perfectly, but to cut down on your shot dispersion. If you can hit the ball to the right side of the greens and play to the wider portions, you will find yourself hitting more greens. Also, when you do miss, you will put yourself in a situation where hitting a quality chip shot is possible.
It is amazing what a quality short game can do to help you reduce your total number of shots.
This starts with hitting more green or missing in the right spots. What we mean by this is if you have 175 yards at a tucked front right pin. Do not aim right at the pin. Instead go for the middle of the green.
If you miss right or left you may be ok, but if you miss short and right in that front bunker, you have left a very difficult chance that leaves you little chance of saving par.
We must get solid contact with these shots and know the general direction we expect them to curve. This allows us to play the percentages and manage the course. Too often we don’t go through this process and just step up the ball to hit without considering the different factors.
Long iron advice by Shawn Clement
Tip 3: Playing Golf Without a Driver – Break down the hole backwards
When you get to every tee box, you want to consider the yardage and then consider where you want to hit your approach shot from. On the shorter par 4a and par 5s you may have many options. Too often, golfers just pull the driver right away without thought of course management.
For example a 490 yard par 5. If you can hit 2 – 200 yard shots you will be left with a 90 yard approach shot. This might be a great option if you are above average from the 90 yard distance and you have great opportunity for birdies.
Or consider a 360 yard par 4. Once again if you can hit a 210 yard tee shot, you are left with a manageable 150 yard approach shot, which you can probably make par from a high percentage of the time.
The point being, you have options. Make sure you take advantage of those options and use the yardages to put you in positions where you are comfortable.
You might be surprised how you can quickly get in a groove when you aren’t over swinging with a driver.
Try to reduce the par 4s and par 5s to simple par 3s by being smart with the placement and the distance you are hitting your tee shots.
Golf Sidekick – Playing without the Driver
Tip 4: Playing Golf Without a Driver – Improve 100 Yards and In
The key to any good score is what you do from 100 yards and in. If you have a great short game, the ability to chip from 10 yards and in around the green can significantly improve your score on a poor ball striking day.
Consider this, if you miss 12 out of the 18 greens, but get up and down for par on 50% of these holes, your score would be around 6 over. Not bad, right?
If you want the biggest bang for your time, get out and practice those simple chip shots and your 3-6 footers. It is amazing the scores you can shoot even on bad days.
Regardless of your size or age, you can be a great chipper of the golf ball. It takes time and a simple motion back and through the ball. If you really want to surprise your playing partners, spend at least 50% of your practice time around the practice green.
Tip 5: Playing Golf Without a Driver – Have Fun
The most important thing to any good golf round is the right mind set. If you head out to the course angry and play angry, chances of shooting a quality score for your playing ability is decreased.
Instead, be thankful that you are getting the opportunity to play the game. Have positive thoughts. Did you know that experts believe that 95% of our thoughts are negative thoughts?
I have played my best rounds when I feel most fortunate to be out on the golf course. There is a correlation between your self talk, mindset and overall performance.
You are too concerned with the bunker or the out of bounds or the hazard. Instead, pick your target and commit to a routine and follow that routine. You have to live with the results.
Allow your body to move freely through the hitting zone and make that natural motion. We believe that Shawn Clement is the best teacher for those of who you are so caught up in certain positions and have become bogged down.
Golf can be fun and liberating with Shawn Clement, he spends time explaining how we are “gravity geniuses” but struggle to try to control our body through positions.
He has helped improve my game and my mindset when I play golf. Overall he is a positive instructor that is encouraging. Read our full review of Shawn Clement, here.
Take Action…
Are you ready to finally have some fun and play to your full potential? Then make sure you check out our series on getting to the next level. We also provide two great speed training options. It might time to finally reach your potential on the distance that you hit all of your clubs.
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
If you want to play without your driver, you might want to gain some swing speed to close the gap between where you hit your driver and where you hit your 3 wood. Here are two great options. If you go the SuperSpeed golf route, make sure to use discount code Golfjourney365 for 10% off your purchase at SuperSpeed Golf.