Driver Off the Carpet.

[Johneli]

How many of you have approached a long second shot from the fairway, perhaps into the wind and pulled out the big D? How sweet it is when you flush it perfectly and it takes off low, hugging the ground, then continues to penetrate the wind as it climbs into a low altitude wind-cheating winner. Have you employed this shot and how has it worked out for you?

[JPsuff]

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I don't do it.

In the 35 years or so that I've played this game, I can count on one hand the times I thought that a driver off the deck was really necessary. Back in the day, before all of this new technology, when I was faced with that type of distance, I'd usually opt for my trusty 1-iron, instead. I could hit that club from anywhere and I'd get the same low trajectory, low spin shot - plus I could shape it as well.
There's more that can go wrong with a driver off the deck than can go right and with fairway metals and hybrids what they are today, I really don't see the advantage.

Personally, I think it's more of an ego shot than anything else. The reason I believe this is because I can't think of a time when someone attempted such a shot that they resisted the urge to let everyone know that's what they were doing.

I mean, does anyone "announce" that they're hitting a 5-iron?

It's almost as if they're saying, "OK guys, witness this and remember where you were when you saw it happen".

Then, after the shot travels the traditional thirty-five feet, followed by a rather colorful string of expletives, I have to resist the urge to ask, "So, you gonna try it again?"


Hit a 3-wood. It's a lot easier.



-JP

[Darth Fader]

I have tried it several times,but i have yet to hit one that i would call a good shot,will just accept that there are some holes that require a lay up.

[Leaguegolf]

My original Calaway Big Bertha (circa 1989) was great for hitting the type of shot you describe and back then I used that shot a lot. As the driver heads got bigger and bigger it became increasingly more difficult to hit that shot with any consistancy. I finally gave up trying when I bought my Callaway SteelHead 3 wood. I hit it farther than I ever hit any driver off the deck and I could control the trajectory by where I placed the ball in my stance.

I wouldn't even try that shot with the 460 cc monster I use these days.

[drstroud]

If I tried to hit a driver off the deck the ball would be buried in the ground about a foot from it's original position.

[300Yards]

I can flush a smaller driver off the deck-but I don't find it neccessary to do so. Even if I flush one with a driver, I can still get as much distance with my 3 wood, and it'll land softer.

I agree, Jp, it's an ego shot, but doesn't have any real use..

[CristieKerr]

I've tried it once with an older, smaller, more lofted driver. Meh. I'd rather hit a three wood, and if it won't have a chance of rolling up, I'd rather hit an iron and leave myself an appropriate wedge to the green.

[GolfSavage]

I remember way back when I first learned to golf at the age of 11, my set of clubs only had one wood that they called a "driver", but I'm sure it had more loft than a usual persimmon driver. But I used that off the fairway all the time. Flash forward 30+ years and I'm back playing again with a 10.5* 460cc driver, and hitting off the deck doesn't seem too appealing!

However, last year I had a rare situation that actually made using the driver a viable option. It was the round that EddieC, wb4jth, my son and I played when EddieC came down on vacation. Were on the 8th hole, a wide, long par 5 with OB on the right, water left. Wind was in our face, about 5-10 knots, and I hit my tee shot of to the right towards OB. Just before it reached the OB markers, it rolled across a "swale" that separated the houses from the course, and the far side of the swale was where OB was marked. When I got to my ball, it was sitting up on an area of grass where the mower hadn't been able to cut in the bottom of the swale. So there's my ball, sitting about 2 inches high off the ground like it was teed up, and I've got about 270 left to the green.

I pulled out my driver, and hit a beautiful low fade that ended up about 20 yards shy of the green. I think I was able to chip up and make par, but can't remember that part fully. Mostly all I can recall is the beauty of watching that ball take off so clean and on a line just as I imagined it. And since the other guys were way across the fairway looking for their balls, I don't believe I made a point to let them know I just hit driver off the deck, successfully. However, when they asked how I got so close in 2 shots, I'm sure the use of the driver was part of the explanation!

I may never get lucky enough to be in a situation like that again, and since I've all but given up on using my driver these days for ANYTHING, I'll settle for the memory of that one great shot.

[Bigvivec]

It is not a shot that I would normally try...but playing this week I had a poor drive on a par 5 and my second shot was sitting up on a little knoll in the middle of the fairway...so I gave it a try...I made up the distance that I lost off the drive and hit an iron in for a two putt par...but even though I pulled it off I don't think it is a shot that I would use without alot of practice as I felt like I had very little control...

[C-Tech]

Like JP, I just don't think it is a percentage shot. I have seen a few guys do it and have it work, but a lot more who duffed it.

[Martini78]

Pinnacle Golf Media Player

Jason Zuback's advice on the topic

[Johneli]

You're right.....now it IS more of an ego shot than anything else. With the new clubheads it takes just the perfect swing to get the desired results, but back when the clubheads were smaller I used to consider it more of a practical shot.

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by Johneli

You're right.....now it IS more of an ego shot than anything else. With the new clubheads it takes just the perfect swing to get the desired results, but back when the clubheads were smaller I used to consider it more of a practical shot.

Exactly.

I have an old TayloMade Burner from the mid-eighties that, by today's standards, looks more like a hybrid than a driver. An off-the-deck shot with that club would be child's play. But with today's drivers with faces almost three inches tall, an off-the-deck shot isn't really taking advantage of the club's design. Today's drivers are meant to strike the ball either AT or slightly ABOVE the center of the clubface to get the most from the technology. An off-the-deck shot would likely be struck BELOW the center which really doesn't allow you to take full advantage of the club's design.

That's why a 3-metal is the better choice because it's actually designed for that shot and for those reasons.



-JP

[Nikeguy07]

I can take driver off the deck with the best of them, but now adays with the driver being designed with a deeper clubface and a different sweet spot, you don't hit the sweet spot if you hit it off the deck. You hit a thin shot which creates a low to high spinner that won't go as far as my three wood. Back in the day when the Great Big Bertha, or Ti bubble 2, or titleist 975D were out, you could hit that shot a lot longer than 3 wood.

[JPsuff]

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The Great Big Bertha, Ti bubble 2, and Titleist 975D were "back in the day"?


Thanks. Now I feel REALLY old.



-JP

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Martini78

Pinnacle Golf Media Player

Jason Zuback's advice on the topic

LOL...J. Zuback telling us not to swing too hard...

[Martini78]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

LOL...J. Zuback telling us not to swing too hard...

I know, right. Watch him as he swings past parallel with a 50" driver and mashes one 325 off the ground.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Martini78

I know, right. Watch him as he swings past parallel with a 50" driver and mashes one 325 off the ground.

It's just not fair I tell you...and picks it clean with the 460* head...unreal...I could follow his instructions all day and not pick a clean shot with driver off the deck like that...but it shows that it can be done, just not the percentage play unless you have "world champion" attached to your name in some fashion...

[Martini78]

If you look at the video, you'll notice he's using the Cobra Speed Pro S(hallow) instead of his usual Cobra Speed Pro D(eep). The S has a shallower face and lower CG. The D model wouldn't work as well because you wouldn't be able to get the ball on the sweet spot.

[90civicracer]

I've tried it out on the range just for ***** and giggles, but I've never bothered to try it on the course. Of the balls I've hit on the range, maybe 5 would have worked out on the course. My 3 wood flies further because I can get better contact with it and its a lot easier.

[Martini78]

Whenever I hit a big, 460cc Titanium driver off the ground, I hit what feels like a very thin shot that doesn't do anything special for me. I did have a 300cc Great Big Bertha 10* driver that I played as a 3-wood a while back. That felt solid and flew very far. I don't play too many 570+ yard holes though... so it left the bag due to not being needed.

[Fileygolfer]

I can hit Driver off the carpet when I need to but that need, may be once a year.
250out, directly into 25mph+ wind, nothing in the way - may use it.