The driver has to be the most interesting club in a high handicap golfer’s bag. Possibly only the putter can bring as much joy and sorrow to one’s game. It’s a big thrill to smash a long drive down the middle of the fairway. On the other hand, there is no worse feeling in golf than slicing your drive fifty yards out of bounds. Continually struggling to put your tee shots in play with your driver leads to total frustration. Your tee shot sets the tone for the whole hole. It’s nearly impossible to improve your golf game when you’re not finding the fairway and scrambling to post a decent score hole after hole.
Many high handicap golfers do not know how to fix a slice. They consistently hit a slice with their driver. Instead of fixing their slice on the practice range, they attempt to play around their slice but it keeps getting in the way. Missed fairways and lost distance begin to suck the enjoyment from the game.
This leads some golfers to quit using their driver all together. They hit fairway metals, hybrids, or even irons off the tee to increase the number of fairways they hit in regulation. This keeps them in the hole longer and gives them a chance to score better than if they used their driver. Actually, it’s probably the best choice if you are really struggling with your driver. Leave it in the bag for your round or don’t even bring it to the course. Keeping the ball in front of you, in play, will bring you more enjoyment from the game and much less frustration.
So if you’re not connecting with your driver, it may be best not to use it on the course but you should not abandon your driver all together. You should be working hard to learn how to hit your driver on the practice range. There are ten to twelve holes a round where you driver is the correct club to hit off the tee. As a high handicap golfer, you most likely can use all the distance you can get off the tee. Hitting your driver in the fairway puts you in the best position for your approach shot. Shorter approach shots from the fairway will allow you to hit more greens in regulation, which is the secret to scoring lower in golf.
Learn how to hit your driver. If you need to know how to fix a slice, see our 3 part How to Fix a Slice series – The Grip, Rotate Your Body, and Create an In to Out Swing.