I don’t know how many times I’ve played with fellow golfers who said: “You know – I should leave my driver in the bag and just hit my three-wood” – or maybe it’s a fairway iron or some other club they hit fairly long and usually straight.
Recently, I have been leaving my driver in the bag – actually it was at the pro shop, because I had taken my driver in for a new grip and they cut the old grip off before discovering they didn’t have a new one top replace it. While the correct grip was on order, I played three times without a driver in my bag and I played some of my best golf in years. I had an 82 at Meadowcreek in spite of three double bogeys. Shooting an 82 for me is like Tiger carding a 65 at Augusta National. It was a good round. I hit a 5-wood at every tee box but the par threes.
I almost always hit my 5-wood in the fairway, even if it’s not very far down the fairway. But I can hit it within about 10-20 yards of my best drive. When you’re off to the right behind a tree or in a fairway bunker and you’re not playing from the short grass, your score reflects that – especially if you are a high handicap golfer like me.
I just picked up my re-gripped driver, but it better behave itself, or it goes back in the bag and out comes the five-wood. Perhaps more of us duffers should leave the big stick at home and play it smart and safe. I guarantee the scores would improve.