Playing good golf requires the knowledge and use of every golf club in the bag. I don't know how many times I've seen a golfer leaving their driver in the bag when teeing it up on the tee box. I always ask the same question over and over again, and get the same answer. "Why do you leave the driver in the bag on long golf holes?" "I cannot hit my driver off of the tee box." Has always been the same response. Typically they duff any other club they choose, but blame it on a bad swing.
A bad golf shot with a driver has always been because of the golf club, never the golf swing. Why is that? It is a matter of confidence. Hitting the driver off the tee box, is no different than hitting any other wood or iron off the tee box.
As a matter of fact, the club head is bigger and should be a lot easier to make contact with the golf ball. Golfers, who do not hit their driver off of the tee box, simply have convinced themselves it is too hard to do. They have convinced themselves to a point that any other club selection is the right choice, therefore when a player hits a couple good shots off the tee box with their 3 wood or 2 iron, it justifies leaving the driver in the bag. There will be golf holes with tight fairways, and you will consider anything but a driver off the tee box that is easier to control, but to give up on any one golf club, should never be an option. Do not give up on the driver. It is not as hard to hit as you think.
Take the same golf swing as any other golf club you would choose. Accuracy will come with every other attempt. The only difference with the driver and any other golf club is the set up position in relation to your distance from the ball, because of the length of the golf club. Stand a little further back and take the same golf swing as you would with any other golf club. Practice with different golf ball positions and keep your confidence level high.
For greater confidence, practice hitting the driver off of the fairway without a tee. It will help you reach those long par fives. Practice with the ball positioned in the middle of your stance, and you will soon be lifting them off the fairway. Keep your golf swing as normal as possible. Do not try to scoop the ball off of the fairway. With proper ball positioning in your stance and a good straight arm on the way back and through, the driver clubface will lift it off the fairway as if you had it teed up.
Lifting the ball off of the fairway with a driver only requires a good lie and a confident golf swing. It will rise off the fairway like any other fairway wood, but you will get more distance. Take a little more confidence in your golf swing to the tee box, and it will not matter what golf club you select. Each golf club is as easy as the other. You just need a little more faith in your golf swing. .
By: George Gabriel
