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Golf Question: Am I Allowed To Hit My Golf Driver Off The Fairway?When the ball comes to rest on the fairway or any other lie on the golf course, you can select any club in your golf bag to play your desired shot. If you require the use of the driver from the fairway, you are certainly allowed to do this. Before deciding to use the driver it is a good idea to access the layout of the hole and ask yourself the following questions before proceeding:


  • Is a fairway wood or hybrid not enough club to reach?
  • Is the ball lying nicely on the fairway?
  • What is between your ball and the desired target?
  • Are there any obstacles to carry over, like bunkers or water?

Firstly, your ball needs to be lying nicely on the fairway to be able to make a clean contact. Then you need to ask yourself if it is necessary to hit the driver for your next shot. With hitting a driver when the ball is lying on the fairway, the strike location on the club face will be lower on the face, which will promote a lower running shot. If you need to carry the ball over bunkers and water hazards, hitting the driver off the fairway wouldnt be a wise play.

To execute, place the ball position just inside your left heel. When making a swing do not be afraid to make a slightly downward hit like you would with a fairway wood. The most likely miss when hitting a driver from off the fairway would be a low running shot.

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There are no rules which stipulate the use of the driver when on the fairway. You can use any of the clubs in your golf bag no matter where you are on the golf course. So if you want to give your driver a hit from the fairway, go ahead and give it a rip.

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There is no rule in golf stating the driver has to be teed up. The way a driver is designed it is easier to achieve the optimum ball flight when the ball is teed up. So if you fancy giving the driver a hit when the ball is resting on the fairway, go ahead.

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The driver will most often be used from the tee box during the round, but it is not restricted or limited to use in this position. There are times when other clubs will be played from the tee box for desired placement on the hole, and for par 3s where irons will most likely be used from the tee.