Should I Ever Use A Driver From The Golf Fairway (Video) - by Peter Finch
Should I Ever Use A Driver From The Golf Fairway (Video) - by Peter Finch

Should I ever use a driver from the golf fairway? Now when you’re contemplating hitting a driver from the fairway, there needs to be a number of things which are actually involved. The lie needs to be fantastic and you need to be confident with the technique you are using. Normally 99 times out a 100 you’re better suited using a fairway wood which is going to get the ball up in the air and it’s still going to actually travel quite a decent distance. Your ball strike has to be very, very precise if you want to get your driver further than your 3-wood off the fairway. However having said that, if you can play it and you can get the technique right, it’s a fantastic weapon to have in the arsenal and it’s also very impressive for anyone who’s going to be playing with you.

Now the good -- there has to be very slight differences in the technique then you would kind of hit the driver off the tee. Mainly the ball position rather than just being off the heel needs to move slightly further back in the stance. So it’s pretty much played where a 3-wood would be played, just a couple of inches inside that left heel. Now as you get set up you don’t want to stand quite as wide. You’re going to have to narrow it all very, very slightly. You want to be holding the driver a little bit further down; leave about an inch at the top of the grip. This will get you down to the level of the ball, get you over that ball. It will also make sure that the club doesn’t bottom out too early and catch the ground before the ball. You want to be getting the hands level with, not behind the ball; so level with the ball. And then if you swing through you cannot, whatever you do, try and scoop the ball off the ground. You have to follow through, strike the ball and then try and brush the ground afterwards. If you’re using a driver, a very low loft say an eight degree driver, this is going to be extremely difficult. It will be a lot easier if you’ve got a higher loft on your driver upwards of 9½ degrees. So your set up in this technique, hands level with the ball; I’m just going to try and bruise the ground afterwards and trust the loft to get the ball in the air. So although hitting a driver off the deck is very, very hard; if you use the correct technique, you can get the ball down there. But 99 times out of a 100 times you’re better off using a fairway metal. 2014-11-19

Should I ever use a driver from the golf fairway? Now when you’re contemplating hitting a driver from the fairway, there needs to be a number of things which are actually involved. The lie needs to be fantastic and you need to be confident with the technique you are using. Normally 99 times out a 100 you’re better suited using a fairway wood which is going to get the ball up in the air and it’s still going to actually travel quite a decent distance. Your ball strike has to be very, very precise if you want to get your driver further than your 3-wood off the fairway. However having said that, if you can play it and you can get the technique right, it’s a fantastic weapon to have in the arsenal and it’s also very impressive for anyone who’s going to be playing with you.

Now the good — there has to be very slight differences in the technique then you would kind of hit the driver off the tee. Mainly the ball position rather than just being off the heel needs to move slightly further back in the stance. So it’s pretty much played where a 3-wood would be played, just a couple of inches inside that left heel. Now as you get set up you don’t want to stand quite as wide. You’re going to have to narrow it all very, very slightly. You want to be holding the driver a little bit further down; leave about an inch at the top of the grip. This will get you down to the level of the ball, get you over that ball. It will also make sure that the club doesn’t bottom out too early and catch the ground before the ball. You want to be getting the hands level with, not behind the ball; so level with the ball. And then if you swing through you cannot, whatever you do, try and scoop the ball off the ground. You have to follow through, strike the ball and then try and brush the ground afterwards.

If you’re using a driver, a very low loft say an eight degree driver, this is going to be extremely difficult. It will be a lot easier if you’ve got a higher loft on your driver upwards of 9½ degrees. So your set up in this technique, hands level with the ball; I’m just going to try and bruise the ground afterwards and trust the loft to get the ball in the air. So although hitting a driver off the deck is very, very hard; if you use the correct technique, you can get the ball down there. But 99 times out of a 100 times you’re better off using a fairway metal.