Equipment

Driver off the deck: Leave this shot to the pros!

Published

6 years ago

Aug 27, 2020

A driver is singularly designed to do one thing really well: hit the golf ball off a tee as far a possible. Lucky for us golfers, thanks to its size and forgiveness, a driver is one of the easiest clubs to hit, too, except in one scenario—off the deck.

When it comes to attempting heroic shots in golf, I’ve covered how “a lob wedge is a dangerous club for amateur golfers“ and after the open-face lob wedge, the next most difficult shot to execute is a driver off the deck. It requires a great lie, unique dynamics, and a lot of speed, and for that reason its best to leave it up to the pros.

The why

Like a lot of things in golf, the main reason hitting a driver off the deck has become so hard is the same reason so many other shots have become easier; modern-day equipment. Drivers today are all over 440cc’s and multilayer golfballs are not designed to spin when hit at high speeds and with little loft – perfect for hitting bombs off the tee but not from the short grass.

It wasn’t always this way. In the era of persimmon and transitioning into metal woods when a 300cc driver was considered enormous, hitting a driver off the deck, even for average golfers, was easier because the smaller heads with more loft allowed for more mass lower relative to the hight of the face.

When you add higher-launching, higher-spinning balata golf balls into the equation, it’s easy to see why the shot seemed much more attainable. Even the most spinny modern golf balls come nowhere close to creating the same spin numbers as wound balata golf balls off of metal woods.

The how

If the shot is to be attempted, the preferred shape is a low fade hit with an open face relative to the golfer’s swing path, this helps add loft to generally lower lofted clubs, and by the nature of the contact and the shot, it also helps add spin.

Not only that, but when you consider most drivers have 45-inch shafts compared to 43 inches for a 3-wood, trying to hit it off the deck makes the club play effectively more upright and if the heel catches even just a fraction before contact, the face will close and deloft which could take the driver loft down to the loft of your putter—not a good thing.

This low heel cut is exactly the shot we saw Tiger Woods hit this past weekend at the Northern Trust when attempting to get to a par 5 in two.

View this post on Instagram

Driver off the deck ?? birdie No. 5 for @tigerwoods. ????????

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on Aug 23, 2020 at 7:28am PDT

Now that we’ve explained why a fade is the “easier” shot to hit off the deck, the shot below from eventual Women British Open Champion Sophia Popov is even more outrageously impressive.

View this post on Instagram

???? DRIVER OFF THE DECK ???? @sophiacpopov converted this incredible eagle on her way to a third round 67 ???? #AIGWO @aigwomensopen

A post shared by LPGA Tour (@lpga_tour) on Aug 22, 2020 at 3:55pm PDT

They can’t all be winners though

So after seeing Tiger and Sophia make hitting driver off the deck look pretty easy, let us swing the success pendulum the other direction to watch multi-time world number one Justin Thomas toe-slice an attempted driver off the deck at the Valspar Championship. He did go on to make a birdie but only because the ball got a very friendly bounce off a spectator—sorry but there is no way I’m taking that shot off the rib cage for the chance to take home a signed glove.

To see more great and less-than-great shots, the European Tour added to its great “Challenge” series by getting some of its professionals to participate in trying to hit the green and get a ball within 8 feet on the 18th hole at Wentworth from 300 yards!

The winning shot is quite spectacular, but the real gold is in some of the even more spectacular misses.

Side by side – The real numbers

Last but not least, if you are curious to see the real side by side numbers in a controlled environment, our friends at TXG did a great comparison conducted at tour-level speeds.

The results speak for themselves—probably best to leave this shot up to the pros.

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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

5 Comments

Rich

Aug 29, 2020 at 6:38 pm

Several years ago I pulled my 3-wood out of the bag, replacing it with the TM “Mini-driver.” I’ve updated that selection with TM’s latest version of it.

It’s like hitting a 2-wood. Good enough off the turf for those few times it’s necessary, and great as an alternative to the driver when faced with a short or narrow tee shot. I’ve got the loft dialed up to 13 degrees, and it’s the same length as a modern 3-wood (or, the same length as an old-school driver). I see no reason to go back to a traditional 3-wood, nor do I ever have the need to hit the driver off the deck.

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T$

Aug 28, 2020 at 3:34 pm

I can’t even hit 3 wood off the deck. I’m proud of myself when I can with a 5 wood.

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the Masqued Wedger

Aug 27, 2020 at 11:01 pm

When it comes to conversations like this – or the lob wedge – the authors seem to overlook one very obvious fact.

The majority of golfers are not playing golf for a living – or even competetively. They’re playing it as a hobby, for enjoyment.

If a hobbyist aspires to be hitting driver off the fairway, or lob wedge flop shots, these are not “dangerous shots”… that implies their score counts for anything, which it does not. But pulling this off, even on rare occasion, might be the thrill they seek.

The same applies to playing muscleback irons, or any number of “tour” type clubs.

It is a certain mindset that dictates the only enjoyment in golf being shooting the lowest score possible. Perhaps this is related to the idea that the only point of work is to make as much money as possible? Either way, there are other facets of the game that many people enjoy – such as taking on a challenge that is beyond their reach. It might be argued that is an much in the spirit of the game as “low score wins”.

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Paul

Aug 27, 2020 at 8:55 pm

Not to mention you’re just begging for a broken driver shaft. Most stock driver shafts are in the 50g range with some 40g and lower, they’re not designed to withstand impact with the turf.

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Greg V

Aug 27, 2020 at 7:30 pm

Best shot I ever saw in my life was Tom Watson hitting driver off the deck for his second shot on the 8th hole at Augusta National, final round, on his way to winning the Masters in 1981.

When I got up around the green, I was talking to a patron who said that Tom was the only player that he saw hit the green in two, all day.

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Equipment

Interesting clubs at top of bag – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

12 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, users are talking about top of bag setups that are non-traditional or thought-provoking in some way. Original poster @SuperSpurs106 inquired about other members who might use unorthodox set-ups to help with gapping issues or weak spots.

They wrote:

“I currently have a PING G430 driver, TM Qi35 3W and a TM Qi4D 7W. Driver and 7W are fine but can’t get on with my 3W and have always struggling with this club over the years. Thinking of adding a 2H which I know would look odd. Just wondering if anyone else had a weird set up at the top of their bag?”

Our members in the forum have offered up their thoughts and personal experiences with non-traditional top of bag set-ups, and their reasoning for thinking outside of the box to begin with. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

BowMain42: “Don’t worry about what “looks” odd. If the club does what you need it to do, it’s the right club.”
scooterhd2: “I cant hit 3 woods either. Thats why I roll with a unicorn XL Hibore 2 wood. 400 cc head at 16 degrees of loft and its just a monster 3 wood off the tee. Off the deck, we are playing the f6 baffler. 5 wood at 41.75 inches and its easy to control.”
phizzy30: “I had driver, 3 metal, 2/4 hybrid once upon a time as a higher ss player. 4 hybrid is gone and in place is a driving iron nowadays. I don’t think what you’re proposing is weird in anyway, however the yardage gap might be glaringly huge between driver and 2 hybrid. What is it about your 3 metal that has got you all messed up? You could always go 4 metal with shorter shaft and see if that works.”

Entire Thread: “Interesting clubs at top of bag”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Equipment

Members of the Mini Driver Club – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

12 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has gone searching for fellow users of a mini driver. In a post, @TightFade asked for other mini driver users to chime in with their weapon of choice, the reason for employing a mini, and what club follows it in the bag.

@TightFade asked:

“What mini are you playing? What spot in the bag did it take over? What’s the next club after it? For me: Elyte mini 13.5. Replacing 3w. Next up club looks like it’ll be 5w.”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own bag setups featuring the mini driver, and the various reasons they purchased one in the first place. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

RCGA: “Ping G430 Max 12* ‘Thriver.’ Next club is a 4w and 2i (I play a weird course).”
JMB3: “R7 at 12.75 with Diamana BB 63s. 3w replacement. Next Club: Elyte Ti 5w at 17*.”
ColdOkieGolf: “R7 15.5 turned down to 13.5 It replaces the 3w. I found it surprisingly easy to hit off the deck, and it’s very rare that I need or want to hit something beyond 250 from the fairway, so next club is my 7w.”
ChaosTheory: “I’m sub-90 MPH with driver. But I’m able to hit DOD. I have been wanting something like the R7 15.5, so I just ordered one. I have a spot in the bag so nothing has to go. But I could see it replacing my trusty 4 wood, which I never use for approach shots. Just tee shots and lay ups. If I drop the 4 wood, I will turn my 7 wood down to ~20 degrees and will have good gaps. I recently tried a thriver build: 12 degree driver turned to 14, with a heavier 44 inch shaft and added head weight. I hit it great. Very accurate and not overly high, but the problem was that it sometimes went as far as a typical drive. And that’s not what I needed. So I will probably turn the 15.5 up to 16.5 or even 17.5. It’s all theoretical at this point. ?”

Entire Thread: “Members of the Mini Driver Club…Check In.”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Whats in the Bag

Chris Gotterup WITB 2026 (June)

Published

12 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Chris Gotterup had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Drivers: TaylorMade Qi4D (8 degrees), Ping G440 LST (9 degrees @8), Ping G440 LST (7.5 degrees)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS T1100 Handcrafted 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g