Equipment
Driver off the deck: Leave this shot to the pros!
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.
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.
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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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head
From the seller: (@lasallen): “For sale is a BRNR mini 11.5 deg head only in brand new condition. $325 shipped.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.