Using Your Wife’s Driver

This week’s Q&A is excerpted from Dear Frank, Answers to 100 of Your Golf Equipment Questions

Dear Frank,
Thanks for the great web site. I wait for each week’s questions.

I noticed today your discussion with someone whose 3-wood is ‘too long’. I am 5’8†and find it virtually impossible to swing any of the longer (standard) men’s drivers and get my wrists closed so as not to slice like crazy. It feels to me like a brick on the end of a shaft. I’ve tried most of the $200-$500 drivers in the bays at my local Golfsmith, and the result is always the same.

My solution was to go to a shorter driver, namely my wife’s women’s Adams Driver, which is both shorter and light as a feather. I may not outdrive a lot of men, but I feel like it gives me the confidence to automatically close my wrists and my drives are now generally very straight.

Am I crazy for using a woman’s club, or smart?

Thanks – Ed

Ed,

You are not crazy and therefore must be smart.

There is no reason why you should not use shorter clubs. The shorter the club, the more control you have; also, the lower the swing weight, all else (such as head weight) being equal. This is one reason why it feels lighter than your own ‘Big Stick’.

The guidelines I have proposed for some time suggest using a standard set with the appropriate shaft flex but a shorter than standard driver. This seems to be catching on, and many golfers are reporting success with this concept and gaining confidence on the tee.

In the long run, golfers prefer to shoot a lower score rather than to hit the occasional long drive when all the stars are in synchrony and they just happen to get it all together. On these few occasions — which are fun — we do feel some pride about how great we are, but this doesn’t last long.

You are not crazy; most golfers will find that when it comes to a driver, shorter is better. Glad you are enjoying the Q and A.

Frank