Long vs. Straight
Eight years ago, at age 57, I could out drive 99% of anyone on the driving range. Now, due to a number of factors, I get congratulated when I hit a 250 yard drive and am struggling to get back at least some of my lost distance - drives (pun intended) me crazy. So given that I will not average 295 again, what now?

At one of our events, a 72 year old golfer tested the latest batch of new drivers. I watched him hit ball after ball straight down the center, seldom was he off by more than 20 yards. As part of the test, I asked him his handicap, he said 7. I said seven what, he said no, it was seven. He had played twice that week and shot a 76 and 74.

We talked further and he said he had holed out from the fairway a few times during those rounds of golf, had no 3 putts and more 1 putts than 2 putts. Hummm, straight is good especially if you combine it with a killer short game.

I bring all this up because our next test is drivers and based on past tests, distance is still king. But at what cost. I'm sure that if I had concentrated on straight instead of distance back when I was long, a number of strokes could have been eliminated per round. And now that I am significantly shorter, I wish I had. The last driver I picked was not the longest, but it was the most consistent.

So when looking at new clubs, keep in mind that straight will save more strokes than distance, just won't feel as satisfying until the end of the round when you add up your score. Not saying this will be easy, I still miss the distance, but definitely rewarding.

Just some thoughts for this season...
03/23/2013
Comments...
Joe Golfer
04/21/2013
 I'd rather be long, provided the errancy isn't too great. For example, I'll take five yards longer if I'm only three yards more errant. If I can't find the fairway, obviously long isn't any good. Thus, a bit longer with a tad of inaccuracy wins out for me, but with today's drivers, most of them would probably be within five yards of eachother, provided I have a shaft that suits me in them.