Ideally a lesson but you probably know that. Sometimes going to a stiffer alternative shaft will tighten your dispersion even though you might give up a few yards in distance. Good luck. Its s lot more fun when the tee shot is in play.

It would depend on how much yardage you're talking about. I currently have a distance gap in bag in the 210 - 225 range because I don't carry that club in my bag. I dial back on my 3-wood to fill the gap. During casual rounds I'll push the envelope with distance knowing I will be sacrificing accuracy; for the competitive rounds, I'll do the opposite.

I’m kind of in the same boat. I’ve been changing too much with my driver swing and now it’s just a complete mess and inconsistent. I’ve been tempted to go 3 wood off the tee but I’m just going to book some lessons and try to fix this mess.

Distance is a huge advantage. Instead of abandoning the driver completely, I would work on it and figure it out. Having 2-3 clubs less into a green is big for most people. In every round of golf, there are times to play conservatively off the tee for position, and times to play aggressive. Having that distance when you need it is crucial.

I have given up around 20 yards just by swinging easier and now my misses are just off the fairway & mostly left as I draw the ball. If I swing full velocity I can hit around 250 but if it's a power fade in the trees it doesn't matter. Or a dead pull into the trees it doesn't matter. So by swinging 75-80% off the tee I miss left 34% hit 39% fairways & miss right 25%. Last year I missed right & left both at 37% and had many punch out shots which added to my score every round.....

I no longer carry a 3W or any fairway wood. I have an 18 degree U510 2 Iron I play with now. Took Hybrids out of bag also as I am more accurate with irons than fairways or hybrids any day of the week.
Scores are slowly coming down now, but down is good....

Good luck in finding that happy medium,

DM

In another approach to taking some yards off, whenever I'm iffy with the driver, I have always just taken it down 10-20% less than my normal swing.
I'm not long off the tee to begin with and I'm okay being even shorter as long as I keep it in play. I may be about the same- in the 240 carry. But slowing down the swing is something I've done for many years now (80/90% swing) and it has kept me in the game without too many noticing.
It's difficult to do at first, but once you discover that your approach will almost be the same or just a few yards difference away (flag placements might play to it, also), the confidence builds back up and it becomes easier to adjust the driver less than a 100%.
In my experience, it's stress free to slow down and I find that I can still have a good time and even score fair and sometimes even well within my own ability. Other times, the swing groove comes back in the middle of the game while trying to slow things down.

I love my driver, except when it goes right. I tend to use my 3w off the tee more often these days. I don't mind the distance loss over accuracy.

I would rather play from the fairway and rely on my iron play to get me home than trying to out drive everyone and end up playing my second shot in the trees or worse...

I've had this discussion for a while now and the plain truth is if you are not getting home or close in 2 on a par 4 or 3 on a par 5 then you need to move up a set of tees. I have done so about 2 years ago and it's made the game more enjoyable for me.

Makes every bit of sense. Although I don't mean it for everyone- some just knows how to play a long hole with their short stuff. :-)

As I have gotten older, I kinda feel that I have gotten smarter. With age comes more aches and pains and loss of yardage and one tends to move up to the dreaded senior tees. I will be 75 in September and my game is more and more about yardage. Playing from the senior's I have three clubs that I tend to use a lot, my 11.25* driver, 15* fairway and 17* hybrid. Depending on the yardage and whatever I feel will put me in the middle of the fairway. As I have worked with the three clubs, the yardage and accuracy fell in line. Now, if I can only get those irons dialed in. Having three clubs I can count on gives me the confidence to swing with authority each time I tee that Prov1 up. With respect. cz

Golf is meant to be played at match play or alone, 2 ball, 4 ball matches, alternate shot matches, scrambles. I play alot alone nowadays, and just love being out there. I have enough memories from 53 seasons, to never feel alone on the course.

I agree with not abandoning your driver but backing off a little. If this gets it back down the middle, then you can start to increase closer to a full swing and your dispersion should be tighter as well. If you are still spraying then a lesson is probably in order.

I'd give up some distance for accuracy. Since working with my instructor late last year, it's been a struggle since. The other weird thing is I can't get my driver in the air to save my life. If it's 20 feet off the ground, that's high for me lately. Since it hasn't rained much lately, it at least rolls for days and I don't lose much in distance.

Need to make another trip to visit my instructor, hopefully he can help fix it.

How about this?
Look into getting a proper fit for your driver.
Consider going to 44.5" for your driver length...this may improve center strike and smash factor.
Better Center Strike and Smash Factor = BOMBS!
A shorter shaft is also going to improve your shot dispersion.
On a side note...practice and seek help as well from your local PGA professional.

Cheers,
Dr. K

I totally agree with previous posts as to getting properly fitted and getting lesson from a pro, however, as a 12 HDPer, I am willing to drop 20 yards if I am on the fairway. This means I go from 260 to 240 yards.
Is it worth it? Definitely because my skills/capacity to get up and down or recover from the rough is not even close to my 'accuracy' from the fairway.

I guess I suffer the syndrome of the 'range guy'; perfect lie = unreal expectations which do not match real-course lies/shots.