Okay, so I spent some time at the range today, trying something a bit different with the driver. You see guys like Rickie Fowler, right? He’s got that style, and I got curious about how that shorter driver setup might feel. Not saying I went and bought his exact club, just wanted to see what messing around with that idea would do for my own game.
Getting Started
First thing, I just grabbed my regular driver. No fancy adjustments, no cutting anything down. Seemed like too much hassle just for an experiment. I figured the easiest way to copy that feel was just to choke down on the grip. Like, really choke down, maybe a couple of inches more than usual. Felt kinda funny just standing there like that, honestly. Shorter club, gotta stand closer to the ball. Throws you off a bit.
Hitting Some Balls
So, I grabbed a bucket of balls and found a spot. Took a few practice swings just to get the feel. Definitely felt weird. More like swinging an iron than a driver. The first few actual hits? Pretty rough, not gonna lie. Topped one, sliced another one way right. It really changes your timing and how you approach the ball.
I had to really focus on turning through the shot. Because the club felt shorter and maybe lighter down there, it was easy to get quick or just use all arms. I tried to slow things down, think about rotating my body like I normally would. It took a good dozen balls before I started making decent contact consistently.
- Felt more compact in the swing.
- Definitely had to adjust my stance and ball position.
- Timing felt like the biggest challenge.
What I Noticed
Once I started connecting better, things got interesting. The ball flight seemed a bit lower, maybe more piercing? Hard to say for sure without fancy monitors, just going by eye. Control felt like the main potential benefit. When I hit it well, it felt like it wasn’t going to spray as much left or right. Maybe that shorter length just gives you a bit more command over the clubface through impact.
Distance was tricky to judge. Didn’t seem like I was losing a ton, but I wasn’t hitting massive bombs either. Maybe slightly shorter, but straighter? It felt like less effort, in a way, because the swing arc is smaller. But getting the timing right took more mental effort at first.
Wrapping Up
So, yeah, that was my little experiment for the day. Choking down big time to get that Fowler-ish driver feel. Was it a magic bullet? Nah, probably not. My normal swing felt more powerful when I went back to it. But, I can see why people try it. That feeling of control on the good shots was definitely there.
Will I stick with it? Probably not full-time. But maybe I’ll choke down an inch or so more often when I really need to find a fairway. It’s something different, forces you to focus on rotation. Glad I spent the time messing with it. Always good to try new things out on the range, see what feels right or wrong. If you’re struggling with the driver spraying all over, maybe give it a try yourself? Can’t hurt to hit a few balls choked down and see what happens.
