Babbs' Lesson #3

DRIVING FOR DOUGH

With the advancements in golf technology, the driver has gone from the hardest club to hit to the easiest. This, however, has not led to lower scores for most golfers.

I see it often that most amateurs get the largest, lightest drivers on the market and swing as hard as they can. They may brag about how far they hit the ball, but their scores certainly are not dropping when they are hitting their second shots out of the trees all day long!

I have been playing golf for many years and have had a chance to try almost every club made. I have tried all types of head sizes, shapes, lofts and lengths and I still keep going back to the same setup.

A steel shaft. Yes, a steel shaft!

I hit a 10 degree driver with a 44 1/2" steel shaft, a mid-size grip and hit 90% of my fairways.

The new club-heads, balls and shaft technology, even in steel, is so much better than it once was. I have never found a club head matched with a graphite shaft that has given a significant gain in yardage. Playing from the fairway is worth losing the 10 yards I may get from an expensive graphite shaft.

The steel keeps the club-head more stable through the swing and allows me to keep a nice smooth tempo so that I can constantly square the club-face with solid contact.

If you can't hit a fairway to save your life and it is costing you shots, a steel shaft might be worth a try!

That's it for now. Check back again in a couple of weeks for another golf lesson. And remember, in the meantime, you have to practice in order to improve your game. If you do this with each of my lessons, by the end of the summer, who knows - you might be good enough to win the club championship!