Taking the Driver out of the Bag?

Over the last 18 months I've gone through a phase of slicing, then hooking, then back to slicing, and now a hook's starting to creep back in, although I'd take a hook any day of the week over a slice. When I'm playing well, the hook sets in, and when I'm playing badly, the slice does. At the moment it's one or the other.

As a newcomer to the game, I almost feel like it's obligatory to use a driver, and that by not using one, it's making me less of a golfer. It's the macho image of hitting things with a big stick I suppose

I feel that my course is more suited to straight, accurate shots, rather than long, and often wild shots. A common report about the course is that you have to use every club in your bag, and that's true! At just over 5000 yards, self-proclaimed long-hitters' eyes light up, but most of them will come away with a worse card than a shorter, straighter hitter. A driver would have it's place in someone's bag who can confidently hit a narrow fairway, but if not, you're better off with a hybrid or an iron, otherwise you'll just waste shots playing out of trees, playing provisional balls, etc.