Updated September 7, 2023. This article was thoroughly audited by multiple golf experts and coaches for its accuracy. You can read more about our rigorous testing protocol here.
More distance from the tee box means shorter second shots, where golfers are typically more accurate.
If increasing swing speed with forgiveness is vital to improving your game, a new driver built for adding distance can certainly increase your skill level.
Our top picks for the best driver for distance all share the ability to increase ball flight with lower spin for maximum distance – find out below which one is best for you.
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Last updated on 2023-11-21. The links are affiliate links. Product images are served from Amazon Product Advertising API.
Table of Contents
What to Look for When Buying Golf Drivers for Distance
Ball Speed
Ball speed is registered off the face of drivers. Simply put, ball speed equals distance. The higher the speed of the ball, the longer the drive will travel, although that doesn’t account for accuracy.
Regardless of where the shot lands, the rate of speed the ball leaves the face does determine total yardage. A golf driver that increases the speed of the ball is an enormous boost to beginning golfers.
Heads
A driver’s head is responsible for everything from the quality of contact to forgiveness. Most golf drivers head offer aerodynamics that reduces the wind resistance against the head.
The volume of a driver’s head typically registers around 460cc, although smaller heads that offer more control have become popular for professional golfers. A driver’s head can also help with shot shape creating a fade bias or draw bias.
Adjustability
There are adjustable features on most modern driver’s heads. Not only do these drivers have loft sleeves that can affect face angle to raise or lower launch, but they also can provide adjustable weighting for more customization to create the ideal shot shape.
The best golf drivers for distance are rarely fixed but allow golfers to adjust their club for maximum length off the tee box.
Loft and Launch Angle
All drivers have a preset loft that creates a launch angle at impact. While some drivers offer a fixed lie angle, others have adjustable features, such as a loft sleeve that can alter the loft of the face.
If a golfer is struggling to get more carry on their drives, a small loft tweak can help. With the assistance of a TrackMan or other shot tracker, golfers can discover the launch angle of their shots.
Weight
The weight of the best golf driver for distance affects everything from swing speed to accuracy. Golfers with slower swing speeds might struggle to get a heavy driver back to square on each swing.
The opposite is true as a fast swinger could have difficulty getting maximum distance if the golf club doesn’t have the heft or weight to support the swing speed. A golfer should judge the weight by how it affects the bottom line of distance and precision.
Shafts
The shafts on a driver for distance, like the Callaway XR 16, must meet a threshold of strength and flexibility. The better the shaft, the more accuracy, and distance the golfer can expect from the club.
Since golfers need low spin and piercing flight, the driver shaft is vital for creating long drives. Golfers must match their swing speed with the shaft flex that corresponds to get the distance and accuracy they need off the tee box.
Flexpoint
Flexpoint, or the kickpoint, is the spot in the shaft where it flexes during the swing. The flex point is essential because it determines the ball’s launch angle after impact. The flex point can come high, mid, or low on the shaft.
For slow swingers, the flex point will be lower on the shaft. For advanced players that swing hard, the flex point is higher on the driver’s shaft.
Lightweight
Another benefit of the best golf driver for distance is that the club is usually streamlined to keep it lightweight. The head is typically hollow with balanced weighting around the perimeter of the carbon crown.
The low weight keeps swing speeds elevated for maximum distance. Adjustable weights don’t usually affect speed performance as the weights only weigh a handful of grams. Golf balls still travel far with a lightweight driver, even for a golfer with a slower swing speed.
Sweet Spot
The sweet spot on a driver incorporates a wide oval surrounding the center of the face. Shots that are impacted inside the sweet spot usually achieve maximum distances with high rates of ball speed.
Balls that hit outside of this zone usually have decreased speed with accuracy problems. Professional golfers routinely hit the center of the face with their shots, while amateurs struggle to achieve consistency with their contact.
Quality
Like a Wilson Staff model, the quality of a driver for distance is vital for the club to stay light with its weight while taking advantage of its innovative technology.
Regardless of the price tag, every time you hit a quality driver, you can find its charm through the feel and response at impact. A top-rated shaft also improves the overall quality and adds to the driver’s bottom line performance.
Best Driver for Distance 2023
Titleist TSR1 Driver
Best All-Around Distance Driver
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9°-12°
- Shaft Length: 45.5”
- Lie: 58.5°
PROS
- Aerodynamic head shape offers reduced drag
- Best for swings under 90 mph
- Low, deep CG produces an easy launch
CONS
- Not ideal for golfers with fast swing speeds
The TSR1 from Titleist offers a sleek, sophisticated driver for golfers with swing speeds under 90 mph. Shaped similarly to TaylorMade’s most popular drivers, the TSR1 offers reduced drag to maximize ball speed at impact.
I really enjoyed the TSR1’s forgiving nature on shots that leaked toward the toe. The driver delivered tight shot dispersion that helped me hit more fairways during my time with the club.
The driver also offers several worthwhile shaft options to customize your shotmaking. The shafts increase stability and produce better energy transfer at impact.
For most golfers that need more distance, a driver like the TSR1 can help boost their average while improving their accuracy.
TaylorMade Stealth 2 High Draw Driver
Best Draw Bias Distance Driver
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9°-12°
- Shaft Length: 45.5”
- Lie: 58°-62°
PROS
- Carbon Twist Face offers dynamic forgiveness
- High draw design delivers outstanding slice correction
- Thru-Slot Speed Pocket maximizes ball speed
CONS
- Only for golfers struggling with a slice
TaylorMade’s new Stealth 2 HD offers slice correction for high handicappers and beginners that need an elite draw-bias driver.
All of the Stealth 2’s features are here with the HD version, but the weighting provides golfers with the ability to hit more fairways.
On the range, I really enjoyed the power delivered by the Stealth 2 HD. The club provides an easy launch for extended carry that’s far-reaching to add yards to your drive’s overall distance.
If you are shopping for distance in a draw-bias package, you won’t be able to find a better driver than the Stealth 2 HD from TaylorMade.
Check our full TaylorMade Stealth 2 Driver Review
Cobra Aerojet Max Driver
Best Distance Driver for Mid Handicappers
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9°-12°
- Shaft Length: 45.5”
- Lie: 57.2°-58.2°
PROS
- Aerodynamic shaping boosts overall swing speed
- Adjustable weighting customizes ball flight
- Lightweight crown and sole work to increase the distance
- CONS
- No adjustable fade setting, only draw and neutral
Cobra’s exciting Aerojet Max driver offers the complete package for mid-handicappers from distance to better accuracy.
Featuring a sleek aerodynamic head shape, the Aerojet Max boosts swing speed to help you create more distance with every trip to the tee box.
My favorite feature of the Aerojet Max is the adjustability.
While it doesn’t have a sliding weight, it does carry two stationary weights along the sole that can be switched out to create a draw or neutral shot shape. The hosel sleeve adds more customization that helped me produce the height and spin I wanted from my driver.
For mid-handicappers, the Cobra driver remains one of the biggest game changers in recent memory.
Check our honest Cobra Aerojet Driver Review
Callaway Rogue ST Max LS
Best Low Spin Distance Driver
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 8-11°, 9.5-12.5°
- Standard Length: 45.75″
- Lie: 57°
PROS
- Exceptional workability allows golfers to go low or high with maximum speed
- Lightweight build does not reduce the power of the golf ball
- Incredibly tight shot dispersion puts you in the fairway with more frequency
- Lower CG minimizes spin for straighter drives
CONS
- Neutral ball flight bias doesn’t help golfers looking to overcome a slice
- Low launch, low spin hard to master for high handicappers or beginners
Callaway Rogue ST Max LS, a stunner of a driver, is our choice for the best driver for adding distance to your game.
Although the club doesn’t have sliding weights, the driver does feature a neutral setup, allowing you to create the perfect drive for your game. If you love workability, you’ll find more than enough to craft your ideal shot shape with this Callaway driver.
When looking at the Rogue ST Max LS through the lens of distance, we were quite pleased with the yardage our testers recorded with the luxury Callaway driver.
Our highest swing speeds found that the golf club produced on average up to 8-10 extra yards of length over their current driver.
Great for low handicappers but accessible enough for mid handicappers, the Callaway Rogue ST Max LS delivers accuracy, provides low spin rates for additional forgiveness, and stretches the distance from the tee in one marvelously sleek package.
Check our in-depth Callaway Rogue ST Max Driver review.
Cobra LTDx LS Driver
Best Luxury Driver for Distance
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9, 10.5°
- Standard Length: 45.5″
- Lie: 57.5, 58.5°
PROS
- Multi-material head minimizes twisting through the impact zone
- Milled face increases forgiveness and feel
- Adjustable stationary weighting promotes draw or fade bias
- Extremely hot face propels the ball with jaw-dropping speed
CONS
- Low launch ideal for experienced golfers only
- Draw and fade bias is one note, not sliding or customizable
If you are looking for a driver that brings the heat, the Cobra LTDx LS Driver certainly fits the bill. The many useful features of this club all add up to create the muscle that makes more yardage with each drive.
You’ll find an adjustable hosel on this driver to help you raise or lower your loft angle, along with one of the thinnest, hottest faces of any driver we’ve ever tested.
We were blown away by the ball speed created with the LTDx LS, and it’s one of the biggest reasons we had to include it on our list of top distance drivers.
Easily the highlight of this highly capable Cobra driver is the two stationary weights along the center of the sole that allows you to choose the preferred bias for your drives.
You can easily create a draw, fade, or neutral shot shape with this club, just by rearranging the two weights.
Available in either a 9-or 10.5-degree option, the LTDx LS won’t disappoint golfers that need a low spin, low launch driver with speed to burn.
Check our full Cobra LTDx Driver Review
Tour Edge Exotics C722
Best Budget Driver for Distance
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9.5, 10.5°
- Standard Length: 45.5″
- Head Volume: 445cc
PROS
- Front/Back Weighting System offers stability and shot height customization
- Diamond Face VFT increases thickness across the face for better ball speed
- Internal vibration diffusion dramatically improves sound and feel
- Adjustable hosel adds or subtracts 2-degrees of loft
CONS
- Weights are stationary, not sliding
- Sounds hollow on off-center strikes
Tour Edge has quietly been producing some of the best lower cost golf clubs on the market, and their latest driver, the Exotics C722 is no exception.
Powered by the streamlined 445cc head, the C722 works hard to offer maximum feel on every drive.
One of the lightest golf drivers we’ve tested in recent memory, the C722 utilizes a carbon wrap to reduce weight and help you generate staggering ball speed.
A lower CG also boosts the carry, an incredibly helpful feature that adds yardage to the bottom line, especially if you are a high handicapper or beginning golfer.
That doesn’t mean that the C722 isn’t useful for low and mid handicappers. Quite the opposite is true because we witnessed the Tour Edge driver post some of the highest yardage numbers among the golf clubs on this list for experienced golfers during our testing.
The Tour Edge Exotics C722, our choice for the best budget distance driver, might not have the name recognition of some of the other drivers on the market.
But you’ll be hard-pressed to find another golf club for the tee box that produces the tight shot dispersion and jaw-dropping length of this one.
Callaway Epic Max LS
Best Adjustable Driver for Distance
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9, 10.5°
- Standard Length: 45.75″
- Head Volume: 460cc
PROS
- Four Jailbreak bars behind sweet spot offer tremendous power
- Flash Face technology across the hitting area boosts ball speed
- High forgiveness maintains speed on off-center strikes
- Sliding rear weight offers premium customization for shot shape
CONS
- Too much driver for beginners or high handicappers
- High price point will keep the budget-conscious golfer away
Another top-tier driver, the Callaway Epic Max LS, makes our list of the best golf drivers for distance on the market today. With raw strength and several worthwhile bells and whistles, the Epic Max LS offers length and sophistication.
Unlike the Rogue ST Max LS golf clubs, the Epic Max LS does contain a rear sliding weight to help you customize a fade or draw shot shape.
For golfers that love to tinker with their swing, the weight allows you to place an extreme or subtle bias on your drive, ultimately helping you maximize your distance.
High handicappers and beginners will find that the Epic Max LS is probably too much golf club for their growing game. But for experienced golfers, there remains plenty of accuracy, forgiveness, and distance to gain with this Callaway driver.
Another entry into the low launch, low spin driver market, the Epic Max LS is a monster of a driver, helping you generate the length you need to shorten the course.
Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo Driver
Best Driver for High Handicappers
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9, 10.5, 12°
- Standard Length: 45.5″
- Head Volume: 460cc
PROS
- Turbocharged cup face with variability offers a larger sweet spot area for additional forgiveness and accuracy
- Fixed hosel for consistent contact with lower CG and higher launch, great for beginners
- Deeper weighting in the head produces more speed over previous HB models
CONS
- No sliding weight or adjustable hosel reduces customization
- Busy, one color crown doesn’t offer contrast to line up a golf ball
Some golfers like to mix adjustability with their best golf drivers, while others like the feel and launch of a fixed hosel. The Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo Driver offers a fixed hosel that doesn’t affect the quality of your shotmaking and dramatically increases distance.
Simply put, Cleveland makes some of the best golf drivers for distance that stand up over time with performance reliability that remains unmatched by its competitors. The Launcher HB is a testament to their craftsmanship.
Worthy of being the best golf driver for distance, the Launcher HB generates power through its Hi Bore crown that lowers the center of gravity to a deeper position in the clubhead.
The aerodynamic crown produces high swing speeds that are unmatched for a fixed hosel driver.
If you are looking for reliability from your entire club, including the driver shaft and clubhead, Launcher HB golf clubs create minimal spin with a solid feel that adds significant yardage to your game.
TaylorMade SIM MAX Driver
Most Forgiving Driver for Distance
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9, 10.5, 12°
- Standard Length: 45.75″
- Lie: 56 – 60°
PROS
- Speed Injected new face balances the entire surface area for unbelievable speed and distance
- Two-degree loft sleeve raises or lowers the hitting surface angle for customized shot height
- Twist Face technology offers a larger contact area for straighter shots that produce confidence
CONS
- No adjustable weighting to customize shot shape
- Need to high speed swing to maximize distance
The SIM series offers a wildly new club that creates far-reaching distance with optimal forgiveness. Out of the SIM drivers, the SIM MAX works best for mid-level players looking to add a premium option to their game off the tee box.
An outstanding option that may be a little bit on the pricier side of the driver market, the TaylorMade SIM MAX driver offers unbelievable performance.
The driver features a multi-material design that strengthens the crown, offering reliability throughout the swing. Behind the hitting area, a speed-injected insert provides more power without limiting club speed.
Unlike the SIM Driver which offers adjustable weights, the SIM MAX only has a loft sleeve to alter your shot height.
And while the lack of customization may be disappointing for advanced golfers, for higher handicappers, this just streamlines and reduces the choices for the driver.
Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero
Best Driver for Low Handicappers
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Loft: 9, 10.5°
- Standard Length: 45.75″
- Head Volume: 450cc
PROS
- Exceptional feel and response for long distance
- Jailbreak Technology stiffens the head for explosive power
- Dual stationary weights customize launch and shot height
CONS
- Better for advanced players, not for inexperienced golfers
- Lower shot height off tee minimizes carry
The Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero offers a terrific option for advanced players looking for accuracy, shot shaping, and exceptional distance. The Sub Zero features dual stationary weights that customize launch and height.
For accurate driving, the Sub Zero remains one of the best golf drivers for distance. The slightly smaller head allows golfers to work the golf ball without issue, which is excellent for low handicappers that need more customization and control from their driver.
What’s wonderful about Sub Zero golf clubs is the feel and response you receive at impact. You feel every shot that leaks toward the toe or hits low on the face, and of course, every ball struck in the center feels pure.
The driver’s Jailbreak Technology stiffens the head by placing two steel bars behind the club face. On shots that find the center of the sweet spot, the golf driver provides an incredible feel and response due to the steel bars.
A great distance driver for highly-skilled golfers, the Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero offers a true weapon for the tee box with outstanding customization.
Questions & Answers
What is the farthest you can hit with a driver?
When it comes to the farthest golfers can hit a golf ball, the world’s best can easily clear 400 yards repeatedly. The best amateurs can drive the golf ball well over 300 yards on average.
Golfers can improve their driving distance by increasing their swing speed through exercise to build the muscles necessary for the golf swing or get better equipment.
What is a respectable drive distance?
A respectable driving distance is anything over 225-235 yards.
Golfers under the age of 30 carry an average driving distance of just under 240 yards. Then, for every ten years of age, the average distance drops 10 yards. So, for example, 40 year old golfers on average, drive the golf ball 230 yards.
What driver does Rory McIlroy use?
Rory uses the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus driver when playing on the PGA Tour. The driver produces far-reaching length with high launch and tight dispersion.
The Stealth 2 Plus also comes equipped with a sliding weight that customizes shot shape, adding fade or draw correction to straighten out drives for more fairways hit.
Recommended: What’s In Rory McIlroy’s Bag
Why is distance important?
Yes, extra distance off the tee box offers many advantages, making it one of any golfer’s essential additions to their skill set.
You can create the distance through several avenues, and a player does not need to be large to generate the swing speed and timing to manufacture exciting distance with their drives.
Increasing distance does one significant thing: Shorten the distance of your second shots into the green.
Even professional golfers that struggle with hitting the fairway, as long as they register long distances with each drive, they put themselves in a position to win by reaching the green in regulation with a chance to birdie the hole.
When do I need a golf driver?
On the course, golfers should use a driver any time the hole offers a clear landing area for their golf ball at their average hitting distance.
For example, a 400-yard par 4 that offers a fairway that only stretches 250 yards before the grass turns to deep rough may not be ideal if you hit your driver over that yardage marker.
If you are starting your golf journey and are hesitant to hit the driver on the course, you should first make the driver a part of your practice sessions before unleashing the club on the links.
What’s the difference between fairway woods and drivers?
The difference between a fairway wood and a driver is slight in some areas but major in other places.
A driver has a larger club head and lower face loft when compared to fairway woods. Since a fairway wood needs more versatility, specifically the ability to hit the golf ball without the help of a tee, designers have made adjustments to the club.
A driver usually has a loft that runs anywhere from 8-to 12-degrees, while a fairway wood offers golfers a loft of anywhere between 15-and 27 degrees. A driver provides more distance with a far short shot height when compared to a fairway wood.
Final Thoughts
Boasting an ultralight feel, the TSR1 from Titleist delivers great distance for golfers with swing speeds under 90 mph. The lightweight design works hard to boost ball speed, and the driver succeeds with tight dispersion and minimized side spin.
The driver also provides high-grade forgiveness across the entire hitting face, even on strikes that sneak out toward the toe. And if you want a higher launch, the TSR1 offers deep, low CG that’s centered on the face to increase exit velocity.
An easy choice for the best overall driver for distance, high handicappers and beginners will find the TSR1 offers fantastic all-around performance.