Edited by: Jordan Fuller
Reviewed by: John Marshall
Last Update:
Drivers are a tricky club to master for beginners.
There are several shortcuts and features to look for in a driver that will certainly help shorten the learning curve of the beginner.
From drivers with tons of adjustable features to drivers with fixed hosels and strong construction, we’ve got clubs that will enhance your game and drop your scores.
Here’s our list of the ten best drivers on the market for beginning golfers.
Featured Recommendations
Last updated on 2019-11-21. The links are affiliate links. Product images are served from Amazon Product Advertising API.
Table Of Contents
- 1 Featured Recommendations
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2 10 Best Golf Drivers for Beginners and High Handicappers
- 2.1 1. Callaway Epic Flash Driver
- 2.2 2. TaylorMade M6 Driver
- 2.3 3. Callaway Rogue Driver
- 2.4 4. Cobra King F8 Driver
- 2.5 5. TaylorMade M4 Driver
- 2.6 6. TaylorMade RBZ Driver
- 2.7 7. Cleveland Launcher HB
- 2.8 8. Cobra F-Max Superlite Offset
- 2.9 9. Callaway X Series Driver
- 2.10 10. Mazel Titanium Driver
- 3 Testing Protocol & Criteria Used For Evaluation
- 4 Questions & Answers
10 Best Golf Drivers for Beginners and High Handicappers
1. Callaway Epic Flash Driver
Best Overall: Great Driver for High Handicappers Looking for Adjustable Features
Buy on Amazon $519.99
PROS
- Sleek clubhead on the Epic Flash reduces drag for one of the company’s fastest drivers
- Large sweet spot promotes a very forgiving driver on the Epic Flash
- The clubface is thinner and lighter, allowing for more ball speed after impact
CONS
- A bit on the expensive side but for beginners serious about the game, this is a high performance driver
The Callaway Epic Flash is an ideal driver for beginning golfers that want the full buffet of adjustable options with their driver.
The Epic Flash has so many features that a golfer could want as it can shape shots, adjust loft, and dial in the perfect combination to fine tune your game as it grows.
Now, you may be asking yourself why you’d want to pick up one of the most expensive drivers on the market and the reason is because it does everything.
This is a driver that will last you for years, because as your game matures, the Epic Flash can be tweaked to lessen your slice, increase clubhead speed to the golf ball and reduce drag for a more accurate drive.
The company’s Jailbreak technology has been put on steroids with the Epic Flash creating their hottest and fastest clubface ever.
When we took the Epic Flash to the range and started hitting balls, we were blown away at the clubhead speed generated by this driver. It is an absolute game changer that shouldn’t scare off beginning golfers or high handicappers who have a real desire to better their game.
Let’s move on to the club’s exceptional forgiveness.
The Epic Flash have been created from a new carbon fabric that redistributes the balance of the weight in the clubhead for a larger sweet spot that translates into jaw dropping forgiveness. When we took the Epic Flash to the course to put it to use, we were amazed at how our off-center shots found the fairway.
Our favorite design perk with the Epic Flash is all the wonderful adjustable features.
Starting with the rear weight that can be slid to promote all levels of a draw or fade from the tee box. We loved playing around with our shot shape using just the rear-weighting on the Epic Flash.
Next, the loft sleeve has two options that can either increase or decrease loft or promote a draw or fade through an offset. A small tool takes care of all the minor adjustments that can provide huge dividends to your golf game.
We searched high and low to find something that annoyed us with the Epic Flash and we didn’t find anything. This is a remarkable piece of golfing equipment that beginning golfers with a bit of experience under their belt can greatly enjoy and find improvement with on the course.
2. TaylorMade M6 Driver
Best for Beginners: Excellent Driver for High Handicappers Looking to Lower Scores
Buy on Amazon $480.00
PROS
- TaylorMade’s TwistFace technology injects speed and forgiveness onto the golf ball
- Designed to reduce side spin for better accuracy and feel
- Sole weight helps increase ball height on drives, excellent for beginners
CONS
- The sole weight is stationery and incapable of moving to fade or draw bias
The TaylorMade M6 is another elite tier driver that doesn’t shut the door to high handicappers looking to make the jump to mid-level status.
Preferred by golfers like Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, the M6 has several adjustable features that helps the beginning golfer and can be purchased in a higher loft for maximum height and distance on drives.
The highlight of the M6 is the inclusion of a revamped speed injected Twist Face that curbs your off-center hits and delivers some serious heat to the golf ball. One of the shortcomings for most beginners is that they don’t swing with conviction.
More MPH means more yards, but that’s hard to see for inexperienced golfers. So to help make that transition to hard swinging amateur, it helps to have a little assistance on the equipment side.
When we got the M6 to our testing group, the testers were all smiles as ball after ball soared off the clubface.
One of the reasons the M6 is so spectacular is the revamped version of the Hammerhead slot. The Hammerhead works in unison with the Twist Face to promote a larger sweet spot and maintain the increased shot speed on off-center hits.
The M6 has several adjustable components that can alter offset and launch angle. A stationary sole weight can be altered to create higher launch and additional spin to your golf ball. Also the M6 has a loft sleeve that can promote draw or fade bias if you need help hitting straighter shots off the tee.
For golfers who are starting to understand swing path and swing speed, the M6 can be an injection of sheer power to your golf game.
This muscular driver is trusted by the professionals to deliver results and although it may be a bit more driver than you are looking for, we can assure you that it will stay in your bag for many years to come.
3. Callaway Rogue Driver
Best Value Driver: Most Affordable Driver for Feature-Seeking High Handicappers
Buy on Amazon $398.90
PROS
- The Rogue features Jailbreak technology to increase ball speed off the clubface
- An easy-to-use adjustable loft sleeve provides several alterations to the club for custom fit
- Sleek design does a remarkable job of sliding effortlessly through the impact zone for exceptional contact
CONS
- Does not have moveable weight system in the sole of the club, just stationery weight
Callaway has created an extraordinary driver for golfers of all skill levels, that would certainly help the struggling beginner looking to make the leap to double-digit scores, in the Rogue.
With a loft sleeve, stationary sole weight for increasing shot height and the company’s beloved Jailbreak technology behind the clubface, the Rogue is another driver that’s worthy of the Callaway name.
Beginning with the club’s design, Callaway brought in some true experts in aerodynamic technology by joining up with the engineering team at Boeing to create one of the sleekest club heads on the market with the Rogue.
The collaboration between the golf and aeronautical company produced groundbreaking technology in the driver that provides exceptional ball speed after impact.
The Rogue also benefits from the company’s largest surface area on a driver head in history. The advanced carbon composite head gives the golfer an enormous sweet spot that works to propel the golf ball with startling velocity. This benefit is something that all beginning golfers could certainly use to cut a few corners on their development.
Behind the clubface is the company’s revolutionary Jailbreak technology. The technology promotes distance and exit velocity by centering the energy of the clubhead directly behind the sweet spot for a greater transfer of power to the golf ball. As a result, golfers see more accurate drives with additional speed.
If we had a chief complaint for the Rogue, it is that the weight is stationary, only helping produce higher drives and not to alter the shape of your shots. That said, the loft sleeve can offset the club slightly to help with your slice if that is what ails you on the tee box.
For the high handicapper looking to take their game to a new level, drivers like the Rogue can bring focus and intensity to practice sessions that spill over onto the course.
The Rogue produces jaw-dropping drives that had our heads turning on the tee box as we watched gorgeous drive after gorgeous drive leave the clubhead.
4. Cobra King F8 Driver
Best Driver for Increasing Swing Speed and Distance
Buy on Amazon $229.99
PROS
- Large sweet spot delivers the goods with each drive and maximum forgiveness
- Adjustable loft sleeve gives the beginning golfer more flexibility with their launch angle
- Weighting on the sole of the clubhead provides adjustable shot shape as the beginner advances
CONS
- A small complaint we have for the F8 is that the weighting is stationary and not moveable
The Cobra King F8 is one of the best drivers for golfers of any skill level.
This Swiss Army Knife of a driver can create different launch angles and shot shapes with minimal hassle, providing a wonderful tool for high handicappers looking for a driver to grow into as they increase their golf knowledge.
A worthy update to the adored F6 model, the F8 driver maintains everything that golfers have loved about the Cobra King line of drivers.
From superb feel and balance to punishing strength, the F8 is a whopper of a driver that should be considered by any golfer looking to upgrade their tee box game.
Starting with the redesigned clubface, the F8 sparkles in all aspects of its look.
The clubface is one of the more unique designs you’ll see on a driver as it has been milled to give beginning golfers one of the most thin and lightest faces you’ll see on the market today. This feature of the F8 promotes swing speed and compression at impact, giving you more distance with every drive.
When we hit the F8, we were immediately smitten with how the driver felt at the moment of contact. This is a driver that really ages well as you get more and more time with it on the range and golf course.
You’ll fall in love with how straight and long the F8 is off the tee box.
A carbon fiber crown is one of the new features of the F8 that helps provide the lightweight swing that we’ve been promoting with this review.
When we hooked our testers up with a TrackMan monitor, we instantly saw an increase in swing speed and distance from our golfers. We certainly subscribe to the theory that new equipment makes you better, but seeing it first hand with the F8 was an eye-opener.
If we had a central disappointment with the F8 it is that the weights were sole-centered and fixed.
We like our drivers to get out of the way and allow us to fine tune the features to our liking. Regardless, the adjustable loft sleeve certainly helped increase our loft on the clubface to help get the ball into the air easily.
A dynamic driver with a terrific feel, the Cobra King F8 should be near the top of your shopping list when it comes time to pull the trigger on an upgrade.
5. TaylorMade M4 Driver
Great Driver for Beginners Who Love Adjustable Features
Buy on Amazon $299.99
PROS
- Patented Hammerhead speed slot behind center of clubface packs a punch to the golf ball
- Sole weight in clubhead provides lower center of gravity for higher drives
- Adjustable loft sleeve gives beginning golfers even more loft on clubface, perfect for amateurs needing more height on drives
CONS
- Weights in clubhead are static making it more difficult to get just the right combination for shaping shots
The TaylorMade M4 driver is a very solid and sophisticated drivers, not only for beginners and high handicappers, but golfers of all skill levels.
The M4 brings the goods in a variety of areas from an adjustable loft sleeve to boost ball height to a Hammerhead speed slot that delivers a hammer to the golf ball at impact.
At first glance, the M4 is one of the coolest looking drivers on the market. With a graphite black and white finish, the driver is a dazzler in and out of your golf bag.
At address, the M4 does very well at getting you aligned properly with the center of the club face so you’ll never have to worry about being square with the sweet spot of the driver.
The broad sweet spot of the M4 certainly assists in making this driver one of the company’s most forgiving to date. The center portion of the clubface on the M4 is lower than your typical driver.
This slight tweak in design helps reduce side spin that creates ugly slices and draw shots.
We’ve also mentioned the Hammerhead speed slot in the M4 a few times already, so let’s dig a little deeper as to why this should be important to you, the golfer. A speed slot is located in the center of the clubhead directly behind the center of the clubface.
What the Hammerhead does for the clubface makes it more pliable, almost like a trampoline that catapults the ball forward.
When the ball comes off the M4, you’ll feel that strength as the golf ball shoots down the fairway. That’s the effect of the Hammerhead slot and how it can play a huge part in improving your game.
One of the other options of the M4 that we adore is that the company offers it in a 12-degree edition.
When coupled with the loft sleeve you can add even more loft to your drives, a perfect combination for the beginning golfer.
6. TaylorMade RBZ Driver
Best Driver for Adding Swing Speed: Adjustable Hosel Makes It Easy To Get More Lofts On Drives
Buy on Amazon $199.99
PROS
- Wonderful driver that isn’t too heavy and delivers terrific contact
- Forgiving sweet spot makes this an ideal driver for high handicappers
- The adjustable hosel is a vital component for beginning golfers to get more loft on drives
CONS
- The lack of adjustable weighting on the club head is a downer for such a great club
For the beginning golfer looking to acquire a terrific driver that does everything well with a few minor complaints, then the TaylorMade RBZ is a club that certainly should garner your attention.
What strikes you right from the beginning with the RBZ is how wonderfully designed the club is straight out of the gate.
The sleek black finish pairs well with Taylor Made’s usual alignment system that makes it easy for the golfer to distinguish the center of the club face.
When you swing the RBZ through the golf ball for the first time, you’ll also notice how light the club is throughout the motion. This driver feels well made and certainly instills confidence at address.
In terms of features, one of the highlights of the RBZ is an Ultralite titanium core positioned behind the clubface for more direct energy to the golf ball at impact. What this means in layman’s terms, is that you’ll find that the RBZ promotes a higher arc on your drives. Beginning golfers who need more power off the tee will certainly enjoy this technology from TaylorMade.
When you get the RBZ on the range, you immediately notice that the balance of the club is exceptional for a mid-level driver.
TaylorMade’s patented Speed Pocket technology shines through with each strike by creating dynamic contact with the golf ball. We promise that you’ll know the instant you hit a great shot with the RBZ and that feedback had us wrapped up in the club right from the start of our testing.
Another feature we adored on the RBZ is the adjustable loft sleeve that allows the beginning golfer to modify the loft of the clubface and therefore, the trajectory of their drives. Adjusting the loft sleeve is incredibly easy with the help of a tool provided by TaylorMade.
If we had one complaint, it is that the RBZ does not come with adjustable weights that would definitely help the high-handicapper increase the forgiveness of the driver.
That said, the RBZ is a dynamic club that allows the beginning golfer to trust their club will produce quality shots that find the fairway with regularity.
7. Cleveland Launcher HB
Best Lightweight Driver: Incredible Forgiveness & Excellent Feel
Buy on Amazon $184.62
PROS
- Lightweight driver that performs like a driver that costs twice as much
- Incredible forgiveness coupled with exceptional feel that helps all beginners
- Large sweet spot provides enormous hitting area that corrects off-center hits
CONS
- This driver would be perfect if not for a lack of adjustable hosel and weighting
The Cleveland Launcher HB is another fantastic driver from a company that has a strong reputation of building some of the best golf clubs around.
The Launcher HB provides the beginner a wonderful balance on the tee and promotes distance for breaking those personal best drives along the way.
When you first hold the Launcher HB you’ll feel that lightweight balance that gives the club an even feel throughout the swing.
There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles with the Launcher HB but that doesn’t mean you should discount the driver on those perceived lack of features immediately.
Yes, it would be nice if the driver had adjustable weighting and a loft sleeve but what the company does exceptionally well is fit the customer with the right driver for their swing.
For high handicappers, finding something dependable can be advantageous over searching for the most features.
The Launcher HB does, however, have some really cool features, the first being the HiBore crown design that shifts the center of gravity on the Launcher to a place that is lower and deeper within the club head.
This slight tweak in the driver helps beginners hit higher drives with an immediate reduction in side spin.
This inspired feature also increases ball speed off the clubface due to the higher compression at impact, allowing the club to vault the ball forward with far more momentum than lesser drivers.
One more feature that we can’t go without mentioning is the ultra-lightweight hosel.
Cleveland wanted to reduce the weight on the Launcher’s hosel so that it made the clubhead’s weight distribution more balanced and even for a stronger build and increased feel.
Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Yes, the Launcher HB does not have any adjustable features to speak of for an upper tier driver. And while that is disappointing, our frustration melted away with each swing of the club.
This is a marvelous driver worth your money because of the quality of shots that it repeatedly gives the high handicapper.
8. Cobra F-Max Superlite Offset
Best for Struggling Beginners: Great Driver for Correcting Slice Problems
Buy on Amazon $199.00
PROS
- If you are consistently hitting slices, this club can help correct that with large sweet spot and offset club face
- Lightweight design helps with generating additional swing speed for struggling beginner
- Crown alignment helps keep the clubface square at address for center contact with golf ball
CONS
- No adjustable features on the F-Max Superlite Offset but that is expected with offset driver
The Cobra F-Max Superlite Offset driver is a great option for the beginning golfer that just can’t seem to hit the ball straight.
It is common for high handicappers to struggle when developing their swing to square the clubface at impact, so golf equipment creators have built a series of exceptional drivers to help correct this nagging issue.
The F-Max Superlite Offset driver is one of the best at helping with this problem due to its superior construction and lightweight feel.
Cobra has designed the F-Max Superlite with a lighter clubhead, lighter grip and lighter shaft for a small reduction in club weight that brings a huge difference when the golfer strikes the ball.
As you take the F-Max Superlite in your hands you’ll be impressed at how solid the club feels.
Once we took the driver onto the range and started putting it through the motions, Superlite responded admirably due to its Titanium face insert that improves ball speed and distance.
A feature that we loved for beginners with the F-Max Superlite Offset was the alignment design on the crown of the driver.
Most companies have a small icon or something similar to indicate the center of the club, but the Cobra club has the company’s name surrounded by a wide band in white stripes that goes across the top to the back end of the driver.
There is one more detail about the Superlite Offset that we’d like to dig into more thoroughly.
The offset design of the club does bring an extreme correction to the golfer who is having problems slicing the golf ball.
So, if you are a beginning golfer showing signs of hitting the ball straighter with each practice session, it might be wiser to find a club that you can adjust as your game grows.
9. Callaway X Series Driver
Best Budget Driver for Beginners: Great Feel At Impact That Helps To Reduce Spin
Buy on Amazon $249.99
PROS
- Very affordable driver that provides solid game play for beginning golfers
- Large forgiving sweet spot that reduces side spin for straighter drives
- Great feel at impact for strong contact on range or course
CONS
- There are no adjustable features with this driver making it a one-size-fits-all model
For beginning golfers, the game changes so much over time as the amateur works through swing changes and, if they get a coach, perhaps a fundamental overhaul.
Finding a driver to bridge the gap between those early days of golf infancy to the period of solid play is important.
Callaway has created a line of clubs, called the X-Series, that won’t break the bank and deliver solid performance to the high handicapper looking to find a set of clubs that can help get the golfer to the other side of learning the ropes.
The driver in the set is a solid worker that delivers nice feel at impact and a strong sense of forgiveness on off-center strikes.
The X-Series driver is primarily built for distance and it certainly does provide that in multitudes.
The driver has that classic look that was displayed early by the Big Bertha series and now, has been adopted by the X-Series line.
The sweet spot has the look and milling of a sledgehammer. Be forewarned, there’s not much grace with this driver.
There are no adjustable features to speak of for golfers looking for do-it-yourself tweaks but that doesn’t mean that the driver isn’t worthwhile.
During our testing, perhaps due to low initial expectations, we were pleasantly surprised at the strength of the driver. Our shots routinely crept across our typical yardages with our primary drivers.
Now we did notice that if we found the center of the sweet spot that we were kindly rewarded with a long, straight drive, but for off-center hits, we lost a bit of distance and accuracy.
These characteristics are typical for a fixed hosel driver that doesn’t have the bells and whistles of other, more sophisticated drivers.
If you are a struggling amateur on a budget looking to upgrade your club set, then the X-Series driver isn’t a bad place to begin.
10. Mazel Titanium Driver
Best Low Cost Driver for Beginners: If You’re Just Starting Out And Not Sure About The Game Just Yet
Buy on Amazon Price not available
PROS
- Very affordable driver for golfers just beginning their golfing career
- Sole-weighted driver that promotes launch angle with ease
- Compact head design keeps energy behind the golf ball to increase ball speed
CONS
- Not as finely crafted as other drivers on this list, but performs admirably at price point
The Mazel Titanium Driver may look like an incapable knockoff from the outside, but when used on the course, the club does a really nice job at getting the ball into the air and down the fairway.
Yes, it doesn’t sparkle like some of the other drivers on this list such as the Callaway Epic Flash or the TaylorMade M6, but for a quarter of the cost of those drivers, you get something that can really perform admirably for the true beginning golfer just finding their balance in the great game.
The design of the Mazel Titanium is a sharp black look that gives the golf a clear contrast with the golf ball at address.
An arrow indicator helps the golfer find the center of the strike area for easy alignment.
When you take a closer look at the Mazel, you’ll notice that the club has a tall face. It is a boxier driver in shape and that certainly helps focus the energy of the clubhead to the golf ball on well struck hits.
The face of the driver also has a high rebound compression rate for a strong trampoline effect upon impact.
The company has reduced the weight in the Titanium model to increase swing speed in an effort to boost exit velocity on those drives when you reach back, searching for a little bit extra.
The tall face of the Mazel Titanium invites one of the largest sweet spots that you’ll find on a driver in this price range.
A larger surface area on the driver does help keep the spin to a low level to promote accuracy. A low center of gravity in the sweet spot also assists in getting the ball into the air for maximum distance.
You may never see the Mazel Titanium on Sundays when you are watching the PGA Tour but if you are a high handicapper on a budget, this driver is worth your consideration.
Testing Protocol & Criteria Used For Evaluation
Criteria 1 – Design
For beginning golfers, owning a driver that is forgiving yet well-constructed is incredibly important for long term growth. Beginning golfers need to have confidence that their clubs won’t let them down and this is especially true of the driver.
Every year, golf companies are finding new ways to reduce drag on the clubhead and maximize swing speed. Some beginners feel like the best way to build a set is by finding clubs that are seven to ten years old, and why that may be cheaper initially, it can harm the improvement of your game.
In the end, for high handicappers, finding a driver that gets the ball into the air and down the fairway is paramount. These two simple guidelines are accomplished with loft and increased swing speed. Always remember: Longer drives means shorter second shots.
Great driver design is crucial when the beginning golfer takes into account the entire swing. From lining the ball up at address to draw the club back and coiling the swing, all the way through the downswing and impact.
Criteria 2 – Feel
When a beginning golfer hits a drive, they might not be able to tell where the ball is going initially. Feel comes with an increased experience of hitting the golf ball, but it also occurs at the moment of impact.
On Sundays, the best professional golfers display a sense of confidence at times after they hit drives off the tee box. How do they know they have hit a great drive? It’s a combination of feel and sight.
When we talk about the “feel” a driver has, we are talking about the response the ball gives off the club face. Professional golfers have hit hundreds of thousands of shots in their careers and they know immediately if they’ve struck the golf ball in the center of the club face because their trusted driver provides that feedback.
For beginning drivers, a new driver that produces exceptional feel throughout the swing is a club that you can gain confidence in over time. Unlike professional golfers, beginning golfers don’t have the trust in their swing or their clubs just yet, but finding equipment that can shave time on that endeavor.
Criteria 3 – Forgiveness
For beginning golfers struggling with a high handicap, a driver’s forgiveness can help keep the ball straight and long off the tee box. Most beginning golfers who are having difficulty shaving strokes off their handicap cannot routinely strike the ball on the center of the club face. Since golf equipment manufacturers understand this problem, they build drivers with larger sweet spots that help reduce the side spin that creates slices and hooks.
This wonderful advancement in golf technology has been advanced to assist the beginner in hitting the ball straighter on off-center strikes. Beginning golfers who swing their driver slowly will also appreciate the technology because it maximizes distance while reducing the shot-killing side spin.
Forgiveness in a driver comes in two different varieties the golfer must choose from. The first feature is via the construction of the driver, this is especially true if you find a driver that has a fixed clubhead with no adjustable features.
The other feature that can help a high handicapper improve is through a driver’s adjustable features. With moving weights, for example, spreading them farther apart behind a clubface, can help the driver stay more square during the impact, therefore limiting side spin.
Criteria 4 – Loft Options
One of the biggest errors that beginning golfers make when choosing a new driver for their bag is purchasing a club that fails to have enough loft. Too many beginners see that Tiger Woods has an 8.5-degree driver and sadly assumes that they should do the same. But they fail to understand that his swing speed is one of the highest ever recorded by a professional golfer.
Beginning golfers should always remember that the loft of a driver equals ball height, and it is important to maximize the height of your drives while you are swing at a slower speed. Hitting the ball harder equates into boosted exit velocity. When coupled with proper shot height, you can maximize your driving ability during these initial days of your golfing journey.
Criteria 5 – Adjustable Features
As a high handicapper, you are looking to maximize each swing, especially off the tee. When searching for this magic formula, it definitely helps if you have a driver with options. Golf manufacturers have discovered numerous ways to help the amateur tinker with their clubs to dial in the right specifications that will allow them to fine tune their game, whether it be on the course or during practice sessions.
There are two ways that manufacturers have helped beginning golfers. The first is through adjustable weights that can alter shot shape and increase forgiveness. The second is with an adjustable hosel that can reduce or increase the loft on the clubface for more height on the ball at impact.
For the beginning golfer that loves trying to dial in the best series of adjustments to boost the quality of their shots, adjustable features are an essential component for their new driver.
Questions & Answers
Why Do Beginners Need Specific Golf Drivers?
The driver or 1-wood is simply one of the most important, and most popular clubs for any golfer, and yet arguably the most obsolete in any golfer’s bag.
With almost every major manufacturers releasing a new driver every single year with new technologies, keeping up with the current driver trends, as well as finding the one most suited for you, can be the hardest task for any golfers, and especially beginners, and our aim with this article is simply to help with that fact.
Drivers are built mainly with a single purpose, distance of your off-the-tee shots.
With that in mind, three main factors are the emphasis of the designs: ball speed, launch trajectory, and spin.
It is easy to assume that high-end driver clubs with newest technologies that are used frequently in PGA Tours will be the best choice for any players. However, that is certainly not the case.
High-end drivers are built to cater professional players and high-level amateurs with single-digit handicap and is designed to fully utilize the high swing speed (above 100mph) and hit precision.
When used by beginners with insufficient swing speed, the performance will diminish dramatically in the launch trajectory and ball-speed department.
On the other hand, off-center hits on these drivers will produce a significant amount of side-spin, producing curved shots we often deemed as slice, which will sacrifice both distance and accuracy.
With that in mind, beginner golfers are better off using driver clubs more suited to their current swing speed and precision.
Do I Need The Latest Technology?
Drivers, arguably, are the most regularly updated, technology-wise, among all the other golf clubs, as discussed by GolfDigest a few years back.
Although this GolfDigest article is a bit old, it stays relevant, or yet, even more relevant today with the rapid advancements in technology regarding drivers.
However, not all the new technologies are designated toward newer players, and thus, as a beginner, you should filter the kinds of technology that might benefit you as an aspiring player.
Newer technologies surrounding the driver are boiled down towards just two: adjustability, and center of gravity placement. Let us discuss briefly whether these two will be beneficial for beginners:
New Technology 1: Center of Gravity Placement
Center of gravity placement in a driver club can affect two things:
- Producing more or less spin, hence more or less distance
- Forgiveness during off-center hits
As a beginner, having a forgiving club will certainly be a benefit, as you can train to build your accuracy while still promoting a sufficient performance.
Regarding spin, less spin will benefit a beginner golfer better, since it will translate to an easier control and less slice.
New Technology 2: Adjustability
Personalization or adjustability of a driver, again, is geared towards an adjustable center of gravity placement in the form of movable weights.
Will it help a beginner? Certainly.
Using a maximum stability setting will improve the forgiveness of the driver even more.
Other notable adjustability features of newer drivers are the ability to adjust loft angle. Higher loft angle will also benefit newer players to produce desired height trajectory during launch.
To answer the question, will you need the newest technology? Yes, provided you understood how the basics behind it, and how to apply the technology to improve your game.
One thing that might help you tremendously as a beginner, is choosing the right shaft. Let us discuss a bit regarding how shafts will affect your game, and how to choose the right one.
How Do I Choose The Right Shaft?
Why is the shaft of any club so important?
Shafts have different kinds of stiffness or flexibility. The higher your swing speed, the stiffer you would want your shaft to be, so that you can hit the ball in the center with accuracy.
Before we begin, you might want to learn about the different labeling for shaft flexibility:
- L stands for Ladies
- A or M stands for Senior Flex, often designated as AM, A/M, or Senior. Can also stand for Amateur
- R for Regular
- S denotes Stiff, also often designated as Firm
- X stands for Extra Stiff, also often called Tour
If you are using a shaft that is too stiff for your current swing speed, the shaft will not flex to its full capacity. Meaning, even a well-struck shot will not produce its maximum distance and launch trajectory.
As a result, the shot will produce too much spin, and in most situations, the ball will draw (curving right to left for right-handed golfers). The launch trajectory will also be very high, causing the loss of overall distance,
To summarize, here are the factors that will be determined by the stiffness or the flexibility of the shaft:
- Ball Speed
- Vertical Launch Angle
- Horizontal Launch Angle
- Smash Factor
- Spin rate
With that in mind, having the right shaft will certainly be one of, if not the most deciding factor for distance. In that sense, shafts will affect drivers more than the other clubs.
How then to choose the right shaft for you?
If you have the luxury of using a launch monitor, and even more, a professional fitter, they can certainly help you with choosing your shafts.
If not, in our drivers page we’ve outlined the exact flex you’ll need to use depending on your swing speed and distance.
How Many Drivers Should I Own?
With the professional rule limiting you to only be able to carry 14 clubs in your bag, carrying just one driver you trust will be more than sufficient.
Some professional golfers, albeit rare, carry two drivers: one for maximum distance, and the other one for shot-shaping.
However, such practice will not be necessary for beginners, and on the other hand, the adjustability of newer drivers will allow you to fine tune your driver for both functions.
How Often Should I Purchase A Driver?
This is a hard question to answer, especially for beginners and aspiring players, since the playing level and ability might evolve dramatically in a very short span of time.
Most reputable manufacturers release new drivers every year, and some even release more than one in one year.
However, as a general guideline, your driver, provided it is a good fit for you, can last two to four years before having a new one will show a significant upgrade. It will be different for everyone, depending on budget, skill development, and whether there’s any change of playstyle.
The Golf section of eBay has recently outlined a few reasons why you may need new golf clubs. I recommend you check it out to get feel for whether or not you may need to purchase new clubs.
Major golf sites, such as Golf Digest, often release their Obsolete List, listing the equipment that is too old for today.
How Do I Know That A Driver Is Intended For Beginners?
Admittedly, many manufacturers released misleading information regarding their clubs, often confusing buyers to make a purchase decision.
This is where we filled in, and below, we will discuss some of the best driver clubs available in the market suitable for beginners.
Although, again, the criteria for a perfect driver will differ with each individual, here are some of the considerations you should look for in a beginner’s driver club:
- Forgiveness: Off-center hits will be a major issue in any beginner’s game, and also the one thing you should improve upon. A driver club with great forgiveness level will certainly help a beginner in their journey towards the top, building confidence by promoting performance while teaching the said beginner the difference in feeling between mishits and well-struck ones.
- Shaft Flexibility: it is significantly important to have a shaft with a proper amount of flexibility to support your current swing speed. Not only it will help with the straightness, having a proper flexibility in a shaft will help in carry distance.
- Clubhead Size: The rule of golf dictates that the maximum size of a driver to be 460cc, and by all means, that size is the one you should aim for. Bigger clubhead will certainly help with forgiveness, with the obviously bigger sweet spot.