Are you new to the world of golf and eager to get off to a great start? More than anything, you’re probably eager to start hitting bombs off the tee box. Selecting the best drivers for beginners can be a game-changer to ensure you make the most of your time on the greens. The right driver can make all the difference in your golf game, as it’s the club that sets the tone for each hole.
Choosing the ideal driver is crucial for beginner golfers and high handicappers, as it directly impacts your ability to hit the ball with accuracy and distance. A well-suited driver can significantly boost your confidence on the course, help you enjoy golf more, and, ultimately, elevate your skills over time.
We have created the ultimate guide on the best drivers for beginners that provide maximum forgiveness on mishits, deliver excellent distance for slower swing speeds, and contribute to a more enjoyable golfing experience overall. With the right driver in hand, you’ll be prepared to take on any course with enthusiasm and newfound expertise.
What to Look for in the Best Drivers for Beginners
Before you start looking at which driver you should pick up, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the qualities you should be looking for.
Forgiveness
As a beginner, your number one priority should be a driver with high forgiveness. In other words, the driver should minimize the impact of off-center hits and produce consistent results. High forgiveness is essential since beginners are more likely to mishit the ball. The best drivers for beginners will commonly feature forgiveness with a larger sweet spot, a high moment of inertia (MOI), a low center of gravity (CG), and perimeter weighting. A forgiving driver can make a significant difference in your accuracy and confidence on the golf course.
Ball Flight
The trajectory and shape of the ball after it leaves the clubface define the ball flight. Several factors influence ball flight, such as loft, face angle, spin rate, launch angle, swing path, and club speed. Beginners often encounter issues like slicing, hooking, popping up, or hitting too low. To correct or prevent these problems, consider adjusting the loft, using a draw-biased or offset driver, or working on your swing technique. A lot of drivers on the market today are built with technology or include features that allow you to optimize your ball flight based on your swing tendencies.
Distance
Distance refers to the length the ball travels from the tee to the landing spot. As a beginner, achieving greater distance is desirable, allowing you to hit longer drives and reach more greens in regulation. Factors that affect distance include head size, head shape, head weight, shaft length, shaft weight, shaft flex, and materials. To optimize distance, choose a driver that matches your swing speed, consider using a lighter shaft or head, or work on increasing your clubhead speed.
Low Spin
Spin affects the ball’s rotation during flight and can have both positive and negative effects on ball flight. Excessive backspin can reduce distance and cause ballooning or rising shots, while excessive sidespin can lead to slicing or hooking shots. As a beginner, opt for a low-spin driver that reduces both backspin and sidespin, resulting in more penetrating and straighter shots.
Shaft
Lastly, the shaft is a crucial component of any driver. It’s essential to find a shaft that complements your swing style and speed. Shafts come in various flexes, such as regular, stiff, extra stiff, senior, or ladies. The faster your swing speed, the stiffer the shaft needs to be. Choosing the right shaft flex for your swing style can help maximize distance and control your ball flight. Many drivers also offer multiple shaft options to better fit your skill level and preferences. You will also notice that virtually every driver on the market comes with a graphite shaft. Graphite is the ideal shaft for drivers as they are lighter weight which helps increase your swing speed.
Top 7 Best Drivers for Beginners
Ping G425
Overview: Leading off our recommendations of best drivers for beginners comes from Ping. The Ping G425 is a driver designed for beginners and high handicap golfers with its lightweight and adjustable loft. With an ALTA CB Black shaft and a Ping Tour 2.0 chrome grip, the G425 aims to provide maximum forgiveness and distance.
Our Experience: When using the Ping G425, we found that it delivered impressive ball speed, high launch, and low spin, giving us longer shots and making it easier to hit the fairway. The weight of this driver made swings feel almost effortless.
Pros
Lightweight for easy swinging
Adjustable loft for customization with a CG-shifting weight
High MOI for forgiveness
Cons
The feel and sound of the driver may not suit everyone’s preferences
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc |
| Loft | 9°, 10.5° and 12° |
| Shaft | ALTA CB 55 Slate, Ping Tour 65, Ping Alta Distanza |
| Grip | Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet (Rubber or Cord) |
Callaway Rogue ST Max
Detailed Description: The Callaway Rogue ST Max is another excellent option for beginners, featuring Jailbreak technology for greater distance and forgiveness. Its adjustable loft promotes a higher launch and lower spin. High MOI is the name of the game with the Rogue ST Max by providing what Callaway calls the Tungsten Speed Cartridge on the back side of the driver head.
Our Experience: With the Callaway Rogue ST Max in our hands, we noticed increased ball speed and a more straightforward launch of the tee. While you don’t see it, the Jailbreak technology provided us more stability and helped improve our overall performance on the tee box.
Pros
Jailbreak technology for greater distance
Adjustable loft for a customizable experience
Forgiveness on off-center hits through high MOI
Cons
Expensive compared to some other beginner options
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc |
| Loft | Adjustable hosel with 9 and 10.5 degree lofts available |
| Shaft | Mitsubishi TENSEI AV Blue 55 or 65 Graphite |
| Grip | Golf Pride – Tour Velvet 360 Grey Cap (50g) |
Titleist TSi1
Detailed Description: The Titleist TSi1 features a lightweight design and an adjustable loft to cater to beginner golfers. It is designed to produce a high launch and low spin to help you hit longer shots with ease.
Our Experience: Titleist says that this driver is great for a player with moderate swing speed. When putting the Titleist TSi1 to use, we enjoyed a higher launch, increased ball speed, and a more stable clubhead, when swinging with moderate swing speed. If you know where your swing speed lies, especially at moderate, then this driver will suit you perfectly as you develop the mechanics to your swing.
Pros
Lightweight design for easy swinging
Adjustable loft for better customization
High launch and low spin for increased distance
Cons
Premium pricing compared to some other beginner-friendly drivers
No 9.5 degree loft available
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc |
| Loft | 9.0° (RH Only), 10.0°, 12.0° (RH Only) |
| Shaft | Aldila Ascent High Launch (46g) |
| Grip | Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Flat Cap Lite |
Lazrus Golf Driver
Detailed Description: The Lazrus Golf Driver is a budget-friendly option for high handicap golfers who seek an adjustable and forgiving driver. It is available in 9 or 10.5-degree loft options. The face is made of 6/4 titanium and comes in at a weight of 195g on the clubhead.
Our Experience: We see the Lazrus driver as the most affordable driver on the market for beginners. You will have all the benefits of a quality driver like a big-name brand but with a much cheaper price tag. While using the Lazrus Golf Driver, we found its large sweet spot and lightweight design improved our distance and accuracy off the tee.
Pros
Affordable price point
Forgiving design for beginning golfers
Lightweight for comfortable swinging
Cons
Limited shaft options compared to other drivers
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc |
| Loft | 9 or 10.5 degrees |
| Shaft | Regular, Stiff, Senior flex graphite shaft |
| Grip | Lazrus standard grip |
Cobra LTDx Max
Detailed Description: The Cobra LTDx Max driver features an aerodynamic design for increased clubhead speed and distance. It offers flexible loft settings, making it one of the best drivers for beginners. The LTDx Max places an emphasis on low spin and higher forgiveness.
Our Experience: So Cobra says they created multiple zones on the face of the driver with additional thickness to provide more ball speed. We put that to the test and could definitely see that even on mishits, we were still getting ample ball speed with each shot. Definitely a plus for beginners who are still working on a consistent swing path.
Pros
Aerodynamic design for increased speed
Adjustable loft for customization
Forgiving face for off-center hits
Cons
None
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc |
| Loft | Adjustable hosel, available in 9, 10.5, 12 degree lofts |
| Shaft | Project X HZRDUS, UST Helium Nanocore |
| Grip | Cobra Connect grip |
Stix Golf Driver
Detailed Description: The Stix Golf Driver is designed for both casual and beginner golfers, offering a lightweight design with a large sweet spot for forgiveness. The only loft available is a 10.5° degree loft. While there may be only one loft available, Stix chose the right one to offer as 10.5° degrees is the ideal loft for beginners to launch the ball in the air.
Our Experience: We immediately noticed that the Stix Golf Driver helps you achieve higher launch and longer distance through its large sweet spot and lightweight design. From a beginner’s perspective, this driver was everything we would need to get started playing golf. It checks all the boxes a beginner would look for from forgiveness to distance. This driver is the perfect tool to get you on the right track to hitting bombs off the tee day in and day out.
Pros
Large sweet spot for increased forgiveness
Simplistic design to help you focus on what matters most as a beginner
Great price point for beginners
Available in different lengths for players of varying heights
Cons
No adjustable hosel
Limited customization options compared to some drivers
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc titanium |
| Loft | 10.5°, no adjustable hosel |
| Shaft | Stix Graphite shaft |
| Grip | Stix Standard rubber grip |
TaylorMade Sim 2 Max
Detailed Description: The TaylorMade Sim 2 Max is a beginner-friendly driver that features advanced technology for forgiveness and distance. It comes with multiple loft options and provides adjustable settings for customization. As with other drivers we recommend, the Sim 2 Max is designed to provide more launch and more MOI across the clubface.
Our Experience: We greatly appreciated the 24 grams of weight at the back of the driver as this provided more MOI when our shots were off center. The forgiveness on this driver stand out among the competition and beginners will appreciate the leeway on mis-hits. Overall, you get a plethora of technology and features that can be tailored to your needs.
Pros
Forgiving design for beginning golfers
Adjustable loft for customization
Multiple shaft options
Cons
Higher price point than some other options
No draw bias available
Driver Specifications:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Clubhead | 460cc |
| Loft | 9°, 10.5°, 12° |
| Shaft | Fujikura Ventus Blue, Kuro Kage Silver |
| Grip | TaylorMade Z600 Textured (47g) |
Conclusion
When it comes to selecting the best drivers for beginners, it’s crucial to consider your skill level, swing speed, and personal preferences. The right driver will have an impact on your golf game, providing forgiveness, optimal distance, and an easy launch.
Choosing a driver with a large head size and a sweet spot fitting for beginners will help improve the early stages of your golf journey. Keep in mind, as your skill set evolves and your swing speed increases, you may consider upgrading your driver to match your advancing level of play.
We hope it has provided valuable insight and helped in narrowing down your options. For more golf guides and tips, check out our blog. Good luck on your golfing journey, and may the perfect driver choice elevate your game to new heights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the key features to look for in a beginner’s driver?
When searching for a driver suitable for beginners, consider the following key features:
- Forgiveness: Look for a driver with a large sweet spot and high moment of inertia (MOI) which improves stability on off-center hits.
- Loft: Higher lofted drivers make it easier to get the ball in the air and are generally more suitable for beginners.
- Shaft flexibility: Opt for a shaft that complements your swing speed, generally more flexible for slower speeds.
- Adjustability: Some drivers have adjustable weights or settings that can help golfers fine-tune performance and ball flight.
How does loft affect a beginner’s driver choice?
Loft is the clubface angle that affects the trajectory and launch angle of your shot. Higher lofted drivers (10.5 degrees is the sweet spot) are recommended for beginners as they promote higher launch, more backspin, and greater carry distance. This can make it easier for new golfers to get the ball airborne and achieve straighter shots as they learn the game.
How do I know which driver shaft is right for a beginner?
The right driver shaft is mainly determined by your swing speed. As a beginner, you likely have a slower swing speed, so look for a more flexible shaft, such as regular or senior flex. Stiff or extra-stiff shafts are more suited for experienced golfers with faster swing speeds.
How can a beginner find a driver that helps with a slice?
A driver with an offset or draw-biased design can minimize the effects of a slice. These drivers have clubfaces positioned slightly behind the hosel, promoting better face rotation and alignment with the target. Look for drivers that offer adjustable weights to manage draw or fade bias, as well as fitting consultations to help identify the best driver for your needs.