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Modern day technology has altered the game of golf as to how it was played in the past. Where we used to have wooden woods and iron irons, we now have clubs that have been designed to fit in all the needs of the player. Golfing industries do this by using premium technology catered towards their clients, the best materials, and designs for a better game.
This guide will cover the basics of an adjustable driver including a thorough explanation as to what they are and how you can benefit from them. Recommendations on the best adjustable golf driver will be provided with reviews.
We hope that from reading this you’ll feel much more informed on what an adjustable driver is and how you can benefit from them, as well as have an idea on which is best for you.
In golf, a driver is typically the first club you hit off the tee as an amateur to a par 4 or a par 5. You’ll be using this beginner club quite a lot, so it’s best if you find the best driver which can bring you both distance and accuracy.
Drivers of the previous era were ‘one-dimensional’. They were designed one way and that’s how they expected you to play with them. Now, things are a little different. They’ve considered how subjective the game of golf can be, and have added a super important feature: adjustability.
A lot of the new drivers that we find in the market today are actually adjustable drivers. However, the adjustability factors can vary between drivers.
Here’s how it works:
Lofts of an amateur/beginner driver usually range from about 9 to 12 degrees. You would use to buy a driver and figure out which loft you needed – one swing change and the loft might not even be right for you anymore.
A lot of the newer drivers have this adjustable feature on the hosel of the driver – the part where the head is connected to the shaft. The head is usually fastened by a bolt which can release with the correct tool (called a golf wrench). Once it’s off, you can adjust the head to the desired loft, usually, there is a 1-degree range above or below the neutral angle.
So how does this affect you anyway?
Everything depends on the loft of your driver when you hit the ball off the tee, which also affects your ball flight. Considering that you like the adjustable driver that you have but keep hitting it just a tad too high and lose distance, you can decrease the loft by one or half a degree.
On the other hand, if you consistently hit the ball too low and lack distance control due to excessive roll, then you might consider taking up the loft just a little.
The loft of a driver (and all clubs) will affect your spin rate – the spin you ball has after impact. A change in the loft can drastically change the ball flight and height.
If you’re considering to buy a loft-adjustable driver, then buy one with the degree you would like to use when neutral. For example, if you typically use a 10.5 driver and are thinking of getting another, then buy one which is at 10.5 rather than 10 and adding half a degree.
Newer drivers like the ones from Taylormade and Callaway are implementing new technologies in the drivers – adjustable weights. There are several varieties of weights that can be implemented into a driver, all affecting different parts of ball striking.
Typically, 2 different weights are used: one for the Center of Gravity (COG) and one for the draw/fade bias.
The COG is the weight in the driver which affects what the tendency of the clubface will be at impact. A COG near the clubface will promote a lower flight than if placed near the end of the club, as well as giving a firmer feel upon impact.
The draw/fade bias weights are weights which are typically placed near the toe and heel of the driver's head to promote a more open or closed clubface to the target. These weights are typically used by amateurs to balance out some small habits they might have in their swing. Let’s say someone tends to cut at the ball off the tee, then they would set it to a slight draw bias to get a straighter drive.
The benefits of an adjustable driver are simple: it’s their main purpose. The point of having an adjustable driver is so that you can alter the way you hit the ball off the tee without changing your swing. At least, for an amateur or a beginner.
If you like trying out different things and experimenting with your driver, then you’ll get massive benefits from an adjustable driver. You’ll most likely be able to hit it straighter, higher or lower as you please, and have a more controlled feel over the ball.
If you don’t know already, here’s the catch: most new drivers are adjustable. But truth be told, they’re like that for a reason. Any type of golfer has the ability to benefit from an adjustable driver. Amateurs and beginners will use them to get a better ball flight and gain accuracy. Professionals use adjustable drivers all the time – it’s just as vital as a good swing to them when playing on all different sorts of golf courses for tournaments.
The only thing you need to keep in mind when purchasing and buying an adjustable driver is that you’ll be hitting different sort of shots from what you’re used to without changing your swing. Adjustable drivers are good, but they’ll need to adapt to you. On top of that, if you’re trying to get a better swing, try not to use adjustable drivers too often as it won’t reflect your actual ball flight.
The TaylorMade M3 is the 2018 updated version of the popular M1 driver. What makes it a great driver is the two new technologies which can be found in both the M3 and M4. This includes the Twist Face which allows people to have straighter shots even on miss-hits. Furthermore, this allows less distance loss, even when you don’t hit it out of the sweet spot.
The second technology is the Hammerhead slot just behind the face to enlarge the size of the sweet spot allowing a better chance of striking the ball well.
The M3 has 3 separate adjustable parts, 2 found in the T track system at the sole for the fade/draw bias as well as the COG. It also has an adjustable loft at the heel.
The Callaway Rogue is sort of a spin-off from the renown Epic which had a lot of enthusiastic users. This is one of the more forgiving drivers with an hourglass shape head and larger face. The classic Jailbreak bars are still implemented with 25% less weight.
The whole Rogue driver is considerably lighter than the Epic due to the Carbon materials used and the elimination of the sliding weight track.
If you are interested in having an adjustable driver that is more simplistic, the Callaway Rogue is a good option. They still have the usual loft adjustment at the heel but do not have sliding weights for a draw/fade bias. Instead, you can purchase the Rogue with Draw Capability to help out those who tend to hit slices (the most common mishit in amateurs).
Get your own Callaway Rogue here: https://goo.gl/EBdRwR
If you were a fan of the previous Ping G400, then you should keep an eye out for the bigger, better version – G400 MAX. Slightly bigger at 460cc, the face allows more forgiveness. The previously added Vortec slot on the end of the G400 is now gone on the MAX to give a lower COG.
This is also a simplistic driver only with the adjustable loft at the hosel of the club. However, due to the extreme forgiveness of the club, it’s likely you won’t be needing much adjustability.
Cobra has taken a while to get out their new F8 drivers, especially when compared to other companies such as Callaway and TaylorMade. After just over 2 years, the KING F8 is out with distance and accuracy. If you’re into handmade products, it would be good to know that Cobra still holds on to their traditional ways of hand-finishing each and every driver.
A unique feature of this driver is its milled face to improve ball spin and impact.
Adjustability features include the usual loft angle at the hosel and spin adjustability with the 12g weight at the back of the club. This driver also has a Cobra Connect feature that pairs with your smartphone to track your drives.
The Titleist 917 D2 has a square-shaped head standing at 460cc. The lighter and thinner design has been created to help increase the ball speed and feel when hitting the ball off the tee.
A noticeable new adjustable feature is the adjustable weights on the end of the driver. Yes, adjustable weights are nothing new, but Titleist’s SureFit CG adjustable weights sure are. They range from 8 to 16 grams which both change the weight and COG of the club.
As we can see, adjustable drivers get golfers more into the science-related part of golf. However, it is now such a large part of the game that we can’t just turn away from it. We can observe that almost every new produced driver has some sort of adjustable feature, even if it is the loft on the hosel.
Based on our recommended list, we would state the PING G400 MAX as the best adjustable golf driver, or at least one that you should definitely try out. It is one of the more forgiving drivers out there while also a long shot. And when playing with an adjustable driver, don’t be afraid to try out different weights, lofts, and biases. If you’re unsure, try out a fitting to know what works for you
