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We admit it, the game of golf is complicated. You’ve got a set of 14 clubs to hit one ball. To top it all off, the first club you probably know of is a sphere at the end of a shaft. However, that shaft and sphere is one of the most important clubs you can have in your bag: your driver.
The golfing industry has been rapidly firing new and improved clubs into the market, making it difficult for beginners to know where to start. Here’s a tip: it’s probably better NOT to start with the NEWEST driver. A lot of the newer drivers are catered towards more experienced players – that means they are harder to hit.
This article will give you some basic information as to what you need to pay attention to in a driver as well as some recommended drivers for beginners. We hope with this information, you’ be able to find the best beginner’s driver for you.
Getting a new driver can be a daunting experience, especially as a beginner. You might be inclined to get a driver that promotes itself to help you hit the furthest so you can impress all your friends, but that’s not really the case you should be worried about for now. The distance of your tee shots are highly correlated to your impact, so you’ll need to look out for various factors that can help you strike the ball best.
The head of a driver will most likely be one of the more complicated parts of any golf club. A head is what set it so far apart and allows you to generally hit it to great lengths.
There are 3 major components to pay attention to when choosing a driver head.
First is its head size which is measured by volume. The maximum size approved by the R&A is 460cc and the minimum is 420cc. Larger sized heads tend to give more forgiveness, so beginners are inclined to take larger headed drivers.
Next is the driver shape to which there are 4 different options: round, pear, extended back, and square. The shapes do not necessarily alter the way you hit your ball, but they do have an interesting effect on your perspective of how the driver looks.
Newer drivers also have an additional feature: adjustability. They often have adjustable weights that can alter the club to help you get a decent shot based on the way you swing your club.
The loft of a driver is the angle of the clubface when it sits neutrally on the ground. They can vary between 7 to 12 degrees – beginners will tend to stay on the higher end.
The best beginner driver loft would be around 10 to 11 degrees. Drivers with 7 to 9 degree lofted heads are best to give you precision and shape the ball. However, you will need a very high swing speed to achieve maximal distance with these kinds of heads.
Every golf club can have a variation of shafts, but the newer drivers always come with graphite shafts as they are more optimal than steel shafts.
Shafts come in a variety of flexes:
There are some other options such as XXS or XXXS, but those are very rarely used. The stiffness someone would use also depends on your swing speed, the higher the speed the stiffer the flex. Beginners usually start with a regular flex, and women usually start with L. However, some people with a sport-intensive background may start with a stiff, as too much flex in a shaft will affect accuracy.
Shafts also vary in length with the legal limit is 48 inches by the USGA. However, shafts are usually within 46 to 43 inches, with 45 inches being the most common. Due to basic physics, a longer shaft would mean more distance, but it would also mean more ball dispersion.
There will be other factors that golf club companies will promote to explain why their drivers are the best out there. These are a few of these factors to help you further understand how the driver you choose can get you maximum distance.
First is the spin. In any golf shot, the spin on a ball matters as to how far and how high the ball goes. For a driver, you’ll want a relatively lower spin rate to ensure you get maximum distance, but not too low otherwise you won’t get the optimum launch trajectory.
Next is the launch trajectory. Launch trajectory is measured by the angle where you hit the ball off the ground from the clubface. The average male amateur would strike at about 11 to 12 degrees while the average female would strike at about 12 to 13 degrees. So, the better ball striker you are and the faster your swing speed is, you’ll tend to hit it a little lower off the face.
The last term is COG or center of gravity. COG in a club has a lot to do with physics and how these clubs take advantage of it. The COG can be placed further back in the head, away from the club face which will allow a higher launch. The COG can also be placed closer to the shaft which will increase accuracy.
Just like most clubs in golf, your choice will be based on a very personal feeling towards the new driver you are to purchase. However, if you’re at a loss as to which driver you should buy or at least try out, here is a list of our recommended drivers that are sure to impress you.
The Cobra FlyZ might not necessarily be on other lists for beginners, but it really should be. The Cobra FlyZ has a large head and sweet spot on the face, making it one of the most forgiving clubs on the market. Its head also comes with adjustable weights making it easy to alter if necessary. Many customers have praised its length and consistency, referring it to a ‘bomb’ off the tee and very easy to use.
The Callaway Big Bertha is easily one of the most marketed drivers for beginners. It has a medium sized clubhead with a lot of different adjustable weight ports. The primary advantage to this club is the large adjustability that it provides, though it seems to be a little bit of a double-edged sword.
On one hand, the adjustability makes it one of the most adaptable clubs in the market, so you can adjust it to the exact setting you want and can keep it for future use as well with a couple of changes. On the other, it might take a while for a beginner to find the perfect adjustment for your driver.
Furthermore, a beginner’s swing would not necessarily be consistent, thus rendering the adjustability not as useful as it should be.
The Cleveland Classic is another jumbo faced driver head. It comes with 3 different weight options for the shafts and has 12 levels of customizations within the club. However, same as with the Big Bertha, all the different customization options can be confusing.
Many users of the Classic XL have praised this club to be very forgiving and comes at a good dollar too. They have also commented that this club is extremely helpful in keeping the ball straight, making it ideal as the best driver for a draw or slice.
The Aeroburner is suited for higher handicappers and people with lower swing speeds. It comes with a lot of forgiveness and has a good sound at impact, something that a lot of people like about it.
However, this club isn’t going to benefit you if you’re a fast swinger and a fast learner. People who have swings above 95 tend to have difficulty controlling the clubhead. That said, if you like to swing nice and easy, you can be sure Taylormade has got your back.
Purchasing any driver may often seem complicated with all the different factors to pay attention to. However, as a beginner its more important to focus on being able to hit the sweet spot which will give you both length and accuracy. You might not be able to do this with one of the newest clubs in the market, but our top suggestion is that you would be able to do it with the Cobra Fly Z.
We recommend this because of two reasons: the large clubface and sweet spot as well as the length and consistency has been observed throughout previous purchases. With this club, the least you can do is feel what a good driver should be even if you don’t purchase it, and that’s why we recommend this as the best golf driver for beginners.
