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A golf driver can set the tone for your golf game and is the easiest way to improve it. The golf driver provides the most distance of any golf club in the bag or, perhaps more accurately, potential distance.
A driver is not a one-size-fits-all club, meaning you need to find what works for your particular strengths and weaknesses.
Keep reading to find out how to choose the best driver, what to avoid when shopping for one, and which are considered among the best available today.
Our Top Picks for Best Golf Drivers:
- Best Overall – Callaway Golf 2020 Rogue Driver
- Best Premium – TaylorMade M6 Driver
- Best Budget – Pinemeadow Golf Command W7X Driver
- Best Lightweight – Cobra Golf Men’s King Driver
- Best Oversized – Intech Golf Oversized Behemoth 520cc Driver
At a Glance: Best Golf Drivers
We highly recommend looking at the comparison table below where we have highlighted the features of each golf driver.
In the comparison table below, we’ve highlighted some of the most important features of each product. You’ll find more detailed information about each product later in the article.
PICTURE | NAME | RATING | SHOPS |
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1
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Callaway Golf 2020 Rogue Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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2
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TaylorMade M6 Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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3
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Pinemeadow Golf Command W7X Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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4
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Cobra Golf Men’s King F7 Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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5
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Intech Golf Oversized Behemoth 520cc Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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6
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Callaway Men’s XR 16 Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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7
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TaylorMade Men’s AeroBurner 2016 Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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8
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Cobra Golf Men’s Cobra Max Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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9
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Cleveland Golf Men’s Launcher HB Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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10
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Mazel Titanium Men’s Golf Driver
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Price
Quality
Accuracy
Durability
Customer Reviews
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Best Rated Golf Drivers Reviewed
- Extra weight in the heel to encourage a ball strike
- Technology promotes high ball speed & long distance
- Largest carbon composite crown surface area in a Callaway driver
- Very pricey option
- Won’t completely fix your slice problem
- Extra weight in the heel to encourage a ball strike
- Technology promotes high ball speed & long distance
- Largest carbon composite crown surface area in a Callaway driver
- Very pricey option
- Won’t completely fix your slice problem
The Callaway Rogue Driver is designed to achieve the Jailbreak Effect, elevated ball speed and distance. The Rogue combines lighter Jailbreak bars behind the face and X-Face VFT Technology for energy transfer into the ball. A proprietary Triaxial Carbon Crown with the Boeing Aero Package optimizes weight placement while streamlining the club heads aerodynamics during the swing. It contains a greater amount of weight in the heel of the club versus the toe, which helps slow down the heel, allowing you to square the ball better.
This is the largest ever carbon composite crown surface area in a Callaway driver and new high-MOI shape with larger address footprint combine to increase stability and forgiveness. The elliptical pattern creates a larger sweet zone which then delivers more speed further away from the face and is good at minimizing the negative effects of a slice.
This club comes in different flex options as well as loft. There is also a women’s version available.
- Inertia Generator creates more forgiveness
- Individually injected for maximum legal limit of ball speed
- Engineered to reduce sidespin and deliver straighter shots
- Some players do not like the weight of club
- Price on the high side
- Inertia Generator creates more forgiveness
- Individually injected for maximum legal limit of ball speed
- Engineered to reduce sidespin and deliver straighter shots
- Some players do not like the weight of club
- Price on the high side
This TaylorMade comes with a 450 cc head with low spin technology to keep your ball flying straighter, and a lightweight titanium core design.The newer and more flexible Hammerhead slot works in conjunction with Speed Injected Twist Face to produce a larger sweet spot and preserve ball speed on off-center strikes.
This club is lightweight and the Twist Face curvature has been engineered to reduce side-spin and deliver straighter shots on off-center strikes. It has a great speed pocket meaning you can hit it high and far without a lot of effort on your part. The loft sleeve is adjustable, allowing you to adjust the driver to your preference.
This club allows you to choose options such as shaft material, flex and configuration.
- Affordably priced
- Oversize head for a larger sweet spot
- Includes head cover
- Rough grip can cause blisters
- Driver can become dirty easily
- Affordably priced
- Oversize head for a larger sweet spot
- Includes head cover
- Rough grip can cause blisters
- Driver can become dirty easily
Here is another great selection from Pinemeadow, and this one is made from graphite and has a 10.5 loft, which is about average. It weighs just under a pound, and has an over-sized head for a larger sweet spot.
That light weight is necessary for keeping the play experience comfortable. The crown has a white finish, which is good for helping you see the ball and align it properly for a straighter, stronger hit. The aerodynamic speed slots integrated into this driver can improve distance and speed, letting you power through the golf course.
The shaft is 45.5 inches and it includes a head cover.
- 3 different CG settings in the front, back, & heel
- Made with titanium
- Cobra Connect electronic tracking device integrated into grip
- Not a great choice for professional players
- Won’t improve distance compared to similar drivers
- 3 different CG settings in the front, back, & heel
- Made with titanium
- Cobra Connect electronic tracking device integrated into grip
- Not a great choice for professional players
- Won’t improve distance compared to similar drivers
This is driver is made with maximum forgiveness for new and inexperienced players. It has a Textreme Carbon Fiber Crown and yields a 20% lighter allowing more weight to be redistributed lower and deeper into the club head for extreme distance and forgiveness. You can also adjust the loft and the position to make it function like multiple drivers in one.
It also has a large sweet spot that makes it perfect for golfers who struggle being accurate. The three different CG settings in the front, back, and heel positions, result in three very different ball flights to help you tune your optimum distance and trajectory under variable conditions.
Cobra designed the King F7 also has an electronic tracking device integrated into the grip of the driver allows you to Track Your Distance in every drive, and provides statistical analysis on distances and consistency down the fairway.
- Matching lightweight graphite shaft
- Offers a large sweet spot for maximum forgiveness
- Large but lightweight
- Does not conform to PGA standards
- Matching lightweight graphite shaft
- Offers a large sweet spot for maximum forgiveness
- Large but lightweight
- Does not conform to PGA standards
For those golfers who are just starting out or who may struggle with hitting the ball accurately, this can be an excellent driver. It has a large head size exceeds the maximum size allowed by the USGA but is a great starter club.
You can choose between 10.5 or 12 degrees as well as flex to fit a wide range of players. The large head means that you get a large sweet spot in which to hit, making it easy to pull off shots that go right where you want them.
Despite the massive size, it is a very lightweight driver that is easy to hold and swing. A head cover is included.
- Center of Gravity is lower and deeper
- RMOTO Face technology that’s up to 19% thinner
- Made from titanium for a long lifespan
- One of the more expensive options available
- Not very forgiving
- Center of Gravity is lower and deeper
- RMOTO Face technology that’s up to 19% thinner
- Made from titanium for a long lifespan
- One of the more expensive options available
- Not very forgiving
Callaway’s golf products tend to be more expensive than a lot of the other mainstream brands, and this driver is no exception. However, the company is also known for making high quality products, which this XR 16 driver definitely is. They worked with the aerodynamics experts at Boeing to reach a completely new threshold of club speed. They made this a high head speed design with low drag, and did it by pinpointing the size and placement of a re-engineered Speed Step to save weight and add more speed.
The aerodynamic head shape gives you a driver that is incredibly fast and able to produce distance shots, but that is also very forgiving. The driver is lighter and thinner than competing products, making for a very comfortable experience.
With it’s extreme forgiveness, you can pick up a lot of ball speed, whether you hit it dead center, off the heel, or off the toe.
- Lots of features that improve accuracy and speed
- High quality grip prevents slipping
- Produces very little spin
- Lots of forgiveness
- Stiff design might not be for everyone
- Won’t yield as much speed as many of the other drivers on this list
- Lots of features that improve accuracy and speed
- High quality grip prevents slipping
- Produces very little spin
- Lots of forgiveness
- Stiff design might not be for everyone
- Won’t yield as much speed as many of the other drivers on this list
This club from TaylorMade has a 460 cc head and a feature that improves alignment for straighter shots. The grip is nice on this club, ensuring the driver does not slip out of your hand and is very comfortable to hold. It’s also designed to improve your speed and accuracy, thanks to a fairly forgiving Speed Pocket feature.
The technology in this driver works together to reduce your spin and help you to hit the ball more often and more accurately, ensuring less frustration when you play and increasing your likelihood of getting the ball to go where you want it to.
Drag is reduced over similar models, and the raised center crown does an exceptional job of improving airflow around both the club and ball.
- Zone Weighting removes weight from the crown
- Head shape helps create greater confidence
- Higher launch trajectories, less spin, and extreme forgiveness
- Not accurate enough for the more experienced
- Price on the high side
- Zone Weighting removes weight from the crown
- Head shape helps create greater confidence
- Higher launch trajectories, less spin, and extreme forgiveness
- Not accurate enough for the more experienced
- Price on the high side
This driver from Cobra gives you average flexibility and a 10.5 loft rating. It is considered an extremely forgiving club that offers speed and ease of use over precision. It is meant to provide a very enjoyable experience to new and inexperienced players, ensuring they can hit the ball without any difficulty and generally get it where they want it to go.
The design accommodates lower swinging players, giving them higher trajectories and allowing them to hit the sweet spot more easily, decreasing spin in the process. That means that it won’t yield the kind of distance relative to many competing drivers, but if your weakness is accuracy and actually getting the ball to fly in the direction you want, then this is a great choice.
It has a new re-engineered Forged Titanium E9 face structure and the back CG zone weighting means less weight in the crown.
- Sounds solid, no hollow sounds
- Reasonably priced driver
- New launcher cup-face
- Accurate for more experienced golfers
- Not as much distance as other drivers
- Sounds solid, no hollow sounds
- Reasonably priced driver
- New launcher cup-face
- Accurate for more experienced golfers
- Not as much distance as other drivers
Cleveland designed this club to have a 10.5 loft and average flexibility, but it goes far beyond average in most other ways. A feature that the manufacturers have included is the launcher cup face, which makes it easy to hit the ball and get it where you want it to go. It’s a fairly forgiving club that allows for a high launch for those struggling with slow swing speeds.
So, even if you hit the ball without a lot of power, your swing will translate into a lot of power through the club and launch the ball high and far. It’s also a club that’s made to improve accuracy by helping your shots to go straighter. Professionals won’t need that kind of assistance, but this is ideal for people who have not been playing the game for long or who are struggling in certain aspects of their game.
The shaft is 45.5 inches, and a head cover is included.
- CNC Cup Face with high rebound
- Back center of gravity zone weighting removes weight from the crown
- 460CC deep face expands sweet spot for maximum distance
- Too much torque on the head
- Not designed for experienced players
- CNC Cup Face with high rebound
- Back center of gravity zone weighting removes weight from the crown
- 460CC deep face expands sweet spot for maximum distance
- Too much torque on the head
- Not designed for experienced players
The Mazel Titanium driver’s CNC Cup Face technology helps to reduce the face thickness, high rebound structure which is more efficient at delivering fast ball speed across the face. It’s a lightweight club that is made for speed and ease of use, so it does a good job of keeping you pointed in the right direction, ensuring you can at least hit the ball when you swing.
The Aerodynamic 460CC deep face design expands sweet spot for maximum distance from anywhere on the face, giving you the most forgiveness. The heavy back weighting with extra screw removes weight from the front to reposition it low and back into the head for a lower, deeper center of gravity.
It is available in various materials, flex and loft.
How to Choose a Golf Driver
Choosing the right driver doesn’t have to be difficult and you can easily up your game by considering the following:
- Forgiveness Rating – If you are new to the game or working on getting to that sweet spot with your swing, then a driver with a high forgiveness rating is essential. It will do some of the work for you, and while it may sacrifice accuracy to achieve ease of use, it will take a lot of the stress and disappointment out of your game. When you start out, you want a high forgiveness rating, and if you are honest about your skills, you will enjoy the game more and be more likely to choose an appropriate driver.
- Driver Length – The length of your club determines your positioning on the ball during a swing. A longer shaft may give you more distance, is harder to control.
- Weight – Heavier drivers feel like higher quality products, but this is not always the truth. You need to test out the driver for yourself to get a feel for control and swing, if you are buying it in person.
- Materials – A driver’s head and shaft can be made from various materials that will affect the cost. Drivers made of steel usually cost the least. You can buy drivers with titanium heads and graphite shafts that are much lighter but cost a lot more money. There is a mid range driver with heads made of a composite of steel and titanium.
- Shaft – When buying a driver, be aware of the flex and length of its shaft. Generally, if you are a beginner or if you have issues of strength and speed of your swing, you may want a driver that has a lot of flex in the shaft. Most drivers have a 44-inch shaft, but some are longer. Longer shaft length usually leads to greater distance, but you probably will give up some accuracy in the process.
- Loft – The loft is the angle of the hitting area of the club, and it will affect how high you hit the ball. Tests indicate the higher the loft, the farther the ball will travel. But if you continually slice the ball, you can reduce the tendency with a driver having less loft, although you will sacrifice some distance. If you tend to hook the ball, you should choose a driver with an increased loft.
- Cost – Your budget may affect the driver you choose and the most expensive club may or may not be the right one for you. The goal should be finding a driver that feels the best and enables you to perform at the highest level.
- Your Strengths & Weaknesses – You probably know what aspect of the game you are good at and where you fall short. Consider those strengths and weaknesses when choosing a driver, making sure you don’t stifle your strengths but help where you are having trouble.
Final Thoughts
Your golf driver can make or break your golf game and there is no question that driver head designs have improved over time. Buying a new driver that goes farther is not beneficial if you can’t hit it straight, and all golfers benefit from a straight drive. That being said, giving up a small amount of distance for accuracy will improve your game.
Nowadays driver heads hit the ball farther and are more forgiving. But the changes are minor year-to-year, and you may or may not see any benefit without getting a shaft and head combination that fits your particular golf swing.