Golf Club Buying Guide – Drivers

The average golfer will usually spend a long time choosing their new set of clubs, it isn’t unheard of for a golfer to replace one or a few of their clubs separately too. One of the key clubs in any golfer’s repertoire is the driver. The driver is usually the club that sets you off for each hole, used on the tee for the longest shots of each hole the driver has a big role in how well we perform on the golf course.

This heavy responsibility on the one club can mean that there are many different types and makes of driver and plenty of different features that can affect your tee shot’s trajectory and distance. More than any other club in the golfer’s bag the Driver can actually be customised fully to suit the golfer’s playing ability and style.

Drivers tend to come in either titanium or composite heads but there are also steel varieties too. Titanium drivers have become the standard for most golfers due to the lightweight nature and this allowing the head to be larger and more evenly distributed to create a larger sweet spot for less experienced golfers. The composite heads are slightly more expensive as they can have a few different materials such as graphite to reduce weight and tungsten in some areas to add weight (and power).

In general the larger the club head the more forgiving the club will be with regards to off-centre shots, there is a legal limit though of the head size being no bigger than 460cc.

One of the key considerations for drivers is the loft that your driver achieves; golfers with slower swings tend to require a higher loft of around 10° - 11° but more experienced or faster swinging golfers may be better suited to a club with a loft of 10° or lower.

Another consideration is the MOI of the club. The MOI means Moment of Inertia, this relates to the resistance of the club to twisting at the moment of impact. The higher this number is the more forgiving the club will be when you hit the ball off centre; again professionals may want a lower number for better results.

A driver can be a club that you buy and replace frequently and this can cost a lot of money, there are more expensive drivers though that can be adjusted, which can save you money in the long run. These clubs can have adjustable weights in the club head that can alter the trajectory and angle of your shots. Some clubs can even remove the head altogether to change the angle and alignment of the club face. These clubs can be good for high handicap players as you can adjust your clubs as your progress which can save having to buy better clubs as you improve.

Try out as many drivers as you can before purchasing, different clubs and the varying size and style of head design can produce different results for each person so choose the club that you feel most comfortable with.

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