What is the best driver?

[Henri-Martin]

From the 1st one to the last one:

- MacGregor Tommy Armour Tourney 693 (I used this driver for several years when I was a kid)

- Cobra King Cobra

- Titleist 975D

- Ping G430 LST

I haven't play the Titleist GT.  So, it is not on my list

[Desous17]

When picked up golfing a few years ago, I found a driver I had no business playing, but weirdly connected with was the Titleist 913 D3 with an RIP Phenom stiff shaft. I picked it up used for dirt cheap and played a season with it. It was surprisingly easy to hit and find a fairway for me and I sometimes regret parting ways with... I then transitioned to the Rogue ST family, started with the Max LS, and ended up at the TD LS I think to date have one of my longest drives with that TD LS when you find the middle of the face that thing goes, but interestingly when you hit that thing anywhere near the toe (my miss) that thing just wants to dive left and HARDDD. 

I was out in the Azores this summer on vacation and played a few rounds with a rental set (TSR2). I had a couple of my best rounds off the tee and when I got home I immediately got to looking for one used. Have had it for a few months and couldn't be happier. I love the distance, confidence, and forgiveness it has. It really has become a point-and-shoot driver for me and I have never had that before until now. Can't imagine what the GT lineup can do with the TSR being so good.

 

[No3Putts]

Never played the original Big Bertha but I did play the 975D and it was truly the best driver I ever played.  Sure, clubs are longer now, but the solid feel and the advantage that club gave you over anything else was just unbelievable.

[Sooner13]

For me, I'll offer the following:

- Titleist 975LFE - I had fought a hook, and this one was fade enhancing, and worked for me

- Big Bertha (and Great Big Bertha) - Iconic!

- PING G2

- PING G425 Max

- TaylorMade M2

[GolfSpy_BEN]

A Titleist 975D was the first driver I bought, that wasn't a hand-me-down, and I absolutely loved it. It will always have a sentimental place in my heart. The longest serving driver in my bag was a Cobra Amp Cell that stayed in the bag for the better part of a decade, so it ranks up there for me. Recently, the Ping G430 Max 10k and within the past few weeks, a Titleist GT2 have been become my favorites of the more recent releases. The GT-2 is long and straight, but as @GolfSpy AFG has pointed out, I change clubs as frequently as he changes his underwear, so who can really say for sure how long it will stay there...

[Lecash]

I have to go with the Ping G400Max as my all-time best driver, followed by the Ping G2, and the Titleist 975J.  The Ping G430LST is awfully good but it's got so much current competition that it's hard to rank it an all-time #1 but definitely in the top 5 for me.

[Jukes]

Hands-down: Titleist TSR3 with MMT SpeedMesh ultralight shaft -- Super swing speed WITH control.

[JWE]

Best driver I’ve ever used is my current Cobra Aerojet LS… but that’s the boring answer.

My best driver of all time was when I could finally get my paws on a Taylormade Superquad. From the looks, to the moveable weights, to the high quality stock shafts available (please make that a thing again Taylormade)

I loved that driver. I’d spend range sessions with the weights in every different position. Showed it off to …everybody. Loved hitting that thing and would love to give it a go again if I had one. 

[Fishel]

Ping G425

[goaliewales14]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

G400LST hands down has been my favorite, best performing driver. It’s a unicorn. 

G400 series has to take this hands down and I had and LOVED my G400 LST!!!

[GolfSpy_KFT]

While it is an EXTREMELY new addition to my bag, I am going to be hard pressed to believe the Titleist GT3 will not end up being the best performing driver I've ever owned. Second place is most likely the Cobra Darkspeed X, which was an earlier addition to my bag in this season. So fleshing out rankings, we'll take a look below:

1. Titleist GT3 (fully custom fit...makes a difference from what I am experiencing)

2. Cobra Darkspeed X

3. Titleist TSi3

4. Taylormade R11s

5. Cobra Aerojet Max

6. Taylormade Burner Superfast

7. Taylormade SLDR (for my skill level at the time of owning it, this club was HORRIBLE)

[ILMgolfnut]

Best I've used is my current gamer, 2022 model Mizuno ST-X with Diamana Red shaft. And it's not close. Thinking about a shaft upgrade to improve launch angle and carry, but the Mizuno is a big dog that will hunt for me. I demoed the new batch of drivers earlier this year (Callaway, Ping, Cobra and TaylorMade) and none of them made me want to drop the Mizuno.

And now, thanks to the MGS staff and Newton, I get to test their driver shaft and see if that's an upgrade from the Diamana! Super pumped up for this opportunity!

Edited 4 hours ago by ILMgolfnut

[Bash0130]

My favorite driver would have to be Cobra F-max offset super lite. It is still in my bag, helped correct my slice off the tee.  Open for any recommendations. 

[bowie5901]

My new Ping G430 10K as I just played a very hard course and hit every fairway I used it.

(nice 75 round)

I then played in a scramble and I realized just how long it really is if you rip it.

[vamosjackets]

My current Driver is the best I've ever had: Taylormade Qi10LS ... I was thinking through this, and thinking back on all of my past drivers, and realized that I've never hit a shot with my current driver and thought, "Wow, that was a terrible hit."  I can't say that about any other Driver I've ever played.  Obviously there are times when it doesn't go the exact direction I want it to ... like if I set up for a fade and catch it slightly toe side and it draws instead, or catch it slightly heel side and over-fade it.  But I've never not hit it "solid".  That's saying something!  It goes so far (keeps spin lower).  And, it has really good forgiveness ... Got to give a shout out to the Ventus TR Black 6X shaft - hard to know how much credit goes to that piece of the combination.  

 

Honorable mention:  
A. Ping i15 - First Driver I was ever fit for, back before fittings were popular. Some big golf superstore that was located at the World Golf Village in St Augustine, while on vacation ... and the sales guy did such a jam up job - took me out to a nearby range with a bunch of shafts, and got me dialed with it.  It was a bomber, low spin, and stayed in my bag a long time - probably 10-12 years.  Tried others and nothing beat it for that long.  Not as forgiving as my current one. It did have some big misses in it if I was a little off that day. I do miss it though. I also miss that store. 

B. The Qi10's predecessor, Taylormade Stealth 2+.  If I hadn't had a slight face issue with it after a year, I'd still gladly be playing it.  I'd give it all of the same accolades of the Qi, same power with good forgiveness ... just a touch less forgiving.  It changed my game though, my driver mentality and even my swing, all for the better.  I used to predominantly play a draw and this thing (along with the aforementioned Ventus shaft) got me out of that mentality and got me playing straight or baby fade.  That has been a game changer - it's been no distance loss (in fact, distance gain) and more control!!  The Qi is even more fade biased, which I've adjusted to nicely, so now I keep the Stealth 2+ in the repertoire in case I need to hit a draw.  Now, I can actually draw the Stealth 2+ if I want to, but can NOT draw the Qi10, which is actually kind of cool.  

C. Titleist Titanium Howitzer: This was my first Big Boy Driver I got when I was in the 8th grade, mid 90's.  I loved it and played it for at least 10 years.  No idea how it would compare numbers-wise to today, but it was great for me at the time.  Thanks Dad.  

 

Others I played at some point that don't make the cut for this conversation: Ping Eye Driver, Club-Doctor Big Bertha look-a-like (Big Berta maybe or something like that), Ping ISI, Titleist TS2. 

Great idea for a fun thread.

Edited 6 hours ago by vamosjackets

[funkyjudge]

Long ago, when I was a super high clubhead speed ultra long-hitter, two drivers stood out:

1. TM Ti Bubble II at 7* loft with an X-flex Tour Bubble shaft
2. TM R5TP, also in X-stiff

If I were to try hitting either of those drivers today, I am sure that the results would be disastrous.

[fozcycle]

Thinking back….

Powerbilt Citation

Cobra FD

Ping G

Powerbilt AFO DFX

Cobra Speedzone

PXG 0811 XF (5th Gen)

 

I have had many drivers but these are the ones that stood out and really helped my game.

 

[vamosjackets]

6 minutes ago, Bash0130 said:

My favorite driver would have to be Cobra F-max offset super lite. It is still in my bag, helped correct my slice off the tee.  Open for any recommendations. 

Mygolfspy testing always finds that the Ping SFT drivers are the best for helping correct a slice.  Ping G410 SFT, G425 SFT, and G430 SFT have all been lauded for that particular trait.  

[swansosa]

At the time.... Adams Redline was the hottest, easy to hit Driver out there!!!!

[Irish-Assassin]

My biggest regret ever!

Taylormade RBZ White tour driver. 
I’ve even thought of approaching Taylormade to see if they had a new one sitting at the warehouse somewhere in the back, like being in an Indiana Jones movie searching the warehouse for my treasure. 

 

[Englishvb]

1- original King Cobra!  Not because it was the best, but because it was light years better than the persimmon driver!   Hey, Tiger played it…

2- Titleist 975D-  always felt I could hit this with confidence

3- Callaway Rogue -  the new technology adds so many new layers to driving the ball off the tee.

[Richard Shows]

I just upgraded my PING G400 Max driver, which I thought I would not do for a while...then I hit the PING 430Max 10K!

I added around 20 yards and a lot of accuracy. Surprisingly, since I was already hitting 10-12 FWs a round!!

[Joseph j Andreola]

The best driver to me is 1 affordability, 2 forgiveness. That being said #1 leaves out the big boys, except PXG , the 0811 for $200. Was a real bargain!!! I’ve hit the ping 430, they’re great,  Titleist from 8 years ago also very consistent TM, Callaway…. all good but everyone is built different and so are our swings and life  experiences ! Find one the you like and stick with it!!! Sorry for rambling!!! Hit em straight!!!

[DAKDAKDAK]

Ping G15 best all around driver. 

[ChaseBrightman]

Went to Waste Management this year and played a course on the local Air Force base. Rental clubs had a Ping 400 in the bag no clue on the shaft or loft. Couldn’t miss a fairway all day.
 

I’m a Callaway guy and it’s had me debating the 430 10k ever since. 
 

Best driver I’ve ever owned… the original Rogue. Currently game the Rogue ST and while I like it, it doesn’t compare to my love of the original Rogue. 

[RCGolf]

Titleist TSR3. Before that, the 2016 Taylormade M2.

[Cyclereport_Nate]

Driver is not my strong suit in my game so this is a big one. I hit the ball far enough/enough ball speed (club speed around 110mph +/- depending on the day) to need something that doesn't feel too high/spinny but also something that is stable enough to not punish my faults too much. Some of the "max" drivers definitely help keep things from straying too far from intended target, but a lot of their tech/design really don't suit me in terms of ball flight/trajectory/etc on the good strikes. It's hard to find something that's easy to hit but also not designed for low club head speeds/people who have a hard time launching the ball. 

My best tee shots ever were when I was gaming a LTDxLS - that thing was a BOMBER, but when i didn't catch it it was really badly penalized. I got the best 2 or 3 shots per round but the others were worse than if I had something less extreme in my hands. Likewise when I had a PXG XF driver i rarely went crazy out of control off line, but the ball launched WAY too high and spinny and i was never getting anything GREAT out of it - just meh all the time.

The best of both worlds that I have encountered (and I still game now) is a Rogue ST MAX LS - it gives me NEARLY that LS bomber potential when I do my job well, and it isn't too brutal on me when I don't put the best swing on it. I wouldn't say it's a weapon in my hands (i still struggle to be consistent off the tee regardless) but it's by far the best driver i've ever used for me.

It has a nice normal shape, not some drawn out triangle/guitar pick. It sounds really good, has nice feel off the face and looks great. The callaway adapter is my fav of any brand (able to adjust loft without necessarily changing lie angle), and while initially I balked at the lower level of adjustability in weights compared to others, this thing out of the box is just about perfect. I'm always working on my game, and my driver performance is trending up - i don't know what would get me out of this club anytime soon. It's perfect for my delivery, i can bomb 300+ yards when I don't screw it up myself and my not so great stuff is still perfectly acceptable. 

[Dan Yates]

There are always generational stand outs, but maybe in order for me:

1. Titleist made a persimmon head 10.5* (I think) driver with a milled aluminum face in the late 80’s that felt like putting on a favorite pair of slippers to me.  Could work the ball any way I wanted with it, but as my friends, teammates, and competitors made the switch to metal-woods I was losing the distance battle.

2. TaylorMade Burner Bubble 7* - in the early-mid 1990’s - damn that club was fine.  Peak of my mobility and swing speed (but not control always).  It was a speed machine.  I had just started strength training and yoga, had 115-118 mph club head speed and could hit that driver 295-320 yds.  Seemed like it fit me perfectly.  It was a sad day playing in an amateur tournament in WV when I hit a drive on a long par 6 (in Guyandotte - only one I ever played) that it snapped off right above the bubble.

3. There have mostly been TaylorMade or Titleist drivers in my bag since I started playing.  After the Bubble I had the head put on a copper colored graphite shaft that was 1.5” longer and less stiff but I adapted my tempo to it and when it was working it was a high draw 300-310 yds that felt kind of effortless.  But it was harder to control the launch angle even with a 7* face - it would balloon in the wind

4. My current gamer: TaylorMade Stealth 2 9* with a 43.5” Fujikura Ventus 7-S with velocore.  I’m nowhere near as long as I was.  Shoulder surgery and back problems, and at 55, a little mobility loss - clubhead speed is down near 102-103 mph.  But I love the shot shaping and pretty effortless control with it.  My swing changes last year made it a liability, but it was me, not the club.  It seems ready to do whatever I can muster.  6-7 weeks ago I tagged two 300+ yd drives (with the wind, slightly firm conditions).  As much as I want to try the new Qi10 LS I don’t think my swing speed would make it worth the cost.

[Cyclereport_Nate]

Driver is not my strong suit in my game so this is a big one. I hit the ball far enough/enough ball speed (club speed around 110mph +/- depending on the day) to need something that doesn't feel too high/spinny but also something that is stable enough to not punish my faults too much. Some of the "max" drivers definitely help keep things from straying too far from intended target, but a lot of their tech/design really don't suit me in terms of ball flight/trajectory/etc on the good strikes. It's hard to find something that's easy to hit but also not designed for low club head speeds/people who have a hard time launching the ball. 

My best tee shots ever were when I was gaming a LTDxLS - that thing was a BOMBER, but when i didn't catch it it was really badly penalized. I got the best 2 or 3 shots per round but the others were worse than if I had something less extreme in my hands. Likewise when I had a PXG XF driver i rarely went crazy out of control off line, but the ball launched WAY too high and spinny and i was never getting anything GREAT out of it - just meh all the time.

The best of both worlds that I have encountered (and I still game now) is a Rogue ST MAX LS - it gives me NEARLY that LS bomber potential when I do my job well, and it isn't too brutal on me when I don't put the best swing on it. I wouldn't say it's a weapon in my hands (i still struggle to be consistent off the tee regardless) but it's by far the best driver i've ever used for me.

It has a nice normal shape, not some drawn out triangle/guitar pick. It sounds really good, has nice feel off the face and looks great. The callaway adapter is my fav of any brand (able to adjust loft without necessarily changing lie angle), and while initially I balked at the lower level of adjustability in weights compared to others, this thing out of the box is just about perfect. I'm always working on my game, and my driver performance is trending up - i don't know what would get me out of this club anytime soon. It's perfect for my delivery, i can bomb 300+ yards when I don't screw it up myself and my not so great stuff is still perfectly acceptable. 

[The TXBexar]

Well, this is a hard question for me to narrow down to just one, so I'm giving two as my answer (Big Whoop, wanna fight about it?!)

The first would be the TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Superfast driver from the 2010's. The thing was massive, fast, and dead long. Just at the time, it felt like nothing else could touch the driver, and I know several people that still game it in their bag today. In fact, you can still many of these drivers out there selling for around $100 looking beat to hell, because the white paint on the head would chip if you even just let the sun kiss it too hard, but it would still hit with the big drivers out today and be competitive I bet.

Second would be one of the first drivers I ever played with, which was a '92 Ben Hogan Apex Persimmon Deep-Face Driver in Cherry. Thing was wild and fun to hit as a kid; couldn't hit the broad-side of the barn from 100yds away, though I'll be damned if I didn't scare the cows that were about 225yds away in the next pasture over a few times! Can't beat the sound & feel of nailing the screws on the ball and seeing that cherry head gleam in the sunlight on the follow-thru. Honestly makes me want to try and put together a bag of old 90's Drivers/woods and irons and game that for fun on the weekends sometimes; Would be a helluva sight on the range!