It is embarrassing when you hit the ball and it flies off into the woods in a direction you did not expect. If this was your first hit of the day, that kind of frustration tends to carry itself in the next shots as well.
It’s very hard to be able to hit the ball straight and also get decent contact every time. Priority really is the contact. Because when you are at least striking it well, that gives you the confidence and it means you can start to work on other things. This is when you need the most forgiving drivers which can give you control, allowing you to take charge of your swing style and your play.
We have assessed several drivers so far for this and other articles on Golfproper. We keep a record of the characteristics of each driver, and we know which ones work for different capabilities.
From all the clubs, we chose five of the top forgiving drivers for beginners and seniors.
TaylorMade M6 Driver – Best Driver Overall
TaylorMade M6 sports a host of technologies that make it a forgiving driver. The larger clubface, high MOI, and low center of gravity give you more control so that you can hit more accurately and for longer distances.
Callaway Mavrik Max Driver – Best Draw-Bias Driver
If you struggle with a slice, this might be the driver you need. It offers two adjustable weights so that you can make your slices straighter by adjusting the weights.
Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Driver for Men – Best for the Money
If you need a more affordable golf club, the Cleveland Golf HB Launcher has the features you need and doesn’t break your bank. It has a large clubface, weight distributed back towards the heel and other features that make it forgiving.
Benefits of Using a Forgiving Driver
Advancements in golf technology have made it possible for everyone to hit the ball accurately. With a good driver, you will almost always get your ball on the fairway. These more forgiving drivers are ideal for seniors whose game suffers due to the weakness that comes with age and for beginners who may not hit the ball with the center of the driver’s head.
In the past, drivers and irons had a very small head. These two clubs had the label “blades.” It meant that for a golfer to get the ball where it needed to be, they had to hit it accurately with the center of the head. With such clubs, mis-hits and off-center shots were all bad shots.
Karsten Solheim (Founder of Ping) designed perimeter weighted clubs in a bid to make beginners and seniors make more accurate shots. This meant that the clubs had larger sweet spots, and it was easier to make perfect shots. With a larger sweet spot, off-center shots and mis-hits will result in more accurate shots.
Modern technology made Karsten’s perimeter weighted design even better to ensure that no one misses the fairway. Below are some of the benefits you get with a more forgiving driver:
Hit Longer
If your swing speed slows down and you no longer send the ball flying to the fairway, you need a more forgiving driver to help with that. Most of these drivers are lightweight, but with relatively bigger clubfaces. They also feature stronger materials to give the ball added distance.
Forgiving drivers have the right flex to help with reducing swing speed.
Control Better
Forgiving drivers have a low center of gravity. This gives you more control and makes the driver feel comfortable in your hands. If the driver feels off, you can play with the weights to adjust the CoG of the driver.
Enjoy More
One shot into the woods and you will feel less confident in your shots. The more you send the ball to the woods, the harder it gets to hit the ball with the center of your driver. A forgiving driver makes your shots more accurate. You will be more motivated to take the next shot if all your shots are nearly perfect.
Your game will significantly improve when you hit that ball perfectly. Slowly, golf will become a game you love. One forgiving driver will also save your money and your time. Instead of spending time and money on lessons and new equipment, you will spend time enjoying the game you love.
Factors To Consider While Buying the Most Forgiving Driver
Club Head Size and Weight
Drivers now feature a larger club head than ever before. These larger club heads have a larger sweet spot that ensures your ball flies into the fairway even when your shot is off-center.
The maximum legal size of a driver’s clubhead is 460 cc. Nowadays, most golf equipment manufacturers offer the maximum size to ensure that you get your ball flying off in the right direction. If you need the ultimate forgiveness, do not choose for tour models. They might have other great features, but these are ideal for professionals.
The larger clubhead should not increase the weight of the driver. Instead, the driver should feel light and with the weight well-distributed to make it more comfortable on your hands.
Loft
At what angle do you shoot your ball? Your shoot angle determines the impact of your shots and how long your ball flies in the air. If your ball stays longer in the air, you will achieve more distance.
However there is a misconception that a driver with low loft will give you the distance you need even with a slow swing speed. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Instead, you need a driver with a higher loft. The more you increase the loft of your driver, the more accurate your shots are and the longer your ball stays in the air.
Golf equipment manufacturers no longer make clubs with 7.5 or 8-degree lofts as these are less forgiving, contrary to common belief.
If you have challenges keeping your ball flying for longer, get a loft around 10.5-degree.
Shaft Flex and Kick Point
If you keep slicing the ball with your current driver, there is a high chance that your driver is stiffer than you need for a beginner or senior. If you are only starting as a golfer, your swing speed will suffer before it improves. As such, you need a more flexible driver.
When you have more flex, you create the ideal upward angle that gets your ball flying higher and for longer. However, if you get too much shaft flex, the ball will fly too high, and you will lose control. For right handed golfers, too much flex will send the ball too far left and too high. Left handed golfers will send the ball too far right. If the shaft is too stiff, the ball will not fly as high as needed, and it will move far right (for right-handed golfers) and too far left (for left-handed golfers).
When the ball flies either too high or too low, you do not get the distance you need from your driver. Having the right shaft flex allows one to get the right launch angle. For high handicappers and beginners, a regular flex comes in handy. However, seniors can go for senior flex.
Editor’s Note: The shaft flex will also affect the angle at which the clubhead hits the ball, but that has no significant impact on your shots if all you need is to get the ball flying higher and for longer.
Kick Point is also important when you need a forgiving driver as it determines the launch angle. Also known as the flex or bend point, the kick point is the part of the shaft that bends the most during downswing. The point might be high, mid, or low. If the kick point is high in the shaft, you will have a low launch angle.
There are no industry standards on where the kick point should be for different drivers. Mid kick point works great for most forgiving drivers.
Adjustability
You will not be a beginner forever. Your swing style will change and so will your swing speed. Granted, you need a driver that you can adjust to meet the needs of your game. Most modern forgiving drivers sport an easy sleeve where you can change the shaft as your swing improves. For seniors, if you are using a regular shaft and now you need something more flexible, you can go for a senior shaft.
All you need to adjust the shaft is a torque wrench, and you are good to go. The advantage here is that you can still adjust the loft of your driver as well to give you more distance.
You also have a chance to adjust the weight of the clubhead. The driver comes with adjustable weights that you can play around with. These weights are placed in specific areas, and you can move them to customize your shot shape.
Draw Bias
Do you have a problem with slice shots? If you cut across the ball from outside and leave the clubface open, your ball will slice away from the target, and you will have inaccurate shots all the time. However, you can make your shots more accurate with a draw-bias driver.
A slice comes when the clubface opens to the direction your club is traveling and the club’s path is from outside to inside. In such a case, the ball will slice away from the target and into the woods.
With a draw-bias driver, you are able to square the face of your club more to the path of your ball. To do that, these drivers have the center of gravity placed as close to the shaft as possible. The construction increases the closure rate of the club. When that happens, your slice will straighten and can even change into a fade. The design of these clubs also makes them more forgiving and allows you to launch your ball higher.
The draw-bias driver can help improve your game faster so that you never spend months honing your swing.
Our top five most accurate and forgiving drivers
The options below offer a great balance between weight, club head size, flex, and adjustability.
TaylorMade M6 Driver
TaylorMade M6 is a driver that offers improved ball speed and forgiveness. The manufacturer creates this driver to be as close to the legal clubhead weight limit as possible. They do this following the speed injected twist face where they can mass produce the clubs to as close to the legal weight limit as possible.
TaylorMade is one of the proprietors of the ‘Twist Face’ Technology. This tech involves a curvature on the driver’s face. The size of the clubhead matters, but the bulge on it matters even more. Manufacturers have to balance the weight and the shape of the clubhead and that is what TaylorMader did with the M6.
With the twist face in the M6, you will get more consistent shots as your spin will stay the same. Further, you get HammerHead 2.0 with your M6. This comes as a slot on the bottom of the driver. TaylorMade combines the twist face with HammerHead 2.0 to create a larger sweet spot and ensure that you get more accurate shots even for off-center hits and mis-hits.
TaylorMade is also a great driver when you need more distance. It comes with a regular flex and 10.5 degrees loft, a feature combination that makes it ideal for beginners and people who need to improve their game. Further, the driver features an aerodynamic carbon sole design fitted with inertia generator technology. This design increases the speed of the clubhead and allows you to send the ball flying for longer.
PROS:
- Adjustable design for changing swing style
- Designed for beginners
- Designed to give more distance
CONS:
- The quality of the clubhead is relatively poor
Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Driver for Men
Cleveland may not be one of the top golf manufacturers, but their golf drivers are among the best. The drivers come at a competitive price and give you an edge when you need to hone your swing.
Each driver features a standard Miyazaki C.Kua shaft, measuring 45.5 inches. This shaft sports a high balance point with low torque to give you more control. With this design, you will achieve high swing speeds to get the ball flying longer – which makes the driver ideal for seniors.
An Advanced Clubhead
Launcher Hi-Bore comes in an advanced 460 cc titanium clubhead. This head further has a large sweet spot, so your off-center shots and mis-hits still follow your target line. Further, this clubhead has a thin crown, so all the weight goes to the bottom of the head and far back. Cleveland then added a lightweight bonded hosel to further cut the weight.
Cleveland has applied its Cup Face technology to create a compressed face that offers high-trajectory shots with enhanced distance. If mis-hits are your problem, the clubhead will straighten your shots and give you the distance you need. This is ideal if your swings are still not accurate.
The Cup Face technology adds to the Flex-Fin sole tech to enhance the size of the sweet spot even further. This new technology ensures that the club distributes the energy evenly throughout the head and returns it to the face for more power even for mis-hits.
If you have a slow swing speed, this driver gives you a 10.5 degrees loft to keep your ball flying for longer. There is even a 12 degrees loft option for golfers who are really struggling with speed.
PROS:
- Designed to correct off-center strikes
- Competitive pricing
- Straight hitting
- High launch angle
CONS:
- The distance is shorter for mis-hits
TaylorMade Men’s RBZ
TaylorMade designed this driver to offer better performance to complete beginners and experienced golfers alike. It is a new design that comes with better features and higher quality to last longer and perform better on the greens.
It comes with a relatively large clubhead with a large sweet spot. At 460 cc, the club head offers accuracy even for off-center hits. The large sweet spot ensures that you get more powerful shots even when your swing speed is still low. When you need more playability, the titanium head gives you confidence to meet your golfing needs.
The driver sports an ultralight titanium core. All the mass goes towards the clubhead and less towards the shaft. This results in a lower center of gravity and a driver that is more forgiving. The driver also allows a higher launch so that you can send the ball flying higher and longer.
The loft sleeve of the driver is adjustable, so you can customize the driver to match your swing style. With this sleeve, you can adjust the launch angle and the trajectory to meet your fast or slow swing speed.
The innovative speed pocket on the RBZ ensures that your ball launches high, and you get the speed and distance you need. You can choose between stiff flex, regular, and senior flex. If your swing speed is high, go for a stiff flex.
I love the satin-black finish of this golf club. There are also some elegant details that further add to its aesthetic appeal.
PROS:
- Adjustable loft sleeve for customizability
- Ultralight and allows for high launch
- Elegant look at address
CONS:
- Feels so light for people with a high swing speed
Best Draw Bias Drivers
If you need to improve your slicing without spending months training, a draw bias driver will help you out. These drivers have the right combination of features to make your slice straighter and your shots more accurate. Below are our choices of the best draw bias drivers:
Editor’s Note: A draw-bias driver is not for everyone. If you have the time to train and improve your swing, you do not need a draw-bias driver. Most instructors prefer that you train to swing your club from inside with a closed face to get a draw or a fade and not a slice.
TaylorMade SIM MAX-D Driver
If you have ever used any other driver in the SIM Family of drivers from TaylorMade, you will recognize the same great technologies that define these drivers. However, these drivers have a larger clubface, more heel weight, and an advanced divergent topline that makes them more forgiving. The driver aims at high handicaps and gives a better draw ball flight.
This driver has several differences from the SIM MAX driver notably in size, weight, and level of adjustability. For starters, it sports an 18 percent larger face. It doesn’t have a weight track, but it comes with two additions that offer a strong draw bias.
These additions include extra heel weight that lowers the center of gravity and gives the golfer more control. There is also a divergent topline masking that gives the driver a more open look.
You can choose between a loft angle of 9, 10.5, and 12 degrees; similar to the standard SIM Max driver. The 460 cc driver also comes standard with a loft sleeve, so you can adjust the loft to meet your swing style. This adjustability offers 12 sleeve variations where you can increase or decrease the face angle by ±4 and the loft angle by ±2.
There are a host of technologies that enhance the forgiveness of this driver. One of them is the speed-injected twist face that corrects off-center hits. Further, it has an asymmetric shape that shifts the weight of the clubface back to ensure the player has more control over the driver. To further shift the weight low and back, TaylorMade uses multiple materials of construction.
The Inverted Cone Technology expands the sweet spot of the face so that you enjoy better mis-hit accuracy.
PROS:
- Strong draw bias eliminates a slice immediately
- Large footprint that gives confidence at address
- High Moment of Inertia for added forgiveness
- Light for high speed swings
CONS:
- The driver produces a loud thud sound at impact
Callaway Mavrik Max Driver
Callaway Mavrik is one of the newest golf drivers in the market today. Granted, it sports all new Callaway technologies for enhanced playability. Callaway designed this to offer increased ball speeds regardless of which part of the face hits the ball. The Flash Face SS20 has a large 460 cc clubface that ensures you hit the ball better.
Callaway used the FS2S titanium that is stronger, but lighter. This material is six grams lighter than the traditional titanium material. The material offers fast speeds regardless of the swing style and spin robustness that accommodates players of all skills.
There are two internal jail-break bars that connect the sole and crown for faster ball speeds. Further, the ultralight carbon crown ensures that the innovative weight redistribution design gives the golfer more control.
You can customize the driver as you want, thanks to the interchangeable weights and adjustable loft. You can interchange between 14g and 2g based on your swing style. These weights are near the heel or rear in the sole of the clubhead. If you need MAX draw, place the weight near the heel. When you shift the weight to be near the rear, you get maximum forgiveness.
There are three models of the Mavrik Driver. The first is the Standard, which offers fast ball speeds even for golfers with slow swing speeds. This driver sports an aero shape that reduces drag for faster speeds. The Mavrik Max is ideal for draw bias as it is the option with the two interchangeable weights. The third is the Sub Zero, which sports an impressive combination of high MOI and low spin and has two interchangeable weights for enhanced forgiveness.
PROS:
- Large sweet spot makes it easy to hit
- Strong draw bias to minimize slice
- Enhanced forgiveness for beginners and seniors
CONS:
- It gives too much spin to fast swingers
Recap
A forgiving golf driver is every beginner’s must-have. It’s the easiest driver to hit which gives you confidence during your training sessions, allowing you to get better and better. Without it, your off-center hits and mis-hits will fly into the woods and out of the fairway, and it is easy to lose track if that happens.
The best forgiving drivers have a larger clubhead and consequently a larger sweet spot so that every part of the clubhead gives you accurate shots. Further, they have a high Moment of Inertia, MOI, so your shots will fly higher and longer even if your swing speed is slow.
It is also advisable that you pick an adjustable driver as you need a club that adjusts as your game improves. An adjustable loft and face will help you customize the driver to meet your swing style.
My personal favorite from the list is the TaylorMade M6 Driver. TaylorMade is a renowned golf equipment company, and they produce rather technologically advanced golf clubs. The M6 has features such as Face Twist Technology and Hammerhead 2.0 that make it easier for you to make accurate shots as a beginner.