Driving the ball long and straight has unquestioned advantages when trying to score well and improve your game, and the joy of a perfectly struck drive sailing down the fairway will stick with most players for much longer than just the round of golf during which it occurred.

With all this in mind, we have cultivated the following list of the best drivers from the biggest brands on the market this year. From smaller head, low spin models aimed at better players, to ultra-lightweight, forgiveness-driven clubs for the moderate speed swingers of the world, there is a driver here to suit each and every golfer and ball flight.

CALLAWAY EPIC SPEED/EPIC MAX/EPIC MAX LS

Callaway’s original Epic drivers transformed the company’s offerings through the use of innovative ‘Jailbreak’ technology. The new Epic Speed, MAX and MAX LS taking that even further through the use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and model specific performance characteristics.

The company utilised A.I. to refine Jailbreak, as well as its ‘Flash Face’ architecture, the resulting face design and ‘Jailbreak Speed Frame’ adding more ball speed regardless of where impact occurs. The new Jailbreak Speed Frame add torsional stiffness to the established horizontal stiffness created by the original bars connecting the crown and sole.

All using lightweight ‘Triaxial Carbon’ in the crown to save weight that can then be optimally redistributed, the Speed model is aerodynamically tuned to be the fastest Epic, the Max is built for long and straight drives and is the most forgiving model, while the MAX LS offers a neutral flight, low spin and high moment of inertia (MOI).

“The Speed is very much something that has a lot of those speed advantages and it achieves forgiveness in an unusual way,” Senior VP of Research and Development at Callaway Dr. Alan Hocknell told Golf Australia. “The centre of gravity (CG) is nearer the face than it is in most other drivers and for that the variation of spin rate when you don’t hit the centre of the face compared to your best shots is minimised. And that’s great for downrange consistency.

“The MAX model is designed more for the golfer who uses a lot of the face. So, it is a different form of forgiveness, a rear CG, more of the focus on high MOI, the sliding weight track so that we can steer the golf ball a little bit for those failures based on swinging across the path or missing the centre of the face.

“And then there is the MAX LS based on a lot of the feedback from modern Tour players. They don’t necessarily need the super low spin we had in our Sub Zero drivers. So, around the office L in LS stands for lower not lowest, and for that you get a great combination of speed, lower spin but a larger head size that is more forgiving than the better players have been used to.”

RRP: $879.99
www.callawaygolf.com.au

CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA B21

Drivers designed with feedback from the best players in the world are great. But not many of those players need the same attributes in a club that some everyday golfers require, particularly those suffering a slice. Enter the Big Bertha B21.

Designed for golfers to hit their best drives no matter how they swing it, the B21 is draw biased and utilises many of the premium technologies of Callaway’s other drivers to provide distance and forgiveness.

Featuring an A.I. designed Flash Face and Jailbreak bars for ball speed, lightweight carbon is used in the crown to save weight, while the CG is placed very low for a high launch, low spin flight that is setup to produce a draw.

The shaping, flight characteristics and suite of technologies make this a unique driver in Callaway’s long history that has been distinctly created to remove the big miss from your game.

RRP: $829.99
www.callawaygolf.com.au

COBRA RADSPEED/RADSPEED XB/RADSPEED XD

The name of Cobra’s latest driver range might at first seem a little abstract. But there is sound reasoning, the line named for its primary technology ‘Radial Weighting’, a breakthrough technology providing all golfers longer, straighter drives.

The technology is based in an engineering concept – Radius of Gyration – that covers the distance between CG, weights and technologies. Cobra uncovering that increasing the Radius of Gyration produced a combination of ball speed, low spin and forgiveness.

Available in three options, Cobra, like many other companies, has designed each model with specific players in mind. The high swing speed player best suited to the RADSPEED, RADSPEED XB for those looking for ball speed and forgiveness across the face and RADSPEED XD to reduce slices.

All three models incorporate Cobra’s ‘CNC Milled Infinity Face’ that is more precise than traditional hand polishing methods and creates ball speed and consistency, a lightweight ‘T-Bar Speed Chassis’ and thinner carbon fibre crown.

The standard RADSPEED owns a traditional shape combined with forward-biased radial weighting. The weight has been stretched towards the front and back with both fixed and adjustable weights to create extremely high ball speeds coupled with forgiveness.

Both featuring oversized profiles, the XB (Xtreme Back) and XD (Xtreme Draw) provide more specific flights than the workable standard model.

The weighting in the XB, which also includes adjustable weights, has been pushed to the back of the head to deliver the straightest flight of all three models, as well as increased distance and forgiveness, while the XD is heel weighted through fixed weights to help close the face and produce a draw shape.

RRP: $799
www.cobragolf.com.au

MIZUNO ST SERIES

Mizuno’s driver offerings have come along in leaps and bounds in recent years, the new ST-Z and ST-X signaling the culmination of the Japanese manufacturer’s three-year, rapid-fire driver development project.

Powered by the second generation ‘SAT2041 Beta Ti face’, the two models offer different flight characteristics, while refined feel was a major focus to improve upon the already popular preceding models – ST190 and ST200.

“Most of our ST200 Tour feedback was on the sensory side, a desire for a sound our players generally described as solid or dense,” Mizuno’s Chris Voshall said. “We spent the next year working on improving feedback, hand in hand with releasing the additional ball speed we knew was left in our SAT2041 Beta Ti face.”


The face material is a combination of a variety of metals that make it stronger and more flexible than traditional titanium used in driver faces, and has been used in the automotive and cycling industries previously.

Carbon is used in both the crown and soles of the new models, the ST-Z built for an extremely high MOI and low spin via a central back weight and carbon toe and heel sections for a straight and long flight. Meanwhile, the ST-X is draw biased through the use of a heel side weight, more carbon in the toe, and has somewhat surprisingly proven popular with Tour players due to its deeper shape and more compact profile.

RRP: $799
www.mizunogolf.com

PING G425 MAX/LST/SFT

PING’s recent run of drivers has been extremely popular with the world’s best players whether they be under contract or not. The combination of forgiveness, distance and variety of models has clearly struck a chord with players who need to play their best.

Following in the footsteps of the G400 and G410, the three new G425 drivers further enhance forgiveness and specific performance from one to another, while keeping the all important element of distance at the forefront of design.

All three models feature weight saving ‘Dragonfly’ crown technology, a T9S+ forged face, aerodynamics improving ‘Turbulators’ and an internal rib structure for improved sound and feel.

The G425 Max features the highest MOI in company history, PING referring to it as “the most forgiving driver in golf”.

The increase in forgiveness comes from a 26 gram tungsten weight that shifts the CG low and deep in all three settings – neutral, draw and fade.

Smaller at 445cc and with a pear shape profile, the G425 LST reduces spin by between 500-700rpm compared to the Max for high spin players looking for optimal launch conditions that can be further dialed via the 17 gram moveable weight and the same three positions as the Max model.

Rounding out the range is the G425 SFT, which incorporates a 23 gram fixed tungsten weight towards the back and heel of the driver that also features a lighter swingweight. This combination helps to fight a slice.

RRP: $899
www.americangolf.com.au

SRIXON ZX SERIES

Srixon’s latest driver models – the ZX5 and ZX7 – are built for distance-generating speed.

The stated goal has been delivered via the company’s all-new ‘Rebound Frame Technology’, a concept that sees differing zones of flexibility and stiffness to maximise ball speed at impact.

“Rebound Frame represents the best energy transfer system we’ve ever designed into a driver,” Srixon Vice President of Research and Development Jeff Brunski said. “From the centre of the face to the very rear of the club, we’ve tuned the clubhead stiffness to put more energy into the ball than ever before. The entire driver head works in harmony to provide an unprecedented rebound effect, giving you more maximum ball speed for more distance.”

Engineered for a penetrating flight, the ZX7 features two adjustable weight ports for flight tuning, while the fixed weight ZX5 has a larger profile at address and produces a high and straight flight. Both drivers incorporating a significantly larger carbon crown than their predecessors to allow for weight to be optimally located low and deep, as well as around the perimeter for ideal launch and greater MOI.

RRP: $669.95
www.srixon.com.au

TAYLORMADE SIM2/SIM2 MAX/SIM2 MAX•D

The original SIM from TaylorMade focused on redesigning the way drivers were constructed to maximise speed in the crucial moments before impact for greater distance. The new SIM2 family advances that design further by adding greater forgiveness through an innovative new design.

Maintaining technologies including ‘Speed Injected Twist Face’ and ‘Thru-Slot Speed Pocket’ the SIM2, SIM2 Max and SIM2 Max•D protect ball speed no matter where impact occurs. The Twist Face technology delivers speed where players most commonly miss through CNC milling behind the face, while the injected resin ensures every SIM2 face is as hot as it can be under the Rules of Golf.

The true standout technology of the new SIM2 drivers is its ‘Forged Ring Construction’, a concept that uses a lightweight aluminium ring to bind the titanium face with the carbon crown and sole. This has allowed TaylorMade’s engineers to precisely locate weight for optimal performance and flight characteristics.

The carbon on the crown is the result of more than 15 years of development, while the sole is made of new high-strength material ensuring durability, the sole also shaping the ‘Inertia Generator’ first unveiled in the SIM drivers that drives speed and flight.

The standard model features a 16-gram weight in the rear of the Inertia Generator and another weight towards the face for a low spin flight, whereas the Max model’s 24-gram tungsten weight creates even more MOI and a slightly higher launching and spinning flight. The Max•D features an Inertia Generator that is located towards the heel for a draw-biased flight that doesn’t require the traditional trade-off of forgiveness of previous draw models.

RRP: $869
www.taylormadegolf.com.au

TITLEIST TSi RANGE

Titleist undertook what it labelled a ‘Speed Project’ to shape its previous generation of TS drivers and unlock speed and distance. The new TSi range further advances the project and the performance characteristics of the popular previous model.

Chief among the improvements in the new models – TSi1, TSi2, TSi3, TSi4 – is the inclusion of a ‘ATI 425 Aerospace Titanium face’. The material is used only by Titleist in the golf club market that has been previously used in aerospace and aircraft, including NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, and responsible for creating the longest drivers in Titleist history.

“ATI 425 is an amazing alloy that leads to a lot of performance benefits,” Senior Vice President, Titleist Golf Club R&D Dan Stone said. “It’s incredibly strong and maintains elongation under high stress. It let us optimise the thickness of the entire face to a degree that was never possible before and generate our highest ball speeds ever at points all over the face – not just heel and toe but also high and low. This is not an easy material to obtain, but the benefits to the golfer are beyond anything we’ve ever seen.”

Refined shaping and aerodynamics of the new models create more speed through less drag to further add ball speed throughout the range, with the feel improved through sound engineering.

Forgiveness has been improved across the range via Titleist’s focus on MOI both in the traditional heel to toe measurement as well as from the crown to sole, while each model features the ‘SureFit hosel’ to dial in flight preferences, and the TSi3 features the new ‘SureFit CG track’.

TSi2 offers a high launch, low spin flight and speed combined with accuracy across the face, TSi3 allows maximum adjustability with a mid/high launch and low spin, TSi1 is an ultra-lightweight option that is up to 40 grams lighter than standard drivers and specifically engineered for moderate swing speed players, while TSi4 is pitched at high spin players. Measuring 430cc with the lowest and most forward CG placement in the line, TSi4 is an ultra-low spin, workable option favoured by the likes of Adam Scott.

SRP: $849
www.titleist.com.au

XXIO ELEVEN & X

XXIO has long established itself as an option for moderate swing speed players seeking distance and forgiveness. The new Eleven driver continues that legacy, while the X model extends the same benefits to a new range of players.

Both feature ‘Weight Plus technology’ where weights are placed in the butt end of the shaft to raise balance points and create a fulcrum like effect for speed, as well as a ‘Cannon Sole’ that creates more room for the ‘Cup Face’ offering greater ball speed on centre strikes and mis-hits.

The Eleven incorporates a ‘Star Frame’ rib structure supporting an ultra-thin and lightweight sole allowing for optimal weight redistribution, whereas the X driver’s carbon fibre sole is part of its design intended to offer classic XXIO performance to better players.

RRP: $899
www.xxio.com.au