Over 1,000 years ago, Chinese royalty played a game that used clubs covered in jewels to hit balls into holes.
Of course, the game of golf, as we know it, is a Scottish invention that was casual and had few rules. Players carved their own clubs out of wood, but it didn’t take long for craftsmen to take over and start making clubs for money.
In the first set of specially made clubs, made in 1502 for King James IV of Scotland, what we would call a driver were called longnoses. The rest of the set were called grassed drivers, spoons, niblicks, and a putting cleek.
In this article, we’ll look at the best longnoses, sorry, drivers of 2018.
Driver technology is changing every year, let alone since 1502. What, just a few years ago, was simply a hollow metal head on a shaft is now a minutely adjustable tool for getting maximum distance based, not on what some designer thinks, but on what you need and feel is best.
Of course, the game of golf, as we know it, is a Scottish invention that was casual and had few rules. Players carved their own clubs out of wood, but it didn’t take long for craftsmen to take over and start making clubs for money.
In the first set of specially made clubs, made in 1502 for King James IV of Scotland, what we would call a driver were called longnoses. The rest of the set were called grassed drivers, spoons, niblicks, and a putting cleek.
In this article, we’ll look at the best longnoses, sorry, drivers of 2018.
Driver technology is changing every year, let alone since 1502. What, just a few years ago, was simply a hollow metal head on a shaft is now a minutely adjustable tool for getting maximum distance based, not on what some designer thinks, but on what you need and feel is best.
Golf is a game in which you yell ‘fore’, shoot six, and write down five.Paul Harvey
Golf Driver Purchase Guide
Choosing the right driver for your needs can be a matter of knowing what you really need and choosing a club that has the right technology. Advances in sweet spot technology, adjustability, and more are keys to finding your perfect driver.
Which Headsize?
The head of a driver is measured by volume. For example, a 460cc head is more forgiving and is better for a beginner. For more experienced golfers a 440cc head that allows you to shape the ball in the air is better. Of course, the angle of the face and other conditions will affect the power and distance on the ball.
Titanium!
Titanium replaced wood many years ago because it’s more durable and stronger. Today’s head is either titanium, composite or both.
Get an adjustable Loft.
Loft refers to the angle of the face. A club with 0 degrees of loft would have a face that’s perpendicular to the ground. The typical driver has a face that’s 8 to 12 degrees. The slower your swing, the more loft and the higher the angle should be. If your swing is less than 90 mph, you should look for a face that’s 10 degrees or more. For players with a swing that’s over 90 mph, they can use a face that’s less than 10 degrees. The speed of their swing will increase the loft.
Get a customizable Driver.
Today’s higher quality drivers include weights that you can add to suit your needs or even the conditions of that day. Using a special tool and inserting a weight, you can change the head of the driver adjust to many different circumstances.
The right shaft material.
Most of today’s drivers come with composite shafts that are made from woven carbon fiber. These shafts are lighter than steel and provide enough flexibility to add some power to your swing.
In most cases, the best way to know which driver is the right one for you is to test it out. There are often dozens of clubs available to test at brick and mortar stores. Once you've tried it out, you can look online and see if there’s a better price available.
Occasionally, you’ll know exactly what you need and want. In that case, go for it.
The five drivers listed below represent the best that’s available. Each is chosen because it fits a specific niche in the golf driver market.
Occasionally, you’ll know exactly what you need and want. In that case, go for it.
The five drivers listed below represent the best that’s available. Each is chosen because it fits a specific niche in the golf driver market.
Top 5 best golf drivers 2018
The No-Brainer
The modern metal wood was invented by Gary Adams. Today, his company, Taylormade, still leads the market. The Taylormade M2 Men’s Driver 460cc is easily one of the finest drivers on the market.
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Available with several different customizations, it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for a driver that gives them all the options they need to play their best.
Taylormade offers 4 different shafts flex levels: Regular, Senior, Stiff, and X-Stiff. This allows you to decide how solidly you want to hit the ball and how much kick you want the club to contribute.
They also offer 3 different lofts. By varying the face angle, you’ll get a different response and be better able to hit the ball based on the speed of your swing. 9.5, 10.5, and 12-degree faces are available on the M2.
The head is made of 6-layer carbon crown on a 911 skeletal Titanium body that gives a great heavy back weight.
A deeper, more active speed pocket is a 300% improvement over the original M2. This increases the flexion and forgiveness across the clubface.
A lower density 9-1-1- Titanium body, 6-layer carbon composite crown and minimal sound ribs let 25g of discretionary weight to be moved back and low compared to the earlier model.
In short, an already amazing driver has been greatly improved and now allows for an outstanding amount customization that results in more power and more distance.
Taylormade offers 4 different shafts flex levels: Regular, Senior, Stiff, and X-Stiff. This allows you to decide how solidly you want to hit the ball and how much kick you want the club to contribute.
They also offer 3 different lofts. By varying the face angle, you’ll get a different response and be better able to hit the ball based on the speed of your swing. 9.5, 10.5, and 12-degree faces are available on the M2.
The head is made of 6-layer carbon crown on a 911 skeletal Titanium body that gives a great heavy back weight.
A deeper, more active speed pocket is a 300% improvement over the original M2. This increases the flexion and forgiveness across the clubface.
A lower density 9-1-1- Titanium body, 6-layer carbon composite crown and minimal sound ribs let 25g of discretionary weight to be moved back and low compared to the earlier model.
In short, an already amazing driver has been greatly improved and now allows for an outstanding amount customization that results in more power and more distance.
PRO
- 3 different loft options
- Heavy back weight
- 300% improvement speed pocket
CON
- none
Overall Rating
The Cheap One
A great driver doesn’t have to come with a mortgage. The Pinemeadow 2017 PGX Offset Golf Driver is an outstanding value at less than $50.
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With a 460cc head, this is a very forgiving driver. The loft, at 10.5°, is perfect for nearly any handicap. Lower handicaps will be able to get amazing power, while higher handicaps will find that the club does much of the work for them.
This head has a massive sweet spot allowing it to be an ideal driver for golfers of every stage and experience level.
The offset design helps to bring a flat face down on the ball whenever the golfer used the grip well.
This customer review tells the whole story, “Just received my GPX driver took it to the range it was amazing every shot straight as an arrow. “ - William Marshall
If you’re looking for a great driver that won’t break the bank, this is the one. By the way, if you’re wondering why we are emphasizing the price, it’s because the quality is here for this driver, but you can buy an entire bag of them for the cost of one of most of the other drivers on this list.
This is the perfect gift. No one will know how inexpensive it is.
This head has a massive sweet spot allowing it to be an ideal driver for golfers of every stage and experience level.
The offset design helps to bring a flat face down on the ball whenever the golfer used the grip well.
This customer review tells the whole story, “Just received my GPX driver took it to the range it was amazing every shot straight as an arrow. “ - William Marshall
If you’re looking for a great driver that won’t break the bank, this is the one. By the way, if you’re wondering why we are emphasizing the price, it’s because the quality is here for this driver, but you can buy an entire bag of them for the cost of one of most of the other drivers on this list.
This is the perfect gift. No one will know how inexpensive it is.
PRO
- Incredible value for an incredible price.
- Very forgiving
- Big sweet spot
CON
- Not meant for very low handicappers
Overall Rating
The Lightweight
The Cobra 2018 F-Max Offset is designed to convert slow swings into immense amounts of power by making the grip and shaft lighter. This gives the golfer a much faster head speed than with a normal weight driver.
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For those of us who don’t necessarily get a lot of speed on our swing, a lighter club with large sweet spot allows us to get more speed and power out of our drivers.
The Cobra F-Max Offset is designed to make finding the sweet spot easier. There’s a back/heel weight positioned for more forgiving and straighter ball flights. The off-set design is created to make straight flights more predictable and frequent.
Where the typical shaft and grip is about 110g, the Cobra comes in at closer to just 60g. That moves all of the power of your swing into the head, instead of needing to move the shaft.
With a 10.5° face, this is the ideal loft for maximizing distance and making longer shots much easier to hit.
The reality is that there are a lot of us who don’t swing as fast as we think we do. This club might be called a Cobra, but it’s kind of the teddy bear of drivers. It is designed to make the most out of a slow, less-than-perfect swing. We’re not saying you this driver, but we can tell you that everyone in the office has one in their gold bag.
The Cobra F-Max Offset is designed to make finding the sweet spot easier. There’s a back/heel weight positioned for more forgiving and straighter ball flights. The off-set design is created to make straight flights more predictable and frequent.
Where the typical shaft and grip is about 110g, the Cobra comes in at closer to just 60g. That moves all of the power of your swing into the head, instead of needing to move the shaft.
With a 10.5° face, this is the ideal loft for maximizing distance and making longer shots much easier to hit.
The reality is that there are a lot of us who don’t swing as fast as we think we do. This club might be called a Cobra, but it’s kind of the teddy bear of drivers. It is designed to make the most out of a slow, less-than-perfect swing. We’re not saying you this driver, but we can tell you that everyone in the office has one in their gold bag.
PRO
- Very lightweight
- Very forgiving and straight
- Great distance. One of the longest drivers.
CON
- none
Overall Rating
The expensive flagship
It’s not polite to mention a lady’s size, but, in the case of the Great Big Bertha Epic Driver, it’s the highest of compliments.
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Brace yourself for a bunch of fancy words from Callaway - “a combination of Titanium exo-cage and triaxial carbon crown and sole”. What they really mean is that this is the lightest design in Callaway history.
The head has a 17g sliding weight that fits your swing and adds an average of 21 yards to every swing.
This classic monster comes with four different shaft options - holds, diamana, Fuji, and rogue in four weights.
Just in case you were worried that Callaway isn’t working with the right people, they consulted with aerospace engineers to design this outstanding club.
This is the most expensive driver on the list at $480, but it’s worth every penny. Once you have it set for your swing, you can simply look at it and get a 250 yard shot out of it. It’s designed to be the most powerful, forgiving, and technologically advanced Big Bertha in history. It’s EPIC!
The head has a 17g sliding weight that fits your swing and adds an average of 21 yards to every swing.
This classic monster comes with four different shaft options - holds, diamana, Fuji, and rogue in four weights.
Just in case you were worried that Callaway isn’t working with the right people, they consulted with aerospace engineers to design this outstanding club.
This is the most expensive driver on the list at $480, but it’s worth every penny. Once you have it set for your swing, you can simply look at it and get a 250 yard shot out of it. It’s designed to be the most powerful, forgiving, and technologically advanced Big Bertha in history. It’s EPIC!
PRO
- Lighest design from Callaway in history.
- Sliding weight adds about 20 yards on every swing.
- Most forgiving and powerfull driver 2018.
CON
- Rather expensive
Overall Rating
The Best Overall
Just like you hope your spouse is after an argument, the Callaway XR 16 is where “forgiveness meets fast.” In fact, this is a golf club designed in conjunction with Boeing.
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The XR16 was designed to be the most aerodynamic driver head in history. Working with aerodynamics experts at Boeing, Callaway designed a club head has a low drag and high speed. The Speed Step, exclusive to Callaway, saves weight and increases speed.
With a deep and low center of gravity, this is an amazingly forgiving driver. More speed at every impact location adds distance to every swing.
(Warning: more fancy words) With R-MOTO Face Technology, the face is 19% thinner and the head is lighter without giving up any of the reliability and strength.
Lighter head + Aerodynamic design + Thinner face + Huge sweet spot= A club that should be in every serious golfer’s bag. Not as expensive as its cousin, Big Bertha, this is a great club.
With a deep and low center of gravity, this is an amazingly forgiving driver. More speed at every impact location adds distance to every swing.
(Warning: more fancy words) With R-MOTO Face Technology, the face is 19% thinner and the head is lighter without giving up any of the reliability and strength.
Lighter head + Aerodynamic design + Thinner face + Huge sweet spot= A club that should be in every serious golfer’s bag. Not as expensive as its cousin, Big Bertha, this is a great club.
PRO
- Forgiving but extremely long. Probably one the longest driver I ever tested.
- Very good price for the best driver on the market at the moment.
- Low center of gravity.
CON
- Absolutely none
Overall Rating
A Final Word
Picking a driver is not unlike picking a mate - you want one that’s forgiving, feels good in your hands, and can go the distance with you. This list of five amazing drivers for 2018 was built with everyone in mind. From the frugal to the “cost is no object” fanatic, there’s something here for every golfer.
All of this year’s drivers have the same thing in common – they’re all designed to be forgiving, allowing you to not necessarily hit that sweet spot and still get an amazing drive out of it.
No matter which you choose, each of these drivers is guaranteed to add control and distance to your game. Take the time to adjust them and get used to them and these drivers will make an amateur into a pro and a pro into a star.🏌️⛳
All of this year’s drivers have the same thing in common – they’re all designed to be forgiving, allowing you to not necessarily hit that sweet spot and still get an amazing drive out of it.
No matter which you choose, each of these drivers is guaranteed to add control and distance to your game. Take the time to adjust them and get used to them and these drivers will make an amateur into a pro and a pro into a star.🏌️⛳