Best 'Driver' maker?

K4t

I've had a king cobra driver for the last few years but it does not suit me anymore as it's regular flex and a bit dated now.

Anyway, I'm planning on buying a new driver for christmas and I'd be interested to see what golf equipment maker you feel make the best quality drivers?

Ideally, I'm looking for a 9 degree stiff flex driver with a large head.

Vote away and any advice or personal knowledge would be great. Thanks.

JCDUB

Can't really beat the G5, had one a few years now and swear by it, apparently the G10 is excellent also.
I just find the g5 a very easy club to hit, forgiving when not struck perfectly and generally gives me an awful lot of confidence.
Also have a G5 3 wood which I love and a G5 rescue which is great too, although I need a stiffer shaft in it.

Sandwich

Atari Jaguar strangely overlooked here.
Powerful, great response, innovative design, classic pedgree, looks great in its black livery.

waterville72

Its all about maximising the distance. So you need a driver thats going to get you the best trajectory for total distance i.e. carry + roll. Three things control the trajectory of a golf ball....
1. The Launch Angle of the ball measured in degrees
2. The Spin Rate of the ball in rpm
3. The Speed of the ball in mph.

Different drivers produce different launch angles, spin rates and ball speeds due to
1.Shaft characteristics(weight, torque, kick point)
2.Driver Loft and
3.Clubhead design(COR rating, centre of gravity, weighting, draw neutral fade bias etc etc.)

So there is no "best driver"out there but only a driver that is best for you! Whats best for you is not best for the next guy.

So get fitted for one. I did and it has made all the difference.

Hope this helps.

f22

Titleist D2, best driver on the market IMO.

BrianD3

I was going to start a thread on this but coming from a different angle. Lately I have been doing a lot of reading about Long Driving and I started reading about driver head manufacturers that I'd never heard of before.
Bang
Alpha
SMT
Geek
etc.

If the hype is to be believed these driver heads are better, higher quality and longer lasting but cheaper than those from the mainstream manufacturers. Anyone got any thoughts?

Dublin Spur

I play with a Wilson Staff PD5 (10 degree) and I have never been happier with a driver.
Had it nearly 3 years now and I don't think I'll ever change.

Surprised Wilson wasn't mentioned in the poll, are they not considered up there with the best club makers anymore ??

copacetic

Played 5 or 6 Taylormade drivers and could never see myself going to anything else, but moved to Callaway and wouldn't go back.

Imo it is all about finding the brand that suits you, in general the brand to brand differences are bigger than the club to club differences within brands ranges.

slumped

f22 wrote: »

Titleist D2, best driver on the market IMO.

Yes - but only for another month or so.

The new Titleist driver and woods come out in October and from what I've read, they are going to be a whole lot better than the D2

Probably around €400

S

waterville72

Are they better? Well I dont know Brian but I will say this.
When the mainstream manufacturers design a new driver head they are taking into account the needs of their customers. So "forgiveness" is a huge part of that design process( average handicap in Ireland being 14 I think). Are these long driver manufacturers taking this into account?

Also you would have to imagine that most tournament players would be using these bats if they genuinely thought they would perform better. I accept that they get paid to use the mainstream drivers but take for instance Gary Murphy and that type of level of pro. He wouldnt be getting a huge amount of money for using a specific driver . So if he could get 15/20 yards extra outta one of those "long drive" manufacturers Id say he would go for it and sacrifice the money.......But he hasnt!

Also the research and design budgets available to the likes of Callaway and Taylormade are massive. They are governed by the R&A and USGA in relation to clubhead size and max COR so I think they are all at their maximum limits already.

So until we see them emerging on tour Id give them a wide berth and stick with the mainstream as you call it.

slingerz

I've a ping G5 stiff shaft and think its so easy to hit without fearing a wicked slice or hook. Its 10.5 though and I wonder if it is too high a loft. When I was buying it they were there in 9' also and I can help wonder if that would be better. I get a fair amount of height but what point is too much height?

stockdam

Get the right shaft for you and a face angle that suits (open, square, closed, loft) and then pick a manufacturer you like.

There's no one best driver.

All the makes you have listed make very good drivers. However there are cheaper makes that are maybe just as good.

My own preference is Titleist followed by Taylormade......but that could change easily.

N1977

slumped wrote: »

Yes - but only for another month or so.

The new Titleist driver and woods come out in October and from what I've read, they are going to be a whole lot better than the D2

Probably around €400

S

I play a 9.5 Titleist 907 D2 and I think it's a very good club. It suits my swing and most importantly it has a very good shaft (Aldila VS Proto).

As said, a newer model (909, already on the Titleist website) is coming out to replace the 907 as these clubs were branded as "failures" in the golfing world, mainly because the Tour players didn't use them and they went back to the models before the 907. You should now be able to pick up a 907 for a good price.

I've also had TaylorMade drivers recently (i.e. R5 and R7) and these are good clubs. The problem with TaylorMade is that they are introducing new clubs every 6 months so if you go and buy a new club now, the chances are that its replacement will be out soon and your club will have dropped significantly in value. This policy is annoying a lot of their customers.

ShriekingSheet

Sandwich wrote: »

Atari Jaguar strangely overlooked here.
Powerful, great response, innovative design, classic pedgree, looks great in its black livery.

I demand this poll be edited at once!

Scall4life

My driver at the minute is a taylormade r7 425 9.5 with fujikura stiff shaft. Had this club for last 2 years and cant fault it. Nice distance and trajectory and not too unforgiving. Played with callaway in the past but never liked them. My father has a G10 which is a nice club. My brother swithched from titleist to taylormade and is hitting it 20+ yards further than his old titleist.

Really the choice is down to what the person likes. Get the right shaft and loft and you should be sorted.

spacecoyote

I recently bought this http://www.golf.com/golf/equipment/finder/gear/0,28426,1606964,00.html and have found it very nice. I'm not a great golfer, who tends to slice my drives a little. Found this has taken a massive amount of slice out of my game. I'd definitely recommend it.

callaway92

WilsonStaff Spine is the best...Taylormades arent good..Its just the brand name that makes people buy them