6 Most Forgiving Drivers (…and 3 that aren’t)

Click To Share

If you’re just getting started then you need a driver that will keep the ball in the fairway and give you respectable distance even when you don’t hit it on the sweet spot.

With this in mind, I took a look at dozens of drivers and I think the best driver for beginners is the Ping G430 Max.

But that’s not the only option out there for you, here’s my breakdown of your best options…

Ping is one of those companies that quietly produces some top-level gear without the advertising fanfare of some of the other companies. The Ping G430 is one of those clubs that you don’t hear much about but should be hard to ignore.

The G430 is an upgrade from the previous G425 which was one of the most forgiving clubs on the market. While it’s not a massive upgrade, Ping did a great job of maintaining all the good things about the G425 and making some small improvements.

According to Ping, the G430 is longer than its predecessor. In my testing, it was, but only by a very small amount (which could have just been attributable to variances in my swing).

That being said, they certainly improved the sound of the club. The G425 was not a pleasant sound but the G430 has a nice muted crunch that makes you feel good about your strike. This may not directly affect your shot, but it can help the confidence a little.

It has a rear weight (26g) and gives you the option to move the weight to change the club to have either a draw, fade, or neutral bias. This makes it a great option for those of you who want a little help controlling the side spin.

One last note for those of you on a budget, since there isn’t a huge difference in performance between the clubs, you could save some money and go for last year’s Ping G425 Max.

When I first tested the new Callaway Paradym I thought maybe the launch monitor was wrong. But after going back to my old driver for a few swings I was able to confirm that this driver was absolutely launching the ball.

I was getting great ball speed and distance numbers, even when I missed the sweet spot. This club and the next pick below really outpaced the rest of them in terms of forgiveness and ball speed on mis-hits.

The only reason this club is in second place is that at $600 MSRP, it may not be the most sensible purchase for most beginners, although they would certainly benefit from it. In addition, I think the Ping G430 Max is just a little more forgiving on mishits even though it doesn’t go as far as the Paradym on well-struck shots.

The Paradym also comes in a “draw” version for those of you that tend to slice the ball. Generally, I am not a fan of draw bias drivers because I think they encourage bad swing habits, but if you’re a high handicapper with a slice that just wants to have fun on the weekends and not work on improving your swing, then the draw version of this club is the perfect option for you. 

In addition to being a lightweight driver that can help beginners increase their swing speed, the Cobra Air-X is also a very affordable option.

When it comes to drivers, the tricky part is that the most forgiving drivers that are great for beginners also tend to be the most expensive. So while this one isn’t as forgiving as the top pick above, it’s a great affordable option.

Like many of the top drivers this year, this club makes good use of carbon in the club head to help reduce overall weight and redistribute weight to improve forgiveness.

Another thing I like about this club is that while it is clearly targeted at beginners, it doesn’t have an offset face. Unless you have a slice and don’t want to improve your swing, an offset club can do more harm than good.

This club has a little extra heel weighting to help you close the clubface but no offset and a traditional look at address. Both of these are great for beginners.

One big negative (but also a reason the club is less expensive) is the absence of clubface adjustability. This is a nice thing to have for a beginner.

Another downside here is that this club won’t quite cut it if you start to improve. You’ll need a sturdier shaft and heavier clubhead as your swing speed increases.

Of course, if you aren’t a slow swing speed player then you should check out this next budget option as it might be better for you.

Perhaps you’re the type of player who is looking to upgrade the driver in your bag, but don’t necessarily want to break the bank to do so.  We would encourage you to consider the Cobra RADSpeed driver.