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Golf Drivers |
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He can't guarantee you Tiger Woods status but Martin Vousden, a former editor of Today's Golfer and one of the UK's top golf jounalists, can guide you to the right gear. Here he selects five of the best drivers Click to view Top 5 Golf Drivers.
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Buyers Guide and Overview |
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 The two most important clubs in any golfer’s bag are the driver and putter. Tour pros have an old adage of "drive for show and putt for dough" and, while that may be true for the very best in the game, for the rest of us, the driver is key because it determines whether or not you get off to a good start on a hole. |
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Hit a poor drive and you’ve got very little chance of getting on the green in regulation and making par.
There’s also an important psychological boost to playing the club well. Holing a 40-foot putt or nailing an approach shot to the green is satisfying, but nothing beats the thrill of thumping a drive long and straight. The driver is the golfer’s equivalent of a turbo-boost switch, and potentially just as thrilling to use – but only if you’ve got the right one.
The good news is that the choice of drivers is almost limitless; the bad news is that the choice of drivers is almost limitless. There is such a range of clubheads, shafts and grips that the unwary or unknowing could spend three hours in a specialist shop and walk out feeling more confused, so let’s start with a few principles covering the clubhead, the shaft and the grip.
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Clubhead |
 Bigger is better. A "wood" clubhead (we still them call them woods, despite the fact that they have been made from various metals for a few decades now) is essentially a thin shell, the inside of which is filled with some form of dampening compound, such as foam. To withstand the effect of repeatedly hitting a hard spheroid at anything between 70-110 mph, it has to be strong, and yet for optimum performance there also needs to be a little ‘give’, which allows for a rebound effect, and therefore more distance.
Every clubhead has a centre of gravity (which is, incidentally, about the size of a pinhead and this dimension does not vary, so any manufacturer who says that its club gives you a bigger centre of gravity, or ‘sweetspot’ is being economical with the verite). What has changed dramatically in recent years, however, is that the weight of the clubhead is now much more evenly distributed, rather than concentrated in the middle. So if you miss the sweetspot with your strike, the penalty is far less severe.
With modern clubs you can hit off the toe, heel, top or bottom of the clubface and still have a reasonable chance of finding the fairway. This is because contemporary materials – mainly titanium, can be stretched thin, and so are light, without losing strength. Bigger clubheads, then, mean more margin for error.
The most important element of a clubhead is loft, shown in numerical degrees, and this is an area where golfers’ egos often get the better of them. Tour pros will commonly have 8-9º of loft, so club players go for the same, which is a big mistake. For most golfers, a minimum of 10.5º is needed, and as much as 14º, because more loft means greater launch angle, more height and more distance.
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Shaft |
 Most people will tell you that the shaft is the critical component of a golf club, but in terms of launch angle, spin rate and ball speed, the clubhead is more important. The three really important aspects of the shaft are weight (and therefore how much weight it adds to the club overall); flex (the amount it bends during the swing) and torque (the amount it twists, or rotates).
Weight is important because, in essence, the lighter the shaft, the quicker you can swing the clubhead (and more speed you can deliver to the back of the ball). So if you’re older, not very skilled, or have a slow swingspeed (which probably accounts for all women and most seniors), you definitely want a graphite shaft, because they’re lighter. If you’re strong and athletic, go for steel; otherwise plump for graphite.
Flex indicates the amount a shaft bends during the downswing and is usually shown as Light (for slow swing speeds), Regular (average players) or Stiff (better, or single figure handicap golfers). Again, many handicap golfers opt for Stiff shafts because they over-estimate their ability or swingspeed, and suffer in consequence.
Torque is also measured in degrees and is important because the clubhead sticks out from the shaft, so when the club is swung, the clubhead twists off-centre. The slower you swing, the less twisting there will be. In general, if you are athletic or a fast swinger, look for a torque reading below 5º; if you are a slow, smooth swinger, do not go below 3º.
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Grip |
It is the only part of the golf club in contact with the golfer but is often overlooked or neglected. It is also the part of golf club design that has probably improved the most in the last 10 years. Previously you could get leather, which felt and looked great – until it rained, after which, your grips became cracked and hard; or a rubberised compound. Now, however, you can buy synthetic leather grips, that are indistinguishable from the real thing, and which last for years. They are also padded to a degree, to minimise the jarring effect of a miss-hit shot through your fingers.
Remember also that you can specify a particular grip for any club you buy. Usually the cost of fitting new grips would be around £4 a club but if you’re spending a lot of money already, the seller may well fit the grips you specify at little or no extra cost. It’s certainly worth a haggle.
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Buying Tips |
 Almost all the major manufacturers bring out a new driver (and some times two) each season, so paying full whack for the latest is a mug’s game. The "new" model will probably be very similar to the existing one, so wait six months and get it for something like half today’s RRP. Never buy a club without hitting with it first. Ideally you can do this at a golf club with a practice ground (you don’t have to be a member to buy from the pro). The big retail discount stores – American Golf and Nevada Bob’s are the most popular, often have a practice bay and the better ones have a driving range.
Get yourself custom-fit. Buying off-the-shelf is the equivalent of going to a tailor who only has suits in one generic size – the chances of getting the right one for you are minimal. Ideally, go to a specialist custom-fitter (find your nearest on the Internet or in the Yellow Pages). If that’s not possible, at least get some basics of your swing, such as swingspeed and launch angle, measured on a computer – again, the big discount stores all feature this equipment and the service is free.
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Ones to Watch |
Both Nike and Callaway are releasing square-headed drivers (rather than the traditional teardrop shape) into Europe in the New Year, and where they lead, others will follow. Early scuttlebut is very positive but they haven’t yet been made available for wide scale testing in the UK. Expect them to generate a lot of discussion and be expensive, so wait until the first hysteria dies down a little before making a proper assessment.
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