How to Choose a Golf Driver
By Steve Silverman
The driver is usually the club golfers use to start off any par 4 or par 5 hole. Golfers want to get off to an impressive start, and most like to use a driver to go long off the tee. While a driver can be an intimidating and difficult club for golfers at all levels, the right club can help beginners and experienced golfers feel confident when they are teeing off.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
For beginning and intermediate golfers, find a driver with a big head, which means a club with a larger-than-average sweet spot. A larger sweet spot means that a perfect shot is not required to hit the ball long and deep into the fairway.
For more experienced golfers, consider your playing needs. You may not need as large a club head to get the most out of you drive, but you can't go wrong with a bigger head.
Look at the loft on the driver. In the past, the club was almost always flat, with a perpendicular angle to the ground when it was in the address position. Actually, there was a slight loft, under 10 degrees. Today, some drivers have a loft that is a bit more than 10 degrees, and that will help get the ball into the air faster and give the golfer a shade more distance.
Evaluate your swing. A golfer who has a hard swing should be able to generate plenty of distance with an oversized head. A steel-shafted driver will help that golfer keep the ball straight.
For smaller and less-experienced golfers, choose a graphite shaft. You may have a more difficult time generating distance, and a graphite shaft will be whippier and help you get more distance off the tee. However, a graphite shaft will not provide the same degree of accuracy.
Go to a driving range to find out which club best suits your game. Tell the local pro you are about to purchase a driver and that you want to try out the different types and models. While he may not give you brand-new drivers to swing, he will let you hit with used ones to give you more of an idea about what suits your game.
Go with the driver that feels the most comfortable when you swing it. You may like the way the oversized graphite club looks in the rack, but it may feel uncomfortable when you swing it. On the other hand, the steel-shafted club may not look impressive, but it could feel great on impact. Go with the one that feels the best.
Tips & Warnings
Look for a club that suits your game. If you are a big hitter who gets plenty of distance but may lose accuracy, a steel-shafted club with a big head suits your game. If you need more distance, look for the whippiness that a graphite club provides.
Don't buy the most expensive driver. Buy the one that feels the most comfortable.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
