Best Drivers For Beginners & High Handicappers

This is our review of the best drivers for beginners and high handicappers in 2023.

I’m an avid golfer, a 9.2 7 handicap on my way to a 2 (been a 5.6) and frequent tester of golf clubs and equipment since 2015.

I’ve hit at least a couple hundred balls with every driver on this list and I consider ALL of them worthy of your attention. 

The best drivers for beginners and high-handicap golfers need to do 2 things:

1. Get the golf ball in the air easily 
2. TONS of forgiveness 

No more…No less 

In this review of the best drivers for beginners and high handicap golfers, we discuss, benefits and features of each, our recommendations, and we share any discounts we’ve scared up.

Our #1 Recommendation for 2023: The Cobra LTDx Max Driver

Drivers for Beginners & High Handicaps Reviewed

FAQs

How To Choose The Best Driver for high handicap & beginner golfers

There’s one performance characteristic beginners and high handicaps should place as their top priority when choosing their best driver…Forgiveness

• Not distance
• Not shaping shots
• Not trajectory (though this plays a part in forgiveness)

Golf is a miserable game if you are constantly hitting from the junk or re-teeing because of lost golf balls. Even the best drivers for high handicappers won’t prevent this for you 100%, but there is help out there. Why not take advantage of it?

I’m more of a low-handicap and I still play plenty from the junk and lose more golf balls from the tee than I’d like to admit. Forgiveness is definitely a factor when I’m selecting a driver. 

Which Brand of Golf Driver Should I Choose?

All the major brands produce excellent drivers for beginners and every handicap level. Titleist used to be the exception but they’ve been producing drivers for beginners and handicap golfers for a few years now.

I personally trust the major brands such as Taylormade, Callaway, Titleist, Ping, etc. They all have a long-established track record of quality clubs.

Callaway produced the best drivers for beginners and all handicaps for a long time, then Taylormade came along around 2006-2007 and started producing the best drivers in the game. I think it’s a real competition again with Callaway coming on strong

I played Callaway for years and I’m now playing Taylormade. I wager I could easily choose another brand that fits my eye and be fine. All comes down to preference in the end.

What degree driver should beginners use?

Higher loft = more forgiveness. The best drivers for beginners will have lofts of 11,12, or 13 degrees for higher launch. Especially since many beginners or handicap golfers hit down on their drivers creating extra spin and inconsistent launch angle.

With modern driver design, it also equals more distance- up to a point.

Higher loft = increased backspin and decreased sidespin. This makes it a touch harder to slice your drives out of play.

Of course, increased loft also means getting the golf ball airborne easier. Which remember…is job one for a beginner or high handicap golfers driver.

How To Pick The Best Shaft For Your Driver

In general…

Most beginners and high-handicappers have slower swing speeds, so should be looking for a little more flex.

There’s no governing body that monitors the accuracy of the stated flex on a given shaft, so here’s where a little testing will help.

With time and testing, you’ll learn the equipment of the different manufacturers and you will get a sense of what works for you.

In times past you also had to choose between a metal and a graphite shaft. Metal shafted drivers are pretty much gone forever and you’d be hard-pressed to find a driver without a graphite shaft. 

**In my review of mid-handicap drivers I give a little better treatment of swing-speed and shaft options.

• A weaker flex shaft will favor slower swing speed 
• A stiffer flex shaft will favor faster swing speed

Here’s my brief guide on swing speed and shaft flex. The last two will apply to the beginner or high handicapper…usually. 

• Swing your driver over 105 mph? You can probably start thinking about an X-stiff shaft.
• Swing your driver in the 95 – 105 mph range? A stock stiff shaft will likely work fine for you.
• Swing your driver 80 – 90ish mph? A regular shaft is likely your best bet.
• Swing your driver < 80 mph? A Senior flex shaft should do the trick.

Clubhead speed is only one of the factors used to decide which shaft you should be using. This is a very basic and general guide to shaft selection, but I think this is more than adequate for the beginner or high-handicap golfer. 

Should a Beginner get a Professional Fitting for their driver?

The vast, vast, vast majority of recreational golfers do NOT get a professional fitting…and enjoy the game just fine.

Here are my thoughts: Not gospel, by any means and feel free to disagree.

• TRUE BEGINNER: DO NOT get fit for clubs. DO get lessons–>Buy something with a regular shaft off the rack. You have no idea what you are doing in your golf swing and the swing you have now is not the swing you need to get fit for.
• HIGH HANDICAPPER (Been playing for a couple or few years and want to get a lot better): Get Lessons 1st!
• HIGH HANDICAPPER (Been playing for a while and just looking for a little help and more enjoyment from playing): Don’t get fit.

I’m competitive and always looking to improve, so I got fit for my driver and my irons years ago. 

Verdict on the Best Drivers for Beginners & High Handicappers

The best driver for beginners & high handicappers is the Ping G425 Max.

My #1 suggestion is to test before you buy. Either at your local golf store or take advantage of Global Golf’s Utry trial program. I use it and recommend it.

Thanks for checking out our review. Check back often as we test new drivers for 2023 and beyond.