Most Forgiving Driver in the Past 5 Years?

[TNwanabe]

6 hours ago, BurkeA said:

Extremely happy with my G425 Max. The second closest I got was TSR 2 last time I tested out. I did not get a chance to test any Taylormade's as I tend to stay away from their drivers despite playing p790's (I've had a lot of problems with TM drivers in the past, just overall quality issues but they do have great customer service and will replace anything you got if something is broken!)

I loved the G425 until I tried the 10K. It is even better. 

[JosephNewton293]

Tour Edge Exotics C721, I have a ton of drivers and tinker a lot. I have a 10.5 and a 9 and they keep up with my Paradym triple diamond most of the time. The big difference is it's almost impossible to mishit the Tour Edge. 

[JosephNewton293]

And not to mention the Tour Edge c721 can be picked up for about $100 which is simply crazy ?

[vietnameeh]

Any of the PXG XF drivers are really forgiving 

[Greenie]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:11 AM, JosephNewton293 said:

Tour Edge Exotics C721, I have a ton of drivers and tinker a lot. I have a 10.5 and a 9 and they keep up with my Paradym triple diamond most of the time. The big difference is it's almost impossible to mishit the Tour Edge. 

 

I agree with you. I bought the C721 driver as soon as it came out. After tinkering with the settings and finding the best setting for me my fairways hit went from 7 out of 14 to 12 out of 14. If and when I miss a fairway I am a few feet off the fairway in the rough.

[JD3]

I never tried their subsequent versions, but the Ping G400 was the highest MOI driver I ever played, and it wasn't even close. It was also one of the smaller cc heads on the market!

Edited May 6 by JD3

[drcohen]

Ping G425 Max. I used to bag the G425 Max for a while and it was super forgiving. Even my worst shots were always in play. The only problem is with it being so forgiving, you will lose some distance because it produces more spin. It also doesn't sound the best, it sounds like an aluminum baseball bat. The Taylormade M2 (OG not 2017) is also a great cheaper option, my dad uses it and he never misses a fairway.

[yinzerniner]

Think the g430 max 10k is the one to beat for pure forgiveness, however it’s kind of a one trick pony since it doesn’t have much adjustability and isn’t the longest head

 

New AI smoke triple diamond might be the best combo of distance adjustability and forgiveness right now. 

[GolfGuy1717]

I can't speak to all the different Driver's currently but the AI Smoke Triple Diamond is unlike anything I have ever hit... especially on high toe...  I had the Paradym TD last year and didn't think I would switch until I tried the AI Smoke.  The thing is really unbelievable.  

 

[buckethat72]

G400 Max jumped out ahead but all the brands are doing similar now since they saw the success of that model, maybe except TM.  They are all very forgiving.

[Kai Slater]

I don't change drivers very often, but in my own experience, the Rogue St Max has been great.

[aquapig]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:16 AM, JosephNewton293 said:

And not to mention the Tour Edge c721 can be picked up for about $100 which is simply crazy ?

What's even crazier is the amount of hackers out there that don't give Tour Edge a shot for whatever reason (actually most likely because they don't see PGA guys using them).

 

Can't tell you how many times I get paired up with guys who are complete hacks and they're playing brand new TM or Callaway drivers and using boxes of ProV1s. 

 

I never say anything, but wanna tell them "hey go buy some TEE woods and use some cheaper balls and with that money go take some lessons". You'll be shocked that your scores will drastically improve..but some guys would rather look the part I guess. 

[iNeedMoreGolf]

Rogue st max. Ping g430lst or max i have lst which is very very forgiving for a low spin driver. Tsr2. I have all three of those and i can honestly say.. they produce longer drivers and in play alot more often. All of the rack but im ok with that as ive heard fitted clubs being nightmares sometimes too. When you hit a ball and you know what your use to seeing or better.. you just know.

[yinzerniner]

9 hours ago, aquapig said:

What's even crazier is the amount of hackers out there that don't give Tour Edge a shot for whatever reason (actually most likely because they don't see PGA guys using them).

 

Can't tell you how many times I get paired up with guys who are complete hacks and they're playing brand new TM or Callaway drivers and using boxes of ProV1s. 

 

I never say anything, but wanna tell them "hey go buy some TEE woods and use some cheaper balls and with that money go take some lessons". You'll be shocked that your scores will drastically improve..but some guys would rather look the part I guess. 

I’d like to know what the tipping point is for club fitting vs lessons? Like, I’ve seen some pretty drastic changes to ball striking simply from a comprehensive fitting session, something that could easily gain 5 strokes over a round. Are lessons a better investment than the cost of that fitting for a high handicapper in the long run, or will better fitting clubs cause the player to want lessons now that they’re playing better?

 

But yeah the tour edge stuff is incredibly nice for the price. Glad that more e-ink has been spilled for lower cost DTC options lately. 

[Nickb333]

Tsr1 followed by Tsr2 which is longer for me on miss hits. Both find the fairway better than any club I’ve ever played… by a lot! 70-80% range which has never ever been my forte. 
 

I’m sure the ping is very good but my ears were ringing after 2 shots. 

[aquapig]

10 hours ago, yinzerniner said:

I’d like to know what the tipping point is for club fitting vs lessons? Like, I’ve seen some pretty drastic changes to ball striking simply from a comprehensive fitting session, something that could easily gain 5 strokes over a round. Are lessons a better investment than the cost of that fitting for a high handicapper in the long run, or will better fitting clubs cause the player to want lessons now that they’re playing better?

 

But yeah the tour edge stuff is incredibly nice for the price. Glad that more e-ink has been spilled for lower cost DTC options lately. 

Unless you're completely playing the wrong shaft stiffness, club length or lie angle, then a fitting isn't going to drastically change your ball striking. 

 

A series of lessons from someone who knows what they're doing, will help someone hit the center if the face more consistently, help deliver the club correctly. Also 50% of the game is played around the greens, so learning and becoming proficient at getting up and down is way more important than playing "fitted" clubs. 

 

It's not even close.

 

Unless your abnormally tall or short or have crazy high SS or very low SS and playing the wrong shaft, then a fitting, while not useless, isn't going to fix poor swing mechanics. 

 

I've played off the rack used clubs, off the rack new clubs, been fitted for clubs and bought stuff off ebay. Ironically I struggled most with the brand new clubs I was fitted for. 

 

 

 

 

 

[CatDad]

12 hours ago, yinzerniner said:

I’d like to know what the tipping point is for club fitting vs lessons? Like, I’ve seen some pretty drastic changes to ball striking simply from a comprehensive fitting session, something that could easily gain 5 strokes over a round. Are lessons a better investment than the cost of that fitting for a high handicapper in the long run, or will better fitting clubs cause the player to want lessons now that they’re playing better?

 

 

Club fitting vs one lesson, maybe the results are equal.  But no fitting could out perform a series of lessons, not even close. 

[bigdriveandy]

2 hours ago, aquapig said:

Unless you're completely playing the wrong shaft stiffness, club length or lie angle, then a fitting isn't going to drastically change your ball striking. 

 

A series of lessons from someone who knows what they're doing, will help someone hit the center if the face more consistently, help deliver the club correctly. Also 50% of the game is played around the greens, so learning and becoming proficient at getting up and down is way more important than playing "fitted" clubs. 

 

It's not even close.

 

Unless your abnormally tall or short or have crazy high SS or very low SS and playing the wrong shaft, then a fitting, while not useless, isn't going to fix poor swing mechanics. 

 

I've played off the rack used clubs, off the rack new clubs, been fitted for clubs and bought stuff off ebay. Ironically I struggled most with the brand new clubs I was fitted for. 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you any idea how many golfers are playing the wrong stiffness, loft, length, lie, and/or grip size? I would estimate that even today it is still north of 75%. I am a muni course player and I almost always play as a single and get paired up with people. As someone who used to do fittings and sell clubs for a living, I always get curious about what is in people's bags. Most often I find out that they either have no idea what specs their clubs are, purposely have selected clubs that aren't properly fit, or don't understand what effect fitting has on performance. We forget that just being a member on this site means we likely know more and care more than the vast majority of the golfing public. 

[leftylama]

Had the G430 Max , Paradym X kicked it out for distance and forgiveness, so gets my vote.

[JosephNewton293]

On 5/21/2024 at 12:27 PM, aquapig said:

What's even crazier is the amount of hackers out there that don't give Tour Edge a shot for whatever reason (actually most likely because they don't see PGA guys using them).

 

Can't tell you how many times I get paired up with guys who are complete hacks and they're playing brand new TM or Callaway drivers and using boxes of ProV1s. 

 

I never say anything, but wanna tell them "hey go buy some TEE woods and use some cheaper balls and with that money go take some lessons". You'll be shocked that your scores will drastically improve..but some guys would rather look the part I guess. 

Exactly, the 18 handicap I recently played with who put a Paradym triple diamond in the bag and I spent the whole afternoon fighting off tics looking for his wayward drives....

[2Down]

2 hours ago, JosephNewton293 said:

Exactly, the 18 handicap I recently played with who put a Paradym triple diamond in the bag and I spent the whole afternoon fighting off tics looking for his wayward drives....

But, we have to ask, was he deeper into the woods than he was with the before driver?

 

jsut glanced through the thread and ping gets about 10K mentions. Winner winner chicken dinner.  

[wantacigar]

On 4/26/2023 at 8:10 PM, 97nismo said:

Surprisingly I think the TM m3 is easy to hit but I may be in small group that feels this way

I have the M4 but that doesn't mean anything.  I have no idea what kind of forgiveness it gives.  When I strike it well, it goes...otherwise it's a push fade or slice.  That's a swing issue or ball position.  

[aquapig]

On 5/22/2024 at 12:32 PM, bigdriveandy said:

Have you any idea how many golfers are playing the wrong stiffness, loft, length, lie, and/or grip size? I would estimate that even today it is still north of 75%. I am a muni course player and I almost always play as a single and get paired up with people. As someone who used to do fittings and sell clubs for a living, I always get curious about what is in people's bags. Most often I find out that they either have no idea what specs their clubs are, purposely have selected clubs that aren't properly fit, or don't understand what effect fitting has on performance. We forget that just being a member on this site means we likely know more and care more than the vast majority of the golfing public. 

I never said most people are playing  perfectly fitted clubs or that people know what their specs are.  

 

The question was fitting vs lessons.

 

Not even close.

 

Give a good ball striker, someone who knows how to properly deliver the club and knows how to score a set of random off the rack clubs vs someone who doesn't know how to swing consistently but has a brand new fitted set if clubs...wouldn't be close. 

 

Edited May 25 by aquapig

[aquapig]

21 hours ago, CatDad said:

Club fitting vs one lesson, maybe the results are equal.  But no fitting could out perform a series of lessons, not even close. 

Agreed. But anyone taking one golf lesson and not following up with another couple lessons is making a mistake. 

 

There's a reason the pros are constantly grinding on the range with their swing coaches.

 

 

[bigdriveandy]

1 hour ago, aquapig said:

I never said most people are playing  perfectly fitted clubs or that people know what their specs are.  

 

The question was fitting vs lessons.

 

Not even close.

 

Give a good ball striker, someone who knows who to properly deliver the club and knows how to score a set of random off the rack clubs vs someone who doesn't know how to swing consistently but has a brand new fitted set if clubs...wouldn't be close. 

 

My point is you are underestimating the effect a good fitting would have on someone who is playing clubs that don't fit them at all. A fitting actually can have a tremendous effect on outcomes. I have personally seen 15-20 handicaps with not what i would call good swings pick up 2 clubs of distance on irons, cut their spin rate on their driver in half, be able to hit a ball off the ground more than 150 yards, etc. 

[bekgolf]

I thought it was about forgiving drivers?

 

 

[Mike_Honcho]

Rogue ST Max, G430 Max from the drivers I've swung. Heard the LTDx Max is up there in forgiveness as well. Contemplating buying one to find out 

Edited May 24 by Mike_Honcho

[Titleist_LFF]

For myself personally, the Ping G400 Max has to be the most forgiving driver ive ever hit. That thing just went straight every swing. Alittle high on spin but very forgiving

[aquapig]

On 5/23/2024 at 10:33 AM, bigdriveandy said:

My point is you are underestimating the effect a good fitting would have on someone who is playing clubs that don't fit them at all. A fitting actually can have a tremendous effect on outcomes. I have personally seen 15-20 handicaps with not what i would call good swings pick up 2 clubs of distance on irons, cut their spin rate on their driver in half, be able to hit a ball off the ground more than 150 yards, etc. 

Not underestimating a good fitting. Only stating a fact that a good series of lessons vs fitting an average size person with average swing speed playing off the rack clubs, that lessons are much more important. 

 

Trying to chase the most forgiving driver and spending a few hundred dollars on said driver..that persons money would be better spent lessons all day long. 

 

I've also have witnessed countless 15-20 handicappers with brand new clubs they were fitted for. 

I see these weekend warriors ALL the time at my club with the latest and greatest new "forgiving" driver and they're spraying them all over the place with their poor swings. Their scores don't really change.

 

A GOOD fitting has it's place for sure.  But take that money and learn to swing, get up and down and THEN if you want a few more yards, get fitted. 

[bekgolf]

4 minutes ago, aquapig said:

Not underestimating a good fitting. Only stating a fact that a good series of lessons vs fitting an average size person with average swing speed playing off the rack clubs, that lessons are much more important. 

 

Trying to chase the most forgiving driver and spending a few hundred dollars on said driver..that persons money would be better spent lessons all day long. 

 

I've also have witnessed countless 15-20 handicappers with brand new clubs they were fitted for. 

I see these weekend warriors ALL the time at my club with the latest and greatest new "forgiving" driver and they're spraying them all over the place with their poor swings. Their scores don't really change.

 

A GOOD fitting has it's place for sure.  But take that money and learn to swing, get up and down and THEN if you want a few more yards, get fitted. 

 

What do you think the most forgiving driver is?  That's the topic.