For a beginner; high end vs low end driver.

swove

New member
Joined
Jun 5, 2019
Messages
25
Reaction score
3
Handicap
36
So I’ve only been golfing for a couple of months now. I was just wondering if it’s worth spending the money on a high end driver? Like the G400 for example. Am I really going to notice a difference right now this early in my golf game?
 
Being relatively new to the game myself---I would recommend buying a good driver released maybe last year or the year prior.

May offer some forgiveness at a lower peice point. Lots of good deals out there.

Until you learn to hit driver fairly well it isn't likely you'll be able to identify the best one for your game for some time.

Whatever you play now is likely to change fairly rapidly as your swing evolves.

Just my 0.02

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
So I’ve only been golfing for a couple of months now. I was just wondering if it’s worth spending the money on a high end driver? Like the G400 for example. Am I really going to notice a difference right now this early in my golf game?

I went looking for a driver a few years ago. They had last years leftovers on discount and I thought, why not? Asked the sales guy if I could bring mine in a do a little side by side on the launch monitor thing. Tried a couple different lofts in both regular and stiff shaft and got very little difference from what I already had. Sales guy looked pretty disappointed then said, "Wait a minute" and disappeared around the corner. Came back with the same model in a used trade in with an aftermarket shaft. BINGO!! Extra 20 yards off the first ball.

Find a place with a monitor, most have them, and see what works! If it goes longer and straighter, buy it. If not, why bother?
 
I do think it's worth it - a ping driver from the last couple of model years (G400 is great, but so is the G) will definitely outperform a no-name, boxed set, or very old driver.
 
I started last year myself. I bought new irons and driver, but a few generations old. G30 irons and XR16 driver. They were half the price of current gen and worked well for me.

I have upgraded/replaced as I've progressed, but I believe decent equipment has helped speed my journey.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
ST180 performance & price
 
Solid advice here, and I agree with the majority. Get something decent, but I wouldn’t drop tons of cash on it either.

The extra money would be better spent towards lessons.
 
For newbies, I often recommend checking out Callaway Golf Pre-Owned after you find something you like. You can find forgiving clubs from prior releases in "like new" (sometimes actually new) condition for an absolute bargain.
 
Why not both?


Tour Edge EXS $299.99 and is long! Also the Ben Hogan driver is $299.99, and if you wait the HL4 from Tour Edge is coming out and its like 299.99 fitted or something crazy. I would say you can get a great driver at a solid price and not have to sacrifice quality and tech.
 
So I’ve only been golfing for a couple of months now. I was just wondering if it’s worth spending the money on a high end driver? Like the G400 for example. Am I really going to notice a difference right now this early in my golf game?

If your goal is to "try and have fun hitting driver", and you can financially afford to buy a driver, then buy whatever the latest and greatest advertised driver is out there.
Most beginners and, or, players lacking the swing technique needed to control the ball and strike reasonably consistent shots, players who routinely score 100 or more etc....would best serve their game (and score)
by playing 9-iron, 7-iron, 5-iron, 5-wood, or whichever loft club with which they are able to consistently strike tee box shots which find the fairway.
 
Why not both?


Tour Edge EXS $299.99 and is long! Also the Ben Hogan driver is $299.99, and if you wait the HL4 from Tour Edge is coming out and its like 299.99 fitted or something crazy. I would say you can get a great driver at a solid price and not have to sacrifice quality and tech.

That's some great advice too. Tour Edge products are VASTLY underrated and can save you big $. I still can't believe I just picked up an EX 10 Beta 3W for $80 new.
 
You may find you actually generate lower scores early on with neither...use a club that keeps the ball in play. A lot of beginners...and advanced beginners...and much more experienced golfers...give away a lot of shots with the driver hitting it OB. Note that I am a strong believer in advance the ball as far as possible each shot, the math clearly supports that, but as far as possible IN PLAY. Might be worth hitting even an 8i or 9i off the tee for a while. Sure, it will not go far...but the ball will be findable and you can work your way up.

If you must go driver, these other folks are offering solid advice just thought I would throw this out there. It is based on experience where, at times I have lost control of my driver, I have gone out intentionally leaving it at home and shot equal or better. Think of it this way: 1 ob, penalty, 3 off the tee. Can I hit 3 of (whatever longest club I can keep in play) and be at least that far down? If so, I am better off with a 5i or 8i or whatever that club is. For me personally, right now I average 260 with my driver and 140 with my 9i. If I am going to hit the driver ob, I am much better off going 9i, 9i than to go driver. Your mileage may vary, you are likely hitting your 9i maybe 100-120 at this stage but same logic applies. Play tees that fit your yardage, take a control club and have lower scores and less frustration up front.

Wish I had learned the game that way. I launched thousands of balls into the tulips because of that one driver shot in ten that was good. Oh, to be young again with what I know now...
 
If your goal is to "try and have fun hitting driver", and you can financially afford to buy a driver, then buy whatever the latest and greatest advertised driver is out there.
Most beginners and, or, players lacking the swing technique needed to control the ball and strike reasonably consistent shots, players who routinely score 100 or more etc....would best serve their game (and score)
by playing 9-iron, 7-iron, 5-iron, 5-wood, or whichever loft club with which they are able to consistently strike tee box shots which find the fairway.

beautifully stated, came up while I was typing or I would not have...and agree 100% with what you say including purpose.
 
If you have been a member of any golf forum for a period of time, you will notice, that quite a few members change drivers/clubs - yearly, monthly, and/or weekly. As some one new(er) to the golf, I would avoid a high end driver for now(though, if you don't mind spending money, go for it), but, there is a lot of value in drivers that are a year to 2 years old. Very likely, as your swing improves, you may find that you need(or want) a driver with different characteristics (loft, shaft, etc). The Cobra F8 is good value, and, remember, a lot of the fun, is in trying out new golf clubs.
 
If you want to spend money - $299 gets you the Tour Edge EXS and it’s a freaking monster at that pricepoint.

As a beginner you can get a couple of brand new drivers (earlier year models) at the $200 pricepoint depends what you want and can afford
 
If you have been a member of any golf forum for a period of time, you will notice, that quite a few members change drivers/clubs - yearly, monthly, and/or weekly. As some one new(er) to the golf, I would avoid a high end driver for now(though, if you don't mind spending money, go for it), but, there is a lot of value in drivers that are a year to 2 years old. Very likely, as your swing improves, you may find that you need(or want) a driver with different characteristics (loft, shaft, etc). The Cobra F8 is good value, and, remember, a lot of the fun, is in trying out new golf clubs.

Agree with this. Nothing wrong with trying out lots of different clubs. For a lot of guys that's most fun part of the game. But if you're just looking to improve as fast as possible, I'd spend the cash on some lessons & maybe get a 2-4 year old driver - one of the models that has lots of feedback for being forgiving (meaning if you don't hit it perfectly you still get decent distance and it doesn't go as far offline)
 
You may find you actually generate lower scores early on with neither...use a club that keeps the ball in play. A lot of beginners...and advanced beginners...and much more experienced golfers...give away a lot of shots with the driver hitting it OB. Note that I am a strong believer in advance the ball as far as possible each shot, the math clearly supports that, but as far as possible IN PLAY. Might be worth hitting even an 8i or 9i off the tee for a while. Sure, it will not go far...but the ball will be findable and you can work your way up.

If you must go driver, these other folks are offering solid advice just thought I would throw this out there. It is based on experience where, at times I have lost control of my driver, I have gone out intentionally leaving it at home and shot equal or better. Think of it this way: 1 ob, penalty, 3 off the tee. Can I hit 3 of (whatever longest club I can keep in play) and be at least that far down? If so, I am better off with a 5i or 8i or whatever that club is. For me personally, right now I average 260 with my driver and 140 with my 9i. If I am going to hit the driver ob, I am much better off going 9i, 9i than to go driver. Your mileage may vary, you are likely hitting your 9i maybe 100-120 at this stage but same logic applies. Play tees that fit your yardage, take a control club and have lower scores and less frustration up front.

Wish I had learned the game that way. I launched thousands of balls into the tulips because of that one driver shot in ten that was good. Oh, to be young again with what I know now...

Great advice!
 
So I’ve only been golfing for a couple of months now. I was just wondering if it’s worth spending the money on a high end driver? Like the G400 for example. Am I really going to notice a difference right now this early in my golf game?

What driver are you hitting now?
 
beautifully stated, came up while I was typing or I would not have...and agree 100% with what you say including purpose.

Thanks. When he was about 5 years old I introduced my 18 year old son to swinging a golf club , but as a youth he preferred karate, baseball, soccer. Later in high school his sports were football and track. He is a good athlete who earned a 2nd degree black belt in karate and First Team All League honors for football.
Still, for the past down years, even though he lacked passion for golf, he did indulge me my accompanying me to driving ranges and playing the occasional round of golf. I guess he has under his belt now, over the past 12 years, approximately 100 hours of driving range time, 40 hours of putting green time, 10 lessons with three different instructors. Including par 3 courses and regulation courses he has played with me about
70 rounds of golf.
So, while the above seems like a lot of hours dedicated to golf, it's been spread out over a dozen years,mostly limited to his summer vacation free time. Last week we were on vacation and my son and I played a couple of Sierra Nevada mountain courses. He shot a 102 and a 98, mostly playing the par 4 and par 5 tee boxes with a 6-iron. On occasion he swung a 7-wood off the tee boxes but never his 3-wood or driver.
I asked him why and he said his strategy was to use whichever club he felt he could swing and avoid the rough/trees. In fact by playing iron off the tee boxes he was able to hit most of the fairways, and get his second shots within 50 yards of the greens. Where he seemed to lose shots was leaving wedges shots too far from the hole and then 3 putting. If he had tried to play driver or 3 wood off the tee boxes my guess is that his score would have been at least 12 shots higher each round, maybe more.
My point is that if one wants to consistently break 80 they probably need to spend thousands of hours learning technique, practicing the game.
What's the role of the driver club for a beginner or player who shoots higher than 90 ?If he wants to get his average score down to 90 I think it makes the best sense to leave driver at home. Only bring out driver if the swing is able to consistently hit fairways using 7-iron, 5-iron , 5-wood etc... If one does not care about score, doesn't mind looking for balls in the rough or trees all day long, but has fun swinging a driver and hopes to smack one or two driver shots, then buying and playing a driver may be the right call.
 
You may find you actually generate lower scores early on with neither...use a club that keeps the ball in play. A lot of beginners...and advanced beginners...and much more experienced golfers...give away a lot of shots with the driver hitting it OB. Note that I am a strong believer in advance the ball as far as possible each shot, the math clearly supports that, but as far as possible IN PLAY. Might be worth hitting even an 8i or 9i off the tee for a while. Sure, it will not go far...but the ball will be findable and you can work your way up.

If you must go driver, these other folks are offering solid advice just thought I would throw this out there. It is based on experience where, at times I have lost control of my driver, I have gone out intentionally leaving it at home and shot equal or better. Think of it this way: 1 ob, penalty, 3 off the tee. Can I hit 3 of (whatever longest club I can keep in play) and be at least that far down? If so, I am better off with a 5i or 8i or whatever that club is. For me personally, right now I average 260 with my driver and 140 with my 9i. If I am going to hit the driver ob, I am much better off going 9i, 9i than to go driver. Your mileage may vary, you are likely hitting your 9i maybe 100-120 at this stage but same logic applies. Play tees that fit your yardage, take a control club and have lower scores and less frustration up front.

Wish I had learned the game that way. I launched thousands of balls into the tulips because of that one driver shot in ten that was good. Oh, to be young again with what I know now...

This is great advice. Thanks!
 
If you are a beginner and a 36 cap, as your signature indicates, I wouldn't spend more than $50 on a driver.
Take your hard earned money and get a lesson package and learn the right way to swing while you are still new to the game.

I began playing when I was 18 and if I was honest counting all my strokes would always shoot in the 100's. I played randomly over the years but never got serious about golf until the age of 30.
Started practicing more and bought some more legitimate equipment to round out the bag but nothing too high end.

I finally got to around a low 90's average score on my own then bought a 3 lesson package at Golf Galaxy maybe 6 yrs ago. Their Pro there was surprisingly good. I spread those lessons out over about a 3 month period working on what he showed me. My average dropped to around the 87-88 range. I then got serious about club tech, etc and trying to fit clubs to my swing. I stumbled upon the Cleveland 588 Altitude irons and Tour Edge Trilogy/Xrail Hybrids and they helped take me down to an 82 avg. I have maintained that same scoring avg over the past 4 years. In that time frame I have gamed drivers I paid anywhere from $40 up to $770 with high end fitted shafts and always hit the ball around 215-235 (depending on conditions) and around 60% of Fairways hit.
 
I'd be looking at drivers that are 1-2 years old and getting the best I can afford. If I'm starting out I probably want something with the most forgiveness I can get and there are some great options out there that shouldn't break the bank.
 
You may find you actually generate lower scores early on with neither...use a club that keeps the ball in play. A lot of beginners...and advanced beginners...and much more experienced golfers...give away a lot of shots with the driver hitting it OB. Note that I am a strong believer in advance the ball as far as possible each shot, the math clearly supports that, but as far as possible IN PLAY. Might be worth hitting even an 8i or 9i off the tee for a while. Sure, it will not go far...but the ball will be findable and you can work your way up.

If you must go driver, these other folks are offering solid advice just thought I would throw this out there. It is based on experience where, at times I have lost control of my driver, I have gone out intentionally leaving it at home and shot equal or better. Think of it this way: 1 ob, penalty, 3 off the tee. Can I hit 3 of (whatever longest club I can keep in play) and be at least that far down? If so, I am better off with a 5i or 8i or whatever that club is. For me personally, right now I average 260 with my driver and 140 with my 9i. If I am going to hit the driver ob, I am much better off going 9i, 9i than to go driver. Your mileage may vary, you are likely hitting your 9i maybe 100-120 at this stage but same logic applies. Play tees that fit your yardage, take a control club and have lower scores and less frustration up front.

Wish I had learned the game that way. I launched thousands of balls into the tulips because of that one driver shot in ten that was good. Oh, to be young again with what I know now...

This is great advice. Learn what you hit the straightest and play it off the tee as you learn. When you can consistently hit that club in the fairway, then move to a longer club and continue the process until you work up to 3W or driver.

When I first started "playing," if other players in the group hit driver, I hit driver. It was frustrating to say the least and I lost a lot of golf balls. A year or so later, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book was published. It is a great book to read as you learn. He talked about what darthweasel posted. He related stories of not letting players hit driver until they could hit 3W in the fairway a high percentage of the time. As I followed the advice in the book, my game improved to where I was shooting in the low 90s fairly quickly. I figured out, of the hodge-podge set of clubs I had managed to put together, that I could hit the 4W, then 3W, the longest while hitting the fairway most of the time. That was a lot more fun than stomping through the woods looking for my ball.

Drivers now are SO much better than then. While the above advice is still good to follow, finding a driver - whether new or a generation or two old - that can help you is much, much easier now. If I was starting out now, I'd start looking for clubs that are a few years old. I'd hate to not be able to hit the newest and shiniest well and have my frustration fester over having spent that much money for little return.
 
As a beginner you want forgiveness and to keep the ball in play. You can get that from clubs that are a season or two old.
 
The issue I have w/ recommending a newer player hit 5/7/9 irons off the tee is that they are going to eventually have to learn to hit longer clubs. I am 100% a advocate of less than driver off CERTAIN holes. I personally do not hit my 3 wood or hybrid any more accurately off the tee than I do driver. I do hit a pretty mean draw 4 iron so that is my secondary tee club. I hit it off 2 short dog leg par 4's and even off a tight driving hole par 5. I do NOT agree that a person should hit a 7 iron off a hole and leave themselves no chance to reach the green in regulation. You are going to need to learn to hit driver at some point so might as well dive in on certain holes. As for what driver to get...the TE EXS new for $299 is a steal as many have pointed out. You can also get a used Rogue driver around $200 or less and it is an outstanding driver and was $500 8 months ago. I would go w/ something 1-2 seasons old....you will get a exceptional value and still a new enough club to be long and forgiving. Good luck w/ this crazy and addictive game!
 
Back
Top