If you are looking for the most forgiving driver, you probably struggle with hitting fairways. Either you don’t hit enough, or you just sometimes hit some out of control drives that end up out of bounds. If you want to hit more fairways, you can do two things: 1) fix your swing and 2) pick up a more forgiving driver.

What is a “more forgiving driver” anyway? 

• One with a larger head. In general, the larger the head, the more forgiving the driver is. It’s just like in tennis. The larger the racket, the wider margin of error that you leave for yourself. I’d shoot for a driver with at least 450cc head size, preferably closer to 460cc. All drivers in this article are 460cc.
• One with a larger sweet spot. A large sweet spot is essential for a forgiving driver. You aren’t always going to hit the ball dead square on the club face. You are going to miss by 1-2 inches in every direction. For that reason, you want a club with a large sweet spot in both directions, vertically and horizontally. I’ve picked out only driver heads that are both taller and wider compared to others.
• One with a tad bit more loft than you might expect. More loft = more forgiveness. Ever wondered why you never miss your 9 iron very far left or right? That’s because with the loft of the club, it is very hard to curve the ball enough. With a driver being the least lofted club in your bag besides the putter, it is very easy for a mishit to fly way off line. For that reason, I’d suggest getting a driver with a very low center of gravity. That way, it allows you to use a slightly higher loft than you are used to, without the ball flying too far. So, it’s the best of both worlds: forgiving and straighter due to the slightly higher loft and weight placement.

Below are the top 5 most forgiving drivers on the market at the time of this writing! Let me know if you think I forgot to mention one that is worth noting. I will definitely consider adding it to the article if I agree.

By the way, all links & photos that you click on will take you to the listings on eBay for the respective driver.

1) Callaway Men’s XR 16 Driver

The Callaway XR 16 driver is incredibly forgiving. It’s got a very large club head and sweet spot. Even mishits should end up OK on average.

How is it so forgiving?

• Large shape: the club face itself is very large and tall. You can miss the center of the club face by an inch in any direction and not be drastically penalized. Other drivers might require you to hit roughly .5 inches from the dead center of the face for a solid drive.
• Very low center of gravity: when the COG is that low and deep, it allows the ball to fly further and straighter on mishits compared to other drivers. This is a huge plus, as there are not many other things that club manufacturers can do to make a driver more forgiving.

Plus, forgiveness aside, this driver is super long. The perfect combination for someone that is currently struggling off the tee. The price has dropped pretty significantly in the past year, so this is a good time to pick it up in my opinion.

 2) TaylorMade RBZ Black Driver

The RBZ driver has one of the larger, most forgiving heads that I’ve ever seen. The club head is 460cc and made of titanium. More so than any other driver, the weight is placed in a way that will launch the ball very high and with low spin.

Here is how it’ll help your golf game:

• higher launch angle = more forgiving. The higher the angle that the ball is launched at, the less likely the ball is to curve offline. That’s exactly why it’s hard to curve a wedge or short iron. The high launch angle makes the ball more likely to fly straight. Therefore, the high launch angle of this club is a huge advantage for long, straight drives that end up in the fairway. They achieved this high launch angle by strategically placing the weight low and forward.
• Oversized head (460cc). The larger club head is great for off center hits. The club face itself is very tall compared to other drivers. So if you tend to sky or top drives, this is the one for you.

3) Cobra King F7

To be completely honest with you, Cobra drivers are my absolute favorite at the moment. The King LTD is the best feeling driver I have ever hit. The King LTD is not as forgiving as the Cobra King F7, though, which is a great driver in its own right.

Cobra uses a lot of big words and fancy talk when they advertise their drivers. I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible in this article though.

Just how forgiving is the Cobra King F7?

• When it comes to adjustability, it is very forgiving. You can mess with the center of gravity settings as much as you want to find out which combo will be the best for you personally. If you are a tinkerer, this is a great driver to have. It doesn’t cost too much, yet it is super forgiving and customizable.
• When it comes to materials used, it is very forgiving. Cobra uses carbon fiber in this driver to add/adjust clubhead weight. They then allow you to customize where it is placed (I’d recommend low and forward for higher launch angles. Use the manual to figure out how each weight placement will affect ball flight.

4) TaylorMade M2 

If you want a forgiving driver, don’t look past the TaylorMade M2 driver. The M1 and M2 drivers took the golf industry by storm a couple of years ago, and they are just now becoming good value clubs.

These drivers, especially the M2, are just about as forgiving as they come. They were the most popular drivers on amateur tours for at least a year, which says a lot about their performance.

When it comes to design, there are a couple of things that stick out that make the M2 drivers so easy to hit.

• Deeper speed pocket: launches the ball higher and quicker, which is great for decreasing spin and curvature
• Geocoustic technology: basically a fancy way of distributing the weight on the head so that off center hits still had enough power behind them.