Most Forgiving Driver for Under $200?

[Double Drops]

I'm looking for a different driver. I'd be in the mid/high-handicap range so I'm looking for a driver that's very forgiving and won't break the bank at the same time. Any suggestions?

Edited November 19, 2019 by Double Drops

[Sean_D]

Go to Callaway pre-owned. You will find every Callaway driver with an assortment of shafts. I recently purchased a Callaway Rogue Sub-zero in like new condition for $200 with an Evenflow Blue shaft. By shopping at Callaway pre-owned, you don't have to worry about getting counterfeit clubs and they underrate the condition of the clubs they sell.

[Darkfrog]

My understanding is that most modern drivers are pretty forgiving, and I don't think that front/rear weight position, offset, and draw/fade bias can overcome undesireable ball flight caused by swing issues. I tried several drivers in all sorts of weight/loft/lie configurations hoping to mitigate my slice, but the only thing that ultimately helped was lessons and practice. I think having a modern driver head with the right shaft is a good start.

1 hour ago, Sean_D said:

Go to Callaway pre-owned. You will find every Callaway driver with an assortment of shafts. I recently purchased a Callaway Rogue Sub-zero in like new condition for $200 with an Evenflow Blue shaft. By shopping at Callaway pre-owned, you don't have to worry about getting counterfeit clubs and they underrate the condition of the clubs they sell.

If you're looking to save cost, Callaway Preowned is an excellent source for buying gear a few generations old at a great price, especially when they run a sale (I think they do something around black friday). I have purchased a few drivers / fairway woods as well as my current putter from Callaway Preowned, and the condition received always exceeded the description in the listing (in my opinion, ymmv). I've also heard their customer service is excellent, although I have not had cause to use it.

[ncates00]

2 hours ago, Double Drops said:

I'm looking for a different driver. I'd be in the mid/high-handicap range so I'm looking for a driver that's very forgiving and won't break the bank at the same time. Any suggestions?

"Forgiving" is a bit of a misnomer.  It's (largely) a selling point.  Forgiveness is control of your delivery of the club head through the ball.

However, you can go pretty far back in time and see some great drivers.  Crossfield did a video about it: 

I think as far back as 2013 he saw pretty much the same driver results.  With a 2004 driver he did see some drop-offs in performance though.

I would 1) work on my swing and get it reasonably good, 2) go hit drivers on a launch monitor to test, and then 3) buy that club on ebay to save some money.  You can opt for a fitting, but if you know what you're looking for, you can go test clubs and then buy them cheaper elsewhere.  Every club in my bag, including my bag, was purchased off ebay.

[Typhoon92]

Callaway preowned is already hawking their Black Friday deals which are always fantastic so check it out, don’t wait.

[70sSanO]

Obviously there is no most forgiving driver.  No one even knows your current driver and what you don’t like about it.  I mean I’ve had a few Ping drivers and feel they are pretty forgiving, but if your current driver is a Ping, that may not help you much.

Things like swing speed, your typical miss, need to launch higher/lower, etc.  As the video above shows, there is not that much difference over the past 5 years so you can find something used pretty easily for under $200.

John

[cooke119]

Cobra 'Max' drivers on EBay, I have the F9 Max. The Max means that it is Offset helping if you have a strong fade or slice. I checked EBay just now, they have a Cobra F Max for $199.

[Typhoon92]

I’ve seen the Ping G400 and G400 SFT in the used barrel at the store I frequent for under $200.

Cant go wrong with a Ping driver 

[ROCNBigDrives]

I have a few favorites. Cobra 5000 LD/F gets five stars from me and Ping G15. They are in the bag or waiting in the wings at any moment. I had been playing with my original LD/F 5 or 6 years when a buddy in our foursome begged me for it after he had bought 3 or 4 drivers during the same time I had mine. He had a big power fade and could not fix it. I finally broke down one day at work & sold it to him. That was one of the dumbest moves I've ever made. Then he was the long driver of our group and 85% of his drives found the fairway. I was in the weeds with my old Cleveland Launcher 400 -  70% of the time. Only until I found a LD/F on eBay did my worries stop. The Ping G15 isn't as long but it is a fairway finder. Both can be found for way less than $100.00.

I agree with fixing swing faults first but if money/time is an issue, you can find great drivers on eBay and Callaway Pre-owned that will work with swing faults. Slice = Off-set driver or closed face driver. Hook = could help by using a weaker grip or a more open-faced driver. Also check Play It Again Sports in your area, 3BallsGolf.com, golfavenue.com. I've used them all over the years with not one hiccup. Good luck!