What should I look for in a driver for a begginer

[James242]

I am going to buy used and my budget is 80-150$. I don't know what to look for since I'm new at the game. What flex, CC and what not. I'm not competitive I am being coached by my friend who is a very talented golfer who played on Canadian junior team. I just want to e able to play a solid round without embarrassing myself to much.

[GJBenn85]

Flex should be matched to your swing speed.  Too stiff for your swing speed and you may have a tendency to slice.  Too light of a flex and you will have a tendency to hook if you have a high swing speed.

Look for a Cobra S2...pretty good driver IMO and you should be able to find a used or even new one for within your budget.

[Nine Iron]

I have been researching drivers for me as well.

I have read regular flex is a good starting point.

And between 10.5 and 12 or so for loft so the ball stays up.

From what I have read/written down:

Ping G5, G10,G15

Taylormade Burner

Cleveland Hibore XLS

Callaway Big Bertha

Lots of choices out there.

I bought a Ping G5 12 deg. driver for 45.00 from local Craigslist.

Lots of good stuff on Ebay too.

Probably be a good idea to get fitted so you have a really good idea what specs to look for in a driver.

Hope that helps ya.

[MiniBlueDragon]

In my opinion "a beginner" has a high enough handicap that he/she is better off playing the game with a putter and irons to begin with. My father in law played for his local club in a society and won 90% of the tournaments he played in solely with irons and a putter.

After a while additional wedges with varying bounces may come in handy for different lies.

Then as your handicap decreases more distance off the tee will likely in order so a hybrid may be a good idea, both to be used to tee off but also as an excellent utility for fairways and for bringing errant shots back onto the fairway if needed.

When they hybrid is being hit reasonably well I'd then opt for a 3 wood to get more tee distance and become good at hitting it both off the tee and off the fairway.

The last thing I'd buy to complete the set would be a driver as it's one of the lesser used clubs, one of the more difficult clubs to hit with an erratic beginner's swing and one of the most expensive too.

If you're intent on one however, my driver of choice is the Mizuno JPX 800 - Just make sure you get fitted for it so that you have the correct shaft and loft combination for your swing.

[CrazyHorsePete]

When I started, I bought a 5 wood instead of a driver.  Fairway woods don't fly as far as drivers, but they are a lot easier to control.   With a driver, you'll probably hit a few fairways, but your bad shots with a driver will be uglier than your bad shots with a fairway.  A really stray shot with a driver will put you pretty far into the sticks or even on another fairway.

My recommendation: get a good 3 or 5 wood.  If you want a driver, get one.  But use your 3 or 5 wood off the tee until you can control the driver reasonably well.  Constant stray tee shots takes all the fun out of golf.

Go to the golf shop, look at the used drivers, find a few, try them out, buy the one you like.  Look for regular flex and at least 10.5 degrees of loft.

But don't forget a fairway wood!

[GaijinGolfer]

Personally, Id start out with a 12 degree driver and a regular flex shaft.  That will help you get the ball up in the air and give you confidence with your driver.

[Topper]

A higher lofted driver with a properly matched shaft flex is a good starting point.