The Most Forgiving Drivers of 2023 to Hit More Fairways

Some drivers are built for forgiveness, while others are designed to give highly-skilled players the freedom to flight and shape shots. If you want to keep your game as simple and easy as possible, there's no better place to start than by gaming a forgiving driver.

We went through the latest drivers to find the most forgiving drivers of 2023. We hope you find a driver on this list that keeps your game in the middle of the fairway.

Manufacturers commonly refer to Moment of Inertia (MOI) to sell drivers. MOI refers to the driver head's resistance to twisting at impact. The higher the MOI, the better the driver is rated for staying squared in your transition to impact.

Of course, the better a driver is at staying square through impact, the straighter shots it will produce. In the context of golf club forgiveness, hitting straighter shots is the defining factor. That's why MOI is such an important factor in a driver's forgiveness.

A driver's Center of Gravity (CG) is also a very important trait. CG impacts both the launch and direction of your ball. A driver's CG location is influenced by where the manufacturer puts weight in the driver's head. A CG that is concentrated low and back produces much a higher trajectory than a CG that’s positioned high and back.

CG affects different players in different ways, which is why it’s wise to research the CG of a driver before you make a purchase. Drivers with a draw bias, which many on this list feature, often have weight towards the heel of the club. Drivers with adjustable weights give you the option to move the CG depending on your needs. Adjustable weights also help players who improve their swing and need slightly different characteristics from their driver than they did when they purchased it.

Our choice as the most forgiving driver of 2023 might not be the driver you expected. The Srixon ZX5 driver produced the best dispersion and most overall forgiveness of any driver that we tested, and the ZX5 Mk II adds to that prowess.

New for 2023 is the star frame crown which saves weight from the top of the head, which is repositioned into an 8g weight in the back of the sole. The ZX5 Mk II also has a variable thickness face to improve performance across the entire face. The ZX5 Mk II has a slight draw bias.

All Srixon drivers have a technology called Rebound Frame, which Srixon likens to "a spring within a spring" to boost the so-called trampoline effect, resulting in significant distance increases. Rebound Frame helps forgiveness in addition to total distance because it allows for maximum distance on off-center hits. We were impressed by how straight toe-shots traveled and didn’t spin wildly into a massive slice. This driver is a fantastic choice for amateur players, and it’s no wonder why it receives so much play on professional tours.

If you weren’t aware, the Dunlop umbrella of companies includes Srixon, Cleveland, and XXIO. Throughout our “best of” driver series, you will find several models from Cleveland and XXIO, as well. Proof that the company produced clubs for all levels of players and all aspects of your golf game.

Pros:

• Deep weight results in high MOI
• Distance
• Project X HZRDUS Smoke stock shaft options
• High launch with a slight draw bias

Cons:

• Players who already hit it too high may need the Low Spin (ZX5 Mk II LS) edition

PING is synonymous with forgiveness, and its most forgiving driver for slicers is the G430 SFT, which stands for Straight Flight Technology. The G430 lineup, new for 2023, also includes the G430 MAX, which offers more adjustability and is targeted towards the meat of the market, and the G430 LST, the low-spin edition.

PING’s straight flight drivers have traditionally included a stationary weight in the heel of the club head to promote a draw (or fight a slice, however you want to look at it). The G430 SFT took that technology to the next level, offering two draw-bias positions for the 22g tungsten weight. The regular draw position, and a draw+ position, which gives you the option for even more slice-fighting bias. This change was made after PING engineers evaluated Arccos data of SFT players, and determined that some could still use a little extra help.

It’s not just the heel weight that makes the PING G430 SFT forgiving, but PING has added a “Spincistency” face. That’s a fancy word to say the face utilizes various lofts to optimize performance from top to bottom.

The loft at the bottom of the face is lower to optimize ball speed and launch on shots struck low, while the loft at the top of the face is a little higher to prevent “dippers” off the top of the face. The result is better shots from a larger area of the club face, which is what anyone shopping for a forgiving driver prioritizes.

The G430 SFT is only available in a 10.5 degree head, but you can adjust it up or down 1.5 degrees based on your needs. This driver does what the marketing says it will do, the SFT script produces draws. For players who already hit a draw or tend to miss with a hook, forget about the G430 SFT, and consider the G430 MAX, which gives you the same pop and big distance with more adjustability, including neutral and fade settings. 

Pros:

• Very draw-bias flight 
• Big distance
• Satisfying acoustics

Cons:

• Players who don’t need slice correction may suffer from hooks

Callaway is known for producing some of the best golf clubs in the game, and has been doing so for decades. For a company that was built off of distance appeal, Callaway produces some of the most forgiving clubs we’ve seen in recent years. The Callaway Rogue ST MAX is one of those clubs, and all levels of players will notice its tendency to keep you in the fairway.

Callaway built the Rogue ST MAX to give beginners, mid-handicaps, and even the best players in the world confidence off the tee. The best part is, now that Callaway has released a new line of drivers, Paradym, you can snag the Rogue ST MAX at a discounted price (if you want to call it that) at $399.

At the back of the driver's head you’ll notice a gold-colored section. This a Tungsten Speed Cartridge and its 26 grams of weight is concentrated low and back to provide the highest MOI possible. This also allows the head to remain stable at impact so you can be confident you’re catching the sweet spot.

We were impressed with the Callaway Rogue ST Max from a distance standpoint, but the fact that we made zero hosel adjustment and it still produced soft draws was mighty impressive. It didn’t produce the same distance on low hits as other models on this list, but side spin and dispersion were as good as anything.

If you prefer the latest and greatest, the Paradym X is the most similar in the Paradym lineup to the Rogue ST MAX, with a slight draw-bias, but you can’t go wrong staying with the Rogue ST MAX, especially given the cost difference.

Pros:

• Natural draw-bias
• Fast ball speed
• Great side spin

Cons:

• Does not include a wrench

Mizuno produces some of the best irons in golf. The feeling and performance of Mizuno irons are second-to-none and its cult-like following has players of all ages refusing to play anything else. But Mizuno also produces some of the best drivers in the game.

The Mizuno STx 230 is a slightly draw bias driver engineered to produce satisfying feel, much like Mizuno irons. The STx 230 sets up perfect at address with no over-the-top design traits. Some carbon fiber detailing and the Mizuno logo to lineup with, that’s about it. The STx 230 looks like a pro-level driver, but when you realize it has weight placed slightly in the heel to promote more spin, launch and forgiving shots, you’ll know it’s intended for all players. Players with faster swing speeds who play the lower-lofted head usually find their best ball speeds with the STx 230, and find it quite workable.

If you’re into adjustability, the STx 230 adjusts at the hosel up to four degrees. Finding your precise ball flight to go along with its draw bias will produce the best distance for you. If you consistently walk past the Mizuno rack, as a high-handicap player thinking it’s not for you, consider taking a few rips with the STx 230. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Pros:

• Draw-bias
• Adjustability
• Great feel
• Workable for better players

Cons:

• Some players may find it spins too much

TaylorMade Stealth was the talk of the town in 2022, and TaylorMade stuck with the script in 2023, rolling out the Stealth 2 lineup with some nips and tucks to the originals, like improving upon the face, saving 2g of weight while boosting the ball speed on off-center strikes.

The Stealth 2 High Draw driver, like other models on this list, is a draw-bias club intended to give you the most forgiveness in the Stealth family. It also has the highest MOI in the family. Our recommendation, if you’re interested in a TaylorMade Stealth, is to test all three: Stealth 2, Stealth 2 Plus, and Stealth 2 High Draw. This way you’ll know which one fits you and your golf game.

After testing multiple Stealth drivers, we're believers in the Stealth movement, and it will be among the best series of drivers TaylorMade has produced, which is saying a lot.

Pros:

• Draw-bias with a high ball flight
• Great ball speed and distance

Cons:

• Higher swing speeds are more likely to produce hooks

Titleist drivers have not always been in the forgiveness conversation, but these days players of all abilities can find a Titleist club that suits their game.

The TSR2 is the most forgiving Titleist driver, and one of the most forgiving on the market. The multi-layer, variable thickness face ensures excellent ball speed from all over the face. CG is placed low and forward, which helps boost ball speed while optimizing launch and spin.

Speaking of launch and spin, the TSR2 is designed to launch high, and spin low.

The TSR2 is what you’d expect from Titleist. No large insignias, a very clean look, mostly black, and very unassuming. The TSR2 is an evolution of the popular TSi2, but Titleist reshaped the head for improved aerodynamics and a player-preferred look. Those aerodynamic gains paired with the new CG location make the TSR2 a little longer than its predecessor.

Throughout the Titleist TSR lineup, the TSR1, 2, 3, and 4, each have individual qualities that make them unique, but the TSR2, for us, is the golden goose because you not only get the quality and performance you’d expect from Titleist, but it also feels great and is built for the common player.

Pros:

• Forgiving face
• Improved shaping
• Distance gains compared to TSi2

Cons:

• Starting price is $600

Before you see “Tour Length” and think it’s not for a recreational player, we’ll start by assuring you that tour length is a feature that carries much greater benefits to weekend and casual golfers than the best players in the world, so hear us out.

We'll dive into the technology in the Aerojet driver, but let’s start with a quick breakdown of “Tour Length” and what it means for your game.

A Tour Length driver is simply shorter than the standard, off-the-rack driver. Most drivers in retail measure from 45.00 to 45.75 inches. Cobra’s Tour Length Aerojet driver is 44.50 inches, one full inch shorter than the standard edition.

Here’s how that relates to your game, and results in a more forgiving driver. Using a shorter-length driver, the golfer has more control of the club head, which means more center-strikes and fairways found, at the price of a little swing speed and distance.

While it is fair to assume your longest drives will be longer with a longer shaft than a shorter shaft, recreational golfers who need help hitting the center of the face are likely to see an increase in their average driving distance by using the shorter, Tour Length, driver. That’s because they’ll hit the center of the face more often, resulting in more ball speed and distance than mis-hits with the longer driver. In fact, testing has shown that in general, smash factor increases with a shorter driver when compared to a driver with a longer shaft.

Thats all a long-winded way of saying that by using a shorter driver, you have a great chance of hitting a lot more fairways and increasing your average driving distance.

If that sounds nice to you, here’s what the Cobra Aerojet Max Tour Length Driver can offer.

The Cobra Aerojet MAX has two interchangeable weights ports in the sole, one at in the heel, and one in the rear. The driver comes with a 3g and a 12g weight. Putting the heavier weight in the rear makes it a slight draw bias driver and increases MOI. However, players who want an extreme draw bias can swap the 12g weight into the heel, moving the lighter 3g weight into the rear, and see even more slice-fighting power.

Given the aerodynamic head shape and AI designed, variable thickness club face, most players will notice increased swing speed, ball speed and distance when hitting any Aerojet driver.

Pros:

• Draw bias is very effective at countering a slice or push
• Face retains ball speed on off-center strikes 
• Adjustable weights allow you to toggler between slight draw bias and extreme draw bias

Cons:

• Carbon crown may not appeal to some players at address

Wilson drivers have made a comeback in recent years. At its peak, Wilson was among the most popular equipment brands in golf, but at its low point, Wilson wasn’t even producing drivers that appealed to the masses.

Wilson made big strides by releasing some new models, including the first generation of Launch Pad. After a great run with the original model, Wilson has now released the Launch Pad 2 driver, which capitalizes on all of the great aspects of the original and adds a few more. 

At address, the Launch Pad 2 looks larger than some other drivers on this list. In reality, it has a 460cc head just like the others, but advanced aerodynamics give it a slightly larger profile. That's definitely a confidence booster before you even take the club back. The Launch Pad 2 also has an increased draw bias over the previous edition.

Wilson went the extra mile and made the Project X EvenFlow its stock shaft, which adds to the tiger dispersion you’ll see. The fixed, non-adjustable head might be a turn-off to some, but it’s available in  9, 10.5, and 13-degree lofts, so players from single-digit to slow swing speeds can find the perfect setup.

Pros:

• Value
• Easy loft
• Tight dispersion

Cons:

• Easy to hit too high

You don’t have to buy a tour-model driver to find weekend forgiveness, as proven by Cobra’s AIR-X and AIR-X OS drivers. The OS version has a slightly offset club head, but the standard AIR-X is also a draw-bias driver.

The AIR-X drivers are lightweight from head to toe. It comes standard with a 40g shaft and lightweight carbon for a lighter club head. That weight-savings equates to more clubhead speed. Overall, this driver promotes a high-launch, high-spin and high-trajectory profile.

The OX model will give the most slice-forgiveness, but even the straight-neck version will help golfers looking for more distance and straighter shots. At Just $250, about half the price of most new-release drivers from the major club-makers, the Cobra AIR-X should be on any forgiveness-seeking shoppers must-demo list.

Pros:

• Lightweight build maximizes swing speed
• Choose your level of slice-fighting with standard and offset models
• Great value at $250

Cons:

• No adjustability