Most Forgiving Driver

I hit 7 Fairways last time out. For a course that is pretty wide open that's not great. I'd like to hit every fairway and so I guess a fitting thread is What is the Most Forgiving Driver?

Hitting every fairway is a pretty lofty goal. Doesn't even happen that often for tour pros. I'd work on keeping my non-fairway drives closer to the fairway...aka keep my dispersion tighter. Smaller swing, better tempo and balance will help this.

As far as drivers go...I've been hitting the Ping Rapture the last few times out just to see what it's like and it seems very forgiving. Most drivers today IMO are just about as forgiving as any other. Tour version will be less forgiving (usually) and Titleist also seems to be a club that is usually meant for a "better" player. I'd give the R7, Taylormade Burner, Ping Rapture and Nike a try. Those seem to be fairly equal as far as forgiveness, I think.

Good luck!

I have hit Cleveland, Cobra, Callaway and for ME....the Nike Sumo (regular not square) was the most forgiving if you hit an errant shot off toe or closer to heel. When hitting them all on swing analyzer that also tracks loft of ball hit, swing speed, club path, distance, spin, etc.....you could tell a huge difference between the Cleveland Launcher (my previous driver) and the others. The one that was the closest was the TaylorMade R7 Draw but I still managed to hit a slice off it...haha
I think a lot depends on your own mechanics but the Nike Sumo was the one for me that hits great when I hit sweetspot....and hits acceptable when I do not which is more often than not.

As example, I am all over place usually with drivers. Played in WV while up there on business couple weeks ago. When I hit it off center or on toe it would usually result in a low screamer...maybe 200-230 yards usually staying out of the deep stuff and ending up on edge of fairway or in the fringe...but still very playable. Out of 18 holes I hit 6 fairways and had another 5 that were playable in fringe area. The others were in deep stuff or were one or two I hit on downswing and bounced them off the deck. :)
One time though I got a perfect takeaway and impact and on a 465 yd hole I found my ball lying 10 yards from the 150 marker...so any way you count them it was a 290-310+ drive.

My focus was on keeping ball playable rather than going for the long balls....and this driver is one that helps me do that better even when I may not be holding up my end of the bargain on the equation.

Just my 2 cents but I would think you would need to go out and hit a few different brands and models back to back to get a good representation...then take the top two out to range to compare again. Good luck

Hitting every fairway isn't that lofty of a goal, if that is your [I]only[/I] goal. If you decide to take accuracy over distance completely, then you have a great shot at it. But it's always a trade-off.

Obviously, if you choose distance over accuracy, then you are going to need to be proficient at getting out of trouble, and hitting greens with short irons. And if you choose accuracy over distance, then you are going to need to be proficient with your mid and long irons. I have recently made the switch to accuracy over distance, and this is a good change for me because my iron play is really coming around. Being a guy who averaged 280 yards off the tee last year, It's not fun to feather 240-250 yard drives out in the fairway, but it's improving my scoring, so I would be a fool to stop doing it. That said, a couple of weeks ago I came across a 295 yard Par 4 that I couldn't resist, and had it not been for the greenside bunker, I would have been on in one. So, there is something to be said about decision making here as well. Just because you may have the shot in the bag, doesn't necessarily mean you have to pull it out....but it [I]is[/I] nice to have. Now if I'm hitting an iron off the tee....and it's well struck, that is inherently more satisfying than hitting it long with a driver, so in those cases I'm cool with it.

As far as the most accurate driver, it depends on your swing. If you have the right specs for your swing, then make and model are largely irrelevant in my opinion. All of the new drivers are pretty forgiving.

Have to say the Cleveland HiBore is one of the most forgiving drivers. Hitting every fairway is not a lofty goal. I hit every fairway but one yesterday, and I missed it by about 10 yards. Actually my goal every round is to hit every fairway. Now I'm not long, 250 yards, but I'll give up distance any day to be in the short stuff. Most of these new drivers such as the Nike, Cleveland, Cally, or Cobra are very forgiving.

Dr. Taternuts

[QUOTE=Dr. Taternuts]Have to say the Cleveland HiBore is one of the most forgiving drivers. Hitting every fairway is not a lofty goal. I hit every fairway but one yesterday, and I missed it by about 10 yards. Actually my goal every round is to hit every fairway. Now I'm not long, 250 yards, but I'll give up distance any day to be in the short stuff. Most of these new drivers such as the Nike, Cleveland, Cally, or Cobra are very forgiving.

Dr. Taternuts[/QUOTE]

250 down the pipe all day. WOW! You are either playing a course with really wide fairways or you should be thinking about going on tour. Or you should wake up because you're dreaming again.

If the most accurate pro's on tour are averaging about 75% driving accuracy (and these are the guys who only hit it about 260-270), how is hitting every fairway with a driver NOT a lofty ambition. Obviously these pro's don't know that much about how to drive a golf ball. Tour pro's should visit this forum some time, they'd be amazed how many 27 markers can hit it 30 by them into the middle of the fairway all day long.

I play the cally ft-3 and it is absolutely the most forgiving driver i have ever owned. do yourself a favor and try it.

[QUOTE=Not a hacker]250 down the pipe all day. WOW! You are either playing a course with really wide fairways or you should be thinking about going on tour. Or you should wake up because you're dreaming again.

If the most accurate pro's on tour are averaging about 75% driving accuracy (and these are the guys who only hit it about 260-270), how is hitting every fairway with a driver NOT a lofty ambition. Obviously these pro's don't know that much about how to drive a golf ball. Tour pro's should visit this forum some time, they'd be amazed how many 27 markers can hit it 30 by them into the middle of the fairway all day long.[/QUOTE]


EXACTLY!!! But, obviously, I'm wrong according to some on here. Yeah, you CAN hit every fairway and it's my GOAL to hit every fairway when I play but that is near impossible because of your post. THANK YOU!!! And, I will also agree, if your goal is to hit every fairway take a lesson. Don't change drivers.

[QUOTE=Not a hacker]250 down the pipe all day. WOW! You are either playing a course with really wide fairways or you should be thinking about going on tour. Or you should wake up because you're dreaming again.

If the most accurate pro's on tour are averaging about 75% driving accuracy (and these are the guys who only hit it about 260-270), how is hitting every fairway with a driver NOT a lofty ambition. Obviously these pro's don't know that much about how to drive a golf ball. Tour pro's should visit this forum some time, they'd be amazed how many 27 markers can hit it 30 by them into the middle of the fairway all day long.[/QUOTE]


EXACTLY!!! But, obviously, I'm wrong according to some on here. Yeah, you CAN hit every fairway and it's my GOAL to hit every fairway when I play but that is nearly impossible. THANK YOU!!! And, I will also agree, if your goal is to hit every fairway take a lesson. Don't change drivers.

[QUOTE=Not a hacker]250 down the pipe all day. WOW! You are either playing a course with really wide fairways or you should be thinking about going on tour. Or you should wake up because you're dreaming again.

If the most accurate pro's on tour are averaging about 75% driving accuracy (and these are the guys who only hit it about 260-270), how is hitting every fairway with a driver NOT a lofty ambition. Obviously these pro's don't know that much about how to drive a golf ball. Tour pro's should visit this forum some time, they'd be amazed how many 27 markers can hit it 30 by them into the middle of the fairway all day long.[/QUOTE]

Nice. Very Nice. :rolleyes: I'm now a 10 handicap, I don't think I'll go pro or even close to going pro. My goal is to hit every fairway everytime I play and two days ago I hit everyone but one. Do I do this everytime, Hell no. Don't tell me it's impossible. My 80 year old grandfather, who hits the ball about 150 yards off the tee, hits every fairway. Should he go pro too. My 250 yard drives include roll, and we have not had rain in about 2 weeks so the fairways were giving me a nice bounce. I still shot an 80, due to me hitting two shots O.B. (from the fairway) on the par 5, and putting one in the water on a par 3. I couldn't hit my fairwaywoods that day, but I was stroking my driver. Never say anything is impossible or you'll never be able to accomplish your goal. When I hit off the first tee I never think, "Man I can't hit this fairway, it's to hard". Your defeated before you even swing the club.

Dr. Taternuts

Agreed. In the start of the thread he said he wants to hit every fairway. He never said "once" or "all of the time." If his goal is to hit every fairway on some course at least once in his life it's not a lofty goal. But it was general and open. Those of us saying it's a lofty goal and an impossible goal are interpreting his thread as "I want to hit every fairway whenever I play golf." That's impossible. You're right, you don't stand on the first tee and think "I can't hit this fairway." But, realistically, you don't want to think "I'm going to hit every fairway today" either because you'll end up disappointed within 5 holes (which is a negative thought). And I guarantee your 80 year old grandfather misses a fairway here or there. He may hit MOST but I would bet $5million on the fact he doesn't hit EVERY fairway. And I have another $20million that says a bank would finance my end of the loan and wouldn't finance your end.



[QUOTE=Dr. Taternuts]Nice. Very Nice. :rolleyes: I'm now a 10 handicap, I don't think I'll go pro or even close to going pro. My goal is to hit every fairway everytime I play and two days ago I hit everyone but one. Do I do this everytime, Hell no. Don't tell me it's impossible. My 80 year old grandfather, who hits the ball about 150 yards off the tee, hits every fairway. Should he go pro too. My 250 yard drives include roll, and we have not had rain in about 2 weeks so the fairways were giving me a nice bounce. I still shot an 80, due to me hitting two shots O.B. (from the fairway) on the par 5, and putting one in the water on a par 3. I couldn't hit my fairwaywoods that day, but I was stroking my driver. Never say anything is impossible or you'll never be able to accomplish your goal. When I hit off the first tee I never think, "Man I can't hit this fairway, it's to hard". Your defeated before you even swing the club.

Dr. Taternuts[/QUOTE]

to anser the original question the most forgiving driver as far as tesing from BSG seems to be either the FT-5 or the Adams Insight BUL...

The original question was answered long ago. This post has now turned to pettiness. For those of you who didn't realize the question was answered the answer was, "all drivers are basically equal you should hit a bunch and maybe take a lesson." This answer applies to 95% of the other posts as well. You may need to replace the word driver with "ball" or "iron" etc. but we may want to use this post to just copy and paste.

[QUOTE=collegegolfer]The original question was answered long ago. This post has now turned to pettiness. For those of you who didn't realize the question was answered the answer was, "all drivers are basically equal you should hit a bunch and maybe take a lesson." This answer applies to 95% of the other posts as well. You may need to replace the word driver with "ball" or "iron" etc. but we may want to use this post to just copy and paste.[/QUOTE]

yea i know i just hadnt ansered the question and i thought i would anser from a data sandpoint... the FT-5 hasthe highest ballspeed on center, toe, and heel hits... and the Insight seems to have the best launch caracteristics...

[QUOTE=collegegolfer]Agreed. In the start of the thread he said he wants to hit every fairway. He never said "once" or "all of the time." If his goal is to hit every fairway on some course at least once in his life it's not a lofty goal. But it was general and open. Those of us saying it's a lofty goal and an impossible goal are interpreting his thread as "I want to hit every fairway whenever I play golf." That's impossible. You're right, you don't stand on the first tee and think "I can't hit this fairway." But, realistically, you don't want to think "I'm going to hit every fairway today" either because you'll end up disappointed within 5 holes (which is a negative thought). And I guarantee your 80 year old grandfather misses a fairway here or there. He may hit MOST but I would bet $5million on the fact he doesn't hit EVERY fairway. And I have another $20million that says a bank would finance my end of the loan and wouldn't finance your end.[/QUOTE]


Not trying to argue with you. I wouldn't bet 5 million on my grandfather. If I told him that he would have a heart attack right there in the middle of the fairway, but he would die happy. :) Take Care.

Dr. Taternuts

Fair enough. The fact that you didn't come back and say, "NO!!! He really has never missed a fairway I swear!!!" tells me you have an IQ of at least 110. How about $5??? ;-)


[QUOTE=Dr. Taternuts]Not trying to argue with you. I wouldn't bet 5 million on my grandfather. If I told him that he would have a heart attack right there in the middle of the fairway, but he would die happy. :) Take Care.

Dr. Taternuts[/QUOTE]

i have NEVER missed a FAIRWAY that i have HIT.... and i would bet 50 million on that... why do you need a bank to finance your end of the loan... dont you have a checking account???

I'm sorry Omen, I don't have 5 mil in cash assets. It's all tied up in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate and farm land...


[QUOTE=Omen2]i have NEVER missed a FAIRWAY that i have HIT.... and i would bet 50 million on that... why do you need a bank to finance your end of the loan... dont you have a checking account???[/QUOTE]