Each of these seven drivers would make a great gift.
GOLF
Welcome to GOLF’s 2024 holiday edition of Our Picks, where our expertsare hand-selecting the items you — and your golf-loving family and friends — need on your radar. Scroll below for our latest batch of recommendations, and visit our Best Golf Stuff of 2024 hub page for more articles.
Replacing your favorite golfer’s driver can be a daunting task, but it’s truly never been easier, as long as you ask their friends some simple questions.
Today’s drivers are better than ever before and there are truly no bad options. While we’d always suggest taking a golfer for a fitting, if you want to surprise someone, all you need to do is find out maybe a brand preference and what kind of misses your favorite player has to get a pretty good idea of which of the below drivers they’d enjoy.
At GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine, we see it all. The good stuff you want is on our website and in the pages of our magazine, hand-picked by our golf-loving experts who have been dialing in our best estimation of what exactly you (the reader!) wants. This holiday season, our staff put their heads together to come up with gift ideas you’ll jump at, both from our sister site Fairway Jockey and other brands across the U.S. The result? Must-have items any golfer would love — and just in time for shopping season.
Check out our picks below for the best drivers to buy the ultimate golf nut, with options from TaylorMade, Callaway, Ping and more.
Best drivers to buy the ultimate golf nut
Keep scrolling for our picks of the best drivers you should buy your favorite golf nut.
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max Custom Driver
Ai SMOKE MAX DRIVER
The new Paradym Ai Smoke driver represents a quantum leap forward in Callaway’s Ai journey. This new family of drivers feature the most sophisticated driver face in Callaway history, the Ai Smart Face.
World’s First Ai Smart Face™
The all-new Ai Smart Face optimizes driver performance using swing dynamics from thousands of real golfers. This promotes optimal launch conditions and tight downrange dispersion.
Micro Deflections
With Ai Smart Face technology, micro deflections are activated upon impact helping to optimize launch and spin on off-center shots. The result is sweet spots not just in the center, but all over the face.
The science behind the Callaway Ai Smoke Max driver is the Ai Smart Face which used data from thousands of golf shots to optimize the face to promote optimal launch conditions and tight dispersion patterns. The Max head is one of five options in the family and is designed to fit most golfers.
Cleveland Launcher HiBore XL
Cleveland Launcher HiBore XL Custom Driver
A.I. SHAPING AND FACE
HiBore XL features an innovative A.I. design–assisted chassis purpose built for enhanced forgiveness and sound at impact. And one of the largest ball striking areas in the industry helps amateur golfers hit for distance while keeping more tee shots in play.
MAINFRAME XL
This variable thickness face pattern maximizes flex at impact to enlarge and reshape the sweet spot. This setup improves energy transfer across the face by repositioning weight low and deep in the clubhead for added forgiveness, consistency, and ball speed, even on strikes that miss the center.
ACTIVWING
The unique airfoil design stabilizes the clubhead by harnessing aerodynamic forces to better stabilize the clubhead during your downswing and guiding the clubface into optimal strike position, making it easier for you to hit the sweet spot and improve ball speed.
The Cleveland Launcher HiBore XL is the newest model on this list and it also features a design created with artificial intelligence. The A.I. design–assisted chassis is a triangle shape intended to improve both forgiveness and acoustics.
Cobra Darkspeed X
Cobra DarkSpeed X Custom Driver
The X model is designed for Tour and amateurs seeking a fast, low spin headthat offers medium launch and plenty of forgiveness.
REFINED AERODYNAMIC DESIGN
An improved aero shape features a streamlined face to topline radius, a highercrown peak, raised skirt and reduced clubface surface area to maximize speed.
TOUR INSPIRED SHAPING
A refined clubhead shape features an elevated look at address that promotesworkability and control wtih added forgiveness.
Refined aerodynamics and a Tour-inspired shape were key to the design of Cobra’s Darkspeed family. The Darkspeed X has been a fit for Tour players and mid-handicappers alike.
Ping G430 Max 10K
PING G430 Max 10K Custom Driver
The G430 MAX 10K is PING’s straightest and highest MOI driver to date, eclipsing the 10,000 g-cm2 combined moment of inertia threshold first surpassed by the G400 MAX five years earlier.
FIXED BACK WEIGHT
The fixed back weight allows for the record-setting MOI as it drives mass down and back to increase forgiveness and optimize the center of gravity position.
LARGER HEAD PROFILE
PING’s biggest head profile to date maximizes the USGA-allowable heel-toe and front-back dimensions while staying within the 460cc volume limit. This eye-pleasing shape helps square the golfer to the target and inspires the confidence to hit longer, straighter tee shots.
Few drivers on the market can match the Ping G430 Max 10K for forgiveness. Thanks to the largest allowable head profile, the Ping G430 Max 10K reaches the 10,000 g-cm2 combined moment of inertia threshold, making it easier for you to hit it straight and long.
Srixon ZX7 Mk II
Srixon ZX7 MK II Custom Driver
Featuring a more compact, confidence-inspiring silhouette that delivers the complete range of clubhead adjustability—including two swappable heel and toe weights plus an adjustable hosel sleeve—ZX7 Mk II lets you easily produce the launch conditions needed for maximum workability and complex shot making.
REBOUND FRAME
Rebound Frame’s Dual Flex Zones focus more energy into the golf ball at impact, creating a purer energy transfer that instantaneously increases ball speed and distance on every strike.
ADJUSTABILITY
Two weight port locations allow you to adjust swing weight and Center of Gravity to favor a draw or fade shape. An adjustable hosel also provides the opportunity to vary loft, lie, and face angle.
STAR FRAME CROWN
A complex series of ridges and latticework provides the structural integrity necessary to feature a remarkably thin titanium crown and to place discretionary mass where it best suits each ZX Mk II Driver’s ideal launch and spin characteristics.
VARIABLE THICKNESS FACE
An intricate variable thickness pattern expands the high COR area across the entire clubface. These unique ridges enhance high COR from heel to toe by improving how energy reflects into the ball on off-center shots.
A great option for a better player who already plays a more compact shape, the Srixon ZX7 Mk II is one of Srixon’s most adjustable drivers to date. The driver’s Rebound Frame and Dual Flex Zones help maximize energy transfer for faster ball speeds.
TaylorMade Qi10
TaylorMade Qi10 Custom Driver
Wrapped in a clean and confident package, the Qi10 driver has been strategically engineered to help players optimize distance and enhance forgiveness.
THE QUEST FOR INERTIA
TaylorMade’s goal with the Qi10 family is to make each driver as forgiving as possible, using advanced multi-material constructions to increase inertia. Qi10 is engineered for a balanced blend of distance and forgiveness.
COMPLETE PERFORMANCE
The Qi10 Driver features a lower CG projection and higher MOI than its predecessor, delivering balanced performance without any tradeoffs.
NEW INFINITY CARBON CROWN
An Infinity Carbon Crown covers 97% of the total crown area, creating a strategic advantage for mass redistribution and enhanced forgiveness.
TaylorMade’s Qi10 core head is the middle of the lineup for the Qi10 family, but it can be found in the bags of TaylorMade stars like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler and amateurs like you and me alike. The Qi10 family was designed to maximize inertia among all models, increasing forgiveness off the tee.
Titleist GT2
Titleist GT2 Custom Driver
GT2 — Speed & Forgiveness Across The Face
For players who don’t always find the center of the face and need the stability of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.
Speed & Forgiveness Across The Face
Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, GT2 extracts maximum performance through forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.
Seamless Thermoform Crown
A reimagined ultra-lightweight design, born from a new Proprietary Matrix Polymer. The tunable acoustic properties of this unique composite allow Titleist engineers to realize new material gains while maintaining our signature sound and feel. All wrapped in a clean look that inspires total confidence.
Split Mass Construction
GT2 delivers a powerful balance of forgiveness and speed thanks to a breakthrough in internal weighting. Mass is shifted to the back of the clubhead to increase MOI for better stability, while also pushing weight low and forward to optimize speed and spin. The result is a driver that frees you to swing with confidence.
The brand new Titleist GT drivers have a new ultra-lightweight designed crown coming from a new Proprietary Matrix Polymer. This helped Titleist maintain their signature sound of their drivers while redistributing that weight elsewhere. With the GT2, Titleist has created a fast driver with plenty of forgiveness.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
