Best drivers for forgiveness | ClubTest 2025

While it’s fun to watch pro golfers stripe their drives miles down the fairway, most of us aren’t pro golfers. And because of that, our drivers shouldn’t necessarily be the same as the pros. For mid- to high-handicap players, forgiveness is a must with drivers. And it can come in multiple forms, both helping with accuracy and distance. As part of our ClubTest 2025 buying guide, we tried to determine which driver models are best suited for golfers who are in need of a little forgiveness. To do so, we conducted extensive player testing at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. When it comes to the best drivers for forgiveness, the nine new models below stood out from the pack.

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BY CATEGORY: BEST DRIVERS FOR SPEED | BEST DRIVERS FOR SHOT CORRECTION | BEST DRIVERS FOR SLOWER SWING SPEEDS | BEST LOW SPIN DRIVERS

Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K

*Cobra’s DS-Adapt Max-K driver was awarded 2025 ClubTest Game Changer status for its outstanding performance in the best drivers for forgiveness category.

Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K Custom Driver

$549

NEW FUTUREFIT33 ADJUSTABLE HOSEL The FutureFit33 system features 33 unique loft & lie settings to unlock more customization options than ever before. For the first time, loft & lie can be adjusted +/- 2 degrees independently from each other, allowing for more fine-tuned fitting customization. The innovative SMARTPAD design enables the face angle to remain square regardless of the setting. MORE EXTREME AERO DESIGN An improved aero shape features a higher crown peak, and a more streamlined shape with smoother curvatures for further drag reduction and maximized speed. SHAPED FOR SPEED AND FORGIVENESS A refined clubhead shape blends speed with forgiveness for an elevated look at address that inspires maximum confidence on the tee. NEW ADAPTIVE WEIGHTING SYSTEM The MAX-K model achieves a combined 10,000 MOI (in the 9.0* & 10.5; the 12.0 features a total of 9800 combined MOI) using an external fixed back weight and internal back weight pad to position the CG as low and back as possible to drive MOI to the extreme. The result is our most stable and forgiving head. LARGER H.O.T. FACE INSERT A larger forged face insert with H.O.T. face technology delivers improved face flex for more robust distance and ball speeds.

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THE BASICS: Cobra’s new DS-Adapt drivers not only incorporate cutting-edge tech but also bring a renewed emphasis to precision tuning that’s both more robust and easier than ever to adjust. The Max-K boasts the highest MOI of all four models, making it the most forgiving and straight-hitting driver in the lineup.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF COBRA DS-ADAPT DRIVERS

PLAYER TESTING TAKEAWAYS: “Definitely would purchase. For a 12-15 handicap, this driver gives me the confidence when I am going up to hit the ball. Like the matte look. Sleek. Really like the feel. Fast. Misses were good. Was short on mishits. Loved feel, forgiveness and performance.” – Glen Hamel (12-handicap) on the Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K driver

Callaway Elyte

Callaway Elyte Custom Driver

$599.99

FEATURES & BENEFITS The Future of Composites The Elyte driver features an all-new Thermoforged Carbon crown. This aerospace grade carbon fiber enables fast head speeds while optimizing launch and spin. Ai Advancements for Optimal Distance, Control, and Launch Our most advanced Ai face to date, the new Ai10x Face delivers 10x more control points than the Ai Smart Face™. Designed to produce exceptionally fast ball speeds, tight dispersion, and optimized launch across the face Modern Shape with Adjustability   The new Elyte adjustable perimeter weighting system has utilizes a 13g moveable weight to enable a neutral, draw, or fade setting. The Elyte model features a matte carbon crown, modern shape, and a chevron on the topline to inspire confidence off the tee and easy alignment.

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THE BASICS: Callaway is sticking with its customary four-model driver lineup for its Elyte series, with the standard Elyte core model being the driver that will fit the most golfers. The standard model is the only driver in the lineup to feature a perimeter weighting system with three settings (draw, neutral, fade), allowing for customization of the center of gravity via a 13-gram weight.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF CALLAWAY’S ELYTE DRIVERS

PLAYER TESTING TAKEAWAYS: “Like the look, felt very confident standing over it. The feel was a great mixture of power off the clubface while still feeling forgiving. I need to buy it! Felt like bottled power. Didn’t need to swing hard and ball exploded off the clubhead. Felt like I hit the dead center every time. Didn’t miss.” – Jeff Smith (12-handicap) on the Callaway Elyte driver

Cleveland Launcher HiBore XL

Cleveland Launcher HiBore XL Custom Driver

$399.99

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. 

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THE BASICS: In bringing back the legendary HiBore name for its Launcher HiBore XL drivers, Cleveland turned to AI to fine-tune the shaping of the new driver, which it says is its most forgiving ever. One of the first things golfers will notice about the new HiBore drivers is that they feature a triangle shape, as opposed to the round or pear-shaped drivers that are typical today.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF CLEVELAND’S HIBORE XL DRIVERS

PLAYER TESTING TAKEAWAYS: “If I owned a spaceship, it would look like this. The feel is awesome, ball came off great, able to hit the center. It was very forgiving too.” – Alain Brunet on the Cleveland HiBore XL driver

“I like the triangle alignment aid but my trajectory was too flat.” – Heidi Dalton (16.6-handicap) on the Cleveland HiBore XL driver

Mizuno ST-Max 230

Mizuno ST-Max 230 Custom Driver

$300

A more rounded, deeper profile with weight located closer to the hosel – means slightly higher spinning and draw biased for the majority, but more workable for many elite players (especially in lower lofts). Natural drawers of the ball may find more ball speed from the ST-X. Boosted by the CORTECH Chamber to be faster from the face, spin less and deliver an incredible, solid sensation at impact.“The new ST-X 230 is a complex character. Although in the higher loft option it’s a higher flying draw-biased option, the 9.5 for many of our tour players was more workable and faster from the face. You really need to hit both models before making any judgements on which is likely to work best for you.” CHRIS VOSHALL CORTECH CHAMBER – THE MISSING PIECE Mizuno’s CORTECH Chamber encases a dense stainless steel weight with elastomeric TPU – taking stress from the clubface and creating an additional energy source. At the same time locating weight closer to the clubface to reduce spin rates. While contributing to a more solid, powerful sensation at impact. FORGED SAT 2041 BETA TI FACE More resilient than commonly used 6-4 Ti, with more complex multi-thickness design – made possible by Mizuno’s CORTECH Chamber. UNIFIED SOLE COMPOSITE Carbon sole plate now a single piece to allow weight to be pushed to the extremes for overall stability. WORKABLE / DRAW BIAS Weight located closer to the shaft axis can both encourage a more workable or draw biased outcome, dependent on the player. DEEPER PROFILE A more rounded look that sits a little taller. Aligns square in the neutral setting. QUICK SWITCH HOSEL 4 degrees of adjustability.

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THE BASICS: Building on the success of the ST-G, T and X 230 series drivers, Mizuno’s newest addition to the ST series is the ST-Max driver, which is designed to deliver ultra-stable performance without sacrificing speed. It’s not just the larger address profile of the ST-Max that makes it unique; what truly separates the ST-Max from the X, the Z and the newly released G models is how the engineers at Mizuno have optimized the geometry of the head for forgiveness, all while maintaining the same 460cc volume by making it shallower and longer heel to toe.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF MIZUNO ST DRIVERS

Ping G440 Max

PING G440 Max Custom Driver

$599

The G440 driver family (MAX, LST, SFT) is optimized to deliver more ball speed through multiple advancements, including PING’s deepest CG in a driver to date and a shallower, thinner face, while continuing to ensure the game-changing forgiveness expected from a PING driver. The G440 MAX is the most forgiving model and fits most golfers; available in 9°, 10.5° and 12° lofts with a three-position adjustable back weight. HIGHLY FORGIVING Lighter head weight allows for heavier back weight.  FASTER FACE  Shallow, thinner, face increases ball speed for more distance, higher launch.  SOUND DESIGN New shaping, carbon crown and internal ribs produce muted impact experience.  FREE-HOSEL DESIGN Saves weight to lower CG, increase forgiveness. Allows for more heel-side face flexing for consistent ball speed across face. 

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THE BASICS: With the new G440 drivers, designers have created the lowest CG ever in a Ping driver thanks to the CarbonFly Wrap in the crown of all three 2025 driver models. The G440 MAX is the most forgiving model, but also is aimed at fitting the greatest number of players, from a Tour pro to a weekend warrior. It addition to the CarbonFly Wrap crown, i features and a 29-gram adjustable backweight that can be placed in three different positions to dial in horizontal CG location.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF PING’S G440 DRIVERS

PLAYER TESTING TAKEAWAYS: “Easy to swing, lightweight, good distance and distance gains on good shots. Nice sound. Stable on heel strikes and very little curve from left to right. Gained 9 yards over other tested clubs.” – Heidi Dalton (16.6-handicap) on the Ping G440 Max driver

Ping G430 Max 10K

PING G430 Max 10K Custom Driver

$599.99

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.

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THE BASICS: With the G430 Max 10K, a 2024 model, Ping brought together several key technologies and design features from the G430 family into one to create their most forgiving driver ever. The dimensions of the driver (front to back and side to side) have been pushed to the USGA limit to boost the MOI. From there, the challenge becomes making a driver with such a large footprint appealing to the eyes. With the help of subtle geometry changes, Ping was able to make the G430 MAX 10k easy to look at — and perhaps more importantly, to align.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF PING G430 DRIVERS

TaylorMade Qi35 Max

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Custom Driver

$599.99

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THE BASICS: To design the Qi35 drivers, TaylorMade designers started with what’s called a “mood board” of images they wanted to shape the look of the new line. For Qi35, the mood board included an F-22 Fighter Jet, an exotic yacht, a Lamborghini and several examples of “point to” features — and all of these ideas culminated in specific features of the Qi35 drivers. The Qi35 Max is the high forgiveness model and once again reaches the USGA-legal limit of 10K MOI.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF TAYLORMADE’S Qi35 DRIVERS

PLAYER TESTING TAKEAWAYS: “Straight, straight, straight. Very consistent and good distance with mishits. Would purchase. Like the look and weight. Maintained distance on heel hits. Dispersion was great. Straightness is greatness. Would buy.” – Greg Caster (15.1-handicap) on the TaylorMade Qi35 driver

“Matte carbon is awesome. Felt easy to hit. Squaring the face was easy. Gave me distance. Pleasant surprise. I liked the loft and overall look and the way it sits on the ground. Doesn’t look as big and really like the matte look” – Joanne Storbeck (32.2-handicap) on the TaylorMade Qi35 Max driver

Titleist GT2

Titleist GT2 Custom Driver

$649

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.

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THE BASICS: The GT2 (8, 9, 10, 11 degrees) is considered the high-launch, low-spin bomber in the group of Titleist GT drivers. Boasting the second-deepest CG in the line, it’s designed for golfers who need extra stability on off-center misses. The head profile is longer front-to-back and its face is marginally shallower. The traditional pear shape more closely resembles that of GT3, which should come as welcome news for those who’ve waffled between GT2 and GT3 in the past. An interchangeable weight in the rear dials in headweight and swingweight for a custom feel.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF TITLEIST’S GT DRIVERS

Wilson Dynapwr Max

Wilson 2025 Dynapwr Max Custom Driver

$499.99

DYNAPWR. Same Name. New Era. Wilson drivers have evolved. Each engineering advancement igniting the next catalyst for change. This season, the legendary dynasty of distance and power enters their most formidable era. PKR-360 Our AI driven PKR-360 has an increased number of optimizable face and body locations unique to each driver design to create a larger sweet spot and drive higher ball speeds everywhere across the face. OPEN HOSEL CONSTRUCTION Removing inefficient material from the hosel infrastructure allows the face to flex more resulting in a larger sweet spot, higher ball speeds and more forgiveness. POWERFUL SOUND Precision rib placement throughout the body of the clubhead guarantees a powerful, appealing sound.

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THE BASICS: With the new Dynapwr line, Wilson Director of Global R&D and Product Jon Pergande said the company sought to create a driver family that fit the largest number of golfers. The company believes it has accomplished this by creating three distinct models.The Dynapwr Max driver is for those seeking maximum forgiveness. It features a larger footprint to increase MOI and a 19g rear flippable weight to fine-tune the left-to-right bias of the club.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF WILSON’S DYNAPWR DRIVERS