What driver you gaming?

[cbrwn425]

Qi35 core 10.5* with the weight forward, has been fantastic for me since I got it a month ago

[Stuart_G]

44 minutes ago, Ri_Redneck said:

I can hit any driver that has the proper specs for me and so can anyone else. This constant searching for a drive is all horse sh*t. Once you know the shaft profile that suits you, don't stray from it. Next you find the weight profile (static weight & full club MOI) that suits you and stick with that. heads sometimes require a bit of loft tweaking to get the right launch window, but almost all are adjustable which takes care of that. Things like grip size and taper are individual and should be kept consistent also. 

 

You should be seeing a pattern here. It's called consistency. Right bend profile, right weighting, right loft...... Right Driver!! 

 

BT

 

+1 - but add playing length to the top of the list.  Ridiculous stock playing lengths are by far the biggest source of driver problems and inconsistencies for am's.

 

But to answer the question, I play a Ping G425 MAX 10.5, Aldila NV NXT GEN 55 R flex shaft, 44" ~D0,  w/ midsize grips.

 

I would have been happier to just stay with the G400 - but my swing changed to the point where I needed a bit more loft.

Edited June 6 by Stuart_G

[Hageman11]

PING G440 LST w/ AD VF 6S

[N8dogg2669]

55 minutes ago, taki27 said:

That’s hysterical!  I have a rotation of Cobra LTDX 10.5, LS 9 and 10.5 and Max 9 along with an F8+.  I have the old UST Elements Earth, Wind and Fire in Stiff in each weight and XStiff in 60 gram weights in different lengths 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

I have a couple Newton Shafts, a couple Graffaloy shafts, Counter balanced shafts, I try them all. I'm really liking the Newton/Darkspeed X combo as of now. I'll hit one bad shot and I'll convince myself to completely change it. 

[Ajgaguy83]

I'm a big fan to the GT2 with the Diamana TB. So forgiving and smooth, but can still handle what you want to throw at it.

[DrLeoMarvin]

1 hour ago, Ri_Redneck said:

I can hit any driver that has the proper specs for me and so can anyone else. This constant searching for a driver is all horse sh*t. Once you know the shaft profile that suits you, don't stray from it. Next you find the weight profile (static weight & full club MOI) that suits you and stick with that. Heads sometimes require a bit of loft tweaking to get the right launch window, but almost all are adjustable which takes care of that. Things like grip size and taper are individual and should be kept consistent also. 

 

You should be seeing a pattern here. It's called consistency. Right bend profile, right weighting, right loft...... Right Driver!! 

 

BT

[getitdaily]

Smoke td max 9 with tr black 5x

[GMR2iron]

Titleist GT2 10* AD VF 5X

[Phabs]

Aerojet 9* standard head - not going anywhere unless I cave the face. 
 

Hit the new adapt max K a few weeks ago and it was good but it’ll still be good next year at half the money. 

[J-Walker]

Cobra DS-Adapt LS 10.5° w/Ventus Red 6S Velocore+ (tipped .75”)

 

It completely eclipsed the X model for me.

Edited June 6 by J-Walker

[tleader]

G440 Max w AD IZ 5

[philly2kuk]

Tried them all in February looking for something just marginally more forgiving than the tsr2 I was fit for two years prior. Walked out with the GT1 with heavier back weight, gained ten more yards and it’s so easy to hit its like a cheat code. Haven’t driven this well since my r7 superquad days.

[HandsomeMatt]

 AI Smoke TD Max , 9* , weight back,  Speeder Evolution VI 661 , stiff, tried about 5 different shafts and finally settled on the Speeder, it's one of the few drivers that  I prefer weight back as opposed to front, feels way better and that little added spin helps air time. Will I replace it? likely, sometimes regret taking the DorkspeedX (weight front) out but that was another head that I just couldn't find the right shaft for.  I diagnosed that in the last few years my transition has gotten to where I pull a LOT harder from the top and a stiff handle is mandatory or it's all over the left side of the course, used to be I just sought out tip stiff but now I pay way more attention to the handle than anything.

[Tinkerer]

Never had a problem with a PXG Gen6 with AD Tour IZ-6 stiff shaft, still decided to buy the Ping and am in the same position as the OP, too much spin, hitting it over the top and distance loss.
 

Had a lesson ahead of the weekend, “lengthen the swing and try to hook it” was the advice that worked at the end of the session. We’ll see, it certainly wasn’t the club!

[Taylor24]

Ping G410 LST 9 degrees w Ventus TR black 6x @44.75in. 
 

Struggling right now but that’s all me. I hit the 430 line quite a bit but the results were practically the same. 

[ldh692002]

Wilson Dynapower Carbon 2025 10.5

Ventus blue - stock shaft it came with (wrx blasphemy 😂) Love it, great feel trajectories and spin. Easier to hit than the previous carbon line. 

[Erik_A]

2016 Ping G SF Tec (12 deg.) with Tensei AV Blue S shaft.  I keep thinking that I need a newer Ping driver to gain distance, but then I remember that my problems have to do with my swing...

Edited June 7 by Erik_A

[phizzy30]

AI smoke TD w/Diamana BB.  I've tested pretty much all the major OEM offerings this year and nothing's been as anti-left/low spin while retaining high ball speeds as this setup.  Well, I did have the TR Black which was even more anti-left, however, ball speeds were on the lower end.

Edited June 7 by phizzy30

[stryper]

The GT3 I was fit for.  It’s not going anywhere anytime soon…if ever. 

[lefty74pgh]

Was playing a Rogue ST Max LS with VA Slay, but just put in a Ai Smoke TD Ventus Blue TR combo.

[roxald]

DS-Adapt Max K… 

Anyone could play this driver and benefit from the forgiveness and ball speed.

Rox

[1puttTUT]

Cobra DS Adapt Max K 10.5° with a Denali Blue 6s

 

Bought it on a whim after reading positive reviews here and it hasn't disappointed!

[miles2go]

PING G400. Definitely not the longest but easy to keep in the fairway. 

[Sean124]

G440 LST with Graphite Design VF 6-TX. It’s been a great mix of lowish spin and forgiveness. 
 

If I’m being honest, I just like new toys. I’d be perfectly fine still playing my TSR2. 

[The Mad Bomber]

22 hours ago, Ri_Redneck said:

I can hit any driver that has the proper specs for me and so can anyone else. This constant searching for a driver is all horse sh*t. Once you know the shaft profile that suits you, don't stray from it. Next you find the weight profile (static weight & full club MOI) that suits you and stick with that. Heads sometimes require a bit of loft tweaking to get the right launch window, but almost all are adjustable which takes care of that. Things like grip size and taper are individual and should be kept consistent also. 

 

You should be seeing a pattern here. It's called consistency. Right bend profile, right weighting, right loft...... Right Driver!! 

 

BT

Love this. 

 

It's a super unpopular opinion around here, but they're all good and it doesn't matter what you play. I've run this experiment in the past and it always ends up the same way. This dumb search for this spin number or that launch or some CG always ends up in a bunch of money spent and a LACK of lower scores. I always believe people get so caught up in the driver number BS that they forget the one that matters - the number on the card.

 

OP - it ain't the driver...it's you. We're all in the same boat on that one.

 

It doesn't make one lick of difference if I'm playing a Cally, TM, Titleist, PING, Mizuno, Cobra - whatever. As long as you get something in your hands that's relatively well fitted, it's a fools errand to fall down the rabbit hole of optimizing every damn number on a TrackMan. Sure, the pro's do it but 1/20th of a stroke/round over the course of a season has implication for their standing on tour. We aren't them. Once you reach a certain level of ability (meaning you're no longer needing some crazy light, massively draw biased setup or something like that), the search becomes moote. 

 

So the driver I play is just the nicest looking to my eye, and that always seems to be a Titleist with my tried and true shaft and grip, because my handicap is NOT gonna go down by chasing some other setup. 

 

You can come at me - but you'd better be able to prove that your new driver has actually measurably lowered your cap. Years upon years of data from the USGA/GHIN proves that on average, that ain't happening. 

[bogeypro]

On 6/6/2025 at 7:10 AM, boycer said:

Not happy with the driver. Currently have the gt2 9* and ventus blue and ventus red.  A gt4 head.  Had the cobra adapt x, gt3, g440lst. I did try the callaway elyte td td and the gt4 was better. I tend to get steep/over the top and spin it to much. Even debating wilson dynapwr carbon, srizon zxi, standard g440 or going back to the g430 10k, or tm core with the weight forward.

 

So what is working best for you? 

See my sig... 

[mogc60]

Just made a switch from my Cobra Adapt LS.  Was hitting my friends max K and was pretty impressed with it. I thought I might as well tinker a little and see if I’m in the right driver. So I had a shootout the next day between the Cobra Adapt heads with shafts I have and a few stock options. Ended up in the Adapt X, 9 degree F3 setting with the stock Fuji Pro 60x. The minute I hit that combo it’s like my driver came to life. They are all fantastic but as with any brand and model it’s getting the right setup 

[DocBrown3887]

Mizuno STZ 230 special edition (the matte white is so nice to look at) with stock S shaft.

[Jraallen]

Currently playing a g425 max 10.5 set to flat with 3g hotmelt and have been swapping between the tour 2.0 chrome in reg and stiff. 
Thinking about grabbing a used 430 max head to try out, but don’t love my 430 max fairway wood as much as my 425’s so I haven’t jumped on it yet. Hoping to find a little more distance or at least distance consistency, but I had to take a few months off the gym due to an ankle injury and am thinking I should just get back to my normal self before trying too hard to diagnose any swing issues or spend more money.

[Rbsiedsc]

47 minutes ago, DocBrown3887 said:

Mizuno STZ 230 special edition (the matte white is so nice to look at) with stock S shaft.

Ya if I didn’t want the extra forgiveness this would have been the head I went with. It looks beautiful.