High speed guys: Current driver heads with most durable face?

[Rosco1216]

Looking for suggestions of current driver heads with the most durable face. My 3rd head of the g440 lst flattened after only one day and I’ve decided to go on a different direction. While it hasn’t been an issue getting it replaced in a timely manner, it’s just gotten annoying with tournament golf in full swing to always have to worry about the face integrity. Not looking to go to a krank or LD type head and am looking for suggestions within the major OEM lines.
 

Stock swing speeds in the mid to upper 120’s for reference.

[hammergolf]

9 minutes ago, Rosco1216 said:

Looking for suggestions of current driver heads with the most durable face. My 3rd head of the g440 lst flattened after only one day and I’ve decided to go on a different direction. While it hasn’t been an issue getting it replaced in a timely manner, it’s just gotten annoying with tournament golf in full swing to always have to worry about the face integrity. Not looking to go to a krank or LD type head and am looking for suggestions within the major OEM lines.
 

Stock swing speeds in the mid to upper 120’s for reference.

Probably Krank or some of the LD heads from Cobra or Callaway would be the only ones with thicker faces. I wouldn’t say any manufacturer has more durable faces than any others. However, the LST models do have a weak/stress point on the upper part of the face.

Edited June 24 by hammergolf

[Phabs]

I’m around 117-120 and I’ve had really good luck with cobras stuff.  Never had a face failure and I hit about 40-60 balls a week off the driver between the two weekly practice sessions

[Rosco1216]

15 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Probably Krank or some of the LD heads from Cobra or Callaway would be the only ones with thicker faces. I wouldn’t say any manufacturer has more durable faces than any others. However, the LST models do have a weak/stress point on the upper part of the face.

All the failures have been slight toe and high on the face. 2 cracks and now 2 flat spots.

[MakersMarsh3]

Are you using range balls????

[Pnwpingi210]

Im in the 120s.

 

taylormade, mizuno, and Callaway never had a failure for me.

 

Ping, cobra, and Titliest have all failed. 
 

to another’s point, I hit a lot of range balls with the heads that’s failed.  The one that haven’t not see a few driver before a round a the range 

 

[Rosco1216]

17 minutes ago, MakersMarsh3 said:

Are you using range balls????

I hit only a couple at less than full speed at the end if my warm up sessions only. I learned my lesson long ago while hitting range balls, especially about doing it during cooler weather

[phizzy30]

13 minutes ago, Pnwpingi210 said:

Im in the 120s.

 

taylormade, mizuno, and Callaway never had a failure for me.

 

Ping, cobra, and Titliest have all failed. 
 

to another’s point, I hit a lot of range balls with the heads that’s failed.  The one that haven’t not see a few driver before a round a the range 

 

It's ironic but I've cracked 2 TM and a Cally head.  To be fair though, all modern drivers have really thin faces so failure is bound to happen to us higher ss guys.  So far I've seen a fair share of posts here about guys who have cracked their G440 multiple times.  It's always slightly high and towards the toe.  

[Pnwpingi210]

31 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

It's ironic but I've cracked 2 TM and a Cally head.  To be fair though, all modern drivers have really thin faces so failure is bound to happen to us higher ss guys.  So far I've seen a fair share of posts here about guys who have cracked their G440 multiple times.  It's always slightly high and towards the toe.  

Agree.  I used to beat range balls (taylormade and Srixon marathon) when I was cracking heads.  
 

I get bored with them now before they break so it’s much more expensive to get a new head🤣

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, Rosco1216 said:

All the failures have been slight toe and high on the face. 2 cracks and now 2 flat spots.

Yep, that’s the stress point. Sad because it’s such a great driver…

[Rosco1216]

12 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Yep, that’s the stress point. Sad because it’s such a great driver…

Such a great head..

[Rosco1216]

13 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

It's ironic but I've cracked 2 TM and a Cally head.  To be fair though, all modern drivers have really thin faces so failure is bound to happen to us higher ss guys.  So far I've seen a fair share of posts here about guys who have cracked their G440 multiple times.  It's always slightly high and towards the toe.  

Yeah I cracked numerous TM heads through the M series through the SIM lines before moving away from TM. Cracked a couple callaway heads last year with the AI smoke line as well. 

[Yrrdead]

Oh no I've been looking at moving to 440lst 😞 .

 

I think that is just the breaks of higher speed.  I'm on my 3rd 425 head and it has been rock solid the last two years. Longest I've ever gotten out of any manufacturer. Just luck of the draw. 

[Amarsuperstar]

My TSR3 lasted two years, which is above average for me. Lots of range balls on that head. Just cracked my Qi35 that I got in February. My courses switched to limited flight range balls this year which I thought would help. Had a 430 Max 10k which is still fine. Only used it for a few months, though. 
 

I’m not opposed to the idea of an LD head, except I’m not a super high ball hitter and like some spin. Are Cobra and Callaway the only majors that make them?

[Tbone107]

Obviously your entitled to any reasoning you want but not sure why you wouldn't try the Krank. I've had the same head for the past year without any issue at 140 mph and more importantly it has improved my game more than any piece of equipment I've ever owned. Accuracy and misses 10 fold better than anything over ever played in college or now recreationally. 

[Rosco1216]

2 hours ago, Tbone107 said:

Obviously your entitled to any reasoning you want but not sure why you wouldn't try the Krank. I've had the same head for the past year without any issue at 140 mph and more importantly it has improved my game more than any piece of equipment I've ever owned. Accuracy and misses 10 fold better than anything over ever played in college or now recreationally. 

How has a low moi, durable head improved your accuracy and misses 10 fold?

[Tbone107]

2 minutes ago, Rosco1216 said:

How has a low moi, durable head improved your accuracy and misses 10 fold?

The bulge. My miss lives on the toe and that miss is now more times than not still in the fairway vs being out of bounds with heads I've used in the past. Loses a lot of ball speed on the off center hits, but I don't care about that. Maybe you do. 

 

I'm not trying to sell any heads for them, just trying to help. You do you.

 

[DTorres]

All OEM heads will crack at some point with higher SS. Cobra just released their LD version of their Adapt LS. Realistically though Cobra made a 7.5 degree version of the Aerojet LS, if you can find that (around $150 new) then that is likely the best more durable daily driver available. It has the thicker face from their 5.5 degree Aerojet LS LD on the normal LS chassis and can be cranked up to 9 degrees or dropped to 6. I still use this driver head, it’s been hammered without mercy thousands of times on the nastiest of range balls and shows no signs of crying.

[Amarsuperstar]

1 hour ago, Tbone107 said:

The bulge. My miss lives on the toe and that miss is now more times than not still in the fairway vs being out of bounds with heads I've used in the past. Loses a lot of ball speed on the off center hits, but I don't care about that. Maybe you do. 

 

I'm not trying to sell any heads for them, just trying to help. You do you.

 

 

I’ve been interested in the Krank for awhile because of the bulge. Similar for the LA Golf driver. Just not sure I’m fast enough to see the gains. Usually cruise high 120’s.

[Pnwpingi210]

10 minutes ago, Amarsuperstar said:

 

I’ve been interested in the Krank for awhile because of the bulge. Similar for the LA Golf driver. Just not sure I’m fast enough to see the gains. Usually cruise high 120’s.

Off topic, but are you still gaming the I series red 130?

[Tbone107]

13 minutes ago, Amarsuperstar said:

 

I’ve been interested in the Krank for awhile because of the bulge. Similar for the LA Golf driver. Just not sure I’m fast enough to see the gains. Usually cruise high 120’s.

Both my brothers have bought them after seeing how much it has helped me and they are ~175 mph and ~185 mph ball speed and they have seen the similar improvements that I have.  Both their misses live on the high toe like mine do and I think that's where the bulge shines imo. Not sure it would be as beneficial for a low or heel miss. 

Edited June 25 by Tbone107

[Amarsuperstar]

8 minutes ago, Pnwpingi210 said:

Off topic, but are you still gaming the I series red 130?

Yes. Absolutely love them. Added them down through my 50 and 55 degree wedges. Will be adding one to my 60 but forcing myself to sell off a few things from the office first. 
 

I like them so much I almost forgot how badly I want to try a set of L-Series 6’s. Almost. 

[Amarsuperstar]

10 minutes ago, Tbone107 said:

Both my brothers have bought them after seeing how much it has helped me and they are ~175 mph and ~185 mph ball speed and they have seen the similar improvements that I have.  Both their misses live on the high toe like mine do and I think that's where the bulge shines imo. Not sure it would be as beneficial for a low or heel miss. 

That’s some important nuance. Most of my life I’ve had the toe miss but the past two years I’ve moved to a heel miss. Absolute killer with most modern drivers. 

[Rosco1216]

13 hours ago, Tbone107 said:

The bulge. My miss lives on the toe and that miss is now more times than not still in the fairway vs being out of bounds with heads I've used in the past. Loses a lot of ball speed on the off center hits, but I don't care about that. Maybe you do. 

 

I'm not trying to sell any heads for them, just trying to help. You do you.

 

Noted. I’m not concerned losing distance on those hits. I’m a straight driver of the ball for my speed and am very very rarely errant enough to lose drives OB. My concern with the krank more so is the lack of adjustability and ability to dial in the head like I want. I prefer heavy heads, more loft and an open face angle.

[Rosco1216]

After flattening 2 of our clubs 440 demo heads in the last week I’ve decided I’m going to give the Elyte models a go. Basically any high toe strike with the ping and it flattens on me.

 

I knew the g440 lst had a somewhat shallow face but compared to the elyte 💎💎💎 its a huge difference. Measuring face height slightly toe side or center the ping was 1 3/4” and the elyte 💎💎💎 was barely under 2 1/2”!  

[Pnwpingi210]

1 minute ago, Rosco1216 said:

After flattening 2 of our clubs 440 demo heads in the last week I’ve decided I’m going to give the Elyte models a go. Basically any high toe strike with the ping and it flattens on me.

 

I knew the g440 lst had a somewhat shallow face but compared to the elyte 💎💎💎 its a huge difference. Measuring face height slightly toe side or center the ping was 1 3/4” and the elyte 💎💎💎 was barely under 2 1/2”!  

Are hitting range balls and flattening them?

 

mid to upper 120 shouldn’t do that unless you hitting 100s of balls with them, in the same spot

 

(that not a knock, I’m mid 120s and have had heads fail, but only when I was hitting about 100-200 Srixon marathon range balls a week with them)

[Rosco1216]

No, as I posted earlier I only hit 3-5 warming up and not at full speed because of this. I have had dozens of heads fail over the years but this model of ping 5 have failed in the same spot. Besides the original taylormade m2 with the weld spots, nothing as failed so quickly and consistently.

Edited June 30 by Rosco1216

[JD3]

On 6/24/2025 at 12:43 AM, hammergolf said:

Yep, that’s the stress point. Sad because it’s such a great driver…

I had good success with the G400, Nice flat ball flight and surprising forgiveness for a less than 460 head. I think that was like the last of the Ping tank-like durability head. Got rid of it for the original Stealth which I cracked to pieces. Went back in time to SIM2 which im really liking. Btw see that Potgeister is using Titleist GT2

Edited June 30 by JD3

[tgrabowske]

On 6/23/2025 at 8:59 PM, Rosco1216 said:

Looking for suggestions of current driver heads with the most durable face. My 3rd head of the g440 lst flattened after only one day and I’ve decided to go on a different direction. While it hasn’t been an issue getting it replaced in a timely manner, it’s just gotten annoying with tournament golf in full swing to always have to worry about the face integrity. Not looking to go to a krank or LD type head and am looking for suggestions within the major OEM lines.
 

Stock swing speeds in the mid to upper 120’s for reference.

Will 100% attest to Krank drivers as well. I am generally 130-135 on the course and like @Tbone107 said it it has been one piece of equipment that has changed my game. I used a Krank head for about 2 years before it broke on me and tbh it was such a small break I couldn't tell until I got on a launch monitor. If you havent tried one, you should.