FORGIVING DRIVERS MIZUNO ST-Z 230
PING G430 MAX £525
Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°
Stock shafts: Alta CB Black, Ping Tour 2.0 Chrome, Ping Tour 2.0 Black, Alta Quick
Ping G drivers have built an impressive reputation for being forgiving since the very first G2 was introduced back in 2004. With an MOI of more than 10,000, the new G430 builds on the marque’s legacy by harnessing supreme forgiveness and teaming it with a much more pleasing impact sound than the previous G425, the result of the MAX having a new internal rib structure.
Our data has it down as being a single yard back from the very longest. It’s an excellent result (which could be reversed on another day), especially when you factor in that Ping drivers are so forgiving that they are usually a fraction back from being the very fastest or longest available. The MAX didn’t quite give our very tightest dispersion numbers (experience says results are influenced more by tester than club), but it did give our pro his smallest drop-off in ball speed, so expect good on-course consistency. All other dispersion metrics were well below our test averages.
All in all, the G430 MAX is a brilliant driver option for a wide audience of golfers. A new, lower-launch Tour 2.0 Black shaft is good for higher speed players, while a lighter High Launch set-up will optimise ball flight for sub 85mph swing speed players.
CALLAWAY PARADYM MAX £599
Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°
Stock shafts: Aldila Ascent, HZRDUS Silver, HZRDUS Black, Mitsubishi Kai’li White
By doing away with a titanium cage chassis structure, Callaway’s new Paradym driver eliminates a massive 20g of mass from its body. Callaway say that compared to the Rogue ST, which by all accounts was a forgiving driver, 11% more weight is freed up to better influence MOI and forgiveness. That gives a 30% tighter dispersion, which is huge for most club golfers.
The Paradym isn’t your usual Callaway driver. There’s a distinct Japanese feel, with a funky carbon sole pattern, a shiny headcover and a name many won’t quite understand, but it performs impressively.
We love the neutral address look, the impact sound is brilliant, and our data has it down as being one of the very longest in 2023. Our drop-off and dispersion stats don’t quite support Callaway’s forgiveness claims, but those numbers are always heavily tester dependent. With an MOI of 9,000+g cm2, the model is getting mightily close to Ping levels of forgiveness.
COBRA AEROJET MAX
£429 The Aerojet stands out as brilliant value, in a year when prices are critical. We had to hit the MAX, with a 12g back weight, a slower ball speed but more forgiving set-up. At average club golfer speeds, when clubs are tough to separate on pure data, Aerojet stands out as so much tech is crammed inside. A shot area just greater than our top three and ranked second for protecting carry distance – consider this a great fairway finder.
SRIXON ZX5
£499
In the hands of our test pro, just six yards of carry distance separated the ZX5 and our very longest drivers, plus the model produced our second smallest left to right dispersion (31.9 yards), so it will perform on the course. It looks lovely, sounds great and there’s a touch of high launch draw bias built in. We’d play it, but in tough economic times, £499 is hard to justify, especially knowing there’s other excellent drivers out there for less.
£499
In recent times, Mizuno have focused more on producing a driver as good as their forged irons. Don’t look at our carry distance data and dismiss the Z; Mizuno’s standard shaft length is 0.75in less than with most major players, hence a reduction in ball speed and yardage. We’d focus instead on a third-best performance for protecting ball speed, and how, at the shorter length, the driver hit balls into our second smallest shot area.
YONEX EZONE GS I-TECH
£399
At 276 yards carry distance, the i-tech tied the Stealth 2 and Mizuno’s ST-X 230 as our longest forgiving driver of 2023. We don’t feel it quite warrants a ‘Best of 2023’ badge as the head shape, deep face and slightly closed face angle look aren’t what lots of golfers look for. But if you like a lightweight, lively feel and aren’t shy of going ‘off-piste’ in terms of brands, the model’s well worth exploring.
PXG 0311 GEN5
£299
As loaded with tech as the GEN5 drivers are, the cosmetic recipe for us just doesn’t quite scream ‘buy me’, yet for many golfers the GEN5 will produce excellent results. Much of the 0311 data is spot on our test averages, plus there’s a decent choice of shafts and a pretty reasonable price. But if we were spending our own dosh in 2023, we’d struggle to ignore PXG’S brilliantly priced 0211 (see our best value driver on page 104).
CLEVELAND LAUNCHER XL
£379
Cleveland’s Launcher XL family targets golfers who prioritise fun on the golf course over worrying about what gear they use. If that’s how you buy your golf equipment, the XL is ideal. We love the wide, friendly and forgiving head shape, and the data hovers right around our test averages, so mid/high handicap players could do much worse than simply plumping for this option straight off the rack.