Best Driver And Shaft Combo 2023

Best Driver And Shaft Combo 2023

The golf market has never been so full of incredible products. It feels like over the last few years that, despite the rules of golf trying to reign equipment in.

There has always been a bit of an arms race in the world of drivers but in recent years that seems to have stepped up more than ever.

New face technology has been the focus of attention as manufacturers try new materials, shapes and even inserts to gain precious yardage.

Actually, where the biggest gains have been made is in forgiveness. Modern drivers send mishits almost as far and straight as center strikes.

With so much on offer, it can be really difficult to choose new clubs when you need one. This article is here to help you.

We will look at a few options and conclude with the best combination of driver and shaft for your bag this year. Read on to see what wins this epic battle.

What Makes For A Good Driver?

There are a couple of things that make for good driver performance. First, and in my opinion the most important, is forgiveness.

For most tour golfers this isn’t a big deal but for we mortals, we need to know that if we miss the sweet spot we will still get a fairly accurate and long drive.

You also want good spin and speed characteristics which mean that you can create the optimal launch conditions for your drives.

Modern drivers can be really hard to separate on this front and nowadays even tour preferred drivers are incredibly forgiving, it’s an engineering marvel.

Best Driver Shaft Combos

Player	Driver	Shaft
Ladies	Taylormade Sim 2 Max Ladies	Bassara Shaft
High-Mid	Callaway Epic MAX	Project X Even Flow Riptide
Low Handicappers	Titleist TSI 3	Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw

What Are The Best Drivers In 2023?

We golfers are a very varied group, there is a mix of skill, swing speed and that means we all need different things.

For this article then, I thought it best to separate things into a few different categories and help you see what should help you most depending on what category you fall into.

Best Driver For Ladies – Titleist TSI1

I was always taught that you let the ladies go first so that is how we will proceed.

Now, many of you will have seen the incredible skills of the girls on tour, in my opinion Anne van Dam has the best swing in golf. For many ladies who play at clubs though, speed can be an issue.

With this in mind, some manufacturers make driver specifically for ladies to give them the most speed possible and help them get as much distance as possible from the tee.

Here we are looking at the Titleist TSi1, the TaylorMade SIM2 Max Women’s and Women’s Wilson Staff D7.

Best Driver For High-Mid Handicappers

If you need more forgiveness than anything else, then you will be looking at a different set of drivers than those looking for different performance criteria to help them from the tee.

There are some incredible clubs out there that could revolutionize your game from the tee.

The best on offer for this group of golfers are the TaylorMade SIM Max 2, the Callaway Epic Max and the Titleist TSi2.

These clubs have been meticulously developed to maximize forgiveness and distance, the Epic can even help straighten out your slice with its draw bias.

Best Drivers For Low Handicappers

As you move into the single figure and below category, consistency is less of an issue in your swing and you will be looking to sacrifice forgiveness for some extra yardage.

Here is where you will also be looking to reduce spin rates to maximise distance from the tee.

For this category, the best heads on the market in 2021 are the Mizuno ST-Z, the PING G425 LST and the Titleist TSi3.

These clubs all produce unbelievably low spin and even more impressive forgiveness given that they are tour preferred options. Simply astounding stuff here.

Overall Driver Winner

There is a clear winner here, in my opinion, and that is the Titleist TSi3.

One of the main reasons for this is that it is the most used driver on the PGA Tour and that isn’t just players that are contracted to use them.

This club, with its revolutionary aerospace alloy face, is just the best.

The ATI 425 alloy has dumbfounded many as to how it can produce so little spin, so much distance and so much forgiveness.

It is made even worse for competitors when you see that all of this is wrapped up in the classic good looks of a Titleist driver. It could be the best of all time.

Special Mention

Whilst the Titleist TSi3 is the best driver on the market right now, Titleist decided to double down and make a more specialist driver for a very niche audience.

The TSi4 is one of the lowest spinning drivers of all time and also one of the prettiest.

The TSi3 has a fairly standard 460cc head, the TSi4 has a more petite and less forgiving 445cc.

This is a more tour preferred head size and also helps you generate more speed thanks to better aerodynamics. The cost is forgiveness and so this is only for the very best ball strikers.

What Are The Best Driver Shafts In 2021?

As before, this one is split down to make it easier to choose what is best for you.

There are two choices in each category to expand that choice out a little further.

If nothing else, the list should give you some inspiration of things to try next time you are in the market for a new shaft.

Best Shaft For Ladies

Let’s use the same format for this part of the article.

Again, when it comes to women who play at a club level, usually one of the main areas where you may need help is in developing speed to create extra distance from the tee.

For this we want a light shaft that will whip at the ball.

The UST Mamiya Helium Black 4F1, this is super lightweight at 50g but doesn’t give up any stability.

To go even lighter, the Mistubishi Grand Bassara 29 weighs in at just 32g!

These shafts can really bring new levels of clubhead speed to your driver.

Best Shaft For High-Mid Handicappers

For this category of golfers we are probably looking for stability and a higher launch profile.

This will help you get the ball in the air and make the most of your speed.

You may also want added stability to help you reduce your distribution as much as possible and hit more fairways.

The Project X EvenFlow Riptide CB is a sublime golf shaft, the CB stands for counter balanced which means that you get maximum stability.

Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black 50 SFW, this shaft is a but of an upgrade but a worthy one, it flies high and is great for stability.

Best Driver Shaft For Low Handicappers

Down at this end of the spectrum you are starting to look for reduced spin and lower launch profiles.

Higher swing speeds bring a naturally higher launch so the shaft can help you control that height.

Let’s look at the two best shafts on offer for low handicapped golfers.

Often seen on tour, the Mitsubishi Tensei White AV Raw is supremely smooth.

It efficiently delivers speed and stability, it is just brilliant.

For added stability, thanks to counterbalancing, the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow is great for aggressive swingers of the club. This is another tour favourite.

Best Ultra-Premium Shafts

Now, this is a bit of bonus content for those who are happy to spend anything to get the best on the market.

There are two shafts on the market right now that are jus mind-glowingly good. So much so that almost every player on tour plays at least one of the two. They’re pricey beasts.

The Fujikura Ventus Black, one that has taken the PGA Tour by storm. This low launch/low spin beast is a game changer.

As is the HZRDUS Smoke Green PVD Small Batch, nicknamed “The Hulk” this is an angry beast that blasts the ball miles down the fairway.

Overall Driver Shaft Winner

This is a really difficult one to choose because they are all so great in their own specific ways.

I have to say that the Grand Bassara may be the most impressive as it is just impossibly light.

The Project X EvenFlow is also an incredible shaft, it feels impossible to miss the fairway with it.

However, the winner, in my opinion is the Mitsubishi Tensei White AV Raw. There is no surprise that many tour players opt for this shaft or have used it recently.

Guys like Rory and Tiger both love this shaft and I can absolutely see why, the smoothness is just something to behold.

How To Know What Is Best For You?

Of course, the picks above may not be the best for your game.

One of the easiest ways you can find out is to go and enjoy a custom fitting session.

In these sessions, an expert technician can take you through a plethora of options and use launch monitor data to help you choose.

The newest Trackman can actually tell you what aspects of your shot need to be improved in order to get the most speed out of your club.

The “Optimizer” programme lets the technician see if you are spinning the ball too much, for example.

What Are The Best Combinations?

This article isn’t here to just give you a list of the best driver heads and the best shafts separately and call it a day.

We are here to talk combinations because this is incredibly important. You see, a head and a shaft can work well together or not and sometimes it just doesn’t really work well.

Best Driver-Shaft Combination For Ladies

The TaylorMade SIM2 Max Women’s is just an incredible driver and I think it just edges the driver when it is paired with the Bassara.

The reduced weight from the shaft combined with the TaylorMade head will give you a driver like nothing you have ever hit before.

Best Combination For High-Mid Handicappers

For this one we are going with the Callaway Epic MAX alongside the ProjectX Even Flow Riptide CB, I love the fact that this driver adds the draw bias to straighten out your slice.

This will be a feature that many golfers will just absolutely adore and it could solve your driving woes.

Best Combination For Low Handicappers

For this one we have already announced it but nothing wrong with mentioning it again.

I must give special mention to the Mizuno driver, it is a return to their glory days and worth trying.

However, the Titleist TSi 3 with the Mitsubishi Tensei White AV Raw is just brilliant.

I will make a disclaimer at this point. I have just bought this exact club, I tried many of these clubs and shafts and this was the one that came out best for me.

The fitter told me that it is the most common set-up he has recommended with that driver head.

Conclusion

A good driver head can make a huge difference to your game but it really is only half of the story.

When you pair a great head with a bad shaft or a great shaft with a bad head, things just don’t work out as well.

This is why a proper custom fitting session can make all the difference.

Theses days, with so many choices available on different heads and different shafts, the combinations are as good as endless.

A launch monitor and an expert fitter can really guide you through this process and help you see what is best.

From there, you really want to think about what feels best in your hands.

The data will give you a few choices to pick from but your feel then helps you make the final decision.

When a driver works well and feels great, it instills confidence and you see the difference.

This article has tried to show you just some of the great options that are out there for many different types of golfer.

Your next step is to get out there and try as many as you can. That really is the one of the most fun things you can do in golf, driver testing is amazing!