Best new drivers 2024 – Syndication Server

Titleist GT2, GT3 and GT4 woods debut at 2024 Memorial Tournament

Titleist brings the GT drivers and fairway woods to the PGA Tour for the first time.

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MUIRFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio – Titleist brought its newest drivers and fairway woods – the yet-to-be-released GT2, GT3 and GT4 – to the 2024 Memorial Tournament and made them available for staff players such as Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris and Cameron Young. Their use this week will be their first in a PGA Tour event.

In addition to the GT drivers, Titleist is also debuting the matching GT fairway woods at Jack Nicklaus’ event.

It has been nearly two years since Titleist released the TSR family of drivers, fairway woods and hybrids, and with the brand typically dropping clubs and balls on two-year product cycles, it was not surprising the GT woods were added to the USGA’s Conforming Driver Head list Monday.

Titleist did not release official information or comment about the GT drivers or fairway woods, but the company did note in a press release the clubs were developed with the help of feedback from staff players.

If history can be used as a guide, there are a few things the USGA’s notes and in-hand photos obtained by Golfweek on Monday at Muirfield Village can teach golfers:

GT2: The Point and Shoot driver. Titleist drivers given a “2” designation in the past have offered a high moment of inertia with centers of gravity farther back in the head to boost stability. With the GT2, we once again see a club that is larger from front to back than the other drivers in the family, along with a single weight located on the seam that joins the back of the crown with the sole. Extra mass there would pull the center of gravity down and back.
GT3: Draw-Fade adjustability. The TSR3 driver, as with the TSi3 driver it replaced, has been extremely popular among Titleist players because it has a five-setting adjustable weight that allows players and fitters to shift the center of gravity to create a draw or fade bias. We can clearly see that weight in the sole of the GT3. With the location of the adjustable weight more forward in the sole, it should help reduce spin and create a lower ball flight. The GT3 also has a classic pear shape and a more compact look than the GT2
GT4: Spin and launch adjustability. The GT4 would logically seem to take the place of the prior-generation TSR4, which Titleist offered as a club for fast-swinging golfers who want to fine-tune spin rates to achieve ideal launch conditions. As with the TSR4, the GT4 has two adjustable weights, with one in the front and one in the back to go along with a compact head design. A heavier weight in the front with a light weight in the back would reduce spin and help the GT4 produce a more-piercing launch, while putting a heavier weight in the back and a light weight in the front would increase the spin rate and launch height. While the GT3 may give golfers left-and-right adjustability, it appears the GT4 is designed to create up-and-down adjustability.

All three GT drivers appear to have been designed with Titleist’s 16-setting SureFit hosel system, which allows golfers to independently change the loft and lie angle.

The GT fairway woods appear to follow the same design philosophy as their corresponding drivers, with the GT2 appearing to be the largest in size and the GT3 having a moveable weight that can create a draw or fade bias.

Titleist has not provided information about when the GT2, GT3 and GT4 drivers and fairway woods might be made available to consumers, but historically the brand has released new clubs two to three months after starting the seeding process on the PGA Tour. If that’s the case, we could see the GT family in pro shops and golf specialty stores by late summer.

Below are several in-hand photos of the new GT2, GT3 and GT4 drivers.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max driver

The Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max is for low-handicap players who want more spin and shot-shaping with a boost in forgiveness.

Gear: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max driver
Price: $599.99 with Project X Denali Blue shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip
Specs: 460-cubic-centimeter head with carbon fiber crown and sole panel, adjustable hosel and movable weights. Only available in right-hand with 9- and 10-degree lofts.
Available: June 7

Who It’s For: Fast-swinging, low-handicap golfers who want more forgiveness and spin than Callaway’s low-spin Triple Diamond driver.

The Skinny: The Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max is designed to blend the previously released Triple Diamond and Max drivers, allowing low-handicap players to gain more spin and shot-shaping with a boost in forgiveness.

The Deep Dive: With four Paradym Ai Smoke drivers already on the market, you might wonder why Callaway is compelled to release a fifth model, but the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max has become popular enough with players to be the second most-played Callaway driver on the PGA Tour, so Callaway decided to make it available to the masses.

In many ways, the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max is a ‘tweener, because it was designed to fit between two drivers that are already in the line-up. The standard Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond is a 450-cubic-centimeter head that is the lowest-spinning, lowest-launching driver in the Callaway stable, and the Ai Smoke Max is a 460-cubic-centimeter driver that offers a higher moment of inertia and more stability. With the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max, Callaway designers tried to bring the best of both clubs together in one offering.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max — In the address position, the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max has a pear-shape that many accomplished golfers prefer. (Callaway)

The look in the address position retains the Triple Diamond’s pear shape, which many advanced golfers favor. But while the standard Triple Diamond comes with a 14-gram weight in the back and a 2-gram weight in the front, the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max comes with a 10-gram weight and a 4-gram weight. Yes, the overall mass of the moveable weights has decreased, but the driver head’s shape helps that weight create slightly more spin and a slightly higher launch angle than the standard Triple Diamond achieves. In Callaway’s tests with accomplished golfers, that extra spin and higher moment of inertia translated into more control. As players realized their tee shots flew straighter, Callaway observed that many players’ confidence increased, and they started to swing faster, leading to more ball speed and distance.

That blend of playing characteristics sounds great, but it is likely not ideal for everyone, and Callaway knows it. However, making the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max available gives players – and more importantly, fitters – another versatile option that can help golfers create the ideal launch conditions to maximize distance and accuracy.

Like the other Ai Smoke drivers, the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max has a face that was designed using artificial intelligence. Callaway captured swing data on more than 250,000 real players’ swings and directed powerful computers to use that data to design driver faces that are optimized based on how players (instead of robots) swing the club. The result is a face that has thick and thin areas on the inner-facing side that flex in different ways to blend forgiveness and ball speed.

Like the other Paradym Ai Smoke drivers, the Triple Diamond Max has a 360-degree carbon fiber chassis, lightweight carbon on the crown and a carbon fiber sole panel that wraps directly into it.

An adjustable hosel allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft by as many as 1.5 degrees while also making the lie angle flatter or more upright. Combined with the moveable weights in the sole, the adjustable hosel can help fitters tweak and refine the spin rate and launch angle of drives for better performance.

TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper

The TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper is designed to deliver driver-like distance with fairway wood control.

Gear: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper
Price: $449.99 with UST Mamiya ProForce 65 shaft and Golf Pride TaylorMade Victory Copper grip
Specs: Titanium face and chassis with carbon fiber crown, adjustable sole weights and adjustable hosel. 11.5 and 13.5-degree models

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Who It’s For: Fast-swinging golfers who want an alternative to their driver off the tee but who want more forgiveness and distance than most 3-woods provide.

The Skinny: Smaller than a driver, yet much larger than a typical 3-wood, the BRNR Mini Driver Copper combines exotic materials and driver-like technologies to create a powerful alternative off the tee for elite players.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM BRNR Mini Driver” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/6eNzxb”]

The Deep Dive: Aside from the possible exception of a driving iron, no club in golf is more macho than a mini driver. Carrying one says to the world that there are times on the course when your driver goes too far, and, you are skilled enough to get the ball airborne with a fairway wood that has driver-like loft.

TaylorMade has quietly made mini drivers available for a few seasons. The Original One Mini debuted in 2019, and in 2021, the 300 Mini driver was released. Last year, TaylorMade offered the BRNR Mini, and a few pros, including Tommy Fleetwood, have put it in play frequently. Now, on the eve of the 2024 Masters, TaylorMade is dropping the BRNR Mini Driver Copper, a club that is virtually identical to the 2023 BRNR Mini but cosmetically pays homage to the late ’90s Burner woods.

The BRNR Mini Driver Copper’s head size is 304cc, which is 34 percent smaller than most drivers on the market today, like the 460cc TaylorMade Qi10 Max. However, the BRNR Mini Driver Copper dwarfs 3-woods like the Qi10 Max (200cc) and Qi10 Tour (170cc). The BRNR Mini Driver Copper also comes standard at 43.75 inches in length, which is a half-inch longer than those 3-woods but 2 inches shorter than a stock Qi10 LS driver and 1.75 inches shorter than a standard Qi10 Max driver.

With specifications like that, and being available only in 11.5 and 13.5-degree lofts, some golfers will call the BRNR Mini Driver Copper a 2-wood instead of a mini driver. Regardless of what you call it, the club is designed to excel off the tee as alternative to a driver.

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TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper — The BRNR Mini Driver Copper has a titanium face and body along with a carbon fiber crown. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The BRNR Mini Driver Copper has a titanium face and body, along with a carbon fiber crown, to create a significant amount of discretionary weight, which engineers re-purposed in the form of two sole weights. With the 13-gram weight in the front and 1.5-gram weight in the back, the BRNR Mini Driver Copper produces more ball speed, less spin and a lower launch angle. However, with the 13-gram weight in the back port and the lighter weight in the front, golfers should see an increase in both spin and launch angle, along with more stability.

The BRNR Mini Driver Copper also has Twist Face, a shot-straightening technology that debuted in 2018’s M3 and M4 drivers, and it has a Speed Pocket slot in the sole to allow the lower portion of the hitting area to flex more efficiently on low-struck shots.

If players decide to play the BRNR Mini Copper off the deck, its K-shaped sole is designed to allow the bottom of the club to skim across and over the turf more effectively. But be warned: With a deep face and large size, this club was designed to be used primarily off the tee. Fast-swinging, skilled players will be able to create enough lift to get shots up in the air, but slower-swinging players might struggle to generate enough spin to maximize carry distance.

To fine-tune the spin and trajectory, the BRNR Mini Copper comes with an adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft by up to 2 degrees.

Even with all those modern features and technologies, the copper accents and the font used to spell the word TaylorMade on the sole will immediately be recognizable to golfers who remember using Burner drivers and fairway woods in the 1990s. And, if you recall that turning the head cover of last season’s BRNR Mini driver inside-out revealed a fuzzy rainbow design that some players opted to use, you will be pleased to know that turning the BRNR Mini Copper’s headcover inside out reveals a fuzzy blue-patterned option you can go with.

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Below are several close-up images of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper.

Mizuno ST-Max 230 driver

The Mizuno ST-Max 230 is a high-MOI, ultra-stable driver.

Gear: Mizuno ST-Max 230 driver
Price: $500 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX, Mitsubishi Lai’ Li Blue or UST Mamiya Helium NanoCore 4F1 shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip
Specs: 460-cc head with a forged titanium face and chassis, carbon fiber crown and sole panels, and adjustable hosel. 9.5, 10.5 and 12-degree head options.

Who It’s For: Golfers who prioritize forgiveness and who want to hit straighter drives.

The Skinny: The new ST-Max 230 takes the weight saved by using a large carbon fiber crown and sole panel and redistributes it to the back of the head to boost the forgiveness and make the club Mizuno’s most stable driver.

The Deep Dive: Just as you can tell a lot about a man by the quality of his shoes and belts, you can tell a lot about a driver by observing where designers and engineers position weight in the head. Mizuno’s ST-G driver has more weight concentrated in the front, which helps it reduce spin and put an emphasis on ball speed. The Japanese company’s newest driver, the ST-Max, utilizes an entirely different design, materials and weighting concept, and the result, according to Mizuno, is its most stable and forgiving driver.

Mizuno ST-Max 230 driver — In the address position, the ST-Max 230 looks large, but clean with a glossy black tone covering the carbon fiber. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

In the address position, the ST-Max looks bigger and wider than the other ST drivers, even though its 460-cc size gives it the same volume as the ST-Z and ST-X drivers. It has a lower profile but is larger from heel to toe and from front to back, and when it comes to stability, bigger is better.

The key to increasing the moment of inertia (MOI) and making a club less likely to twist on off-center hits is to position more weight in the back of the head. To do that in the 460-cc ST-Max, Mizuno designed the club with a massive carbon fiber crown and increased the size of the carbon fiber sole panel. Replacing titanium with carbon fiber reduces weight, and that saved weight was put back in the head by adding a 54-gram weight to the very back of the head. Having that much mass concentrated in the rear of the club keeps it moving forward and wobbling less on mis-hits, which should result in straighter drives.

To increase ball speed, Mizuno opted to use the same Beta Rich Ti LFS titanium in the face that debuted in the ST-G driver. It is lighter and has a higher tensile strength, so the multi-thickness face can flex more efficiently while maintaining durability.

Mizuno also increased the size of the CorTech Chamber, which is behind the leading edge in the sole. Mizuno has used this technology in recent drivers, and it involves creating a slot in the sole and then filling it with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to keep water and debris from getting inside the head. Inside the TPU, Mizuno adds a stainless steel bar, so while the soft TPU material allows the lower portion of the face to flex more efficiently on low-struck shots, the bar helps the head maintain momentum. The TPU material also soaks up excessive vibrations and enhances sound, so drives feel and sound better.

Below are several close-up photos of the Mizuno ST-Max driver.

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Cobra Darkspeed Max, Darkspeed X, Darkspeed LS drivers

All three Darkspeed drivers have an aerodynamic shape, fast face and moveable weights.

Gear: Cobra Darkspeed Max, Darkspeed X, Darkspeed LS drivers
Price: $549 with Project X HZRDUS CB Red shaft or UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Red shaft and Lamkin Crossline grip.
Specs: Forged titanium face with carbon fiber crown and sole panels, moveable weights and adjustable hosel.
Available: Jan.11 presale, Jan. 19 in stores

Who They’re For: Golfers who want an aerodynamic driver that delivers more ball speed and trajectory control.

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The Skinny: Available in three models, the Darkspeed drivers have three different weight systems that allow golfers to obtain the ideal blend of forgiveness, ball speed and spin.

The Deep Dive: If you still think about bright orange, blue or red clubs any time someone mentions Cobra drivers, you might not recognize the new Darkspeed X, Darkspeed Max or Darkspeed LS. As with Henry Ford’s Model T, the Darkspeed drivers come in any color you like as long as it’s black. In this case, matte black. But don’t let the dialed-down cosmetics fool you into thinking these clubs lack technologies and features to help you gain distance and find more fairways.

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Cobra Darkspeed LS driver — The Darkspeed LS has an aerodynamic head shape. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

All three Darkspeed drivers have an aerodynamic shape, with the edges and seams around the hitting area, the heel and toe being rounded. The highest portion of the carbon fiber crowns has also been pushed farther back and away from the topline, so as you swing down to the ball, air flows over the head more efficiently. The back of each head has also been raised, the hitting area is more oval and the sole has been smoothed. These are details golfers might overlook, but they work together to make it easier for golfers to generate more clubhead speed.

Each of the three Darkspeed drivers also has features an updated, laser-welded PWR Shell face. This manufacturing technique allows Cobra to make the face plate larger, which naturally helps enlarge the sweet spot and protect ball speed on off-center hits.

Cobra Darkspeed X driver — The Cobra Darkspeed X has been designed with a H.O.T. Face. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

In the high-toe area of each Darkspeed driver, you will see “H.O.T. Face” etched. It is an acronym for Highly Optimized Topology. This involves computers dividing the hitting area into 15 spots and making those regions thicker or thinner until the best-performing face is revealed. With the hitting area of the Darkspeed drivers being larger than last season’s Aerojet, the 15 regions are spread farther apart, which once again aids in protecting ball speed on mis-hits.

Finally, all three Darkspeed drivers have been made with an internal bar that Cobra calls a PWR Bridge. It is positioned inside the head and connects the heel and toe areas directly behind the face. The PWR Bridge in the Darkspeed drivers is slightly lighter than the one found in Aerojet drivers, but it still lowers the center of gravity and helps reduce spin.

Cobra Darkspeed Max driver — As with the other Darkspeed drivers, the Max has a large carbon fiber sole panel to reduce weight. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Along with a large carbon fiber sole panel and an adjustable hosel system that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the stated loft by as many as 1.5 degrees, those are the things the Darkspeed Max, Darkspeed X and Darkspeed LS drivers have in common. Several things make them different and ideally suited for different golfers.

The weight saved by opting for a carbon fiber crown and sole gave Cobra designers a significant amount of discretionary weight. In the Darkspeed LS, that weight was repurposed as a 12-gram weight and two 3-gram weights. The weights can be affixed into any of the three ports, with two ports designed into the front of the sole and one in the back. When the 12-gram weight is in the front, it pushes the center of gravity forward, encouraging a lower launch and less spin. It also allows players to set up the club with a slight draw or fade bias. When the 12-gram weight is in the back, the spin rate increases, the launch angle goes up slightly and the Darkspeed LS becomes more stable.

Cobra is offering the Darkspeed LS in 8, 9 and 10.5 degrees of loft, with the 8-degree head designed for the fastest-swinging players.

The Darkspeed X – available in lofts of 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees – comes with two moveable weights, one 12 grams and the other 3 grams, with the forward port being more in the center of the sole. Cobra chose this location because several staff players added internal weight (called hot melt) to last season’s Aerjet to lower its spin rate. For the Darkspeed X, adding weight in that area is as simple as positioning the 12-gram screw there.

The Darkspeed X, which has a neutral weight bias, creates a slightly higher launch and more spin than the LS, but it delivers a high moment of inertia and added stability.

For golfers who battle a slice, Cobra is offering the Darkspeed Max, which will come in lofts of 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. This is the most forgiving Darkspeed offering and features a 12-gram and 3-gram weight like the X, but the Max’s two weight ports are in the back and the heel area. Putting the 12-gram weight in the heel encourages the face to close more easily on the downswing and square as it impacts the ball, resulting in less sidespin and a straighter shot. When the 3-gram weight is in the heel, the club still has a draw bias, but its moment of inertia and stability are elevated.

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Below are several images of the Cobra Darkspeed drivers: