Best New Drivers 2021

TaylorMade has updated its popular SIM driver, while Titleist and Mizuno have also released new models for 2021. Cobra Golf’s RadSpeed drivers and Callaway’s Epic Speed range have landed too. These new driver models could take your golf game to a whole new level in 2021, so let’s take a closer look…

TaylorMade SIM 2, SIM 2 Max & SIM 2 Max D

TaylorMade‘s SIM drivers have proved extremely popular with both amateurs and professionals alike, with Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods adding them to their golf bags. Now, TaylorMade have released the SIM 2, a lower spinning driver which they say is even faster, more forgiving and more powerful. McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood are already using them.

The main change is a new forged ring construction in the club head, using precision milled lightweight and high strength aluminium for improved MOI and CG location. This provides more stability, resulting in more forgiveness. Then, a full carbon crown and sole redistributes weight onto the inertia generator at the back of the head, which provides more club head speed, again resulting in more forgiveness. Twist Face improves ball speed, while the flexible Speed Pocket design improves low face strikes. Adjustable Sleeve Technology provides up to +/-2 degree loft change and up to +/-20 yards of draw-fade bias.

The SIM2 is a lower spinning, lower launching driver and is available in 8, 9 and 10.5 degrees of loft. The SIM2 Max features a 24 gram weight compared to the SIM’s 18 gram to increase MOI and forgiveness. The face is also larger than the SIM2 with a slightly higher launch with a little more spin. Available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. The SIM2 Max D has a draw-biased head with a higher MOI and more weight in the heel than the Sim Max D to increase a left biased flight. Available in 9, 10 and 12 degrees.

Titleist TSi1, TSi2, TSi3 & TSi 4

For the Titleist Speed range, the manufacturer’s mission was to get greater speed from every detail of the driver. A new Speed Chassis includes their thinnest titanium crown yet, allowing weight to be shifted lower and deeper. A new streamlined shape helps to increase speed for more distance, and a thinner, faster face design delivers faster ball speeds and increased forgiveness. Then, optimized weight distribution creates what they say is their lowest CG ever for higher launch and lower spin.

The TS1 offers maximum launch and distance for moderate swing speeds for players seeking an ultra-lightweight driver. Available in 9.5 (RH), 10.5 (RH/LH) and 12.5 (RH) degrees of loft. The TS2 provides maximum forgiveness across the face and is for the player who wants explosive speed along with that forgiveness. Available in 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees. The TS3 offers speed-tuned performance for the player who wants tuned distance, adjustable CG and dynamic forgiveness. Available in 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees. The TS4 aggressively reduces spin, perfect for the high-spin player. Available in 8.5 (RH), 9.5 (RH/LH) and 10.5 (RH) degrees.

Mizuno ST-X & ST-Z

Following on from the ST190 and ST200, the new ST-X and ST-Z drivers further deploy Mizuno’s SAT2041 Beta Ti face and complex carbon construction to deliver both powerful ball speeds and a more satisfying sensation and feel at impact. This face is the technology behind the greater speed on offer with these new drivers. It’s a steel product developed as a lightweight, high-strength material for the automotive industry, with a fine grain structure resistant to fatigue which allowed Mizuno to produce more ball speed and a bigger sweet-spot.

The ST-Z driver has been designed to be an ultra-stable, low spinning distance driver. It has a balanced toe/heel carbon composite construction with deep central back weight for a spin efficient, neutral ball flight. The ST-X features a draw-biased carbon composite construction aided by a heel-side sole weight. The ST-X also has a more compact profile, a slightly deeper back portion and more upright visual angle. Both clubs have been engineered to produce a more dense feedback through impact and a more muted, powerful tone.

Cobra King RadSpeed, RadSpeed XB & RadSpeed XD

Cobra Golf‘s RadSpeed range of drivers aims to improve every golfer’s performance due to new weighting technology that provides greater distance and forgiveness. The name RadSpeed was inspired by a radial weighting idea which originated from a formula in engineering called the ‘radius of gyration’. Basically, Cobra have increased the distance between the front and the back weights in the club head, creating an improved combination of faster ball speed, lower spin and more forgiveness. They have also created a new T-Bar speed chassis that is 7g lighter than the predecessor Speedzone driver as well as a carbon fibre wrap crown that is 6g lighter than the Speedzone crown.

These new drivers have retained the thin CNC milled infinity face for maximum ball speed and better curvatures for forgiveness on off-centre hits. They also come with Cobra Connect Powered by Arccos as standard, the shot-tracking system that saves golfers an average of four shots, and Cobra’s MyFly adjustable hosel system, allowing players to increase or decrease loft by up to 1.5 degrees and use three draw settings.

The RadSpeed is for pure distance, and has a compact, traditional 460cc head. Available in 9 and 10.5 degrees of loft, Cobra says it delivers the fastest ball speeds, lowest spin rates and most workability out of the three new models.

The RadSpeed XB, available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees, provides forgiveness, with Cobra claiming its the most forgiving driver on the market in 2021. It also has a slightly higher launch and a little extra backspin compared to the RadSpeed.

The RadSpeed XD is designed to eliminate slice with weight split between three areas to maximise stability. Available in 10.5 and 12 degrees, the 10g of weight located in the heel in particular helps reduce side spin.

Callaway Epic Speed, Epic Max & Epic Max LS

With their new range of Epic drivers, Callaway says they are not just making drivers, they are “framing the future of speed” by combining their existing Artificial Intelligence and Jailbreak technologies to form a new AI-designed Jailbreak Speed Frame to increase distance for all golfers. Firstly, their AI supercomputer tests different design simulations in order to find the setup that best provides maximum ball speed and forgiveness. This produces the Flash Face SS21, which featured in last year’s Mavrik range. And previous Jailbreak architectures stiffened the body in the vertical direction, but in the new clubs, by applying AI, a new structure has been designed to enhance horizontal and torsional stability to promote an increase in ball speeds across the face.

The new drivers also boast a new Cyclone Aero shape to promote less drag, with the Triaxial carbon crown covering a larger portion of the crown and the toe. This makes the head much lighter than a titanium head which allows Callaway to distribute weight elsewhere in the head to improve MOI. There’s also the Optifit hosel, which allows you to change lofts, lie angle and shot shape to suit your own swing.

The Epic Speed replaces the Epic Flash and will be suited to a wide range of players. It has a medium spin rate which is less fade-biased due to more weight being redistributed towards the heel. A Triaxial toe patch also helps to add a bit of draw bias. Available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees of loft.

The Epic Max Driver is the most forgiving Epic driver with a deeper CG, more draw bias and a higher MOI for straighter drives. The adjustable perimeter weighting allows the 17g weight to be moved across the head to promote the desired ball flight. This driver will help with those sliced shots and is available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees.

The Epic Max LS replaces the Epic Flash Sub Zero and is targeted at mid to low handicap golfers who want lower spin combined with workability. It’s Callaway’s most fade-biased driver with adjustable perimeter weighting that can change ball flight by up to 13 yards. Available in 9 and 10 degrees.