Golf drivers are the equipment that everyone gets excited about as there is nothing better than hitting a 300 yard driver down the middle of the fairway. Although, if you're new to golf then it may be worth skipping this bit for a while and start with a 3 wood which has more loft and is easier to hit straight.

Virtually all golf driver heads contain titanium. This is a very strong and lightweight metal material that is perfect for creating golf drivers. The driver head is probably the most important part of a driver, followed by the shaft and then the grip. Most drivers have graphite shafts as they are lighter than steel shafts and can help generate more club head speed.

If I'm choosing my first golf driver.

Golf Driver Budget

The first thing to think about is budget. Generally in golf the more you spend the better product you get and even if you are a beginner you will get benefits from stretching the budget as far as you can. Once you've established this, then what type of driver will suit?

Type of Driver Head

Firstly, it's probably wise to avoid highly technical products as for a first club we are looking at something with a large head and a large sweet spot on the face. As of 2006, there is a limit of 460cc (cubic centimetres) for the size of a driver. When you are new to golf you need all the help you can get so it would be wise to go for a 460cc driver head.

The head size promotes confidence at address (surely you can't miss the ball with this!) and allows the manufacturer to give you the maximum possible sweet spot on the driver face. This means when you hit the ball off-centre (and it will happen!) then you will limit the loss of distance and the ball will still fly a long way.

Type of Driver Shaft

We've established we want a large, forgiving driver head but what about the shaft? There is no doubt that driver shafts are important and each manufacturer, particularly the top ones, spend a lot of time ensuring that the shaft performs well and matches up with the driver head. It's true that different shafts can give different performance but for now it's probably best not to worry too much about the type of shaft and trust that the manufacturers have supplied a good product.

Type of Driver Loft & Shaft Flex

Okay once we have the model in mind there remains two essential variables to address, loft and shaft flex.

Driver Loft

The loft of a driver refers to the angle of the face to the vertical plane. Loft typically varies from 8 degrees up to 13 degrees. To the eye the differences in loft can appear minimal but it actually has quite a big effect on performance.

In general if you decrease the loft then you decrease the height of the ball flight. For each player the results will be different but there is an optimum loft for your game.

The considerations for loft are distance and accuracy.

On the upside, more loft on a golf club makes it easier to hit the ball straight but on the downside it will lead to loss of distance on the fairway. The reality is for a first driver more loft is better. The golf driver will be much easier to hit straight with more loft and the loss of distance won't really be a problem compared to being lost deep in the trees flanking the fairway.

So the recommendation is go for at least 10 degrees loft, 10.5 is very common, and there could be a good case for going right up to 13 degrees loft. As you get more proficient with the driver and your golf game improves then distance may become a consideration, but for now it's all about hitting it in the short stuff and not the long stuff.

For further advice please don't hesitate to contact our experts at Nevada Bobs customer.services@nevadabobs.co.uk

Driver Shaft Flex

That leaves us with driver shaft flex which is also important.

As we've established, your shaft will be a graphite one and it's available in a number of flexes.

The main flexes available are Lady, Regular, Stiff and Senior. In general for the average male golf player, it's best to start of with a regular flex. If you are a lady or a senior golf player then go for these respective flexes. The most flexible is lady, then senior, then regular, then stiff and so on. The stiffer the shaft then the more accurate the club will be and you will be able to get more control of your shots.

The big downside though is that stiffer shafts require you to generate more club head speed to fly the ball as far as you want to. When you start out in golf you don't generally have the club head speed you need so a more flexible shaft will allow you to hit the ball further. If, as you improve, you struggle to control the ball then this can be addressed by moving to a stiffer shaft.

Type of Driver Grip

One other point when selecting any golf club is grip. The size of the grip can have an effect if you have either particularly small or large hands. If you have small hands a thinner grip can have benefits and if you have large hands a thicker grip can have benefits. Most grips are of a standard thickness and will be fine for the majority of golfers. They can be easily changed later at your Nevada Bobs Golf shop if required.

Golf Driver Technical Terms

Centre of Gravity (COG): Rather than worry about what it is, what you need to know is that the position of the centre of gravity in a club head affects the flight of the golf ball. Manufacturers try to position the COG as far back from the club face and as low as possible to assist you it gaining height and a good trajectory. Better players may not want the COG placed too far back as they prefer a lower, more penetrating ball flight but for the rest of us its very helpful.

Moment of Inertia (MOI): This refers to level of twisting of an object around its axis. In golf terms, a high MOI in a driver means that the club head has a higher resistance to twisting and will therefore be more stable and forgiving.

Perimeter Weighting: This refers to placing weight on the perimeter of the club head and its effect is to increase the Moment of Inertia.

Carbon Graphite Crown: Some drivers use a mixture of titanium and carbon graphite. The lighter carbon graphite crown helps to lower the Centre of Gravity further.

Moveable Weight Technology: The use of moveable weights in drivers allows you to hit the ball with different trajectories. The three main settings are draw, neutral and fade. Most golfers would benefit from a draw setting as this will impact spin on the ball to offset a common fade or slice to the right for right handed golfers.

To learn more about technical aspects and the makeup of golf clubs and other golf equipment please refer to our online Nevada Bobs golf glossary.