Equipment
Cleveland CG Black and CG Black Custom drivers
Driver swings on the PGA Tour clock in at more than 110 mph. According to Cleveland Golf, most recreational golfers play a much slower game and shouldn’t be using the same drivers they see on TV.
Cleveland’s new CG Black (260 grams) and CG Black Custom (275 grams) drivers have lightweight designs that cater to golfers with average swing speeds, as well as those who need more distance and forgiveness.
The CG Black driver is for golfers with less 95 mph of speed, while the CG Black Custom driver — which has an adjustable hosel — is for those who swing between 85-and-105 mph.
CG Black Custom ($400)
The CG Black Custom has what Cleveland calls “Speed Innovation technology” that makes the club head lighter for faster swing speeds. It comes stock with a Mitsubishi Bassara E50 shaft (A, R and S-flexes in both left- and right-handed options), and comes with an adjustable hosel that provides loft options between 9 and 12 degrees.
Cleveland CG Black ($350)
Cleveland’s CG Black is designed with what’s called “low swing MOI,” which helps generate more club head speed, but “high club head MOI,” for face stability at impact on off-center hits. The driver isn’t adjustable, but it’s offered in various lofts — 9, 10.5 and 12.5 degrees.
If you need more speed and forgiveness and don’t care about adjustability, try out Cleveland’s CG Black. If you swing it a little faster and want to dial in your ball flight with an adjustable hosel, you’ll want to try the CG Black Custom.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
FTWPhil
Feb 9, 2015 at 2:50 pm
We haven’t sold much of their drivers since the Hi-Bore Monster XLS. IIRC they had a BOGO fairway deal though. Honestly the most recent horrible feeling driver by a major OEM. I think they suffer from changing horses midstream with the acquisition of Cleveland by Srixon. Seems like too much Asian market equipment.
And I don’t care if Rotex 2.0 is better, it looks horrible.
j.a.
Feb 8, 2015 at 6:14 am
Last Friday there was a demo day at my home club. I tried the new CG Black but it didn’t impressed me. I pulled my Launcher XL from my bag for comparison and it felt much better, same as my Classic XL which is my current gamer.
I agree with the comments that Cleveland Golf is such an underrated brand. They do great clubs and it’s sad to see that they are coming in 2015 with such a limited offer. In Australia, they are quite popular.
Steve
Feb 7, 2015 at 1:08 pm
It seems like very little effort from Cleveland on this driver
JH
Feb 6, 2015 at 5:45 pm
non-adjustable driver for $350? lol
graymulligan
Feb 8, 2015 at 10:33 am
that’s okay…give these 3 months, they’ll be $169 at DSG.
Seriously, Cleveland…are you even trying any more?
LorenRobertsFan
Feb 6, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Disappointing. looks like a Machspeed
dcorun
Feb 6, 2015 at 1:20 pm
I’ve played the Cleveland Classic Custom XL since late 2013. One of the best drivers they have ever sold. I traded in my Launcher 460 which was also a great driver. Cleveland has long been an underrated company which is a shame. I also play their 588 MT irons and they are also outstanding especially with the forged face. I’ll probably try out the CG Black against my Classic to see if it’s worth changing. I was fitted for the Classic and haven’t changed it so, I’ll just buy the non adjustable and save $50 if I switch.
Denis
Feb 6, 2015 at 10:51 am
Why was the previous driver a flop in your opinion? I’m using XL270 and may consider upgrading to this one, so would be curious to know.
Thank you.
NGG
Feb 4, 2015 at 4:52 pm
Been a big fan of Cleveland drivers up to and including the classic XL custom…this rehash of a previous flop just smells like desperation and is a little disappointing.