Equipment
TXG: Does shaft weight and torque matter?
We’re excited to announce a new video partnership with Tour Experience Golf, a Custom Golf Club Fitting Studio in Toronto, Canada. Check out the announcement video here for more information.
In the first video, TXG isolates shaft weight and torque as the only variables in a club test to see how those factors influence delivery and ball flight. Check out the video below, and let us know in the comments what topics you’d like covered next time!
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...
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Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
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Ted Noel
Sep 14, 2018 at 9:09 am
The discussion of shaft weight is solid, but misses the point. Each player, as shown in the discussion, has a “felt weight” that matches his swing. That “felt weight” can be measured as dynamic moment of inertia. If the player hits at his best MOI, he will have the most consistent swing and best probability of center face strikes. If that MOI is measured from a point between the hands (typ about 4″ from the butt), the entire set of clubs can be matched to that MOI and the player will be more consistent throughout the set.
In the case of the player tested for the video, the middle weight shaft resulted in his best MOI match.
On a related subject, we need to see fitting discussions related to the real (non-professional) world. I need to better fit my 220-230 yard driver swing, not drool over a 300 yard bomber.
dat
Sep 13, 2018 at 11:00 am
It’s mostly snake oil. You need to be a tour caliber player to see any benefits.
pr
Sep 13, 2018 at 2:30 am
My girl says it’s always about the girth and heft
CrashTestDummy
Sep 13, 2018 at 12:17 am
It is great to test isolated variables to see the affects and how to fit properly. Weight definitely affects the golf swing in terms of tempo. However, I disagree that weight was the root cause the inconsistency with the test results. To me, it was the torque that caused most of the inconsistency in the dispersion of the groupings.
The guy on the right thinks that torque is only a “feel” variable and doesn’t think torque affects the dispersion because impact is too short of time frame for the club to twist to cause an off line shot. I totally disagree because twisting of shaft does not just occur at impact. Twisting of the shaft occurs throughout the golf swing. So, throughout the golf swing the clubhead will be twisting depending on the player’s golf swing. Therefore, the clubhead could be off a few degrees off at impact because the clubhead was twisting on the downswing.
Generally speaking, the higher the torque will cause a strong swinger to spray shots more than a tighter lower torque shaft. To me, there is generally a sweet spot for a torque for each player depending on how much player influences a shaft. Torque definitely affect dispersion.
stevet
Sep 13, 2018 at 1:46 pm
The clubhead not only twists the shaft, the shaft tip “droops” so the clubhead CG aligns with the shaft axis. This closes the driver club face for impact. During impact the clubhead kicks back for a few microseconds before it launches the ball. Shaft flex is complex.
CrashTestDummy
Sep 13, 2018 at 9:57 pm
Shaft flex is complex because there is so much variation in flex patterns. However, I would bet if you compared a same weight shaft to the one in the test (where he was spraying his shots) with another shaft that has around a point lower torque, the dispersion would be tighter. I have done that test several times over the years. I truly believe there is still a torque sweet spot for players that enables them to release the club more squarely through impact.
Gary
Sep 12, 2018 at 7:02 pm
These guys are the best fitters period. Watch there videos. Hi Im 66 and 85-90 mph and for my quick tempo swing i play a 330 gram driver, 64 stiff diamana r series midsize grip callaway fudion head 10.5 with 14 gram weight at 45 and st club championi tried everything head snd shaft and nothing beat it. Lighter is not faster for quick swing. For je weight anf torque first.
stevet
Sep 13, 2018 at 1:54 pm
330 gram driver must be total weight because driver heads are in the 200 gram weights. You are correct that how you load your shaft is more important than shaft weight.
Travis
Sep 12, 2018 at 2:42 pm
Not as much as a good or bad swing matters…
2putttom
Sep 12, 2018 at 1:27 pm
oh you betchya it matters
EE
Sep 12, 2018 at 1:06 pm
Do shaft weight and torque matter?
Yes they do
Wade
Sep 12, 2018 at 12:57 pm
Have you ever done any testing with multiple versions of the same shaft to see differences in manufacturing?
Judah Aderhold
Sep 12, 2018 at 11:59 am
Those cpm ratings are all just measured at one spot right? Cause couldn’t the shafts have different stiffnesses (cpm ratings) throughout the rest of the shaft even though they all are the same stiffness in that spot?
joe virdone
Sep 12, 2018 at 9:33 am
Good stuff. How do you look at fitting a slower swinger…I’m 74, play the Epic Star and am always looking for more distance. My carry distance is ~ 220 yds, relatively high ball flight. Swing speed in ~85-90 mph. Always thought r flex, lighter shaft and relatively high torque. Does this match with your studies? Thanks…/JV
Steve McIvor
Sep 12, 2018 at 6:58 pm
Hi Joe, it sounds like if you’re swinging it at 85-90 and getting 220 carry, you’re doing pretty well. Realistically, it will be pretty difficult to get much more out of it. Especially by playing about with shafts. At the end of the day, club head is the most important thing. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
stevet
Sep 13, 2018 at 1:50 pm
What is your driver face loft? 10º? 12º? 14º? You may get more distance with higher lofts to match your lower swing speed.