Equipment
Driver off the deck: Leave this shot to the pros!
A driver is singularly designed to do one thing really well: hit the golf ball off a tee as far a possible. Lucky for us golfers, thanks to its size and forgiveness, a driver is one of the easiest clubs to hit, too, except in one scenario—off the deck.
When it comes to attempting heroic shots in golf, I’ve covered how “a lob wedge is a dangerous club for amateur golfers“ and after the open-face lob wedge, the next most difficult shot to execute is a driver off the deck. It requires a great lie, unique dynamics, and a lot of speed, and for that reason its best to leave it up to the pros.
The why
Like a lot of things in golf, the main reason hitting a driver off the deck has become so hard is the same reason so many other shots have become easier; modern-day equipment. Drivers today are all over 440cc’s and multilayer golfballs are not designed to spin when hit at high speeds and with little loft – perfect for hitting bombs off the tee but not from the short grass.
It wasn’t always this way. In the era of persimmon and transitioning into metal woods when a 300cc driver was considered enormous, hitting a driver off the deck, even for average golfers, was easier because the smaller heads with more loft allowed for more mass lower relative to the hight of the face.
When you add higher-launching, higher-spinning balata golf balls into the equation, it’s easy to see why the shot seemed much more attainable. Even the most spinny modern golf balls come nowhere close to creating the same spin numbers as wound balata golf balls off of metal woods.
The how
If the shot is to be attempted, the preferred shape is a low fade hit with an open face relative to the golfer’s swing path, this helps add loft to generally lower lofted clubs, and by the nature of the contact and the shot, it also helps add spin.
Not only that, but when you consider most drivers have 45-inch shafts compared to 43 inches for a 3-wood, trying to hit it off the deck makes the club play effectively more upright and if the heel catches even just a fraction before contact, the face will close and deloft which could take the driver loft down to the loft of your putter—not a good thing.
This low heel cut is exactly the shot we saw Tiger Woods hit this past weekend at the Northern Trust when attempting to get to a par 5 in two.
Now that we’ve explained why a fade is the “easier” shot to hit off the deck, the shot below from eventual Women British Open Champion Sophia Popov is even more outrageously impressive.
They can’t all be winners though
So after seeing Tiger and Sophia make hitting driver off the deck look pretty easy, let us swing the success pendulum the other direction to watch multi-time world number one Justin Thomas toe-slice an attempted driver off the deck at the Valspar Championship. He did go on to make a birdie but only because the ball got a very friendly bounce off a spectator—sorry but there is no way I’m taking that shot off the rib cage for the chance to take home a signed glove.
To see more great and less-than-great shots, the European Tour added to its great “Challenge” series by getting some of its professionals to participate in trying to hit the green and get a ball within 8 feet on the 18th hole at Wentworth from 300 yards!
The winning shot is quite spectacular, but the real gold is in some of the even more spectacular misses.
Side by side – The real numbers
Last but not least, if you are curious to see the real side by side numbers in a controlled environment, our friends at TXG did a great comparison conducted at tour-level speeds.
The results speak for themselves—probably best to leave this shot up to the pros.
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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Rich
Aug 29, 2020 at 6:38 pm
Several years ago I pulled my 3-wood out of the bag, replacing it with the TM “Mini-driver.” I’ve updated that selection with TM’s latest version of it.
It’s like hitting a 2-wood. Good enough off the turf for those few times it’s necessary, and great as an alternative to the driver when faced with a short or narrow tee shot. I’ve got the loft dialed up to 13 degrees, and it’s the same length as a modern 3-wood (or, the same length as an old-school driver). I see no reason to go back to a traditional 3-wood, nor do I ever have the need to hit the driver off the deck.
T$
Aug 28, 2020 at 3:34 pm
I can’t even hit 3 wood off the deck. I’m proud of myself when I can with a 5 wood.
the Masqued Wedger
Aug 27, 2020 at 11:01 pm
When it comes to conversations like this – or the lob wedge – the authors seem to overlook one very obvious fact.
The majority of golfers are not playing golf for a living – or even competetively. They’re playing it as a hobby, for enjoyment.
If a hobbyist aspires to be hitting driver off the fairway, or lob wedge flop shots, these are not “dangerous shots”… that implies their score counts for anything, which it does not. But pulling this off, even on rare occasion, might be the thrill they seek.
The same applies to playing muscleback irons, or any number of “tour” type clubs.
It is a certain mindset that dictates the only enjoyment in golf being shooting the lowest score possible. Perhaps this is related to the idea that the only point of work is to make as much money as possible? Either way, there are other facets of the game that many people enjoy – such as taking on a challenge that is beyond their reach. It might be argued that is an much in the spirit of the game as “low score wins”.
Paul
Aug 27, 2020 at 8:55 pm
Not to mention you’re just begging for a broken driver shaft. Most stock driver shafts are in the 50g range with some 40g and lower, they’re not designed to withstand impact with the turf.
Greg V
Aug 27, 2020 at 7:30 pm
Best shot I ever saw in my life was Tom Watson hitting driver off the deck for his second shot on the 8th hole at Augusta National, final round, on his way to winning the Masters in 1981.
When I got up around the green, I was talking to a patron who said that Tom was the only player that he saw hit the green in two, all day.