In a hurry? The best driver for 85 MPH swing speed is the TaylorMade M6 Driver. Keep reading below to learn why it’s our favorite driver for a slow swing speed.
A driver is a must-have item in every golfer set. The club is used for par 4 and 5 tee shots where you need to produce the furthest distance possible per swing. Golf drivers usually have the lowest loft and are characterized as being one of the longest clubs in a golfer set.
With a slow swing speed of about 85 MPH, you need a proper driver in order to give you the longest distance on the green.
If you want to know more about the best driver for slow swing speeds, you’re in for a treat! In today’s article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know, so you can pick the best driver for slow swing speed out there. Let’s hop in!
Top 5 Drivers for Slow Swing Speed Available on the Market
1. TaylorMade M6 Driver (460cc) – Best Overall Driver
Kicking off the list with one of the best overall options that you may come across out there! The TaylorMade M6 driver is quite a decent choice for anyone looking for a feature-packed and customizable yet reasonably priced driver.
It has a large 460 cc head that is just great at hitting the ball to maximum distance without sacrificing accuracy, making it a remarkable choice for beginners and average golfers who want to boost their skills without complications.
The core of the driver’s face is injected with tuning resin to optimize the swing speed and the driver comes in a variety of options to choose from, including a Fujikura Atmos shaft in two color options as well as left and right-handed varieties.
Moreover, you get to choose the optimal level of flex in the driver from regular, stiff, extra-stiff, and senior, which gives a lot of versatility to the driver and allows them to pick the suitable speed option.
Not only that but you also get to customize the model’s configuration from standard 10.5 to exceptional 9 and 12 degrees, allowing you to pick the ideal loft for your style.
Pros
- The design offers ample sweet spot for maximum forgiveness and accuracy on the shot
- Allows you to customize a variety of aspects of the driver for maximum compatibility with your style
- Comes at a reasonable price when compared to all the features it packs
Cons
- Doesn’t come with a protective cover
2. Pinemeadow PGX Offset Golf Driver – Best Budget Friendly Option
Next up we have the Pinemeadow PGX Offset Golf Driver. Pinemeadow PGX series of golf clubs are known for their affordability and consistency in performance.
This makes them an excellent choice for someone starting off their golfing career and hoping to have better control of the driver.
The offset driver’s style gives you a great balance for quite a decent price without forgetting about the design of the driver. Moreover, it’s specifically crafted with an anti-slice technology that gives you better control over them.
It also comes with an ample sweet spot of about 460 cc, which is as large as the one in the TaylorMade M6 driver, despite costing almost a fraction of its price, ensuring an excellent level of consistency with every hit.
We also love that the PGX driver is quite lightweight and easy to swing, allowing you to square the ball on impact and generate straight drives. While a driver is generally heavy and bulky, this one is only 200 gms (7 ounces) thanks to its graphite shaft
Although it might not be the most aesthetically pleasing golf driver out there, it still has a matte black finish with accents of green and white that gives it a sporty feel.
The driver is available with a loft angle of 10.5 degrees, which is the most common one out there and the most suitable one for a beginner.
Pros
- An ideal choice for buyers on a strict budget
- Perfect for beginners and offers a large sweet spot
- The offset design helps in controlling slices
Cons
- A bit basic looking
3. Cleveland Golf Launcher Turbo Driver – Excellent for Long Drives
If you want a golf driver that allows you to hit a long straight drive and balance other features for a reasonable price, the Cleveland Golf Launcher Turbo Driver should be on your shortlist!
It’s one of the nicest options on the market that is specifically designed for maximizing distance and maintaining a straight shot.
However, you should keep in mind that this one is a little tricky for first-time users and has a learning curve, so it’s not the most suitable choice for low handicap players.
It’s also a balanced choice for someone who finds themselves a fast swinger but is still a higher handicapper.
This one rocks the traditional Hi-Bore design that Cleveland drivers are popular for making. Despite that, the overall style of the driver is exceptionally good looking without affecting performance.
Another perk of the driver design is that it has a large sweet spot along with a low center of gravity and balanced weight distribution, which ensures a smooth straight line trajectory on shots.
As for customizability, the golf driver is available in both left and right handed designs with various loft angles and flex degrees. The graphite shaft ensures that the club remains lightweight, despite not being as light as the PGX Offset Driver.
Pros
- A great value for its price
- Provides long and straight drives
- Sleek design and balanced, customizable features
Cons
- Not suitable for low handicap golfers
4. Srixon Z 585 Driver – A Great Choice for Straight Trajectory
The Srixon Z 585 driver is another great option that utilizes advanced technology in its design to provide you with a strong yet lightweight driver that focuses on adding distance while maintaining a decent level of forgiveness.
There’s plenty of features that make the Srixon Z 585 stand out. However, nothing beats the Ti51AF cup face design that they boast, which is made of titanium.
The Ti51AF is premium-grade titanium that is quite lighter and stronger than other variants of the metal.
This interesting choice of material ensures a long trajectory when you swing the driver, even if you didn’t manage to quite center the ball on the face.
Another interesting choice of material is shown in the driver crown, which is made of carbon fiber. The glue in the hosel will also allow for a draw-biased shot shape, which significantly reduces slices.
The design of the carbon fiber crown doesn’t just make it lightweight but also shifts the center of mass to the perimeter of the club, which improves forgiveness on each hit.
Despite all the merits of this golf drive, it’s not a flawless option. One of the major drawbacks of the Srixon Z 585 Driver is that it lacks any form of adjustability in its settings, so you have to make sure that you choose the optimum settings because you won’t be able to change them.
Pros
- Uses an excellent grade of titanium for the clubface, which is stronger and lighter than others
- The lightweight carbon fiber crown enhances forgiveness with its design
- Comes with a Project X HZRDS shaft, which is a premium choice in terms of performance and aesthetics
Cons
- Offers limited adjustability settings
5. Wilson Staff Launch Pad Golf Driver – Optimum Control of the Driver
Wilson Staff Launch Pad is a premium grade golf driver that is specifically designed to improve the control of the driver for longer distances without increasing its speed too much, making it an ideal choice if you want to reach an 85 MPH swing.
It’s also designed with an improved response on launch angles, which is necessary for boosting the traveled distance further.
One of the most significant features of the golf drive is that it’s made of lightweight materials, weighing a total of 272 gms (9.5 ounces), making it easy to use if you want to improve your swing distance and keep them at a straight line for longer.
This featherlight design is achieved by designing the shaft of the golf drive from graphite while the body is essentially made of aluminum.
This also ensures a strong and sturdy construction that will help the golf drive to stand the test of time.
The golf drive comes in a variety of customization options, such as the standard 10.5 degrees in addition to 9 and 13 loft angles. Moreover, you can choose from a regular flex or optimize it to be a stiff or a senior one.
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to control design
- Highly durable and lasts for a long time
- Ensure consistent long distance shots
Cons
- Suitable only for slicers
What Kind of Drivers are Best for an 85 MPH Swing Speed?
Ideally, the majority of golfers achieve a swing speed that averages between 80 to 90 MPH.
In other words, achieving an 85 MPH swing speed doesn’t really require any special techniques or extra special drivers because it’s considered an average swing speed among most amateur golfers.
So, while choosing a good driver to reach an 85 MPH swing speed, you just need to focus on boosting your distance and maintain consistency. This is easily achieved by opting for a relatively large sweet spot as well as a high loft angle.
Other features, such as lightweight shafts that are made of graphite, can also help you make the most out of the swing because it’s easier to maintain consistency on the strike.
If your swing speed is naturally slower than 85 MPH, you can improve it by seeking lightweight drivers that have specific features to reduce drag as much as possible.
Also, you should consider using regular or senior flex golf drivers rather than ones with a stiff flex. The more flexible the shaft, the greater the swing speed, which will help you achieve a straight and consistent swing on every impact.
Things to Look for While Looking for the Best Driver for Slow Swing Speeds
As previously mentioned, there’s a certain set of features and criteria for choosing the ideal driver for your needs. It’s extremely essential that you keep these factors and features in mind before making up your mind on one.
Here’s a brief overview of what you need to know about each one of these aspects:
Materials Used
There’s a wide variety of materials used when it comes to golf drivers. The first and most critical aspect you need to consider while picking the material is how heavy it is.
As a rule of thumb, the best golf drivers within the 85 MPH category will be made of graphite because it’s relatively solid while staying extremely lightweight and easy to control.
There are plenty of other materials used for shafts, such as steel and aluminum. As materials go heavier, they become harder to control despite offering more swing speed.
This makes them exclusive for advanced and professional golfers with several years of experience and enough power to hit the ball at a speed exceeding 90 or even 100 MPH at the very least.
Shaft Design and Flex
The design of the shaft is one of the most important aspects you need to keep in mind while picking a driver. Ideally, you need to make sure that the shaft matches your speed and strength.
For example, if you’re a slow swinger than 75 MPH, you need a more flexible shaft, but if you swing the club faster than 95 MPH, a stiffer shaft is more suitable for you.
However, if your average swing speed is around 85 MPH or within that range, you also need balanced flexibility on the shaft, which is called regular by manufacturers.
There are also senior flex shafts, which are designed for those who find it extremely difficult to reach swing speeds faster than 70 MPH.
Avoid using stiffer shafts if your swing speed isn’t fast enough because this will only result in increasing the chance of slices as well as poor ball flights on impact.
Loft (Ball Height)
As a rule of thumb, if you have a slow swing speed, you’ll be often advised to make it up by improving the height or the loft at which the ball flies.
Not only that, but a high loft is also essential if you want your ball to overcome an obstacle rather than simply flying over the green.
The standard loft degree among beginner and average golfers is usually 10.5 degrees. However, if you want a more accurate and forgiving drive, you should look for a golf driver that is lofted a bit higher than that, such as 11 to 13 degrees.
Avoid loft degrees of 9 to 10 or lower because these golf drives are more suitable for advanced golfers that are capable of hitting swing speeds higher than 100 to 110 MPH
Adjustability
One of the things that makes a game of golf exceptional is that you have to adapt your shot to different situations.
This is where features like adaptability would really come in handy! A highly adjustable golf driver means that you’ll be able to adjust several aspects of the club, such as the hosel or the loft.
You may also adjust the weight distribution of the club in order to land a more forgiving off-center shot.
Forgiveness
If you typically hit the ball at a low swing speed, you probably suffer from miss-hits too, which happens when the clubhead doesn’t hit the ball within the sweet spot.
In that case, the area of the sweet spot should have a high forgiveness rate, which is typically when the clubhead is about 460 cc
Overall Weight of the Club
As previously mentioned, graphite is one of the most popular materials among golf players because they’re relatively lightweight, providing enough speed and accuracy to beginners who would easily hit the ball off-center.
The rest of the club should also be lightweight enough to maintain control of the driver. For a beginner or average golfer, the club shouldn’t weigh more than 350 gm or 12.3 ounces.
FAQs
What is the best golf ball for a swing speed of 85 MPH?
In addition to using the right golf driver, it’s extremely critical that you combine them with the right kind of golf ball if you want to achieve a swing speed of 85 MPH.
There are plenty of great golf balls that will help you get a decent distance and even a better feel with a swing speed of 85 MPH. One of the top examples here is the TaylorMade Tour Response golf ball.
This one is made of soft flexible urethane, which gives the ball great responsiveness upon impact.
Additionally, they have an increased groove interaction which greatly improves the ball’s aerodynamics in the air and generates more backspin on the green.
What is the best driver for a 90 MPH swing speed?
With the exceptional jailbreak technology and the X-Face VFT design, the Callaway Rogue Golf Driver is one of the best driver options if you have a 90 MPH swing speed.
This golf driver is specifically designed so that it lowers the center of gravity of the driver’s carbon composite crown, which provides a weighted shot that travels quite far.
Moreover, Callaway collaborated with Boeing and utilized their Speed Step Technology to enhance the aerodynamics of the club and increase the speed of the clubhead.
What golf ball should I use with an 80 MPH swing speed?
Although the previously mentioned TaylorMade Tour Response would do just fine with an 80 MPH golf ball too, Bridgestone’s E12 series golf balls should also be a great choice for such a swing speed.
The ball is designed with Delta Wing Dimple patterns that are engineered to reduce drag at 80 MPH, which helps in maximizing the distance traveled by the ball upon impact
What is the average swing speed of a senior golfer?
Low speed drivers are categorized based on the speed they’re capable of reaching in comparison with the average swing speed among adult golfers.
The average swing speed of a senior golfer is around 93.5 MPH. This means that anything lower than that is generally dubbed as a low speed driver.
For that reason, anyone who hits the ball at a speed of 70 to 90 MPH is considered a slow hitter, including the 85 MPD.
Despite that, speed isn’t the main quality when it comes to drivers. Instead, you need to focus on achieving a long shot with a high trajectory that travels as straight as possible.
Wrap Up
With that said, you now have all the information you need in order to make a decision and choose the best driver for 86 MPH swing speed out there!
Ideally, we recommend the TaylorMade M6 Driver (460cc) as the overall best option because it has a high forgiveness rate as well as allowing you to optimize and adjust almost all aspects of the club!
However, if you’re on a budget, you can opt for the more affordable Pinemeadow PGX Offset Golf Driver, which is also a brilliant option for beginners without breaking the bank!
