With the 2017 golf season just around the corner, we have looked at what's new on the market for the coming season. Everyone is looking to be longer and straighter off the tee so here are some of the latest releases in the driver market for the 2017 season.

Callaway Big Bertha EPIC & EPIC Sub Zero

The new Callaway GBB EPIC and GBB EPIC SUB ZERO drivers represent a seismic shift in the way the head and face behave to increase power, which has been pushed by the revolutionary Jailbreak Technology and the innovative Exo-Cage/triaxial carbon construction.

Jailbreak Technology has delivered greater ball speed and distance with the introduction of two titanium bars just behind the sweetspot. The key structural components of a metalwood – crown, sole and face – each bend, flex and rebound and because they are connected, they influence each other’s dynamics. Jailbreak Technology helps increase the speed across a larger area of the face.

The Titanium Exo-Cage, combined with crown sole panels made of triaxial carbon, make the crown more lightweight. In fact, the crown on these Callaway drivers is the lightest on the market. The adjustable Perimeter Weighting Technology increases shot shape control and the latest Speed Step Technology improves airflow to encourage more swing speed and distance. The OptiFit hosel allows for further fine-tuning in the fitting process.

The SUB ZERO model has a slightly smaller profile and would suit the better player. The SUB ZERO also doesn’t feature the sliding weights on the back, but instead features two fixed weights to increase MOI. On top of this it also produces less spin and therefore a slightly lower ball flight. Both drivers offer four high-performance stock shaft options.

Golfshake View (Owen Davies):

Watch Owen's Callaway GBB EPIC Review here >>>

Specification

Loft: 9.5°, 10.5° and 13.5° HT

Shaft: Diamana M+ Green
Project X HZRDUS
Fujikura Pro Green
Aldila Rogue Max (40g, 50g, 60g, 70g and 80g)

Price: £469.00

Learn more on Golfshake here, or visit the Callaway website by clicking here. 

Callaway Big Bertha Fusion

The Big Bertha Fusion driver offers a material change in forgiveness and distance, which is led by their revolutionary titanium Exo-Cage and ultra-light triaxial carbon crown. The new, innovative shape offers industry-leading aerodynamics.

This driver offers maxiumum forgiveness by pairing an aerospace-grade titanium Exo-Cage with an ultra-light triaxial carbon crown and sole. The fusion of these allowed Callaway engineers to positions substantially more weight in the perimeter and far back from the face. This results in a dramatically higher level of forgiveness. The triaxial carbon Exo-Cage also gave Callaway the ability to create an appealing new shape that combines fast aerodynamics with high MOI for greater head speeds and forgiveness, as well as a more satisfying sound off the face.

Golfshake View: coming soon

Specification

Loft: 9°, 10.5° and GT13.5°

Shaft:  45g/55g Recoil ES 440/450 (R, S and XS flex) or
            65g Diamana Red Board (R, S and XS flex)

Grip: Golf Pride Decade Platinum

RRP: £369.00

Find out more about the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion driver on Golfshake here or visit the manufacturers website here.

Cobra KING F7

The new KING F7 driver is Cobra’s latest addition to its driver range and features a larger face and address profile that provides more distance, forgiveness and speed across the face. There is an adjustable weight system, with three centre of gravity settings, to provide golfers with optimum distance and trajectory for a variety of conditions. The KING F7 is also the first to utilise the COBRA CONNECT Powered by Arccos system, which is embedded in the grip, to allow golfers to automatically track the distance and accuracy of every drive.

The driver also features a Multi-Material TeXtreme Crown. The TeXtreme Carbon Fibre yields a 20% lighter crown allowing more weight to be redistributed lower and deeper into the club head for a lower CG and extreme distance and forgiveness. The KING F7 also features a re-engineered Forged 8-11 Titanium E9 Face, which is a variable thickness structure, designed to be lighter, thinner and hotter. A larger Sweet Zone across the face results in increased ball speed and distance for those off centre hits. Finally, the KING F7 features Cobra’s MyFly8 technology coupled with SmartPad, making it even easier for you to dial-in distances.

Golfshake View (Owen Davies):

The new COBRA KING F7 is essentially an upgrade on the F6. The F6 won a lot of fans in 2016 with some major tech upgrades and it is good to see that COBRA have not tinkered too much with a winning formula. The evolution of the carbon crown has definitely helped them make a more stable, more forgiving driver (the 20% weight that they saved has been deployed towards this cause). 

The use of technology in the form of a built in Arccos unit to deliver data and feedback on your drives is interesting and will certainly appeal to many! Time will tell if this sort of technology catches on, but I do think it will help you and your driving, but only if you record and act on the data on an ongoing basis. 

Specification

Loft: 9.0°, 9.5°, 9.5°D, 10.5°, 10.5°D, 11.5°, 11.5°D and 12.0°

Shaft: Fujikura Pro 60 (R, S and X flex)

Grip: Lamkin REL-Black

RRP: £279

Learn more via Golfshake here or visit the manufacturer's website here.

Mizuno JPX900

After being challenged to produce a driver that performed like the JPX850 on centre-strikes but without the drop off in ball speeds on miss-hits, the engineers at Mizuno came up with a very different driver in the JPX900. Mizuo tour pros also asked for a driver that looked easier to hit, so in return the Mizuno engineers desgined a driver with a longer, wider and shallower profile than previous tour models. 

Mizuno's new driver features a newly configured, multi-thickness face, which is strengthened in key areas to significantly boost ball speeds. Adjustability scales new heights courtesy of two 8g weights and three Fast Tracks in the sole. When you add to the that the Quick Switch hosel, you get a club that allows you to change loft or shaft in an instant, plus a face angle prop in the sole allows the club to be optimised for a wide array of swing types. 

Golfshake View

Coming Soon

Specification

Loft: 7.5° - 11.5° 

Shaft: Fujikura Speeder Evolution 2 (R, S and X flex)

Grip: M-31 360 Mizuno

RRP: £399.00

Find out more about the JPX900 on the Golfshake website here, or visit the Mizuno website.

Srixon Z 565 & 765

The new Srixon Z 565 driver delivers the most advanced innovation and best performance from any Srixon driver ever, by promoting higher launch with more forgiveness and a slight draw bias.

The cutting-edge design encompasses three ingenious design features to create ‘The Ripple Effect’ technology. The new power wave sole features an advanced multi-step design that allows the entire sole to flex, which enhances COR, especially on low impacts. The new stretch flex cup face allowed the face to be extended around the crown and sole to create a larger sweet spot. Finally, about 4 grams have been removed from the crown and repositioned to enhance clubhead MOI and lower the centre of gravity.

The Srixon Z 765 driver is perfect for those with high swing speeds as it delivers a powerful and accurate launch, thanks to the new ‘Ripple Effect’ technology. The Z 765 driver is slightly smaller in design than the 565 driver and features a 445 CC head with a similar footprint to the previous Z 745 model, but with an increased toe area.

The new power wave sole features an advanced multi-step design that allows the entire sole to flex, which enhances COR, especially on low impacts. The new stretch flex cup face allowed the face to be extended around the crown and sole to create a larger sweet spot. Finally, about 4 grams have been removed from the crown and repositioned to enhance clubhead MOI and lower the centre of gravity.

Golfshake View (Owen Davies): 

This is one mighty fine looking driver and it packs a punch to go with it's good looks. Srixon have unleashed a range of new tech for 2017 and it appears to have all come together in the Z565 and Z765. As with many manufacturers they have been working on releasing weight from the crown to reposition elsewhere on the head and increase MOI. It is the best Srixon driver I have hit to date. 

Watch Owen's Srixon 765 Driver Review  >>>

Specification

Loft: 9.5° and 10.5°

Shaft: 565 -  Miyazaki Kaula Mizu 5 (R and S flex) 765 - Miyazaki Kaula Mizu 6 (R and S (custom only from 2017) flex)

Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360

Price: £325.00

To find out more about the Srixon Z 565 driver on Golfshake click here, or visit the Srixon website here.

TaylorMade M1

In order to optimise launch conditions, offer more personalisation and increase forgiveness, the engineers at TaylorMade have utilised a new, lower density Titanium alloy called 9-1-1 and added a carbon toe panel that accounts for a total of 43% more Carbon composite. The M1 maintains its iconic two-tone crown and incorporates a proprietary 6-layers Carbon composite panel that is precision fit to the skeletal titanium body using an FF2FF process. 

The new Carbon composite crown saves more weight as the composite is 10% thinner, the bonding ledge is 18% shorter and the adhesive is half the thickness than the previous M1. This approach has also been taken in the composite sole panel. When you combine this with the 3g of savings from the 9-1-1 lower density titanium, it results in a total of 11g of savings compared to a conventional titanium head. 

From this, the engineers at TaylorMade have been able to design a new, more aerodynamic T-Track system that houses 27g of moveable weight. The CG is also lower than that of its predecessor, which results in a CG projection that is even closer to the centre of the face for a hotter trajectory and higher ball speed on all ares of the face. The M1 is available in a 4600cc and 440cc model. 

Golfshake View  

Coming Soon

Specification 

Loft: 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5°, 12° (460 only)

Shaft: Fujikura XLR8 Pro 56, MRC Kuro Kage Silver Dual Core TiNi 60 or Project X HZRDUS Yellow 65 (R, S and X flex)

Grip: Lamkin UTX

Price: £479.00

The M1 will be available on 27 January. Learn more at Golfshake here, or visit the TaylorMade website here.

TaylorMade M2

The new TaylorMade M2 successfully raises the bar in design and engineering, as TaylorMade engineers have designed a driver that successfully achieves both distance and forgiveness. This is done by utilising a new multi-material construction and introducing an advanced shaping by way of a breakthrough design technique called "Geocoustic." On top of this, the new M2 also features a newly-designed Speed Pocket that is three times more flexible than its predecessor.

The Geocoustic feature combines geometry and acoustical engineering to unlock more forgiveness and offer a better sound. This is new technology is the sunken sole portion of the driver, which utilises an ultra-light, thick-thin 9-1-1 Titanium that enabled engineers to free up volume, while not raising the centre of gravity. This also allowed for a larger club head. 

On top of the standard model, TaylorMade is also offering a higher-launching, more draw-biased model, the M2 D-Type, which represents a draw bias. 

Golfshake View

Coming Soon

Specification

Loft: 9.5°, 10.5° and 12°

Shaft: Fujikura Pro XLR8 56 (high launch) (A, R and S flex)

Grip: Dual-texture 360 performance 

Price: £369.00

The TaylorMade M2 will be available on 27 January. Learn more at Golfshake here or visit the TaylorMade website here.  

Titleist 917 – D2 and D3

The new 917 driver from Titleist is promising to create ‘the standard for complete performance,’ with a host of technology improvements and a brand new fitting innovation.

The upgraded SureFit CG allows the CG to be moved from a back, heel position to a forward, toe position through interchangeable weights to help optimise spin and launch conditions for every player. The Active Recoil Channel 2.0 offers refined thickness through the channel to reduce spin and increase speeds. The Radial Speed Face 2.0 is enhanced with a thinner perimeter face width to promote a greater off-centre ball speed for more overall distance across the face. Finally, the SureFit Hosel allows for 16 independent loft and lie settings to create a more consistent and optimised ball flight through precision fitting.

Both drivers feature the same technology however, the D2 promotes distance and forgiveness through its large 460cc full pear profile, whereas the D3 provides distance and workability through its traditional, tour-inspired 440c pear profile.

Golfshake View (Owen Davies):

BOOM! Titleist have nailed it with this one. For me it shows a big improvement on the 915. While it features much of the same technology as the 915, the radial face works way better and I found a real increase in ball speed with the 917.

The addition of the the 'Throw' weight is a big plus and will allow Titleist to offer it's most advanced fitting service to date meaning you can really dial in the numbers and maximise performance.

Another area that has seen improvement is the sound. The 915 was not great in this department, the 917 is! 

Watch Owen's Titleist 917 Review here >>>

Specification

Loft: 917D2 – 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5° and 12°
         917D3 – 8.5°, 9.5° and 10.5°

Shaft: Aldila Rogue Max 65 (S and XS flex)
           Fujikura Speeder Pro TS 74 (S and XS flex)
           Mitsubishi Diamana Ltd. Blue 60 (R and S flex)
           Mitsubishi Diamana Ltd. Red 50 (A, R and S flex) (D2 only)
           Mitsubishi Diamana Ltd. Red 40 (L flex) (D2 only)

Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360

Price: £450.00

Read our full review here on Golfshake, or visit the Titleist website here for more details.

Wilson Staff FG Tour F5

With the Wilson Staff FG Tour F5 driver, Green Means Go!. The Green Means Go! Fast fit technology makes the F5 one of the fastest, easiest and lightest adjustable hosel systems on the driver market. The driver features a six-way adjustable hosel that allows golfers to find their ideal launch angle, ball speed and spin rate. 

On top of this, there is also an interchangeable weight placed low and close to the face that decreases spin while the Reactive Face Technology maximises response and performance across the entire face. 

Golfshake View

Coming Soon 

Specification 

Loft: 9° and 10.5° 

Shaft: Mitsibushi Rayon Fubuki Z 50 (R, S and X flex)  

Grip: Lamkin Crossline Black 

Price: £299.00 

Learn more at Golfshake.com here, or visit the Wilson Staff website here. 

Wilson Staff Triton 

On the successful Driver vs Driver TV show, the Wilson Staff Triton came out as the winning design. This driver is in fact the world's most adjustable multi-piece driver and incorporates two interchangeable sole plates and five adjustable weights that allows golfers to have the perfect set-up every round. 

The 1:1 Visible Swing Active Technology alignment aid is visible at both pre-shot and impact, and will help improve ball striking distance and consistency. The Triton also features the Green Means Go! Fast Fit technology and allows the hosel to be adjusted with six settings available for ultimate ball control. 

Golfshake View 

Coming Soon 

Specification 

Loft: 9°, 10.5° and 12° 

Shaft: Aldila Rogue (A, R, S and X flex)    

Grip: Lamkin Crossline Black  

Price: £349.99

To find out more, visit the Wilson Staff website here.