3 of the best used drivers under £250
Three game-improvement drivers that swing well above their used price tag, and the player each one suits best.
The new-driver release cycle is like most things these days, phones, TVs, laptops. Every January a manufacturer announces a face that's ten percent more efficient and the media dutifully writes 1,500 words about it. The honest version: driver tech advancement has slowed down for a few years now. The 2021–2022 generation already gets ~99% of the ball speed of the latest releases, and at amateur swing speeds you'd struggle to tell them apart on a real golf shot.
What has changed is the price. A newly released driver is £500+. The same head, two or three years older and lightly used, sits comfortably under £250, and that where the value is. You can spend the rest on lessons, balls, or actually playing and reap much better improvements.
We've picked three of the best used drivers under £250 that are reliably in stock at this price point across UK pre-owned retailers.
High launch, great distance with slow swings, very forgiving on the heel and toe. This one is easy to launch, and breathes confidence with its forgiveness, for this reason it's our caddycompare pick of the three..
Buy this one if your bad shots scare you. Huge back weighting keeps mishits in play, and a slidable weight tunes a slice out.
Sits between the other two. Better adjustability than the Ping, nicer feel than the SIM2, a touch faster on centred strikes.
Why these three
TaylorMade SIM 2 Max - high launch and easy to hit If you struggle to get the ball in the air or your driver speed sits below 95 mph, this is the one to look at. Mid-to-high launch by design, forgiving across the face thanks to the Inertia Generator weighting at the back, and a face built specifically to soften the distance penalty on off center strikes that golf newbies like me make regularly. Owners describe it as "easy" - which doesn't sound great until you remember the alternative is "hard".
Callaway Rogue ST Max - the all-rounder. More adjustable than the Ping, more polished-sounding than the SIM 2 Max, and with the Tungsten Speed Cartridge low and forward it can get you impressive ball speeds when struck well. If you're a mid-handicapper who hits the ball reasonably well most of the time but wants insurance on the dodgy ones, this is the a decent pick, and often comes in cheaper than the other two.
Worth knowing
A driver fitting matters more than the model on the head. If you're saving £200–£300 on a used driver versus the new equivalent, spend £80 of that on a fitting, even a 30-minute session at your local store will get you on the right loft and shaft, and it's the cheapest game improvement you're likely to make. Easier said than done though, I know that, the allure of a new club can make the technical side seem boring. Want to see what each of the clubs mentioned is going for at the moment? Browse the driver shop, or run your numbers in our strike efficiency calculator to see whether your current driver is actually the holding you back.