Group test: Women's drivers

There was a time when manufacturers stereotyped women golfers with the ‘pink and pretty’ label and produced nothing but tacky drivers for women that looked cheap in comparison to the men’s version.  ?The good news is that attitude is changing and nowadays most of the major manufacturers of women's golf clubs appreciate that they are a discerning player who wants a stylish product that performs perfectly for their needs. ?The 2010 range of women's drivers in shops for golfers - is some of the best we have ever seen. Golfmagic recruited a group of women golfers, ranging from a 36 handicap down to a three handicap to test a selection of the new drivers on the market. Here’s our verdict…

Nike SQ Machspeed

Price: £240 

Contact: www.nikegolf.eu

As the name suggests, Nike’s new SQ Machspeed driver is all about increasing your swing speed, but our testers were very much divided in opinion about this club. The higher handicappers loved it, commenting how straight their drives flew and how easy it was to get the ball airborne.

The mid and lower handicappers were less impressed finding the SQ’s bold square shape just a little too cumbersome behind the ball. The technology of speed is certainly to be commended (Nike’s STR8-FIT square technology, combined with a new ‘Total Swing Aerodynamic Design’ for increased ball speed) but we still reckon this driver performs best in the hands of the higher handicapper.

Wilson Staff Shockwave  

Price: £179.99

Contact: 01276 404 970; www.wilsonstaff.com

We love the bold simple styling of the Shockwave driver and the striking white and blue headcover that accompanies it. The performance particularly impressed our better players, who commented on the strong ball flight and great feel.

The lower handicappers also enjoyed the fact that the clubhead doesn’t sit too closed behind the ball, allowing them to manipulate shots left or right.  ?The secret behind the Shockwave’s design is weight reduction. Weight is saved by using a Super-Lite 50-gram shaft and by thinning the clubhead walls. A lighter club leads to greater swing speed and longer drives.

This, in combination with a 5-gram tungsten screw inserted deep into the head to keep the clubhead stable and help produce that effortless high ball flight, is a formula that seems to work. The only thing we didn’t like was the wave emblem in the centre of the clubhead for alignment that just looked a bit odd!