I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
There has never been a better time to be a golf club shopper.
That, friends, is a hill I’ll die on.
We golfers have more outstanding options at more price points today than in the entire history of the sport. You want crazy ultra-premium? Give the people at Honma a call and ask about their Five Star Beres line. You want great performance at a bargain price? The good folks at MacGregor, Ram, Takomo, Ballistic and others would like a word.
If budget golf is the name of your game, 2025 has been a banner year for drivers under the $400 threshold. It used to be that if you wanted a low-cost, direct-to-consumer driver, you’d be swapping out at least one performance category (distance) and possibly another (forgiveness) to get that price.
That script, dear friends, has been flipped.
Mostly.
I haven’t tried all of the sub-$400 drivers this year, so we can’t really call this a definitive listing. But I have gamed each one of these (plus a few others) for stretches this season. Therefore, even though this is, admittedly, one man’s opinion, the conclusions are based on experience.
Let’s get to it.
#5: Takomo Ignis D1 – It’s En Fuego
At $319, the Takomo Ignis D1 is a legit driver. The sound is on the loud side, and it loses points on distance, but it goes straight.
Takomo gives you tech you might not expect at $319. The 460cc Ignis D1 features a carbon fiber crown, an adjustable hosel and moveable weights to fine-tune ball flight. You can choose between a nine- or a 10.5-degree head, and you can get any shaft you want, as long as it’s either a Ventus Blue or Ventus Red.
In the big picture, the headcover shouldn’t matter, but the Ignis D1 does come with a nice one.
To be completely transparent, this spot was really a toss-up between this Takomo and the Tour Edge Exotics e725. I struggled with this one, feeling like Portnoy ruminating whether to give a pizza a 7.9 or an 8.1. It’s that close. The Tour Edge is longer and more forgiving, but in the end, the Takomo, at $80 less, is long and forgiving enough.
Pros: We love the price and it’s a pretty accurate driver. It’s reasonably forgiving as well. The headcover is sweet and the driver itself is good-looking. We love the name, as well, as Ignis is Latin for fire.
Cons: The Ignis is the shortest of the Top 5 (at least in my hands) and the sound is on the loud side. Forgiveness is OK but there are more forgiving options coming up. Takomo isn’t offering shaft options at this time and the Ignis is available only for righties.
#4: Ben Hogan PTx MAX – A modern-day Adams
Adams deserved way more love than it got back in the day. From the early 2000s until it sold out to TaylorMade, Adams was the king of hybrids. It also made some grossly underappreciated drivers.
Former Adams club designer Gavin Wallin now is the chief designer for Simon Millington’s Hogan-MacGregor-Ram-Zebra-Teardrop brands. Wallin’s new Hogan PTx MAX and PTx LST carry a distinctive Adams flair.
The PTx MAX cracks this list for two very good reasons. First, it’s another member of the 10K MOI club and it’s everything a 10K driver should be. Second, it’s noticeably longer than the Takomo with much better sound and feel.
And it’s $379.99.
Pros: Squeezes every bit of forgiveness out of its 10K worth of MOI. It looks great with its carbon fiber crown and the drop-dead gorgeous Hogan sunburst logo. Long enough to get the job done. Excellent no-upcharge and premium shaft selection
Cons: Not the longest on this list and the headcover is meh. No moveable or swappable weights.
#3: Sub 70 859/859 Pro – Patented punch
Sub 70 owner Jason Hilland co-designed the 859 driver series with golf R&D legend Bob Renegar. While not a household name, Renegar’s resume includes stints as R&D director for Arnold Palmer and the original Ben Hogan company. He later founded the Solus and the Renegar wedge companies, developing something we take for granted today: a high-bounce wedge with a low leading edge.
Together, Hilland and Renegar created Sub 70’s first patented technology, called Axis of Rotation, or ART. It’s pretty technical, but the simple version says the clubhead rotates not as a free body but on the axis of the shaft’s centerline. Renegar maximized MOI by distributing weight low-heel and high-toe and then redesigned the face curvature to match. It’s essentially a new spin on bulge and roll.
The result is a stupid-accurate driver that, for $399, doesn’t skimp on distance.
Note: I included the 450cc 859 Pro model, but I did not game it this year. It received very high marks in MyGolfSpy testing, however.
Pros: Long, straight and forgiving, with exceptional performance on off-center strikes (especially toward the heel). Stock Denali Red shaft is the bomb and there’s an extensive list of available upgrades. Available in both right- and left-handed models. Sub 70 customer service is legendary.
Cons: Barely meets the under-$400 threshold. Some golfers may not love the sound and feel.
#2: Cleveland HiBore XL – Oh captain, my captain…
This one should come as no surprise. I friggin’ love this driver.
Sure, it finished next-to-last in MyGolfSpy’s driver testing this year but, in this golfer’s hands, that triangular Dorito-looking sunuvabitch finds fairways. There may be longer drivers out there, but the HiBore is long enough, and it almost always lands where I can find it and hit it again.
I’m pretty sure that’s what you want most in a driver, isn’t it?
Pros: Distinctive, triangular and sexy. It works for me.
Cons: It did finish NTDFL (Next to Dead F**king Last) in MyGolfSpy testing. And as much as it shocks me, I guess there are some poor, misguided souls out there who might object to a driver that looks like a Dorito on a stick.
I don’t get it, either.
#1: MacGregor Tourney MAX – Cinderella story, outta nowhere …
When Simon Millington’s team at MacGregor started working on the Tourney MAX, the No. 1 goal on the table was simple:
Build something that could compete with Costco’s Kirkland driver.
Ummm, he succeeded. And then some.
I get that many of you will dismiss a $249 direct-to-consumer driver without a second thought. That would be a mistake. The MacGregor Tourney MAX has everything you’d want in a driver: a carbon fiber crown, a variable thickness titanium face and a better shaft than you’d have right to expect in that price range.
In my hands, it’s proven to be plenty long, possibly the longest on this list, and I can keep it in play. If yards per dollar is a metric that matters to you, the MacGregor Tourney MAX might just be the best deal in golf.
Pros: Good grief, man, it’s $249. Very good sound and feel, plenty of distance and the stock HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX is a serious shaft. MacGregor will also cut it to length for free.
It’s available for both lefties and righties.
Did I mention it’s $249? I think I did.
Cons: You could, I suppose, moan about resale value. Then again, worrying about resale value when you buy a driver is sort of like starting a divorce account on your wedding day.
Always with the negative waves, Moriarty. Always with the negative waves.
It’s a great time to be a golfer
Yeah, OEM pricing is what it is, and we’ve seen pricing go up in recent weeks. That kinda sucks, but gloryosky, people, take a good look around. There are more excellent options at great pricing than ever before, brand snobbery be damned.
OK, fitting is a problem for those of us trying to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of our driver. These kinds of prices do come with compromise, so it’s best to understand the performance characteristics of the standard shafts offered. You may not get every possible yard but you can come reasonably close.
And you might just save $300 or so to put towards that Pebble Beach trip you’ve been dreaming of.
Now that’s something righteous and hopeful.
The post My Top Five Drivers For Under $400 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
