WHAT IT DOES: It might sound like a golfer fountain of youth, but these ultralight drivers endeavor to create more swing speed for the same smooth effort. Players with moderate swing speeds (an increasing segment in golf’s growing numbers) could recapture lost speed with a lighter driver. However, the key to making a driver that weighs about 35 grams less than some of today’s leading models is to take the weight out in measured proportions—like a lightened grip, a feathery 48-gram shaft and a head that saves weight through its carbon-composite crown. A carbon-fiber panel results in more saved weight that can be positioned in the heel. That heel bias makes squaring the face at impact more likely. An offset option will make that even easier.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The problem with many lightweight drivers is that there’s no material left over to help the head forgive off-center strikes or launch shots higher. Not here. The new carbon-fiber crown is 30-percent thinner than its predecessor, allowing more weight to rest lower than before and in the rear perimeter, providing enough forgiveness to reach the USGA’s limit for off-center-hit stability.