Finding the "longest driver" for you is a very personal thing. While there are certainly claims made by every club manufacturer that theirs is the longest, the simple answer is:  it might be different for you than for me. Different for me than my golfing buddy, etc.

Let’s look at a couple of the key components to distance, see how those fit into a driver, and ultimately, what you should look for.

The head of the driver often gets the most attention – and why not? It’s easily the most notable thing about the club, carries the color, design, name and more of the maker, and is the sexiest bit there is. So take a good look at the head of each driver. What is the loft? How deep is the face? What is it made of? What color is it? Many of these aspects are purely cosmetic, and you simply need to be comfortable looking at it and knowing it will do what you want. Other aspects -- like loft -- are very technical, and the correct loft to maximize your swing is probably a lot different from what Tiger, Phil, or Rory use. For most amateurs, a driver with a loft between 8.5 and 10 degrees is going to perform the best.

Now take a look at the shaft. It almost goes without saying, the shaft is the most overlooked, yet perhaps most important part of any golf club. Not choosing the correct shaft (or not even looking at it) is like buying a car without knowing or caring what type of engine it has. The shaft is what makes the club go. It is literally the engine of the golf club. For most people (and I mean nearly everyone) that play golf, a graphite or composite shaft in your driver is the way to go. However, most people don’t understand why that is so. The reasons are fairly simple, once you can connect them to a cause and effect.

Number One is Weight. A graphite shaft is lighter than its steel counterpart. Less weight equals more speed, and speed is ultimately what makes the ball go farther. A short physics lesson here; the equation for distance is: M x S2 = D where M = mass, S = speed and D = distance. Since this is a simple multiplication formula, if either Mass or Speed is increased, so is Distance. For most people, adding weight to the club (the Mass part of the equation) will reduce speed. Conversely, by decreasing the weight, you increase speed. The reason this is important is because we have the benefit of "squaring" (speed x speed) the speed in this equation, and thus see an exponential increase in distance by decreasing weight and increasing speed.

Number Two is Strength. Again, the strength of a graphite shaft is greater (at a lesser weight) than steel. Performance characteristics can be built into a graphite shaft that simply cannot be put into a steel shaft.

Number Three is Flex. While every shaft (regardless of material) has a flex to which it is designed, graphite can be so specific as to vary the flex point along the length of the shaft, increase strength in the tip or butt, and other fine-tuning adjustments.

The combination of these three factors, when fitted to your swing, will help to produce the greatest possible distance for you.

Finally, take a look at the grip. While the decision to use a club or not should never be based on the grip -- they can so easily be changed to suit your taste -- it should have some consideration. Remember, there is a proper grip size for everyone. Just like a medium-size shirt doesn’t fit everyone, neither does a medium-size grip. Pay attention to getting the correct size for you and you’ll swing easier, with less fatigue, and have better results doing it.

After laying out all of these considerations, I’m sure what most people really want is some suggestions on what are the hottest, longest drivers out there. Here are two that are definitely worth a look:

The first entry is the Razr Hawk by Callaway Golf. This club is made from an entirely new material developed in conjunction with some other researchers who know a thing or two about speed -- Italian automaker Lamborghini. This very unique process allows for over a half-a-million micro-fibers per square inch in the composite matrix, creating a material that is lighter and stronger than titanium (commonly used as a lightweight, but strong material).

What separates this technology from similar efforts is the ability to forge the material to a tolerance of one one-thousandth of an inch. This precision milling technique allows Callaway to eliminate all non-essential weight from the club. Callaway claims this material and forging process is the future of golf –-- here today. The nature of the production process allows for both maximum forgiveness on off-center hits and maximum club-head speed -- the holy grail of driver distance.

Callaway claims they are able to eliminate as much as 25% of the club’s weight. By taking weight away from the club head, the company has been able to redistribute weight to other, highly essential components of the club, mainly the shaft. Adding a longer shaft will add distance. The lighter club head, slightly longer shaft, and incredible aerodynamics are reportedly adding an average of 8 yards to each drive during tests with PGA Touring Professionals.

The next entry is the newly minted TaylorMade R11, which offers all-in-one club fitting. "Turbostratic" describes the atomic structure of the high-strength carbon fibers used in the TaylorMade Forged Composite. Sheets of carbon atoms are intertwined and aligned with the length of the fiber to provide a much higher strength than typical titanium fibers.

The official definition is: “A type of crystalline structure where the basal planes have slipped sideways relative to each other, causing the spacing between planes to be greater than ideal”. Does that simply mean there is more air in between each micro fiber?

TaylorMade has brought a handful of new innovations to the driver marketplace in recent years with their very successful "R" line. First, it was the introduction of Moveable Weight Technology (MWT) in the R7, followed by Flight Control Technology (FCT) in the R9.

TaylorMade has made even more advancements with the R11, which features what they call Adjustable Sole Technology (AST). Simply put, AST allows the player to adjust the face angle of the club from open, to neutral, to closed, depending on what best fits their game. In addition to this new technology, the R11 sports a matte white paint scheme on its crown (the combination of white crown and black face is supposed to help with alignment). This new, very cool look has already generated plenty of talk, as has the new AST now that the R11 is fully into the market.

Both of these drivers are complex -- using the latest in both manufacturing and design technology. The best advice would be to just head to your local golf shop or retailer and try them both.

Given all you now know about choosing a driver, one of these might be the best one for you -- but then again, it might not. Happy hunting.

This is good news for all golfers but especially the ladies, who are already using lighter, stronger materials to boost their performance. I would never advise anybody to try and swing harder to get more distance, but obviously with lighter material, your natural swing will produce more clubhead speed.

In addition, I like the huge clubface with the toe of the driver being very obvious. This will definitely help you slicers. The graphics of the club are pretty cool as well -- made with a window on the crown. You can actually see the new forged composite material.

I also love the sound at impact. Most carbon fiber clubs are pretty muted, but this has a very pleasing impact sound, even when you don't catch it square in the middle of the clubface.

I'd recommend this club to all ladies, but especially to those of you that are looking to get more distance and forgiveness without trying to swing harder.

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This is by far one of the most forgiving drivers you will swing. I like the looks of it. At address, it fills me full of confidence. I actually have to really focus not to swing too hard.

In addition to the huge MOI, it has a tremendous C.O.R. This is the spring or trampoline effect that you get at impact. Cleveland achieves this with what they call Hot Spot Crown Plaque Alignment. This technology gives you greater distance with optimal launch conditions and higher ball speeds.

This is a good-looking, very long and forgiving driver. However before you buy, check out a couple of my favorites that combine forgiveness with adjustability and aerodynamics.

I like the TaylorMade Lady R9 Supertri Driver and the Nike Lady SQ Machspeed STR8-Fit Driver. I like the Machspeed because of the more aggressive square shape of the driver head. And the TaylorMade Supertri is my all time favorite because it gives you the maximum adjustable variance in an aerodynamic clubhead.

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This Yonex VMX Driver is not a horrible club. It has a whopping 460cc clubhead, which means it's just about the size of a badminton racket. It uses something called Centrifugal Force System technology that is supposed to add distance. I think it just adds cool words to their product description.

One thing I do like is the shape. It has a unique Aero Pentagon Shape. This will increase your swing speed because of less wind resistance. In addition, I like that they've used tungsten weights to help balance the driver to help you get the club back to square. The color of the driver is actually pretty cool, too.

However, allow me to recommend a couple of alternatives. If you want a better driver at the same price point, check out the Nike Lady SQ Dymo 2 Driver -- and for more money, the TaylorMade Lady R9 Supertri Driver. Both of these are very forgiving with the ability to adjust the clubhead.

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The "S2H2" means they've actually removed weight from the hosel to be used elsewhere. This way, they can pack more weight in the rear of the driver to raise the MOI.

The HFT extends the hitting surface to cover the entire hitting surface and creates a bigger sweet spot. Callaway creates the HFT by using chemicals to mill the clubface. Thus, you get higher ball speeds across the entire face of the club, creating a very forgiving driver where mishits will go almost as far as shots hit right on the middle of the face.

If you are Callaway fan, I recommend you check out the Lady Diablo Edge. I like this one a little bit more. It has the same technology in a better-looking, traditionally-shaped clubhead.

I also like the TaylorMade Lady R9 Supertri Driver because you can adjust the driver head to your swing. Adjust it closed to help you square the driver, and after you improve, adjust it back to neutral.

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The Dymo stands for "Dynamic MOI," and the STR8-Fit technology is an adjustable fitting system that gives you eight different clubface lie angles.

One of the coolest things about the club is the high MOI and the "PowerBow." This rear "PowerBow" gets thicker as the loft increases. Thus, more mass is shifted back and towards the heel side, giving the driver an added draw bias as the loft goes up. What's more is the higher lofts have a shallower face height, a more closed face angle, and a more upright lie angle. These all help you square the clubface at impact.

The thing I like best is the STR8-Fit adjustable fitting system. It works like this: the shaft adapter and hosel tilt 2 degrees off axis which leads to eight possible lie angles. Nike tests show that eight different settings produce up to 45 yard of directional difference.

This is like having eight drivers in one. It's pretty easy to adjust as well. It comes with a wrench; just make sure you read the manual carefully and you will have no problems adjusting to your preference. If you tend to slice, simply adjust the face into one of three closed positions. Also, you can always bring the club into a pro shop and have a pro help you adjust it.

The other two drivers I like more are the TaylorMade Lady R9 Supertri Driver and the Nike Lady SQ Machspeed STR8-Fit Driver. Both of these clubs are a little more money, but with good reason. I like the Machspeed better than the Dymo because of the more aggressive square shape. And the Supertri is my all-time favorite because it gives you more adjustable variance and combines an aerodynamic clubhead with an adjustable clubface.

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Let's start with my favorite part: the adjustability. The driver head can be adjusted to your swing. The shaft adapter and hosel tilt 2 degrees off axis, which leads to eight possible lie angles. Nike tests show that eight different settings produce up to 45 yard of directional difference.

This is not a sales pitch (because I'm not a salesman), but this is like having eight drivers in one. It's very simple to adjust as well. All you need is the wrench that it comes with. Make sure you read the manual carefully and you will have no problems adjusting to your preference. If you tend to slice, simply adjust the face into one of three closed positions. As you get better, you can adjust the club back to neutral or even open to prevent a hook. Also, don't forget if adjust it is intimidating, bring the club into any pro shop and have a pro help you.

The only driver I would recommend more is the TaylorMade Lady R9 Supertri Driver. It's also aerodynamic and can be adjusted to a wider variance of face positions -- 75 yards vs. 45 yards with the Machspeed.

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This driver's big claim to fame is its maxed-out C.O.R. Without getting too technical, C.O.R. is the trampoline effect that a golf club has. The higher the C.O.R., the more the ball springs off of the face and rockets into the air down the fairway. Unfortunately, the USGA puts a limit to how much C.O.R. our drivers can have. Otherwise, we'd all be hitting the ball 400 yards.

The TecPlus Ladies Driver has the maximum allowable C.O.R. Plus, it has an offset hosel to help you close the clubface, and the driver head is a huge, forgiving 460cc driver head. (Also the max you can buy.)

This driver is very cheap and would be fine for a beginner just looking to go out and give golf a try for the first time. If you already know you are going to play more than once or twice, I would recommend you get something a little higher end.

Check out the Cobra S2 Offset Ladies Driver. It's a very forgiving driver that is easy to swing and will be in your bag for 2 or 3 years at least.

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Let's take a closer look at this feminine driver. It is square-shaped and reminds me of the Nike Sasquatch driver. (I did not check to see if there is a lawsuit pending for copyright infringements.) This square design moves weight to the rear of the club and raises the MOI for less twisting on off-center hits. It also gives the driver a perimeter weighting that also adds forgiveness.

I would recommend this driver for anybody who is trying to match that pink blouse and visor that they are fond of, or if you need something to clean the cobwebs out from the ceiling corners. Otherwise, I'm not a big fan of this golf club. It's a bit cheap.

If you are looking for a driver that is decent but you don't want to spend a lot of cash, go with the Cobra S2 Offset Ladies Driver. It's a very forgiving driver that is easy to swing. Sorry, though -- it won't match your pink visor.

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The Adams Lady Speedline F10 Driver is specifically shaped to reduce drag. The crown of the driver has been reshaped so that the peak height is much higher than topline, and the frontal cross-sectional area is reduced with heel and toe cutouts. Adams says this driver has "2.5 to 4.2 mph higher clubhead speed and 3 to 9 yards more distance through more efficient airflow around the clubhead."

The coolest thing is it accomplishes this without changing to one of those freakish geometric shapes. The traditional-looking clubface is very large with a 460cc clubhead that is very forgiving with a huge MOI.

I like this driver and would compare it to the TaylorMade Lady Burner SurperFast Driver. However, the TaylorMade has the aforementioned freakish triangular shape that looks like a fighter jet wing.

I also recommend the TaylorMade Lady R9 Supertri Driver. It has an adjustable driver head, giving you up to 75 yards of right left variance.

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