Beat back rookie grabbing learner driver, maybe (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
golf club
'driver maybe' is the definition.
'beat back rookie grabbing learner' is the wordplay.
'beat' becomes 'flog' (flogging is a kind of beating**).
'back' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'rookie' becomes 'cub' ('cub' can be a synonym of 'rookie').
'grabbing' is an insertion indicator.
'learner' becomes 'l'.
'flog' in reverse letter order is 'golf'.
'cub' enclosing 'l' is 'club'.
'golf'+'club'='GOLF-CLUB'
(Other definitions for golf club that I've seen before include "nineteenth hole" , "Baghdad its capital" , "Sporting wood or iron" , "Sports association - sporting equipment" , "Wood, possibly" .)