If I LOVE my TM SLDR Mini Driver...

...what should that tell me about my "real" driver?

My 14* SLDR Mini Driver is by far the best addition to my bag this year. I have such confidence in it. It's easy to set up to. I love the ballflight. My rare misses with it are still quite playable. It is absolutely my go-to tee off the club at this point.

I also have a 10.5* Callaway Fusion driver. I have hit some really nice drives with it and the shaft fits me well. When I hit a good ball with it I get an extra 20 yards or so over the Mini Driver and the ballflight is similar. However it is also a club I can hit out of play (usually right-to-right) and all too often that's what I do. I know there's a mental aspect to it that I am probably making worse by seeing the MD as my "go to" club and the driver as my "now let's see how far I can hit it!" club.

So I keep going back to the Mini Driver and have recently played a round or two where I never took the headcover off the Cally. The risk/reward weighs in favor of the shorter club.

I'd like to dial in my driver to fit me as well as the Mini Driver does. I want to set up to it with the same confidence and approach the shots the exact same way.

I think a reasonable first step would be to trim down my driver from 46" to no more than 45.5" or maybe 45". I have a heavier head weight for the Fusion and I can regrip, so this would be an easy job.

Should I also adjust the hosel to be more upright? Use more loft? What changes would make it set up and play closer to the Mini Driver?

Well I took matters into my own hands tonight. I cut about .5” off my Fusion and regripped. I reset the hosel to D and +1 loft. I also swapped out the 5g weight for a 12g weight

It’s raining here but I hope to hit it tomorrow. The Fusion feels a lot more like the Mini Driver than before. Hoping for good results.

I would try testing your driver with the lighter weight first. Forget about the swingweight and just see what it does....might be surprised. Could match your timing and the shorter length mini-driver better

Definitely smart to trim the driver down. I’ll never play a driver over 45” again...I use lead tape to get the swing weight where it should be, but anything over 45” for me, consistency goes down & even great shots, the distance gain would be negligible.

I hit a lot more fairways at 45” & it’s plenty long so no brainer

I’d imagine that will get the feel closer to your mini driver & hopefully you’ll feel better over the ball! Let us know how it goes

I would try testing your driver with the lighter weight first. Forget about the swingweight and just see what it does....might be surprised. Could match your timing and the shorter length mini-driver better

I’ll definitely take the tool and spare weight to the range. As I was comparing the two clubs it surprised me how heavy the mini driver feels compared to the driver. Since my goal is to use the same setup for both clubs, I’ll start with a feel that matches.

My story with the Mini Driver is pretty similar to yours. I have the 12* and probably get 90% of the distance as my driver with way more accuracy. I have a GBB driver and have experimented with adding headweight and shortening the shaft, etc. Still nowhere near the consistency as my Mini Driver. Right now I have my GBB driver set up playing 44.75" and an extra weight in the head. When I hit it on the screws it's definitely longer, but my misses are still way worse than with the Mini. For me personally I think it has more to do with the head size. While newer drivers are more forgiving, I've always felt like the 460cc clubhead size doesn't allow me to swing as "free and easy" as the Mini. Ultimately, I'm sure it boils back down to confidence. More confidence = swinging harder knowing you're not gonna spray it. I've also experimented with putting a driver shaft in the Mini head to get more distance, but that didn't work out too well. Something about the length and head size being perfect for me.

I'm a big fan of the 2 woods. If you hit them better than your driver, I see no reason to need a driver.

I'm a big fan of the 2 woods. If you hit them better than your driver, I see no reason to need a driver.

My old pro used to say that you need a driver to break 80 but not to break 90. There’s some truth in that.

The only downside of the Mini Driver is that it tops out at a distance that might not clear a long forced carry. If I find myself in that situation it will mean I’m playing the wrong tees.

I hit my mini driver as far as any 460cc driver I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many. Love that club.

But if I could find a driver that goes 10% farther, I’d switch in a heartbeat.

Selling my TM Mini is one of those things I wish I wouldn't have done.

I sold my 2 deep and replaced it with a Callaway warbird deuce. I just purchased another 2 deep from a fellow forum member.

I used to play 2deep, 3h, 4,6,8,P, 53*,60*, P for 9 clubs total in a Sunday bag. Had a few of my best rounds and decided to switch it up.

I love the lower ball flights of the strong fairways and the fact that you can also play off the deck.

OP here. I played nine last night and used the freshly-trimmed Fusion on every hole. It was money. All but one ball had a nice right-to-left flight and came to rest on the left half of the fairway. I went too hard at one and hit a low cut that finished in the right rough.

Adjusted settings to 11.5* (10.5* +1) and N. Flight now matches the Mini Driver...might in fact be a little higher. Definitely liking the shorter shaft and heavier weight.