WRX Spotted: TaylorMade "Original One" Mini Driver

[UtahWolverine]

> @14mh said:

> > @cliffhanger said:

> > > @UtahWolverine said:

> > > Was definitely interested until I saw the $400 price tag!! What a kick in the nuts, guess I'll have to wait until I see them on BST for <$300 in a couple months.

> > its a "mini driver" that is priced right in between a fairway wood and a driver... what were you expecting?

>

> Or priced the same as the M5 fwy is now.

 

I guess that was just my complaint of the outrageous pricing in the golf industry. Just my opinion, and I'll have to keep hanging around the BST board where I can afford things. Enjoy paying full price. Cheers!

[cliffhanger]

> @UtahWolverine said:

> > @14mh said:

> > > @cliffhanger said:

> > > > @UtahWolverine said:

> > > > Was definitely interested until I saw the $400 price tag!! What a kick in the nuts, guess I'll have to wait until I see them on BST for <$300 in a couple months.

> > > its a "mini driver" that is priced right in between a fairway wood and a driver... what were you expecting?

> >

> > Or priced the same as the M5 fwy is now.

>

> I guess that was just my complaint of the outrageous pricing in the golf industry. Just my opinion, and I'll have to keep hanging around the BST board where I can afford things. Enjoy paying full price. Cheers!

 

I don’t pay full price

[Mikee_j]

> @Millhill88 said:

> I hit my 3 wood 90% of the time off the tee. Driver is only for looong par 4's or the par 5's i'm going for in two. And I only hit about half my fairways with the driver. 3 wood is center cut every time.

>

> I would absolutely bag a Mini if it gave me an additional 15-20 yards off the tee compared to my 3 wood, and be as straight as my 3 wood. Also don't care what the perception would be if the Mini was my permanent driver. I once got my Word not allowed kicked by a guy that used a Chipper on almost every hole and shot par.

>

 

?????????? 1000%

 

I hit my 3 wood further than most drive, but can’t hit my driver for s#it. Been waiting for something like this to come out and can’t wait to demo it.

 

If this makes the bag it would replace the driver, but I’d need to think about what to do with my strong 3 wood and 2 iron

 

 

[bladehunter]

I have to cite the irony of this clubs existence For 3 years I gripes , searched and wanted something like this made. Nothing. This winter I finally get my hands on a driver (460cc) that I simply destroy. M6 with an actual 11 degrees loft etc. now. Yes now , they make the driver I dreamed of. And I won’t be interested. Man. 2 years ago you could have sold me 2 of these at once.

[JGolf00]

It is a niche product, SLDR, AB, and even GX7 hold their values well.

Certainly a should v. want scenario for me. I _should_ be testing out a 44" 12 degree driver, but I _want_ this one. Very biased.

[aliikane]

Not sure where this club fits in the line-up of someone's bag. It is more like a strong 3-wood than a driver because of the loft, but harder to hit off the deck. I think if they were trying to make it as a driver replacement, they should of went full blown and made it with lower loft options like the older ones from 8-11 degrees. If I went to this club, I would want to fully replace my driver if I hit it better. 11.5 and 13.5 degrees of loft is quite a lot for someone with decent clubhead speed. Nowadays with adjustable loft hosels, you can get several strong 3-woods and lower the loft to down to 11-12 degrees, plus the strong 3-wood is more versatile of the club because you can hit it off the deck easier.

[Golfingfanatic]

> @aliikane said:

> Not sure where this club fits in the line-up of someone's bag. It is more like a strong 3-wood than a driver because of the loft, but harder to hit off the deck. I think if they were trying to make it as a driver replacement, they should of went full blown and made it with lower loft options like the older ones from 8-11 degrees. If I went to this club, I would want to fully replace my driver if I hit it better. 11.5 and 13.5 degrees of loft is quite a lot for someone with decent clubhead speed. Nowadays with adjustable loft hosels, you can get several strong 3-woods and lower the loft to down to 11-12 degrees, plus the strong 3-wood is more versatile of the club because you can hit it off the deck easier.

 

Not saying that I disagree with you totally, but you can get the loft down to 9.5° on the 11.5° head. That should be low enough for most people.

[aliikane]

> @Golfingfanatic said:

> > @aliikane said:

> > Not sure where this club fits in the line-up of someone's bag. It is more like a strong 3-wood than a driver because of the loft, but harder to hit off the deck. I think if they were trying to make it as a driver replacement, they should of went full blown and made it with lower loft options like the older ones from 8-11 degrees. If I went to this club, I would want to fully replace my driver if I hit it better. 11.5 and 13.5 degrees of loft is quite a lot for someone with decent clubhead speed. Nowadays with adjustable loft hosels, you can get several strong 3-woods and lower the loft to down to 11-12 degrees, plus the strong 3-wood is more versatile of the club because you can hit it off the deck easier.

>

> Not saying that I disagree with you totally, but you can get the loft down to 9.5° on the 11.5° head. That should be low enough for most people.

 

Good point. Still want to try it, but 9.5 degrees is still probably too much loft and too spinny for me. TM drivers have always been the goto for me. The TM drives that stood out the most for me was the 300 series, r7, and the r11. For the old school drivers, the Founders club, and Callaway Great Big Bertha were awesome.

[youngunz5840]

I tried this in 11.5 while on my lunch getting my m5 cutdown to 45.25” and man it’s a fun club to hit. It’s not that much shorter than driver and for some reason looks easier to hit at address and has a good feeling when flushed. Not a fan of the shaft but wouldn’t mind either ordering one with a different shaft or getting a 11.5 and throwing my Diamana D+ 70x in it.

[Joelsim]

> @aliikane said:

> > @Golfingfanatic said:

> > > @aliikane said:

> > > Not sure where this club fits in the line-up of someone's bag. It is more like a strong 3-wood than a driver because of the loft, but harder to hit off the deck. I think if they were trying to make it as a driver replacement, they should of went full blown and made it with lower loft options like the older ones from 8-11 degrees. If I went to this club, I would want to fully replace my driver if I hit it better. 11.5 and 13.5 degrees of loft is quite a lot for someone with decent clubhead speed. Nowadays with adjustable loft hosels, you can get several strong 3-woods and lower the loft to down to 11-12 degrees, plus the strong 3-wood is more versatile of the club because you can hit it off the deck easier.

> >

> > Not saying that I disagree with you totally, but you can get the loft down to 9.5° on the 11.5° head. That should be low enough for most people.

>

> Good point. Still want to try it, but 9.5 degrees is still probably too much loft and too spinny for me. TM drivers have always been the goto for me. The TM drives that stood out the most for me was the 300 series, r7, and the r11. For the old school drivers, the Founders club, and Callaway Great Big Bertha were awesome.

 

You should try it, I played a round with it on 13.5* today and the ball flight was Driver-like. Penetrating and pretty low.

[Pack7483]

Anyone tried it with the Hzrdus Smoke? Since mine is backordered anyway I am thinking of switching my order to 11.5 head with the smoke 70

[Warrick]

> @Pack7483 said:

> Anyone tried it with the Hzrdus Smoke? Since mine is backordered anyway I am thinking of switching my order to 11.5 head with the smoke 70

 

I have an 11.5 with Hzrdus Smoke 70, going in play tomorrow morning.

[DCMorgan89]

Putting mine in play today @1. First range session wasn’t a love affair so hopefully I can dial it in on the course.

[BogeyLJA]

Callaway 3 deep vs this club? worth $300 more?

[phelps22]

> @BogeyLJA said:

> Callaway 3 deep vs this club? worth $300 more?

 

 

Yep!

 

 

[Warrick]

I put the 11.5 in the bag on Saturday morning, played 54 this weekend , staying in as driver

[Ivyguy]

> @Warrick said:

> I put the 11.5 in the bag on Saturday morning, played 54 this weekend , staying in as driver

 

Did you give it a run off the deck?

[ibradley]

I picked an 11.5 up on Friday. Had a range session Saturday and played a few holes hitting 4 or 5 balls off each tee. I think its about 10 yards or so shorter than my driver. Very straight though! I found it easy to hit off fairway as well. I'm going to play today and use it instead of driver. Will report back.

[Warrick]

> @Ivyguy said:

> > @Warrick said:

> > I put the 11.5 in the bag on Saturday morning, played 54 this weekend , staying in as driver

>

> Did you give it a run off the deck?

 

Once in a best ball when I could place the ball, just for fun, hit it ok, but no desire to hit it anywhere but the tee, have a strong 3 wood that I love.

[MPG]

I picked up a 11.5 and played 9 holes today. I benched my F9 driver since i was missing it both ways and was getting frustrated and it was flowing throughout my entire bag. After my first real course run, the length is about 10 yards behind my driver. The forgiveness is very positive since i hit a few bad but still got out there and in the fairway. I have this set at the lower setting and it is hitting screaming bullets with a launch around 9 or 10*; great for dry conditions but horrible in soft conditions. I am still tweaking with the settings to see what works best for both tee and fairway shots. I am not in love with the stock shaft but i will be trying my beloved AD DI shaft that i believe will be much better. I am also in the process of shortening my F9 and adding weight to it to get a great comparison between the two. With yesterdays round, i hit all 7 fairways and hit one off the deck that went dead straight but was another screaming bullet. The problem with off the deck is there is no way this thing will stop on the greens. Not enough launch at the setting i have it at now. Will continue to tweak that until I find the setting that will benefit with both shots.

[Warrick]

Same, 11.5 in the bag, went with Hzrdus Smoke 70, also trying shorter smoke 70 in my F9 driver. Mini is money so far

[BMC]

Hit the 13.5 yesterday in our fitting center on Trackman outside. Swing speed 85 (i'm short), distance 225 carry. I maximized my numbers, so the head and stock shaft are good. At 12* I could see this replacing my driver. I'm still not a fan of 460cc heads.

[Joelsim]

Three very notable shots with mine today.

 

First ever hit off the turf as I was 250y away on a par 5. Carried a large tree about 190y into the shot with a deliberate high fade, absolutely no problem getting height on it (tree about 40 yards high I guess). Stopped about 15y short of the green.

 

225y par three, gripped down but still overshot the green by 5 yards. Arrow straight. Not a nice hole, dense trees and bushes all down the left, lost ball almost guaranteed if it goes it there, bunker guarding the green to the right. Next time I’ll take a slightly easier swing and try to bounce it on.

 

Shortest par 4 of the course, uphill 254y with bunkers all down the right of the fairway from about 100y away. Drove the green to about 6’ from the pin, three bounces and rolled onto the green nicely.

 

Set on 13.5*.

[Shilgy]

> @BMC said:

> Hit the 13.5 yesterday in our fitting center on Trackman outside. Swing speed 85 (i'm short), distance 225 carry. I maximized my numbers, so the head and stock shaft are good. At 12* I could see this replacing my driver. I'm still not a fan of 460cc heads.

 

How do you get 225 carry from max 127 ball speed? I was checking on flightscope optimizer and couldn't get over 208 at 500 feet elevation. Is your swing speed wrong?

[BMC]

> @Shilgy said:

> > @BMC said:

> > Hit the 13.5 yesterday in our fitting center on Trackman outside. Swing speed 85 (i'm short), distance 225 carry. I maximized my numbers, so the head and stock shaft are good. At 12* I could see this replacing my driver. I'm still not a fan of 460cc heads.

>

> How do you get 225 carry from max 127 ball speed? I was checking on flightscope optimizer and couldn't get over 208 at 500 feet elevation. Is your swing speed wrong?

I'm no expert, but he said I was maximizing launch and angle of attack.

 

[Shilgy]

> @BMC said:

> > @Shilgy said:

> > > @BMC said:

> > > Hit the 13.5 yesterday in our fitting center on Trackman outside. Swing speed 85 (i'm short), distance 225 carry. I maximized my numbers, so the head and stock shaft are good. At 12* I could see this replacing my driver. I'm still not a fan of 460cc heads.

> >

> > How do you get 225 carry from max 127 ball speed? I was checking on flightscope optimizer and couldn't get over 208 at 500 feet elevation. Is your swing speed wrong?

> I'm no expert, but he said I was maximizing launch and angle of attack.

>

 

I don't understand why you posted a chart that says your scenario is essentially impossible. That chart goes to 95 mph swing speed, ten more than yours, and only gets 223 carry.

[BMC]

> @Shilgy said:

> > @BMC said:

> > > @Shilgy said:

> > > > @BMC said:

> > > > Hit the 13.5 yesterday in our fitting center on Trackman outside. Swing speed 85 (i'm short), distance 225 carry. I maximized my numbers, so the head and stock shaft are good. At 12* I could see this replacing my driver. I'm still not a fan of 460cc heads.

> > >

> > > How do you get 225 carry from max 127 ball speed? I was checking on flightscope optimizer and couldn't get over 208 at 500 feet elevation. Is your swing speed wrong?

> > I'm no expert, but he said I was maximizing launch and angle of attack.

> >

>

> I don't understand why you posted a chart that says your scenario is essentially impossible. That chart goes to 95 mph swing speed, ten more than yours, and only gets 223 carry.

Like I said, I'm not an expert. Maybe it was 225 total yards. Not sure. I was a casual 5 whacks with the club hitting outside on a baked range. 225 is the number that's important to me when I actually play.

 

[Shilgy]

> @BMC said:

> > @Shilgy said:

> > > @BMC said:

> > > > @Shilgy said:

> > > > > @BMC said:

> > > > > Hit the 13.5 yesterday in our fitting center on Trackman outside. Swing speed 85 (i'm short), distance 225 carry. I maximized my numbers, so the head and stock shaft are good. At 12* I could see this replacing my driver. I'm still not a fan of 460cc heads.

> > > >

> > > > How do you get 225 carry from max 127 ball speed? I was checking on flightscope optimizer and couldn't get over 208 at 500 feet elevation. Is your swing speed wrong?

> > > I'm no expert, but he said I was maximizing launch and angle of attack.

> > >

> >

> > I don't understand why you posted a chart that says your scenario is essentially impossible. That chart goes to 95 mph swing speed, ten more than yours, and only gets 223 carry.

> Like I said, I'm not an expert. Maybe it was 225 total yards. Not sure. I was a casual 5 whacks with the club hitting outside on a baked range. 225 is the number that's important to me when I actually play.

>

 

Fair enough. I am only commenting because I am interested in the club and not meaning to attack your post in any way. Sorry if it came off the way.

[GolfChannel]

PGA SuperStore has these to demo now. Hit one yesterday and while fun and satisfying to hit, I couldn’t get the spin up above 600 rpms.

[Joelsim]

I’m half tempted to get another one of these and sell my G400 driver.

 

I have the 13.5* and on standard setting I’m hitting it just as far as my Ping at 10.5*. After two rounds and two range sessions, I can honestly say this is the more preferable club.

 

I’m seriously considering getting another at 11.5* and knocking it down a degree or two for use when I really need some extra yards.

 

Has anyone tried both of the model lofts against one another?

 

They only sell the 13.5* in England so I can’t even demo.