OK, who’s played the TaylorMade 300 Mini Driver?

[winegr]

Give this seems to be making it into retail channels now, who’s played it and what’s the review?  Head, stock shaft, etc?

[The Frase]

I don't think it will officially be on shelves until Thursday, July 15th, but I am very intrigued and want to see one in person before I consider.

 

Some solid initial reviews from TXG and Al Etches already, and I am sure there will be more to come.  

[winegr]

20 hours ago, The Frase said:

I don't think it will officially be on shelves until Thursday, July 15th, but I am very intrigued and want to see one in person before I consider.

 

Some solid initial reviews from TXG and Al Etches already, and I am sure there will be more to come.  

Heard these shipped early and some have already received. 

[Genostarrr]

Just received mine the other day (300 mini 11.5 degree/ stock stiff shaft) and got one round in with them. Theyre not for everyone, but personally I love it. My home course tends to have narrow fairways so trying to bomb it isn’t always the best option. Don’t have an exact swing speed but my driver typically goes about 260-275. Oftentimes i can miss with a hook into the woods. I found with the 300 mini driver I was going about 250 right into the middle of the fairway if not first cut on the left rough. I had to bench my 3 wood, but for me personally, I can adjust my game accordingly with a hybrid. I bought the 11.5, so trying to use it off the fairway didn’t show great results, mainly low runners. For ME, I tend to use the 3 wood very few times on the course. 
 

I tried the OO mini in the past too. I think the 300 is slightly longer with a better feel. Wasn’t a big fan of the OO stock shaft. I think if I’m playing a longer course with wider fairways, I’ll swap the 3 wood back in. But if you play a narrow short course (like 6100 yards) and not as confident your driver is a fairway finder, I think this would be a good pickup. 
 

 

[winegr]

2 hours ago, Genostarrr said:

Just received mine the other day (300 mini 11.5 degree/ stock stiff shaft) and got one round in with them. Theyre not for everyone, but personally I love it. My home course tends to have narrow fairways so trying to bomb it isn’t always the best option. Don’t have an exact swing speed but my driver typically goes about 260-275. Oftentimes i can miss with a hook into the woods. I found with the 300 mini driver I was going about 250 right into the middle of the fairway if not first cut on the left rough. I had to bench my 3 wood, but for me personally, I can adjust my game accordingly with a hybrid. I bought the 11.5, so trying to use it off the fairway didn’t show great results, mainly low runners. For ME, I tend to use the 3 wood very few times on the course. 
 

I tried the OO mini in the past too. I think the 300 is slightly longer with a better feel. Wasn’t a big fan of the OO stock shaft. I think if I’m playing a longer course with wider fairways, I’ll swap the 3 wood back in. But if you play a narrow short course (like 6100 yards) and not as confident your driver is a fairway finder, I think this would be a good pickup. 
 

 

I’m picking one up as a 2nd driver that I can take a bit off of or find fairways more often. Don’t carry a 3 wood because I didn’t use it vs a strong hybrid that I can elevate a lot. There’s a few holes where the risk reward of hitting drivers isn’t stellar. I was hoping not to lose more than 15-20 yards. 

[Genostarrr]

Yeah as long as the shaft fits you, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed 

[mosesgolf]

I play a 14* SLDR  460cc driver on tight course and when 240-240 yds in fwy is a must. 

I'll have to give the new mini driver a go. 

[JungleJimbo]

On 7/12/2021 at 7:42 AM, winegr said:

Give this seems to be making it into retail channels now, who’s played it and what’s the review?  Head, stock shaft, etc?

@winegr fyi there's a few mini-reviews of the 300mini-driver on another recent Golfwrx forum thread. Linked below
 

 

 

[Stratojet]

Just tried it today: 11,5 reg shaft.. I am not a big hitter, but I know my distances 🙂     I have the Original Minidriver 13.5 ( Isold my 11.5 lately)   Compared to the OO, the feeling is a little different. On a solid hit, the OO has a better feeling, somewhat. Distance wise, I carry arounf 198 a little shy of 200 and max total distance in the 215 withj it.  I then tried a Cobra Driver DAdspped 10.5 and:

 

-Dispersion is much better

-Carry is at least 10 more yards on a regular basis

-Total distance10 to 12 yards better.

- It does perform better than a TSI2 driver that they had as a used club

 

 

So lesson learned:  Look also at less popular brands; they perform much better than you think and cost less 

 

 

Conclusion: no TM 300 for me. If you do want one, go with the 13.5; easier to hit of the deck and off a tee. This is a very low spinning driver, so loft is your friend.

 

 

 

[uglande]

I just posted on another thread. Bottom line -- I love it. The sound and feel are just outstanding and I also love the look. I will be using it solely as a 1B driver and only very rarely off the fairway.

 

I ordered a 13.5 and will be testing it with a Ventus Blue 7x after it arrives and will report back. Very impressed so far. 

[bladehunter]

It’s impressive off the deck. Love the silver face.  I’m in 13.5 with tensie Ck blue 80 , lovely sound and sits nice behind the ball. The silver face though. What a perfect look 

[RobotDoctor]

I bet a 44.5" TM 300 Mini 11.5° (turned to 10°) would be pretty close in distance compared to my 45" TM M3 9.9° driver assuming solid contact is made.  My guess is that those who are dead set against this driver are the ones who continue to expound on forgiveness.  Those who strike the ball within a quarter size area in the sweetspot isn't getting any advantage from forgiveness .... they don't need or benefit from that.  If a person who strikes the ball fairly consistently around the sweet spot uses a similar spec'd out 300 Mini my guess is that the performance results will be close to the same.  The benefit is the ability to shape shots with greater ease.  Golf can be played by straight bomb and gouge technique but some of us are not able to bomb and gouge anymore and rely on shot making and placement.

[uglande]

21 minutes ago, RobotDoctor said:

I bet a 44.5" TM 300 Mini 11.5° (turned to 10°) would be pretty close in distance compared to my 45" TM M3 9.9° driver assuming solid contact is made.  My guess is that those who are dead set against this driver are the ones who continue to expound on forgiveness.  Those who strike the ball within a quarter size area in the sweetspot isn't getting any advantage from forgiveness .... they don't need or benefit from that.  If a person who strikes the ball fairly consistently around the sweet spot uses a similar spec'd out 300 Mini my guess is that the performance results will be close to the same.  The benefit is the ability to shape shots with greater ease.  Golf can be played by straight bomb and gouge technique but some of us are not able to bomb and gouge anymore and rely on shot making and placement.

 

52 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

It’s impressive off the deck. Love the silver face.  I’m in 13.5 with tensie Ck blue 80 , lovely sound and sits nice behind the ball. The silver face though. What a perfect look 

How is that shaft working? And are you playing at stock length? I'm thinking about using a Ventus Blue 7x, but slightly shorter than stock. The standard weight feels a little heavy to me. 

 

But I agree about the look, and especially the feel. Absolutely love it. Gives me all kinds of positive retro vibes.

[bladehunter]

14 minutes ago, uglande said:

 

How is that shaft working? And are you playing at stock length? I'm thinking about using a Ventus Blue 7x, but slightly shorter than stock. The standard weight feels a little heavy to me. 

 

But I agree about the look, and especially the feel. Absolutely love it. Gives me all kinds of positive retro vibes.

I just cannot imagine hitting this thing better. Just came in from a session out back.  It’s so much fun to hit .  The ventus blue would be similar I’m sure.   As would the TB 70 or 80.  I have a 70 in my driver.  It is head heavy. But I require that for an off the deck club.  I need to feel the head weight.  

[winegr]

 

[MaineMariner]

I posted in the other thread about going for a TM driver fitting this week. I ended up placing an order for the Mini 300. I was getting better ball speeds with the Mini than my current driver and the Sim Max2, and I was pretty much dead straight with it. I couldn't have been more impressed.

 

I'm a mid handicapper with a SS that ranges from about 100 to 108. I have problems with an overly negative AoA with my driver. I know that the "solution" to this is to tee the ball up high and force my body to make the correction to hit up on it. However, this has lead to some disaster rounds. The ball sitting on a smaller tee has always looked better to me, and my swing feels more natural as a result. That's why I like hitting fairway woods off the tee, and why mini drivers tend to feel "right" to me.

[uglande]

55 minutes ago, winegr said:

 

As James discovered here, the mini is great off the tee but a challenging club off the fairway. It's such a big head and deep face that it's hard to make solid contact and get proper launch from the deck. That doesn't bother me, because I would be using it strictly as a 1B club off the tee. I carry a 4w so I have longer fairway shots covered separately. 

[winegr]

 

this one is awfully bullish on accuracy

[RobotDoctor]

I had a session with the club fitter at my home course on the trackman and tested the Taylormade 300 Mini driver (11.5°).  I tried it with the stock shaft (stiff flex, 43.75") and had the best results at 2 degrees strong (9.5).  Trackman produced driver distances at nearly 275 yards (245 yard carry), swing speed at 97-99 mph and smash factor averaging at 150.  I then tried my Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6S (45") from my M3 driver in the 300 Mini driver at 11.5° and had results not as good as the 300 Mini with the stock shaft.  Trackman produced driver distances at nearly 275 - 280 yards (245 yard carry), swing speed at 100 mph and smash factor averaging at 143.  I had the best results with the Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S driver shaft they had in stock for demos.  I tried the setting one setting stronger than standard, so 10.8°.  Trackman produced driver distances at nearly 290 yards (260 yard carry), just over 100mph swing speed and smash factor averaging at 150.  I was also able to hit some decent draws and fades with the 300 Mini that is difficult to do with the M3.  My shot dispersion with the Ventus Blue 5S shaft was the tightest of all the combinations averaging 10 yards of center, shading to the left of center).  I couldn't have hit this better.  My M3 with the Tour AD DI 6S shaft was producing swing speed around 98-99mph, smash factor around 142-143 and distance around 280 yards (245-250 yards carry).  I would be interested in seeing how the Ventus Blue 5S would perform in my M3 but as it is the TM 300 Mini with Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S at 45" has been ordered.  This is a driver replacement, not a club to fit in between the driver and 3 wood or 3 wood replacement.

 

The trackman numbers don't lie. I have come to believe that the Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6S shaft is more than my old body can maximize.  Now I question whether this shaft is the right fit for me and may part with them (but that is another story).  I am playing a round tomorrow and will see if I can borrow the demo club with the Ventus Blue 5S shaft.  I may set the driver to 10.2° (2 clicks stronger) when I try the demo driver to see how it performs. 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by RobotDoctor

[r2buff]

Just ordered mine a few days ago. Can't wait to get it!

[NHenson815]

I've taken a few swings with the 11.5 into my net in my backyard  My initial reaction is that it could viably replace a full sized driver for some people.  The additional distance in a full size driver doesn't seem enough to justify the spraying all over the oversized face.  This is much easier to square up and control.  From a shaft standpoint, I'll be replacing the stock stiff with something sturdier, but it surprisingly holds up better than I thought it would, so it's playable right off the rack.  

 

I also tested a few swings off the ground.  At address, it doesn't look like there is any way it could work, but it just does.  Even with the loft dropped down to 9.5 degrees, I was still able to use it off the ground, which was pleasantly surprising (although that situationally might not be all that useful)

 

(disclaimer: strong 3 wood is probably my best club, so I might not be the best judge of difficulty hitting off deck).

 

Despite the lack of extensive testing, it initially seems like a sizeable improvement over the Original One.  A skilled player could a lot with it and an average joe like me would probably find it easier to control without a massive loss in distance compared to normal driver.  I am impressed.  

 

 

[winegr]

I’m planning to pick one up this week to ply in instead of an off the tee 3 wood. 

[rkillian]

I haven’t played it yet, just tested on trackman and I bought it.  So I have struggled with driver more than anything this year. I’ve bought and sold a few to test things out an noting has really stuck so I’ve relied on 4 wood more often than not off the tee. I tested the mini against a few drivers I was considering. So for me I’m trying it as a driver replacement. Compared to my good shots with drivers this was only about 10-15 yards shorter but the misses (again on trackman) were much more manageable. We’ll see how it translates to the course. 
 

when I called golf galaxy in the morning they had 6 11.5 heads. When I got there in the after noon, there was only one left. 

[Gawie]

Got mine yesterday. Feels amazing. Nice low spinning drives that I never got with my old driver, even had some fitters scratching their heads. 
 

The stock shaft does feel a bit unstable sometimes. Especially when going after it. 
 

Wondering if I shouldn't try my 44” Tensei ck-pro white tx 50

Anybody with some experience that can help a guy out 

[bladehunter]

7 hours ago, Gawie said:

Got mine yesterday. Feels amazing. Nice low spinning drives that I never got with my old driver, even had some fitters scratching their heads. 
 

The stock shaft does feel a bit unstable sometimes. Especially when going after it. 
 

Wondering if I shouldn't try my 44” Tensei ck-pro white tx 50

Anybody with some experience that can help a guy out 

Tensie Ck blue 80 tx here.  The stock shaft is a buggy whip.  I can’t say on the 50 weight. Might feel fast. But might also feel loose ?  Don’t know. 

 

On 7/15/2021 at 10:26 AM, uglande said:

As James discovered here, the mini is great off the tee but a challenging club off the fairway. It's such a big head and deep face that it's hard to make solid contact and get proper launch from the deck. That doesn't bother me, because I would be using it strictly as a 1B club off the tee. I carry a 4w so I have longer fairway shots covered separately. 

I’d disagree.  It’s quite easy to hit off the deck in my opinion.  The 13.5 anyway.  See the mid handicapper test of TXG. That guy hit it better off the deck than his 3 wood off a tee. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by bladehunter

[Gawie]

7 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Tensie Ck blue 80 tx here.  The stock shaft is a buggy whip.  I can’t say on the 50 weight. Might feel fast. But might also feel loose ?  Don’t know. 

 

I’d disagree.  It’s quite easy to hit off the deck in my opinion.  The 13.5 anyway.  See the mid handicapper test of TXG. That guy hit it better off the deck than his 3 wood off a tee. 

I am worried about the weight, will have to test it over the weekend.
As for hitting of the ground. 11.5 not that difficult. Sometimes a bit “squeezed” out if its a tight lie, but when in the semi rough or it sits up a bit it goes a long long way. 

[MountainKing]

A buddy of mine who works in the industry had one with him last week when we played so I threw my 3 wood shaft in it and hit it a few times.  Cool club, like mentioned really thought the sound and feel of this thing was fantastic.  It was about 15 yards shy of my driver.  He had the 11.5 and I hit a couple of shots off the deck and they were bullets, was kind of amazed that the big head could get the ball off the ground.  I could see this being a good club to replace both the driver/3w on a shorter course, which would give you another spot in the bag for either a hybrid/longer club or wedge.  Beyond that, it's kind of a one trick pony IMO, no real use for it under normal conditions since I have no issues with my 3w off the tee or off the ground. 

[jacobEDGE]

Hit one at a PGA Tour Superstore on Thursday when they hit the stores. Dude working there instantly swapped out the stock shaft with a driver-length Ventus Blue for some reason. But I loved the look of it, loved the sound of it. I've always preferred smaller club heads. 

 

Ordered one on Friday. During the checkout, it said it wouldn't ship until August 2nd...but it looks like it's already been built (upgraded shaft, custom length). So I wouldn't be surprised if it shipped out faster than the estimated date.

 

[jacobEDGE]

On 7/15/2021 at 2:17 PM, RobotDoctor said:

I had a session with the club fitter at my home course on the trackman and tested the Taylormade 300 Mini driver (11.5°).  I tried it with the stock shaft (stiff flex, 43.75") and had the best results at 2 degrees strong (9.5).  Trackman produced driver distances at nearly 275 yards (245 yard carry), swing speed at 97-99 mph and smash factor averaging at 150.  I then tried my Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6S (45") from my M3 driver in the 300 Mini driver at 11.5° and had results not as good as the 300 Mini with the stock shaft.  Trackman produced driver distances at nearly 275 - 280 yards (245 yard carry), swing speed at 100 mph and smash factor averaging at 143.  I had the best results with the Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S driver shaft they had in stock for demos.  I tried the setting one setting stronger than standard, so 10.8°.  Trackman produced driver distances at nearly 290 yards (260 yard carry), just over 100mph swing speed and smash factor averaging at 150.  I was also able to hit some decent draws and fades with the 300 Mini that is difficult to do with the M3.  My shot dispersion with the Ventus Blue 5S shaft was the tightest of all the combinations averaging 10 yards of center, shading to the left of center).  I couldn't have hit this better.  My M3 with the Tour AD DI 6S shaft was producing swing speed around 98-99mph, smash factor around 142-143 and distance around 280 yards (245-250 yards carry).  I would be interested in seeing how the Ventus Blue 5S would perform in my M3 but as it is the TM 300 Mini with Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S at 45" has been ordered.  This is a driver replacement, not a club to fit in between the driver and 3 wood or 3 wood replacement.

 

The trackman numbers don't lie. I have come to believe that the Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6S shaft is more than my old body can maximize.  Now I question whether this shaft is the right fit for me and may part with them (but that is another story).  I am playing a round tomorrow and will see if I can borrow the demo club with the Ventus Blue 5S shaft.  I may set the driver to 10.2° (2 clicks stronger) when I try the demo driver to see how it performs. 

 

 

As someone who naturally fades the ball, and struggles with a slice from time-to-time...I was worried about cranking down the loft since that opens the face up, which would (in theory) exacerbate my problem. Did you notice any flight path difference because of the face angle? 

[RobotDoctor]

9 minutes ago, jacobEDGE said:

 

As someone who naturally fades the ball, and struggles with a slice from time-to-time...I was worried about cranking down the loft since that opens the face up, which would (in theory) exacerbate my problem. Did you notice any flight path difference because of the face angle? 

 

I did not notice any differences.  I am normally a player who plays a slight draw to straight ball.  I have always preferred a slightly open face with my driver and 3 woods anyway (left over from my persimmon days).  For some reason this promotes a draw for me.  I adjusted the driver one (1) and two (2) clicks lower off standard and was still able to produce a straight to slight draw penetrating ball flight.  I did not develop a fade with the settings lowered (open).  I was able to draw and fade balls at will but will need to work on this when my driver and upgrade shaft arrives for better consistency.    What shocked me was the time the ball hung in the air of center strikes.  That is a great thing here in Colorado!!!