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

[AdExec]

49 minutes ago, jorellanes said:

I am really liking this Mini Driver. Really hard not to hit fairway with a half decent swing. Paired with AD DI 7x until I get the Ventus TR 7x. Curious to see if this can perform better with the Ventus.

I’ve got a Ventus TR7X in mine. Use the same shaft between a 13.5 mini and a stealth plus 13.5 right now trying to pick a winner out of them as a 3 wood and leaning toward the mini driver. I rarely need a 270+ 3 wood off the deck, but its great to have off the tee. The mini is noticeably better off the tee, and surprisingly good off the deck, but still in testing mode overall. 

 

I hit a massive bomb with the mini downwind 20+ mph that rolled out to 380 yards. Would love to have seen the launch data on that one. The TR/mini combo allows me to go after it much harder than I would normally swing a 3 wood. Still not 100% sure there’s a need for it though.

[jorellanes]

26 minutes ago, AdExec said:

I’ve got a Ventus TR7X in mine. Use the same shaft between a 13.5 mini and a stealth plus 13.5 right now trying to pick a winner out of them as a 3 wood and leaning toward the mini driver. I rarely need a 270+ 3 wood off the deck, but its great to have off the tee. The mini is noticeably better off the tee, and surprisingly good off the deck, but still in testing mode overall. 

 

I hit a massive bomb with the mini downwind 20+ mph that rolled out to 380 yards. Would love to have seen the launch data on that one. The TR/mini combo allows me to go after it much harder than I would normally swing a 3 wood. Still not 100% sure there’s a need for it though.

I agree, The Mini is a better option off the tee IMO. Can't wait to try that Ventus TR!

[winegr]

I love the Mini off the deck at 13.5. Goes remarkably straight and not that hard to elevate a bit. 

[BigPoppa999]

I am in Australia and struggling to find somewhere to buy one of these, out of stock everywhere! Anyone know what's up with that? Taylormade take my money!

[sifijg]

Has anyone experimented with swapping out the weight screw? Had big success adding weight to my Stealth+ and want to try it with the Mini. Is it the same screws as the Sim2 range does anyone know?

[uglande]

On 5/31/2022 at 8:15 PM, jorellanes said:

I agree, The Mini is a better option off the tee IMO. Can't wait to try that Ventus TR!

I've got the same competition going -- between 13.5 mini driver and 13.5 fairway wood. The mini driver is in the lead because I love it so much off the tee. 

The mini is also simultaneously in competition with my driver. Distance differences are not huge but the mini is far more consistent. 

[mxskier]

for those of you comparing vs 3 wood - did you just swap the shaft? how much longer is the shaft for the mini vs the 3 wood, or are they the same?

[Seattlegolfnut]

10 hours ago, sifijg said:

Has anyone experimented with swapping out the weight screw? Had big success adding weight to my Stealth+ and want to try it with the Mini. Is it the same screws as the Sim2 range does anyone know?

Yup! It’s the same thread pitch and diameter as Sim2 fairway screws (probably same as driver I don’t know for sure). It’s in there with some blue locktite type substance. Heat it carefully and use a T-20 security torx.

 

I got heavier ones from Amazon but likely any of the sources that sell ones like these: https://a.co/d/b6mltcw

 

That’s the stock weight on the scale.

[Seattlegolfnut]

10 hours ago, mxskier said:

for those of you comparing vs 3 wood - did you just swap the shaft? how much longer is the shaft for the mini vs the 3 wood, or are they the same?

I used to play a 15* 3W with a low/low shaft. 42.75”. Hardly ever hit it off the deck so it was usually just a 1B tee club.
 

The 13.5* Original One and the 300 mini with a high launch / mid spin shaft tipped an extra 0.5”, at same 42.75” length, perform with extremely similar trackman numbers and distance as the 15*/low/low but much better dispersion with the bigger heads than my old 3W.

 

 

[Seattlegolfnut]

19 hours ago, BigPoppa999 said:

I am in Australia and struggling to find somewhere to buy one of these, out of stock everywhere! Anyone know what's up with that? Taylormade take my money!

They were limited release and discontinued. Used market now. 

[uglande]

20 hours ago, mxskier said:

for those of you comparing vs 3 wood - did you just swap the shaft? how much longer is the shaft for the mini vs the 3 wood, or are they the same?

Stock is 43.75. I play mine at 43.50 with a tiny bit of lead tape. 

 

I tried to play an 11.5 at 44.00 and it felt quite heavy. But if you're playing this as a 3w, I think anything around, or above, 43.00 would probably work fine. 

[mxskier]

Let me clarify - how long is the shaft with adapter at standard for the mini?
 

it’s a deeper club head so will play longer than corresponding 3 wood with same shaft, right?

[uglande]

39 minutes ago, mxskier said:

Let me clarify - how long is the shaft with adapter at standard for the mini?
 

it’s a deeper club head so will play longer than corresponding 3 wood with same shaft, right?

Yes. Others can weigh in but my recollection is that the shaft is the same as the normal TaylorMade 3W shaft. Because TM 3Ws are 43.25, and because the mini head is larger than the 3W head, you can put a TM fairway shaft in a mini head and get nearly identical length. In other words, a TM fairway shaft in the mini will give you a finished length of 43.75, which is stock for the mini. The only consideration there is tip trimming, because the weight of the mini head is slightly lighter than 3W, the fairway shaft in the mini head will play fractionally stiffer (but so small it's probably not even noticeable). 

[driveandputtmachine]

I pulled the shaft straight from my SIM2 3 wood and put it directly in the Mini.  I am playing my mini at 43.5', this is measuring down the back of the shaft to the floor in playing position.   The tip of the adapter to the end of the grip is 42.5"

48 minutes ago, mxskier said:

Let me clarify - how long is the shaft with adapter at standard for the mini?
 

it’s a deeper club head so will play longer than corresponding 3 wood with same shaft, right?

 

6 minutes ago, uglande said:

Yes. Others can weigh in but my recollection is that the shaft is the same as the normal TaylorMade 3W shaft. Because TM 3Ws are 43.25, and because the mini head is larger than the 3W head, you can put a TM fairway shaft in a mini head and get nearly identical length. In other words, a TM fairway shaft in the mini will give you a finished length of 43.75, which is stock for the mini. The only consideration there is tip trimming, because the weight of the mini head is slightly lighter than 3W, the fairway shaft in the mini head will play fractionally stiffer (but so small it's probably not even noticeable). 

[jorellanes]

Got the Ventus TR7x yesterday. BOMBS!

 

[vandyfan]

Finding one of these to test seems to be the key challenge for me. It would be a rather expensive experiment though there will likely be a good chance I can just sell it on the BST here for 90% of what I paid for it.

 

I have benched my driver temporarily because I cannot handle the impact of high gear effect toe miss. It is just brutal. Based on this thread, it seems that the smaller head size could contribute less gear effect on a toe strike, thereby lessening the severity from a duck hook perspective. Obviously there will still be some distance loss from missing the sweet spot. I am thinking instead of running out and buying this as an experiment would it make more sense to just hit 5W off every tee (it is my lowest lofted club after drive)? That is currently my thinking. In small sample sizes, I have not had any bad toe misses with the 5W. A good drive goes about 270 with roll, a good 5W off a tee goes about 235 with roll so if the Mini Driver could do 250-260 that would be amazing. 

 

Also, I have plenty of room in my bag. Currently I only carry 12 clubs so I could easily have a mini that I only use off the tee. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by vandyfan

[winegr]

I really like mine. Hard to believe it leaves the bag anytime soon. Stingers are great and accuracy is very good. Easy enough off the deck as long as you get some turf. 

[Binson]

Curious if anyone has a comparison with the SLDR Mini?  Have been using that (14 degrees) in my half set lately both off the tee and deck and quite like it. Thanks!

[hersper]

So the 300 mini is performing above all expectations, so well that I am considering getting a 13.5 degree one as well. The 11.5 version is absolutely phenomenal off the tee, pretty much leaving the driver to collect dust. The driver still goes a bit further on well struck shots, but the misses are way too inconsistent compared to the mini. Also, the mini is so workable on height and draws/fades, and I can also hit a high low-spinning bomb with the mini which goes pretty much as far as I hit my driver. The only issue is that I can't hit the mini quite high enough off the turf when the loft is set at 11.5, hence I'm considering making the 11.5 degree my main driver and getting a 13.5->14.5 degrees to work as a fairway wood.

 

Holy guacamole this club is good. Rocking it at 43.5 inches with an Accra RPG 472 m5+

[DiamondDallasRage]

Just jumped on the 300 Mini train - same distance as my G425 and tighter dispersion. Have a VA Raijin coming for it - very excited.

[calfan36]

Could someone explain how this would be more accurate than a 460 cc head built to the same length/loft shaft/etc?

[Seattlegolfnut]

4 hours ago, calfan36 said:

Could someone explain how this would be more accurate than a 460 cc head built to the same length/loft shaft/etc?

Probably won’t. That’s not really the use case for it. It’s weighted as a 3W head, ~206-209g, really meant to be played more at a 3W length than driver length….

Edited June 21, 2022 by Seattlegolfnut

[uglande]

14 hours ago, calfan36 said:

Could someone explain how this would be more accurate than a 460 cc head built to the same length/loft shaft/etc?

43.75 inch shaft. I have two. One is at 43.50 and the other 44.00. But I agree playing this at standard driver length (45.00-45.50) would defeat the purpose, and it would give you an impossibly heavy swing weight.

[calfan36]

I didn't mean build it longer... I mean build a driver shorter

[sg91]

57 minutes ago, calfan36 said:

I didn't mean build it longer... I mean build a driver shorter

What did people say this time last year when you last asked this question?

 

For my part, assuming you're asking in good faith, it's just personal preference. I like the smaller sized head and the ball flight. It's on me to hit it solid.

Edited June 21, 2022 by sg91

[NRJyzr]

17 hours ago, calfan36 said:

Could someone explain how this would be more accurate than a 460 cc head built to the same length/loft shaft/etc?

 

Sharing a post I made in another thread, that addresses this.  I'm being lazy, don't want to retype  🙂 

 

 

[Klubster]

I have two Taylormade 360 Ti  9.5* drivers sitting in the basement, one in stiff and one in regular.  The stiff was probably the favorite driver I ever owned.  Could not control the regular shaft, and it sits in like new condition.  I really found no advantage when I went to the larger heads.  

Edited June 21, 2022 by Klubster

[bjh1]

On 6/16/2022 at 3:46 PM, Binson said:

Curious if anyone has a comparison with the SLDR Mini?  Have been using that (14 degrees) in my half set lately both off the tee and deck and quite like it. Thanks!

I've used both.  Have a SLDR mini 14 that I used as primary driver for a while, and last year upgraded to the TM300. I have the 13.5 head and play it turned down a couple notches so it's more like 12 degrees.   

For me, the SLDR is more like a 3 wood.  Higher launching and way more spin.  Average 235 with the SLDR vs 260 with the 300.  

[RoyalMustang]

On 6/20/2022 at 7:05 PM, Seattlegolfnut said:

Probably won’t. That’s not really the use case for it. It’s weighted as a 3W head, ~206-209g, really meant to be played more at a 3W length than driver length….

 

Yeah, more accurate tee-box version of a 3W but with more playability; maybe tougher to hit on the fairway though.  Some people may want to hit 3W length off the tee (vs hitting a soft swing driver) but struggle with a 3W or find the 300 mini is easy to hit.  

 

Me, it had a soft shaft (65S) for me and I really liked it initially.  However, this was due to me being smooth due to the soft shaft. As I got used to it and my angry initial downswing movements returns, I sucked as badly with it as I do my normal driver.  

 

I know I am playing well if I can hit my wife's clubs well; my tempo is smooth and I am balanced.  Sure, I get a ton of spin and height on them, but if I can swing a senior flex shaft well, I am going good that day. 

[RCGA]

I'm finding a lot of success with this combo:

 

- 11.5* head set to standard

- Ball in the middle of my stance

- Tee it very low (maybe 3/4" off the ground)

- Swing thought is to hit up on it