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

[uglande]

OK, just got my 13.5, which I outfitted with a Ventus Blue 7x and took it to the range for a first real test.

 

On the plus side ...

 

Looks: Excellent. Love the matte finish, black color, retro graphics on the sole, and the silvery metal face. Not a big fan of the head cover (the Original One was much nicer) but no biggie.

Sound/Feel: Fantastic. Just like my in-store testing. One of the best feeling clubs I have ever hit.

Speed: Wow. Ball speeds were almost identical to driver, and I'm playing the mini at stock length - 43.75"

 

Now the downside ... 

 

Direction: Struggled. Everything, regardless of setting, wanted to go left on me. Not a draw. An angry pull -- like out of bounds. I experienced a bit of this in the store with the stock shaft as well. Probably the majority of my shots were fine in terms of direction, but the ones that missed were off the planet left. What was really working at the end of the session, however, was to crank down the loft and then try to hit a power fade -- really whipping my right shoulder through impact. This produced some perfect shots with the highest speed numbers of the day. So, more experimenting needed, but at least that particular shot was working really well.

Off the Deck: Not great. Sure, it's better than you would expect, and you can pop the occasional shot pretty well. But it's inconsistent. In 80 percent of cases, I would do better by flushing my 4/5 wood. But the mini is a second tee club for me, not really a fairway wood, so I would only use it off the deck in rare circumstances. 

 

This was my first test, but I'll update as I get more swipes with it. So far, pretty happy with it, but need to dial in the right swing to produce more directional consistency. 

Edited July 20, 2021 by uglande
typo

[Jut]

One full round with mine so far.  Hit it from the tee 11x.  Super happy with the results.  High and long and pretty darn straight (if anything I left a few out to the right a bit).  I had the Original One and this looks better and sounds better.  Overall results are similar, though with the stock shaft, the 300 seems to launch higher.  I do have an Evenflow Black on the way (picked up on the BST) to see if I can lower the flight some (I don't really want to mess with the loft, but will if I have to).  I can usually get along okay with stiff, stock shafts (driver SS is around 95ish now), but this one does feel like it has more kick than I'm used to (I do typically like a stiffer tipped shaft....Manolo says don't be nasty).  Looking forward to the chance to hit her off the deck a few times (the opportunity never came up during Sunday's round).    

[rkillian]

I’ve gotten to play 9 holes twice so far. I’m using it as a driver replacement and so far so good. I’m hitting the ball straighter/much more online than I’ve hit driver in the last year and it’s easier to hit off a tee than my 4 wood was; something I had started to rely on off the tee heavily. Compared to my best shots with a regular driver on the same holes I’m about 10-15 yards shorter. But in 2 nine hole rounds I haven’t hit a tee shot to a bad spot yet. I didn’t play a round with driver in the last year where I could say that. 
 

So for early on, I’m happy with it. And I’ll add that I really love the sound of it. 

Edited July 21, 2021 by rkillian
Typo

[PixlPutterman]

I'm thinking one of these, at 9.5.... With an x100.... At 43.5

 

Stripe city

[PixlPutterman]

9 hours ago, uglande said:

OK, just got my 13.5, which I outfitted with a Ventus Blue 7x and took it to the range for a first real test.

 

On the plus side ...

 

Looks: Excellent. Love the matte finish, black color, retro graphics on the sole, and the silvery metal face. Not a big fan of the head cover (the Original One was much nicer) but no biggie.

Sound/Feel: Fantastic. Just like my in-store testing. One of the best feeling clubs I have ever hit.

Speed: Wow. Ball speeds were almost identical to driver, and I'm playing the mini at stock length - 43.75"

 

Now the downside ... 

 

Direction: Struggled. Everything, regardless of setting, wanted to go left on me. Not a draw. An angry pull -- like out of bounds. I experienced a bit of this in the store with the stock shaft as well. Probably the majority of my shots were fine in terms of direction, but the ones that missed were off the planet left. What was really working at the end of the session, however, was to crank down the loft and then try to hit a power fade -- really whipping my right shoulder through impact. This produced some perfect shots with the highest speed numbers of the day. So, more experimenting needed, but at least that particular shot was working really well.

Off the Deck: Not great. Sure, it's better than you would expect, and you can pop the occasional shot pretty well. But it's inconsistent. In 80 percent of cases, I would do better by flushing my 4/5 wood. But the mini is a second tee club for me, not really a fairway wood, so I would only use it off the deck in rare circumstances. 

 

This was my first test, but I'll update as I get more swipes with it. So far, pretty happy with it, but need to dial in the right swing to produce more directional consistency. 

Lighter swing weight? Making you pull?

[uglande]

8 hours ago, PixlPutterman said:

Lighter swing weight? Making you pull?

Really doesn't feel like it. In fact, it feels a bit heavy. I put a 7x shaft in it, which is slightly heavier than the stock version, and I'm playing it at the full stock length of 43.75. Club head weighs 207g, so it really shouldn't be light at that length, but I haven't put it on a SW scale.

[Luke'sdad]

$ 400 bills for an oversized 3 wood that you can't use from the fairway? I'll pass

[KingKong]

On 7/14/2021 at 5:22 PM, bladehunter said:

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.  

I just so happen to know a guy with a TB 80tx rolling around in the bed of his truck...

[RobotDoctor]

2 hours ago, Luke'sdad said:

$ 400 bills for an oversized 3 wood that you can't use from the fairway? I'll pass

 

Doesn't have to be an oversized 3 wood.  The 11.5° model can definitely be classified as a small headed driver.  I intend to use mine turned down two settings lower to make it effectively roughly a 10.2° driver.  I will be installing a driver length Ventus Blue Velocore 6S shaft.  The reason some of us want a driver replacement is so that we have a driver that we can work the ball with greater ease.  The 460cc/440cc drivers makes it difficult to draw and fade balls on command, at least consistently that is.  I have demo'd the 300 Mini 11.5° driver with a TM Ventus Blue 5S driver shaft as well as the stock stiff shaft and both allowed me to work the ball much better and much easier than my current gamer (Taylormade M3 440cc 9.5°).  Distance wise the 300 Mini actually had a little better numbers across the board, including overall distance and carry.

I would personally not use this driver as a 3 wood replacement.

[NorCal678]

I really don't understand the point of these clubs from a scoring standpoint.  Certainly a fun club for you and your friends.

 

Do you ditch the 3 wood for a course with really long par 5s.  Do you ditch the driver and 3 wood, for another wedge or gapping at the top of the bag (5-7 wood, hydbrid, driving iron, ect.)

 

 

[uglande]

21 hours ago, uglande said:

OK, just got my 13.5, which I outfitted with a Ventus Blue 7x and took it to the range for a first real test.

 

On the plus side ...

 

Looks: Excellent. Love the matte finish, black color, retro graphics on the sole, and the silvery metal face. Not a big fan of the head cover (the Original One was much nicer) but no biggie.

Sound/Feel: Fantastic. Just like my in-store testing. One of the best feeling clubs I have ever hit.

Speed: Wow. Ball speeds were almost identical to driver, and I'm playing the mini at stock length - 43.75"

 

Now the downside ... 

 

Direction: Struggled. Everything, regardless of setting, wanted to go left on me. Not a draw. An angry pull -- like out of bounds. I experienced a bit of this in the store with the stock shaft as well. Probably the majority of my shots were fine in terms of direction, but the ones that missed were off the planet left. What was really working at the end of the session, however, was to crank down the loft and then try to hit a power fade -- really whipping my right shoulder through impact. This produced some perfect shots with the highest speed numbers of the day. So, more experimenting needed, but at least that particular shot was working really well.

Off the Deck: Not great. Sure, it's better than you would expect, and you can pop the occasional shot pretty well. But it's inconsistent. In 80 percent of cases, I would do better by flushing my 4/5 wood. But the mini is a second tee club for me, not really a fairway wood, so I would only use it off the deck in rare circumstances. 

 

This was my first test, but I'll update as I get more swipes with it. So far, pretty happy with it, but need to dial in the right swing to produce more directional consistency. 

What a difference a day makes. Headed back to the range for another extended session this morning. I was hitting the Mini much more consistently than yesterday, and was easily able to work it in all directions. It still has a left bias, but I was able to adjust so that it's now a powerful draw instead of a hard pull. The biggest change was that I put it in one of the flatter settings and at about 12.0 loft. I didn't have any of the hard pulls during this session.

 

Hit a ton of balls with the Mini and with my driver (Mizuno STZ at 45 in.). Ball speeds were very consistent with both clubs, averaging 155-158 with the mini and 160-164 with driver. So still enough distance with the mini for strong tee shots but enough separation with driver to warrant keeping both in the bag. I also generally hit straight-to-fade with the driver whereas the Mini provides the easy draw option, which is the main reason I bought it -- a second tee club that can produce a different shot shape than driver.

 

It did occur to me that someone could bag two mini drivers -- the 11.5 cranked down to 9.5 with the face wide open for a fade bias and the 13.5 set neutral, which is naturally draw biased (for me). I wonder how far off my numbers would be with a 9.5 mini relative to my 9.5 Mizuno driver.

 

Again, I have to say this: the sound and feel of this club are like nothing else I have ever hit. So much fun to swing, especially with the Ventus Blue shaft.

Edited July 21, 2021 by uglande
Typo

[jacobEDGE]

4 hours ago, Luke'sdad said:

$ 400 bills for an oversized 3 wood that you can't use from the fairway? I'll pass

A. You can use it from the fairway. That's the entire point of this club. Is that it's a small driver with the ability to hit off the deck. That's what the V-Sole is for. Watch any review of the club, and they'll be hitting it off the deck with good results.

B. You look at it as $400 for an oversized 3 wood. I look at it as driver that is $130 cheaper than the SIM line.

[jacobEDGE]

1 hour ago, NorCal678 said:

I really don't understand the point of these clubs from a scoring standpoint.  Certainly a fun club for you and your friends.

 

Do you ditch the 3 wood for a course with really long par 5s.  Do you ditch the driver and 3 wood, for another wedge or gapping at the top of the bag (5-7 wood, hydbrid, driving iron, ect.)

 

 

 

Not ditching a 3 wood at all. Or a 5 wood.

Mini Driver
3 Wood

5 Wood

3 Driving Iron

4-PW

52º, 56º
Putter

There's my 14 clubs.

[KingKong]

6 minutes ago, jacobEDGE said:

A. You can use it from the fairway. That's the entire point of this club. Is that it's a small driver with the ability to hit off the deck. That's what the V-Sole is for. Watch any review of the club, and they'll be hitting it off the deck with good results.

B. You look at it as $400 for an oversized 3 wood. I look at it as driver that is $130 cheaper than the SIM line.

Facts. 

[texas_tom]

Most of you that drive the ball 280 yards down the middle will never understand the struggle of the tee box. Hitting the ground and sky balls, topping the next attempt, or hitting screaming flyers that land through some ladies window on the second street over from the course. This is a DRIVER for those of us that cannot swing a 500cc empty sledgehammer on a 47" shaft and literally ruins the entire round of golf. 

IMO, This isn't really meant to hit on the deck. Honestly, if you (like me) cant hit a great driver... you probably shouldn't be hitting 3w off the deck either. Just like we shouldn't be using a 2i from the rough. 

Hitting 100% of the fairways with a 10-15 yard loss off your BEST drive.. this is a game changer. All of a sudden you at least have a small chance to get close to a green in regulation for once. I will be getting one, and maybe one day my lessons will pay off and I can actually make contact with a driver, but until then.. 

 

[ckay]

2 hours ago, NorCal678 said:

I really don't understand the point of these clubs from a scoring standpoint.  Certainly a fun club for you and your friends.

 

Do you ditch the 3 wood for a course with really long par 5s.  Do you ditch the driver and 3 wood, for another wedge or gapping at the top of the bag (5-7 wood, hydbrid, driving iron, ect.)

 

 

The experiment for me is to see if there are significant gains in accuracy for the times I play tighter golf courses in which fairway rewards you with a huge premium and anything wayward tacks on at least an extra stroke.  This is definitely not a fairway wood replacement for me and I find it very hard to believe that anyone who thinks this is a good fairway wood alternative can't yield better results with an actual fairway wood.  Of course, I have not received mine yet so it's conjecture at this point.

 

My build is an 11.5* on a Ventus Blue Velocore 7x and should be here Friday.

[geesecougar2]

Hit it at a PGA Superstore and liked it a lot, very solid old school feeling to it, like a "thwack" but still hot. 

 

I really liked how it performed when teed low, felt like I could hit controlled cuts with it all day, was still getting ~285 on mid 150's ball speed and mid 3's spin.

Edited July 22, 2021 by geesecougar2

[PixlPutterman]

5 hours ago, uglande said:

Really doesn't feel like it. In fact, it feels a bit heavy. I put a 7x shaft in it, which is slightly heavier than the stock version, and I'm playing it at the full stock length of 43.75. Club head weighs 207g, so it really shouldn't be light at that length, but I haven't put it on a SW scale.

True

 

 

[TheDominator273]

My 13.5 Mini arrived today and it was love at first sight.  Ordered with a no upcharge Smoke Blue RDX knowing it would likely be too low launching for me and that held true. Once I put my AD IZ in it though things really took off, and from there it was a simple manner of cranking it wide open to help with my tendency to over draw and I was looking at 148-152 ball speed, 12* of launch, 2600 spin, 233 carry 258 total distance, all with a slight push draw that was very repeatable.

 

Driver for me is fade biased and there is some definite overlap in distance between the two, but at the courses I play I think it's going to work out nicely to go Driver-Mini-Hybrid/5W-4 iron.  While the Mini can definitely be hit off the deck I rarely hit a 3 wood off the deck, usually opting to hit the higher lofted wood/hybrid or lay up with a long iron.

[PixlPutterman]

3 hours ago, NorCal678 said:

I really don't understand the point of these clubs from a scoring standpoint.  Certainly a fun club for you and your friends.

 

Do you ditch the 3 wood for a course with really long par 5s.  Do you ditch the driver and 3 wood, for another wedge or gapping at the top of the bag (5-7 wood, hydbrid, driving iron, ect.)

 

 

Sounds like you havent read through the threads here. While it may not be for everyone, there are plenty of reasons plenty of people bag them.

Cant remember the last course I played where I had a 3 wood  into a par 5, let alone one worth it to go for it from that far out. 

 

But for most of us, we find it easier to hit than a 460 with minimal to no distance loss.

 

Kinda the same as asking why do you need a 64* wedge, isnt 60* enough? Different strokes for different folks, not everyone needs the "standard" bag set up

[PixlPutterman]

2 hours ago, uglande said:

 

 

It did occur to me that someone could bag two mini drivers -- the 11.5 cranked down to 9.5 with the face wide open for a fade bias and the 13.5 set neutral, which is naturally draw biased (for me). I wonder how far off my numbers would be with a 9.5 mini relative to my 9.5 Mizuno driver.

 

 

That is how I played it (before getting a sim to foolishly chase distance) I had the OO Mini at 9.5 and it was a great tee club rivaling pretty much every driver I've ever had. 

 

The SIM is a lot longer for me, but I play it an inch longer and at 7*, so its surely costs me accuracy.

[vtreilly]

I play a G425 LST driver with AD DI 6S and an M6 Fairway with a Diamana DF 70S.  Trying to figure out if most people are putting in the shaft they normally use in the driver but shorter length or of it makes more sense to follow what’s in the fairway and maybe lighter or same weight?  

[winegr]

I finally had the chance to hit it. 11.5 degree with stock stiff shaft. 
 

Feel: phenomenal. So solid, muted and great feeling. 
 

Shaft: too soft for flex and my swing. Not terrible, but it would be hard for me to consistently hit a variety of shots with it. 
 

Distance: pretty good when it came off the center and with low spin. Much shorter when the spin got up, but I was hitting straight into a stiff breeze. I have to believe it is at least 15 yards shorter than my driver. 
 

Trajectory: It was easy to control different trajectories. Tee it high and increase angle of attack and I could hit it really high even when set to 9.5. Or come in neutral and hit more low stingers. 
 

Forgiveness: it’s surprisingly forgiving. I put a few really lousy swings on it and it wasn’t as bad as expected. 
 

Shot variety: this is where I got a little greedy. You feel like you can hit lots of shots with this club and you can, but I became more erratic as I tried too many of them. I want to be able to hit a low cut fairway finder and a mid trajectory bullet with this in theory. I need to hone those in. I think I need a go to shot or two with this (for control)rather than thinking I can do everything with it. I am using it as a driver for tight holes, doglegs, etc. 

 

Loft: I probably liked it more at 11.5. when I dialed it down to a 9.5, it seemed to miss right more.  I could still elevate it easily at 9.5. 
 

Off the deck: I didn’t try it yet. 
 

If I had a strong 3 wood I really liked, not sure I would take it out for this. But for people like me who don’t click with 3 wood and could probably hit this 3-5 times a round off the tee, hoping it works. I’m optimistic, but probably will need to swap shafts. The shorter shaft certainly makes it feel more controllable vs taking a bit off a driver. 
 

Interested to hear more feedback as people use it more. 

[winegr]

4 hours ago, ckay said:

The experiment for me is to see if there are significant gains in accuracy for the times I play tighter golf courses in which fairway rewards you with a huge premium and anything wayward tacks on at least an extra stroke.  This is definitely not a fairway wood replacement for me and I find it very hard to believe that anyone who thinks this is a good fairway wood alternative can't yield better results with an actual fairway wood.  Of course, I have not received mine yet so it's conjecture at this point.

 

My build is an 11.5* on a Ventus Blue Velocore 7x and should be here Friday.

Post your results. Interested to hear how Velocore does with this. 

[RobotDoctor]

Mine was ordered a week ago at my home course with a TM Fuli Ventus Blue 5S.  It apparently isn't scheduled to ship until next week (29th).  UGH!!!  Well, at least this will allow time for my Fuji Ventus Blue Velocore 6S to arrive and time to install the TM shaft adapter (just waiting for it) and cure.  The shaft should be here in a day or two, by Monday at the latest.

[PixlPutterman]

14 minutes ago, RobotDoctor said:

Mine was ordered a week ago at my home course with a TM Fuli Ventus Blue 5S.  It apparently isn't scheduled to ship until next week (29th).  UGH!!!  Well, at least this will allow time for my Fuji Ventus Blue Velocore 6S to arrive and time to install the TM shaft adapter (just waiting for it) and cure.  The shaft should be here in a day or two, by Monday at the latest.

I see you were too excited and already updated your signature lol

[RobotDoctor]

9 minutes ago, PixlPutterman said:

I see you were too excited and already updated your signature lol

Yeah, I suppose I should change that back .... for now.  😂

[jacobEDGE]

Mine is scheduled for delivery on Saturday. 8 days total from the day I ordered it to having it in my hands. With a non-stock shaft customized at 1/4" short. 

Ordered directly from TM through their website, not through a course or shop.

[NRJyzr]

Toying with running out and picking one up.  One of the local shops had six when I last looked.  (I'm sure it's fewer now, LOL)

 

It's certainly an easier purchase when you don't have to worry about shafts; I'll be plugging something else into it.  🙂

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by NRJyzr

[winegr]

Wow. Second range session with this and you’ll have to pry it from my cold dead hands. This club is super fun. 
 

I was originally trying to swing this with a very upward angle of attack like a driver and tee it high at a low loft setting(9.5 or maybe 11.5). Results were fairly good but a bit sporadic. 
 

I finally set it to 13.5 with a flatter swing with little upward or downward angle of attack. Once I got in the groove and figured out a swing, I could point and shoot. Slight cuts, slight draws. High or low (more high). It wasn’t quite as long on these settings but oh so straight. 
 

Off the deck I had very, very good results directionally. I could hit it straight with a little fade. If I worked a bit, I could elevate it. The only issue is it comes out “squeezy” because you need to hit down and pinch it so it comes out with a little more spin and less distance but very straight. 
 

But I’m really loving it with this flatter swing (more fairway woodish swing and teed more medium height).  It doesn’t go as long as a driver under these settings, but it feels very controlled. To me this is a 2 wood that is very hittable off the deck if you have some speed. 

 

If I can translate this to the course, it should help me on a number of holes per round. Easier to hit for me than 3 wood.