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

[Pearlwhites]

Sorry if its been answered already, but for those of you who swapped shafts, did you try both driver/3W length shafts?

[RobotDoctor]

58 minutes ago, Pearlwhites said:

Sorry if its been answered already, but for those of you who swapped shafts, did you try both driver/3W length shafts?

I did my demo/fitting session trying the stock shaft.  Then I tried a Ventus Blue 5S (Taylormade version) the course had for driver fittings. The results were very good with that one so I ordered mine with it.  The length of my Ventus Blue 5S is 44.5" and it's performing really well.  The driver shaft produces longer drives by a few yards and makes a driver-driver comparison realistic.  

[Pearlwhites]

3 hours ago, RobotDoctor said:

I did my demo/fitting session trying the stock shaft.  Then I tried a Ventus Blue 5S (Taylormade version) the course had for driver fittings. The results were very good with that one so I ordered mine with it.  The length of my Ventus Blue 5S is 44.5" and it's performing really well.  The driver shaft produces longer drives by a few yards and makes a driver-driver comparison realistic.  

Thanks.  That makes trying this mini out more appealing.

[RobotDoctor]

7 hours ago, Pearlwhites said:

Thanks.  That makes trying this mini out more appealing.

When comparing the Mini to a driver an actual driver shaft is used in the Mini the comparison is more realistic.  There is just something about the flight of the Mini that is more penetrating than my M3.  The distances on well struck drives with both are close to the same distances but it is easier to put a good strike on the Mini than the M3, shot for shot.  I hit a lot of fairways today with the Mini (9/12) and produced some terrific drives with it.  The Ventus Blue 5S appears to be a keeper. 

[smn2dk]

Sorry if I missed it somewhere in the first seven pages, but would anybody be able to tell me what the tip to grip measurement of their shaft is vs. the assembled length of the club?  My mini is on the way and I'm trying to figure out what length I should be looking for if I want to replace the stock shaft with something the ends up playing roughly 44".

[me05501]

On 8/8/2021 at 12:32 AM, calfan36 said:

Why is no one talking about or comparing it to a 460 cc driver at the same length and loft? I can't see then how the mini could be better

 

On 8/9/2021 at 9:12 AM, me05501 said:

 

That's kind of what I've been doing lately, with an old Callaway Fusion 10.5 head on a 44" Vista Pro 70 shaft. It does about the same thing my SLDR Mini Driver did for me. The advantage, for me, is that the setup is the same as my longer driver so I'm getting useful reps in on that process when I use my shorty driver. 

I was on a launch monitor last week, and the shorty was giving me about 220 total distance versus 240-250 for my full-length driver. 

So after a few rounds I’ve got some feedback on this idea.

 

The issue with a 460cc driver on a short shaft is trajectory. The ball goes straight but very high. The extreme weighting that makes a big driver manageable on a long shaft is your enemy on a shorter shaft. 
 

It makes sense that the Mini Driver might provide a stronger trajectory and more roll out versus a 460cc driver at 44”. 

[JamesG12]

For those that have played this, are you more comfortable at the same shaft weight as driver or as 3w? I play a 65g driver shaft and 75g fairway wood. I think the stock shaft is 68. 

[RobotDoctor]

For me I prefer a driver shaft weight since I'm not planning on this being a 3 wood replacement.  So far the best success has been with a Ventus Blue 5S.  

[Fairway14]

7 hours ago, me05501 said:

 

So after a few rounds I’ve got some feedback on this idea.

 

The issue with a 460cc driver on a short shaft is trajectory. The ball goes straight but very high. The extreme weighting that makes a big driver manageable on a long shaft is your enemy on a shorter shaft. 
 

It makes sense that the Mini Driver might provide a stronger trajectory and more roll out versus a 460cc driver at 44”. 

 

Yes, agreed.

[Fairway14]

1 hour ago, JamesG12 said:

For those that have played this, are you more comfortable at the same shaft weight as driver or as 3w? I play a 65g driver shaft and 75g fairway wood. I think the stock shaft is 68. 

 

The stock shaft (TM MIDr PROTO) is 73 grams stiff flex and 69 grams regular flex. Stock length is 43.75". 

[dhappy42]

Is this a stupid question? What's the difference between a mini-driver and a 3-wood?

[thezinfan]

5 minutes ago, dhappy42 said:

Is this a stupid question? What's the difference between a mini-driver and a 3-wood?

There are numerous mini drivers but specifically we are talking about the new Taylormade 300 Mini driver. The head is about 300cc, where as a 3w is usually 160-190 cc. To me the head is more driver than 3w. It is 3w length. Lofts are stronger than 3w.

[dhappy42]

13 minutes ago, thezinfan said:

There are numerous mini drivers but specifically we are talking about the new Taylormade 300 Mini driver. The head is about 300cc, where as a 3w is usually 160-190 cc. To me the head is more driver than 3w. It is 3w length. Lofts are stronger than 3w.

So a mini-driver is basically a circa-1990 driver. Everything old is new again. 

[sg91]

7 hours ago, dhappy42 said:

So a mini-driver is basically a circa-1990 driver. Everything old is new again. 

It’s pretty much a modern tech version of Taylormade’s 300 Ti series from the early 2000s. 
 

I'm enjoying mine. Didn’t miss a fairway this morning and was in the same places as my driver used to end up (235-250 m, depends on the wind direction) when I tee’d it down to hit a low cut, which is my preferred fairway finder. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by sg91

[MaineMariner]

I just enjoy this hitting this club. The shaft length and head size just looks right. I'm not going to hit every fairway as a mid handicapper, but I'm enjoying a playable miss mixed in with bomb drives. I feel like I don't have to play defensive off the tee, which is an unusual feeling for me. It makes golf way more fun.

[uglande]

 

8 minutes ago, MaineMariner said:

I feel like I don't have to play defensive off the tee

This is the real value of the mini for me. I feel like I can swing as hard as I want with it. With a standard driver, I had a hard time carrying my confident bomber swing from the driving range to the golf course. 

[Darespo]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:23 AM, JoeFrigo said:

Absolutely love the 13.5 setup I have with Ventus Black 7x. I dont ever use 3w so I didnt lose anything by dropping 3w but now have a very accurate club thats about 20 yards shorter than my driver. Last round out I hit 6 of 7 fairways with it

 

Like most have mentioned ive found the best success with this when teed up lower and a neutral swing. When I tee it up higher and put a driver swing on it is when I personally get a little wild with it

Looking forward to demo sesh with this. I have driver struggles and hit my 3w just as far and consistently straighter 

[grisham]

I tried my mini yesterday and had a difficult time with consistency. Are most of you playing if forward and hitting up on it like a driver or not so forward and hitting slightly down on it like a fairway wood?

[winegr]

3 minutes ago, grisham said:

I tried my mini yesterday and had a difficult time with consistency. Are most of you playing if forward and hitting up on it like a driver or not so forward and hitting slightly down on it like a fairway wood?

Hit down on it. I am much more accurate when teeing it low. 

[boggyman]

So the tips are the same in the Mini and regular driver? 

[jeffrey r]

21 minutes ago, boggyman said:

So the tips are the same in the Mini and regular driver? 

 

Yep.  I have been able to try out a bunch of TM driver shafts I have around from over the years. 

 

I am still sorting out shaft length, shaft flex, tee height, etc.  Work-in-progress for me, but I still like what I am seeing. 

 

I can also verify, and I am saying this tongue-in-cheek, that you still need to put a full swing on these, follow through, etc.  The 300 Mini is not immune to my darn mental block off the tee that pops up intermittently during a round, with incomplete swings, or no body turn, and this will do a big block just like a real driver.  Good swing though, and this really performs and does what I am looking for from it.

Edited August 22, 2021 by jeffrey r

[boggyman]

6 minutes ago, jeffrey r said:

 

Yep.  I have been able to try out a bunch of TM driver shafts I have around from over the years. 

 

I am still sorting out shaft length, shaft flex, tee height, etc.  Work-in-progress for me, but I still like what I am seeing. 

 

I can also verify, and I am saying this tongue-in-cheek, that you still need to put a full swing on these, follow through, etc.  The 300 Mini is not immune to my darn mental block off the tee that pops up intermittently during a round, with incomplete swings, or no body turn, and this will do a big block just like a real driver.  Good swing though, and this really performs and does what I am looking for from it.

Thanks. I’ve got a few hoarded myself and will pick my Mini up next week when I get back on land. 

[RobotDoctor]

7 hours ago, jeffrey r said:

 

Yep.  I have been able to try out a bunch of TM driver shafts I have around from over the years. 

 

I am still sorting out shaft length, shaft flex, tee height, etc.  Work-in-progress for me, but I still like what I am seeing. 

 

I can also verify, and I am saying this tongue-in-cheek, that you still need to put a full swing on these, follow through, etc.  The 300 Mini is not immune to my darn mental block off the tee that pops up intermittently during a round, with incomplete swings, or no body turn, and this will do a big block just like a real driver.  Good swing though, and this really performs and does what I am looking for from it.

Keep in mind that you will end up teeing the 300 Mini lower than a 460cc driver. 

 

I have found that a slight upswing hit (like on a big headed driver) doesn't do anything for the Mini except make the hit less optimum.  I have found that impact level works best and produces a high but surprisingly penetrating ball flight.  My round today was disappointing except for several terrific drives with the Mini, including on the closing par 5 (playing at 602 yards today).  My drive, according to the cart GPS was 310.  I was generally around 285-290 today on my drives with the Mini.  Keep in mind I am playing at 5,000 feet elevation which adds about 10% more carry.

[MaineMariner]

I'm playing the ball teed even lower than I'd expect (maybe an inch off the ground, or less?), and a little further back in my stance than a driver. I've also found that teeing it higher and hitting it like a driver doesn't yield very good results. When I tee it high and forward, I tend to hit a push fade/block, which is my regular driver miss.

[SlicerMcGee]

For anyone who hits their driver and 3 wood the same distance and have tried the 300 mini, how does your distance with the mini compare to driver and 3 wood? Just got a mini delivered today but haven’t hit the range yet. 

[jeffrey r]

9 hours ago, SlicerMcGee said:

For anyone who hits their driver and 3 wood the same distance and have tried the 300 mini, how does your distance with the mini compare to driver and 3 wood? Just got a mini delivered today but haven’t hit the range yet. 

 

I don't have exact yardages, but the 300 Mini is pretty close to driver.  Some of that will depend on what loft you play the 300 Mini at, shaft length, etc.  With the 11.5*, you're really not far off from standard driver loft.  If you now play that with a 44" or longer driver shaft, you'll probably be looking at close to driver distances.  Loft up on 11.5*, or play the 13.5* (not available to me as a lefty), or play a shorter shaft, now you should start seeing more of a spread between driver and the 300 Mini. 

 

Bottom line, this should not be too difficult to dial in the way you want.  YMMV.

[rkillian]

On 8/22/2021 at 12:25 PM, grisham said:

I tried my mini yesterday and had a difficult time with consistency. Are most of you playing if forward and hitting up on it like a driver or not so forward and hitting slightly down on it like a fairway wood?

Hitting down, to neutral. Ball is only tee'ed up so that maybe a 1/4 of it is above the face and ball position is very similar to how I would hit a fairway wood.

12 hours ago, SlicerMcGee said:

For anyone who hits their driver and 3 wood the same distance and have tried the 300 mini, how does your distance with the mini compare to driver and 3 wood? Just got a mini delivered today but haven’t hit the range yet. 

Used to have a Driver and 4 Wood. The 11.5 Mini is only a little shorter 10 yards or so than the best shots I ever hit with my driver. Mini gives me a much more playable miss and has just been overall easier to hit than a regular 460 driver. It goes farther and is easier to hit than my previous 4 wood. 

[me05501]

Has anyone tried this club with the RDX Black that is a no-upcharge option? 

 

The RDX Black was a narrow loser to the HZRDUS Yellow in my driver shaft search so I'd be inclined to choose it for the Mini if I was ordering blind. 

 

I'm mostly considering it because I own two three woods, and rarely if ever do I use one on the course. If I'm hitting from the fairway my four wood is about the longest club I will pull. I've hung on to my three wood hoping I'd be able to make it work on par fives but the four wood is my comfortable club. 

Edited August 24, 2021 by me05501

[AppState09]

On 8/21/2021 at 12:51 AM, smn2dk said:

Sorry if I missed it somewhere in the first seven pages, but would anybody be able to tell me what the tip to grip measurement of their shaft is vs. the assembled length of the club?  My mini is on the way and I'm trying to figure out what length I should be looking for if I want to replace the stock shaft with something the ends up playing roughly 44".

Saw a Diamana Limited F65 on a certain auction site that claims to be from an Original One Mini that looks to be 42 3/4". If stock that would give an installed length of 43 3/4", so to get it to 44" you would be looking for around 43" if the OO and the 300 are apples to apples.

 

[rmgatl]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:35 AM, jt2gt said:

Any mini driver players ever play the G400 Ping Stretch 3?  If so, comparisons?   I'm liking my Driver, Stretch 3, 4 wood, Hybrid set up, but this club might fill in even better at the stretch 3 position.

I picked up a used stretch 3 coming in a few days and will compare the two.  Will post or you can PM me.

The stretch has the shorter shaft but also the smaller head.  I also have a couple Ping shafts and can more likely get a good fit.

I hit the mini ok yesterday.  Made similar decent swings with both my driver and the mini on two consecutive  holes.  Found two balls on each hole  lying about 7-8 yards apart, all 4 shots in the 240-250 range.  My driver SS is about 97-100.  If I get the ball on short grass, can shoot in the 70s.

I am definitely selling my standard Ping 3 wood, will either carry the stretch or mini.  Have 3 weeks to keep or return the mini.