Help me understand mini drivers...

[Pepperturbo]

10 hours ago, jomatty said:

I can’t figure out why it would be beneficial for the the vast majority of players

They are NOT good for most people, but they won't know that till they run out and buy one.  It's like hitting an old 380-400 cc driver.  I used to play 905S.

 

Smaller headed drivers are harder to hit consistently well.   I'll say it this way, if someone isn't skilled with a strong 13' lofted 3wd a small headed driver is likely to be problematic.

[JeffreySpicoli]

If you hit a 2 iron like me (you know, old guy with vastly superior genetics), you would not need a mini driver.

[scooterhd2]

7 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

They are NOT good for most people, but they won't know that till they run out and buy one.  It's like hitting an old 380-400 cc driver.  I used to play 905S.

 

Smaller headed drivers are harder to hit consistently well.   I'll say it this way, if someone isn't skilled with a strong 13' lofted 3wd a small headed driver is likely to be problematic.

 

I sometimes game a 13* mini driver as a 3wd replacement, in which case you could be thinking the opposite. Smaller headed fairways wood are harder to hit consistently well, so I am going to use the largest head available to me at this loft. If you do not intend to hit a club off the deck, than the most forgiving head you could possibly make would be the largest head possible. Thus, a 460cc driver. And, I'd be all for a 460cc 13 degree driver that had a heavy headweight that you could play at 43in without a roll of lead tape. But that' takes some creativity to find or build, so mini driver is the next best option. 

 

[b.mattay]

I am seriously considering going the mini driver route next year to have an alternative tee club that is easier to draw! I rarely end up hitting 3 woods off the deck anyway. 

[PNW]

The way I consider it, metal woods are all on a continuum across shaft length and head size, and mini drivers can slot in at some point. Rename it as a 2 wood, then how do you feel about it? Maybe they don't slot in well for your bag? That's fine. I bet you don't have 5 woods in your bag either so you made a decision to only carry maybe a driver and a 3 wood.

 

Point being, it may not fit what you need but it does offer some great options for others (that a few other posters described). I have one that gives me a tee option between an 8 degree driver and a shortened 3 wood, and I find it more workable than both. I find it to be a fun club for a few reasons. 

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, scooterhd2 said:

 

I sometimes game a 13* mini driver as a 3wd replacement, in which case you could be thinking the opposite. Smaller headed fairways wood are harder to hit consistently well, so I am going to use the largest head available to me at this loft. If you do not intend to hit a club off the deck, than the most forgiving head you could possibly make would be the largest head possible. Thus, a 460cc driver. And, I'd be all for a 460cc 13 degree driver that had a heavy headweight that you could play at 43in without a roll of lead tape. But that' takes some creativity to find or build, so mini driver is the next best option. 

 

I hear you... I was speaking about average Joe golfer, which, from what I have seen, are not skilled with 280/300 cc heads. 

[sg91]

3 hours ago, PNW said:

The way I consider it, metal woods are all on a continuum across shaft length and head size, and mini drivers can slot in at some point. Rename it as a 2 wood, then how do you feel about it? Maybe they don't slot in well for your bag? That's fine. I bet you don't have 5 woods in your bag either so you made a decision to only carry maybe a driver and a 3 wood.

 

Point being, it may not fit what you need but it does offer some great options for others (that a few other posters described). I have one that gives me a tee option between an 8 degree driver and a shortened 3 wood, and I find it more workable than both. I find it to be a fun club for a few reasons. 

 

 

Agree. The two courses at my club don’t really require a 250-260 m driver off the tee so when I do pull driver out of the bag on par 5s, I’m normally hitting a lowish cut with the aim of just putting it in the fairway. The mini driver is basically a perfect fit as it allows me to just hit a stock shot that goes very similar distance to that low cut but gives me the confidence and control of a shorter shaft. I also would very much prefer having a short iron from the fairway on a par 4 than a wedge from the rough or a pitch out from the trees. From the fairway I can control height, move it left/right etc. From the rough it might jump, it might go left, it might come out dead; you never know.

 

On long courses or really windy days I’ll pop the full driver into the bag in it’s place, but most of the time, the mini driver fits what I need for the course(s) I play.

[gsxrdn]

I hate it. I tested the new Taylormade Mini and hate the ball flight, the ball contact. I still prefered my M5 3W

[RobotDoctor]

I have always preferred smaller drivers and really do not like 460cc drivers, never have.  The largest cc driver I have ever owned is my current driver (M3 440cc).  I hit my driver well, at least well enough but have difficulty shaping shots accurately in either direction.  I did not have this issue with the Taylormade 300 and Titleist 983K drivers.  The Titleist 905T driver was not quite as easy to shape shots but I was still able to do it.  Since then I have gamed a Taylormade M1 430cc and the Taylormade M3 440cc and both are difficult to draw and a bit inconsistent fading the ball.  The Taylormade 300 Mini is the head size I really love.  The smaller head size allows me to be able to work the ball either direction with greater ease and this was evident during my one range session with the demo and the one round of golf I played with.  Since my days of mauling a course by brute strength is over I prefer a driver I can play shots with.  My swing, when my fundamentals aren't skewed, is generally repeatable and I do find the center or close to it on my shots.  So extreme forgiveness is not what I am looking for or need.  If the 300 Mini is as easy to hit as those who have it say it is then this is a no brainer for anyone because a tighter dispersion and more fairways found is more appealing to me than an extra 10-15 yards.  So my appeal is a driver that allows me to make shots while keeping up with the behemoths drivers most covet.  I say keep them and give me the 300 Mini.

[Titleist_PT23]

18 hours ago, North Butte said:

If you feel I've crossed the line and been offensive I will be glad to retract that comment. Since you asked so nicely.

@NRJyzrif you guys can't agree on mini drivers maybe you can try talking iron lofts and club numbers🤣

[NRJyzr]

12 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

I hear you... I was speaking about average Joe golfer, which, from what I have seen, are not skilled with 280/300 cc heads. 

 

We could easily say Joe Average is not particularly skilled with *any* tee club  😉 😁

 

I see some pretty amazing things in the Men's church league I sub in. 🤯

 

[BIG STU]

18 hours ago, hoselrocker said:

This is becoming a BS question and it’s getting old. As far as I can tell never in the history of golf has there been so many equipment choices. Don’t like blade sand wedges - play cavities. Like the looks of a full face wedge - game that. No judgement from me.
 

This is really about guys that can hit 460 well and maybe even a fairway on occasion snorting about if you can’t hit 460, learn how to. The end result is game enjoyment and for me I know I can hit fairways looking at a smaller headed driver with a shorter shaft. I have long arms best suited for hauling luggage and that paired with the long 460 driver shaft and big head is a recipe for disaster. My swing is the opposite of Adam Scott’s and the minis offer me some help. Get off your high horses and accept that not every body can or wants to hit a big driver. High toe wedges make no sense to me - but if you hit all your short game shots inside mine good for you!

Yep that sums it up for me---- Different folks like different things that is what makes the world go round---- You have never heard me bash someone's equipment choice and never will--- Yep the Mini driver may work for some and not for others. LOL if I want to go to a smaller head I have several Bertha drivers one being 12* at that or I have close to 75 Persimmon drivers

[RobotDoctor]

19 hours ago, hoselrocker said:

This is becoming a BS question and it’s getting old. As far as I can tell never in the history of golf has there been so many equipment choices. Don’t like blade sand wedges - play cavities. Like the looks of a full face wedge - game that. No judgement from me.
 

This is really about guys that can hit 460 well and maybe even a fairway on occasion snorting about if you can’t hit 460, learn how to. The end result is game enjoyment and for me I know I can hit fairways looking at a smaller headed driver with a shorter shaft. I have long arms best suited for hauling luggage and that paired with the long 460 driver shaft and big head is a recipe for disaster. My swing is the opposite of Adam Scott’s and the minis offer me some help. Get off your high horses and accept that not every body can or wants to hit a big driver. High toe wedges make no sense to me - but if you hit all your short game shots inside mine good for you!

Maybe there's two camps here.  Some of us are comfortable with our games and what we need to do to improve it.  While others, "13 years in a driving range, 'you' still think this game is about your testosterone count."

 

The latter might not apply to everyone in the 460cc camp but it sure applies to many.  

[PowderedToastMan]

I love my mini driver. It has a much different flight than my driver, which is also about 3” longer than the mini. 
 

I know for many pros playing drivers at 46.5” or more, bagging a mini driver at around 43.5-44” can be an excellent option. As pros on the big tours continue to accept these longer shaft lengths, these strong lofted two woods will become more and more common in pro bags.

[NRJyzr]

@PowderedToastMan  I just wanted to offer a brief interruption to express appreciation for your avatar.  🙂

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

15 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

I hear you... I was speaking about average Joe golfer, which, from what I have seen, are not skilled with 280/300 cc heads. 

 

Yep. That's me. I recently upgraded my 20-year-old small-headed steel-shafted driver to an "old" by today's standard Ping G25. The Ping is about 1/2" longer than the old driver.

 

I had trouble finding the face on the old driver--I always hit the face on the Ping. I'm still inconsistent finding the sweet spot, but I hit it well enough that I can actually use the driver in my bag rather than teeing off with a long iron...

 

I'd venture to say that taking 2" off my old driver won't make it any better--I can't hit the damn 20-year-old tiny-headed steel-shafted 4w in the bag either. 

[Milfordlefty]

5 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

We could easily say Joe Average is not particularly skilled with *any* tee club  😉 😁

 

I see some pretty amazing things in the Men's church league I sub in. 🤯

 

Sounds like my church league, lol. Sort of makes sense, at times there is some praying going on at the golf course.

[joostin]

Different strokes for different folks, so I like the variety.  There's enough demand for marketers to push the concept to the golfing public. 

 

As someone who took a while warm up to 400+cc heads, and never played all that much, I can understand the allure of the mini.  For me the setup and visual of a 460cc head didn't feel right for a long time, and it was hit or miss.  3W and my older smaller drivers were more comfortable because I didn't have the right setup and enough reps with the bigger headed driver (probably not a problem with most people here).

 

That's no longer the case, and now I have 2 460cc heads in the bag!  But still I liked the concept of a smaller driver head as a 2nd driver and 3W replacement.  I used to have fun working left/right shots with my old small headed drivers, and can't work the big heads nearly as much, as the higher the head MOI the less I can manipulate with my hands regardless of shaft length (related to my posts regarding MOI around hosel-shaft axis).

[JoeFrigo]

geez, the mini driver threads are becoming the new " I hit blades better than....."

 

For me it was simple for my game. I dont ever use 3w. It just takes up a spot in my bag. As a 5hc im good but not great and have plenty of off days. My buddies I play with every saturday are 12hc and higher. I average 290 off the tee and should be playing 7000 yards but thats not the case with my normal 4some. Instead our course ( Cog Hill ) has 3 courses we rotate that are between 6,100 to 6,600 from the back tees. At that distance on par 5's I usually have nothing longer than a 4i for my 2nd shot so there is never a time I need a 3w from the fairway.

 

I would use 3w off the tee every once in a while just bc I havent used it. Got rid of the 3w and picked up the 300 mini (had original one last year) and its strictly a fairway finding club that gives me 20 yards less than driver and much easier to hit centered. It can be hit off the deck if needed but it will be a low launch piss missile that really wouldn't hold a green anyway

 

Like Ian at TXG mentioned he uses his SIM2 Rocket 3w at 12* solely for tee shots at his home club. For me and my home course id rather have the 13.5 300 mini as a tee only club compared to a 3w

 

With that being said I do think the mini drivers are a niche club but can absolutely be a weapon in your bag if you know what you want out of it

[Milfordlefty]

Took the TM SLDR mini to the range last night. Out of 10 shots, probably hit 1-2 great shots and another 1-2 good. Not enough to replace the 460cc Ping driver. Back to the basement. 

[NorCal678]

The only thing that makes sense to me is taking the driver and 3 wood out of the bag, and picking up a wedge or top of the bag gapping.  

 

There is a mental thing about hitting a smaller club.  You focus more on hitting the middle as you have less room for error.  

 

IDK.  I think most people who buy this think its cool, and show it off to their friends to try at a range.  I mean who doesn't want to drop at ball at "insert 10-20 yards less than driver" and hit a green.  

[Tim Sherwood]

I just got myself an Aeroburner Mini driver at 12⁰, for the second time. Had one years ago and loved it but I was playing a lot of golf and stuck with my 460cc driver as it offered more distance. Fast forward a few years and due to having 2 kids, I now don't play much at all so 460cc driver started to cost me a lot of shots! Just took the Aeroburner to the range and it's going  straight in the bag. The smaller head just gives me confidence and I stripe it just like my 3 wood only about 20 yards further. I mean, it's just a 2 wood really so if you're proficient with a 3 wood it just makes sense. As an occasional golfer, it's perfect for staying safe off the tee 👍

[bladehunter]

I can answer only for me. 
 

to me 3 wood spot serves two purposes.  

1.  Laying up to specific numbers on tight holes 

2. Getting at par 5s on the second shot.  
 

the 300 mini is the best thing I’ve seen to do that , ever.  It’s Uber easy to hit.  Launches higher than any 13 degree 3 wood off the deck that I’ve had.  And is s great sounding /feeling club.    Essentially a dual club.  It’s a driver quality forgiveness off the tee , without going just as far as driver or requiring to be teed up like any 460 cc driver will.  See I tee it just barely off the grass and hit down on it. It’s not a club I hit up on like driver.  It’s a control club.  Driver is the high bomb club.  Period.  
 

so if you’re a person who will be able to hit driver on any length par 4.  And isn’t going at par 5s in 2.  This club probably doesn’t make any sense at all.    

Edited July 30, 2021 by bladehunter

[bladehunter]

On 7/27/2021 at 8:59 AM, PowderedToastMan said:

I love my mini driver. It has a much different flight than my driver, which is also about 3” longer than the mini. 
 

I know for many pros playing drivers at 46.5” or more, bagging a mini driver at around 43.5-44” can be an excellent option. As pros on the big tours continue to accept these longer shaft lengths, these strong lofted two woods will become more and more common in pro bags.

Excellent point.  My driver is 45.75. The mini is 43.5.  

[me05501]

I used to love my SLDR Mini Driver and was somewhat tempted by the new one. Instead, I searched around through my stash to see what I could find as a "fairway finder" driver to complement my other driver. 

 

I ended up using a Callaway Fusion 10.5 driver and a Vista Pro 70 shaft. I cut the shaft down to play at 44" and swapped the 5g head weight for a 12g weight. Then I turned it up one degree to play at 11.5. 

 

This has turned out to be a good solution for me. Right now it's in my three wood spot while I fine-tune my driver swing. 

 

The benefit of having a 460cc secondary driver is that the setup and swing ideas that work with it will more easily translate to my lighter, longer driver. Hitting a bunch of fairways with the short driver gives me more confidence when I use the longer one.  

[NHenson815]

For me, it was a no brainer.  The Strong 3 Wood has always been my best club and I'm generally only able to hit a driver 10 yards further than the Strong 3 at most (except for some random days of weirdness).   My mini driver (in the 9.5 setting) carries about 20 yards further than any normal driver I've ever tried, with the added benefit of knowing I'm not going to blast it into the wrong fairway like I sometimes do with a normal driver.  This might not be the typical experience for most people, but I imagine there are probably a decent number of amateurs who could benefit using this as a standard driver, based on my own experience.  

[A-A-RonCCC]

I’m a mid-handicapper (14) with a fast-ish swing speed.  The driver goes too far on some tee shots and a 3 wood is intimidating.  A club with a tall face that goes shorter than the driver is a much better use of the 3 wood slot in my bag.  FWIW a 7 wood is the next longest club in my bag and I get a consistent 260 carry with it.  

[mootrail]

On 7/26/2021 at 2:55 AM, jomatty said:

So if the goal is to have a more dependable tee club, then why does a smaller, less forgiving head help most players accomplish this?

 

The same reason why it's easier to hit a 7 iron vs a 3 wood off the deck.

[martinbns]

I hit 3W anywhere from 3-6 times a game off the tee.  For quite a while I used a Cobra CompEz 13*, today it's an almost 10 year old Callaway XHot.  I often hit it into the wind, less sidespin a bit more backspin keeps the ball in play better.  I also hit it when one side of the fairway vs the other gives you a big advantage.

 

I am thinking hard about a 13.5* Epic Max, I only hit my 3W off the ground under very favourable circumstances as I can hit a low running shot with my 3H.  

[martinbns]

11 minutes ago, martinbns said:

I hit 3W anywhere from 3-6 times a game off the tee.  For quite a while I used a Cobra CompEz 13*, today it's an almost 10 year old Callaway XHot.  I often hit it into the wind, less sidespin a bit more backspin keeps the ball in play better.  I also hit it when one side of the fairway vs the other gives you a big advantage.

 

I am thinking hard about a 13.5* Epic Max, I only hit my 3W off the ground under very favourable circumstances as I can hit a low running shot with my 3H.  

 

Worth noting, I am 58 and not a long hitter.  A good drive for me is 225 or so and off the tee the 3W is about 210 or so.  Reading the whole thread it appears to be a debate amongst high swing speed players.  I can pick a side of the fairway far more reliably with my 3W than with a driver.