Has anyone here made a 'Mini' driver?

[SkyMonkey7]

I have the opportunity to try making a Ping G400 Max 'Mini Driver with either a G400 Alta CB 65 Reg 3w shaft or a G400 Tour 65 Stiff 3w shaft.

The shafts are from a G400 SFT 3 wood and a G400 Standard 3w, respectively, and all have the 2nd gen Ping adapter.

I think the SFT was a buying mistake, as it has put an Anti-Slice kink in my bag between my G400 3h and the Max.

I started out as a slicer, but have that largely under control now. But The 3h is more anti-hook weighted.

So I have to play the three longest clubs in my bag differently to compensate.

The normal G400 3w is a 'new' purchase, and on its way to me this week, but I thought I'd have some fun before I sell the SFT on.

 

Has anyone here tried the experiment with their own driver.

What were the results? Win or fail.

[uglande]

That should work, but if you're going all the way down to a 3w shaft, you'll need to add a bunch of head weight or the club will feel like a toothpick and you'll get inconsistent results. Get some lead tape and start adding strips until it feels right. I'm guessing you'll want at least 5-6 grams and maybe more like 10. One thing I have noticed, however, is that trying to get it back up to a "stock" swing weight will require so much head weight that the club will actually feel heavy, even if the sw is in the stock range. So definitely add a bunch of head weight, but maybe less than some might suggest.

[SkyMonkey7]

I just returned from the driving range where I tried a switcheroo with the G400 Max and SFT 3w shafts.

Results were mixed for what was only a brief, very un-scientific, 10 shots each experiment.

 

The 3w became pretty much unplayable off the deck, but worked well off the tee.

I gained possibly 10-15 yds.

 

The driver was less successful. I duffed it before hitting the ball a lot more, but good hits went about the same as with the full length shaft.

Dispersion on good shots was OK.

 

More practice with the 'mini' driver and 'maxi' 3w would probably fix both issues.

But at my level of play, working on standard length clubs would be more beneficial 🙂.

 

Swing weights are pretty irrelevant at my poor standard of playing, so a deep dive into lead tape weighting is unlikely, but cheers @uglande 👍 

[bladehunter]

The whole point of a mini driver is the smaller head. Not the shorter shaft.  

[uglande]

19 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

The whole point of a mini driver is the smaller head. Not the shorter shaft.  

I disagree. Its value is in the combination of shorter shaft and smaller head. Both are necessary features if you want to get the fully array of benefits -- a tee club that can also be hit off the deck. But if the original poster is just trying to build a fairway finder tee club, that's a slightly different animal than a true mini driver, so big head/short shaft can potentially work. 

[Rbsiedsc]

1 hour ago, bladehunter said:

The whole point of a mini driver is the smaller head. Not the shorter shaft.  

Exactly. Most players should use a shorter driver shaft anyways. A mini takes that further with the smaller head, and lower cg making it feasible off the deck too. 

[ZipinZ]

2 hours ago, SkyMonkey7 said:

I just returned from the driving range where I tried a switcheroo with the G400 Max and SFT 3w shafts.

Results were mixed for what was only a brief, very un-scientific, 10 shots each experiment.

 

The 3w became pretty much unplayable off the deck, but worked well off the tee.

I gained possibly 10-15 yds.

 

The driver was less successful. I duffed it before hitting the ball a lot more, but good hits went about the same as with the full length shaft.

Dispersion on good shots was OK.

 

More practice with the 'mini' driver and 'maxi' 3w would probably fix both issues.

But at my level of play, working on standard length clubs would be more beneficial 🙂.

 

Swing weights are pretty irrelevant at my poor standard of playing, so a deep dive into lead tape weighting is unlikely, but cheers @uglande 👍 

 

 

My experiment with a 3 wood shaft in a old Titleist 917 D2 ended up in a similar disaster as yours .... after my round, it was done. 

 

D.

 

[Drivingrangehero]

I made one with an 11° 380cc head from a Japanese company. The head weighed 200g so it was much too light for me at 42.5”, so I added about 25g to the head. 
 

It’s been a game changer, I love it

 

Japanese manufacturers seem to stay with the smaller cc heads for longer than the American ones, but I considered doing it with a Cleveland Launcher 330 or 400, possibly a Cobra 350/380cc head as well. 
 

I had a Taylormade SLDR mini driver at 14°, but it spun way too much for me, so I sold it and made my own. 
 

I like mine better than the TM OO and the TM mini 300….. I haven’t hit the new BRNR yet. 

[North Butte]

4 hours ago, bladehunter said:

The whole point of a mini driver is the smaller head. Not the shorter shaft.  

I'd argue that the main point of a mini driver is to be just enough different from a normal driver to help the player break out of bad swing habits, at least for a while until he gets used to the mini driver. As such, the smaller head or a shorter shaft either one might do the trick for a given golfer. It's not physics that makes someone able to keep a mini driver in place but not a normal driver, it's the psychological factors (which are highly specific to the individual).

[vietnameeh]

I’m using titleist 913d2 12*
 

42.5” bought a heavier weight for it 

 

I like it better than my taylormade mini 11.5* driver (easier to hit, a bit more spin) 

[seis]

I have a Callaway Fusion hi loft driver with a Hazardous 3 wood length shaft. I put a heavier weight in the head and when I’m having driver issues it goes in the bag. I lose distance but gain accuracy.

[bladehunter]

8 hours ago, uglande said:

I disagree. Its value is in the combination of shorter shaft and smaller head. Both are necessary features if you want to get the fully array of benefits -- a tee club that can also be hit off the deck. But if the original poster is just trying to build a fairway finder tee club, that's a slightly different animal than a true mini driver, so big head/short shaft can potentially work. 

I think most have more trouble squaring the big head than anything.  The length heel to toe of the head has more to do with this than the length of the shaft ( inside a reasonable length range) …. 460cc head is harder to square if shaft length is the same.  

[NRJyzr]

20 hours ago, bladehunter said:

The whole point of a mini driver is the smaller head. Not the shorter shaft.  

 

20 hours ago, uglande said:

I disagree. Its value is in the combination of shorter shaft and smaller head. Both are necessary features if you want to get the fully array of benefits -- a tee club that can also be hit off the deck. But if the original poster is just trying to build a fairway finder tee club, that's a slightly different animal than a true mini driver, so big head/short shaft can potentially work. 

 

FWIW, I agree with BH's take.  My take is the "mini" is about the clubhead size.  We've always been able to make the driver shorter, though most don't do it, having been conditioned to accept the absurdity of modern club lengths that have been thrust upon the golf marketplace.

 

Sorry, my biases are showing.  🙂 

 

One of the large benefits of the modern mini is in the design, where they're using modern CG placement practices; older clubheads of a similar size have the CG placed higher.  We've since learned that's contrary to what's needed for lower spin production.

 

[03trdblack]

I'm going to build an experiment "mini" driver using a Taylormade SLDR 430 12* head with a 43.5" shaft length.  I can add a heavier weight to the sliding track to get the swing weight correct and it should be a pretty easy to hit driver. 

[realmfg]

Yep, bought a Paradym X 12*.  Built a 3 wood length heavy driver shaft and added weight to the head.  Love it to death.  Having the full sized head is much better than stock mini drivers Ive had.  

[SkyMonkey7]

So, I agree that the term 'mini' driver is probably misleading, considering the number of smaller/shorter drivers on offer under that name.

But as a 'shorter' driver, I may try again this weekend. 10 balls is not a definitive experiment.

The stiff G4003w has arrived, so I temporarily have a 'spare' 3w to play about with switching shafts, before I decide what to trade in.