Mini Driver Players - Check in!!

[Foxx]

Wish Tour Edge would enter the mini driver market.

[boycer]

You guys all go the 13.5 versions? Anyone go 11.5?  Anyone compare both? 

[NRJyzr]

2 minutes ago, boycer said:

You guys all go the 13.5 versions? Anyone go 11.5?  Anyone compare both? 

 

I have the 11.5, use them as driver replacements when they're in the bag.  I've not hit a 13.5 model.

 

[J13]

1 hour ago, boycer said:

You guys all go the 13.5 versions? Anyone go 11.5?  Anyone compare both? 

11.5 for me and I use it as a 3 wood replacement

[Thrummyfox]

I have 11.5 from release and plan to be flexible. 
 

My home course is very tight, every driving hole has oob left and my bad shot is a pull hook. 
Through the summer I cranked it down to 9.5 and with the hard UK summer used it to great success as driver replacement and also boosted my tattered driver confidence, and didn’t really suffer any distance reduction. 
 

As the wetter winter came in I found that obviously the run was reduced and have acquired a 9 degree G410. 
 

I am practicing with both through winter and know that at the second course I play most regularly will be using the MD as 3 wood replacement even if I crank them

both down as there are at least three straight away par 5 two of which are reachable in the summer with ground conditions and a decent drive 

[Anton Lennartsson]

Just bought a Burner mini 2023 version 13,5, pumped to try it, time to decided what shaft to play in it! 
 

Wondering what shaft you WRX guys playing in your Mini Driver?!?!??

[SAND WEDGIE]

3 hours ago, Anton Lennartsson said:

Just bought a Burner mini 2023 version 13,5, pumped to try it, time to decided what shaft to play in it! 
 

Wondering what shaft you WRX guys playing in your Mini Driver?!?!??

 

Same as driver but next weight up.  

 

Driver- Tensei CK Pro White 50S (55g)

Mini- Tensei CK Pro White 60S (62g)

[Scootre]

Finally got to play my 13.5*  Callaway Ti 340 mini on the course after hitting about 40-50 balls with it at the range over the last 2 months. 

I ordered it with the Denali 70 Black instead of the stock Blue and am glad I did. The trajectory off the tee is on the higher side, max carry (fairways were very damp from the snow melt, courses in the area opened this weekend) so it didn't go far once it hit the ground. I think with the setup I have, heavy weight in rear, it should be about 20-25 yards behind my driver (9* AI Smoke TD). 

I did give one shot off the deck a try on the last hole. I was about 245 into the wind on a slight upslope. Caught it a little thin, spinny, left me about 25 yards to the flag short and right. It did launch though. 

Hitting it off that wet, skinny, lie was going to be a chore. I think off of drier, summer grass it will be much easier. 

So far, so good. 

 

Edited February 4 by Scootre
It's drier not dryer.. lol

[dcmidnight]

I have tried - and really not liked - just about every mini driver thats come out. I am constantly tinkering with that spot in the bag so I'll buy just about every one I can. I think its such a finicky club - in terms of whether or not you like it - that the only way I can really tell if its going to work is by buying it and getting it out on the course...so it is what it is. But I just havent gotten along with anything.

 

Until I tried the PXG Secret Weapon. I ordered it an inch short with the Tensei White 75 stiff. Distance wise off the tee it almost perfectly gaps my driver and my 7w. And honestly its been...surprisingly easy to hit off the deck...or at least off mats so far lol.

 

Shaftwise I have/had the same issue with fw woods, I just dont like the trend of super long shafts on these tiny heads. But theres something about the combination of the shorter shaft and maybe its a little heftier, so far I'm digging it.

[rocketman18]

I would like to try a mini driver, is something like the SLDR Mini 14deg still good or am I losing out with the latest tech in the new ones?

 

The SLDR can be gotten for around £100 in UK, upwards of £250 for brnr mini etc.

[AU_Matt]

On 1/5/2025 at 7:11 PM, boycer said:

You guys all go the 13.5 versions? Anyone go 11.5?  Anyone compare both? 

Currently gaming a 13.5 AI mini at standard loft between a 10.5 paradym TD @11.5 and 5W. Could just be my lack of quality driver striking, but any more distance out of the mini would have effectively zero gapping difference from the driver, which pushed me in to the higher loft option.

[NRJyzr]

A small update...  Put my 300 Mini in the bag yesterday, 100% driver replacement situation.  Recent tee game has been spotty to the point I played a vintage round with Zing Blondes, and shot my best score of the season so far.  Wanted to see if this would extend to the mini (tend to do better with smaller clubheads), trying to avoid the distance loss of the worst mishits with the Zing.  😉

 

The 300:  11.5° tuned down a click or two (don't remember exactly) with a +/- 1.5° adapter, 43½ or 43¾ with a Phenom NL 60 shaft.

 

Had a better day off the tee than I'd been having with my R7 425 or SpeedZone.  Straighter, about the same distance, it was quite lovely.  The misses I had were user error, an overcooked draw and a couple pulls into the trees; otherwise quite a bit better than I'd been seeing with my larger tee options.

 

So far, so good.

 

[adamwon84]

4 hours ago, rocketman18 said:

I would like to try a mini driver, is something like the SLDR Mini 14deg still good or am I losing out with the latest tech in the new ones?

 

The SLDR can be gotten for around £100 in UK, upwards of £250 for brnr mini etc.

Anyone that I have talked to that uses the SLDR Mini say that they refuse to switch and that the new stuff doesnt give them anything more over the SLDR (besides maybe some forgiveness) 

[adamwon84]

On 1/5/2025 at 7:11 PM, boycer said:

You guys all go the 13.5 versions? Anyone go 11.5?  Anyone compare both? 

I have been using the 13.5 and now the 13 with the PXG SW, but I do have a Krank Mini on order (should be getting it today or tomorrow, finally) and that is 11.5 in loft. I plan on throwing a 3 wood length HZRDUS Hulk shaft in that head and building out a low bullet fairway finder club for those super windy/dry days (I live in LA and we get some dry fairways that run forever) 

[rocketman18]

32 minutes ago, adamwon84 said:

Anyone that I have talked to that uses the SLDR Mini say that they refuse to switch and that the new stuff doesnt give them anything more over the SLDR (besides maybe some forgiveness) 

That is good to hear, i will give it a go! 

[Warrick]

Got a GT280 at release, firmly in the bag, 3w replacement that gets tee use also.

[chch3]

I upgraded from the 300 mini to the R7 mini and it has been a beast.  I got the 11.5 degree, because it is a tee club replacement and I will rarely hit it off the deck if ever.  Bought it off the shelf because I hit the stock version so well when I was demoing it.  The stock shaft was not so good once I got it out on the course.  It also was swingweighting at D6.  I contacted Taylormade and they sent me some weights to get the swingweight back down to D4.  I replaced the shaft with a Tensei 1K Pro White 50 tx and it made a huge difference.  Dispersion shrunk and I picked up distance.  I also moved the weights to the back because it was too low spinning.  I was hitting it and could tell the ball was just falling out of the air.  Moved the weights to the back and the ball stayed up and I hit it straighter.  Last sunday was the first time I played it in the new configuration and I was out driving my playing partners by 20 yards.  I a couple around 280-290.  I only missed one fairway, because I put an absolutely putrid swing on the ball.  

[1puttTUT]

15 hours ago, chch3 said:

I upgraded from the 300 mini to the R7 mini and it has been a beast.  I got the 11.5 degree, because it is a tee club replacement and I will rarely hit it off the deck if ever.  Bought it off the shelf because I hit the stock version so well when I was demoing it.  The stock shaft was not so good once I got it out on the course.  It also was swingweighting at D6.  I contacted Taylormade and they sent me some weights to get the swingweight back down to D4.  I replaced the shaft with a Tensei 1K Pro White 50 tx and it made a huge difference.  Dispersion shrunk and I picked up distance.  I also moved the weights to the back because it was too low spinning.  I was hitting it and could tell the ball was just falling out of the air.  Moved the weights to the back and the ball stayed up and I hit it straighter.  Last sunday was the first time I played it in the new configuration and I was out driving my playing partners by 20 yards.  I a couple around 280-290.  I only missed one fairway, because I put an absolutely putrid swing on the ball.  

 

The R7 mini is awesome. I don't think I've missed a fairway since I bought it.

[RickyBubbs]

1 hour ago, 1puttTUT said:

 

The R7 mini is awesome. I don't think I've missed a fairway since I bought it.

Agreed, I actually got a second one and have one setup for max fade and the other max draw and removed both 3w and Dr when I’ve got a tough course with lots of OB. The R7 is the most versatile mini driver. I’ve even been doing some off-green putting with it instead of a hybrid and it’s pretty good. 

[joshm500]

So did some testing today with hitting the smoke mini vs elyte mini off the deck. Hate to say that the newer version was easier for me to launch off the deck and the ball speeds were more consistent. 265 yards off the deck with the mini makes it a really fun option now. So.... the elyte is joining the bag

[Tyrick24]

On 5/28/2025 at 7:34 AM, Warrick said:

Got a GT280 at release, firmly in the bag, 3w replacement that gets tee use also.

I'm in the same boat. I'm really happy with it. I would say I'm the stereotypical mini driver customer though. Long-ish off the tee and never used 3 wood for anything other than a shorter tee option.

I will say I'm shocked how often the opportunity presents itself to hit it off the deck though. I have a handful of times in weird situations and it has worked out really well every time.

[Josh H]

Grabbed GT280 today with tensei 1k black to replace my GT2 15* - quick range session this afternoon and was very very happy with it, look forward to getting it out on the course Monday! 

 

My course has lots of tight shorter par 4's and I would always take 3 wood or 5 iron etc but I get a bit yippy with 3 wood off a tee with the shallow face height etc. This is just the ticket. 

 

Side note - sound difference is surprising between heavy weight forward/back! 

 

May look to drop a velocore blue+ 7S in to match up to driver shaft, wouldn't know what to go with in terms of tipping though. 

[sshadow2]

Ai Smoke Mini 11.5 and 13.5 user here. Ultimately helped me to fix my driver swing release issues. I've gone back to driver but still have the mini (11.5) as the main driver in a backup bag.

 

Both have the stock Denali Charcoal shaft.

[vietnameeh]

Spin wise what are you guys trying to hit?

 

I been playing my Taylormade OG one 13.5 Ventus Black 7X. I like it except its too left bias for me though Spin can be 2900-3400 (I like it here).

 

I now have a Elyte Mini 13.5 Project X Denali Black 70 X (love it in my Elyte Driver) .... spinning 4K+ 

i tried Ventus Blue TR 7x and ended up in a Graphite Design GP7x because it was spinning 3.5k+

 

its straight but not going anywhere for me. last resort is trying heavier front weight and lighter rear weight 

[kilword]

elyte 11.5 with strong cog turned down to 9.5 @44.25 with a ventus tr red 6x as a driver replacement. driving has been a lot better/more control and still average 280-300. im 6 foot 5

[vandyfan]

PXG Secret Weapon at 13* with weights standard playing at 43" (.75" shorter) with Graphite Design AD VF 7X. Love it so far but it is a tee only club. 

[eddiebigeddie]

I have both the BRNR Copper Mini 13.5 and the PXG Secret Weapon. I like them both a lot, but the Secret Weapon is the one staying in the bag for good. I have it set up at 14’ with heavy weights in heel and back with a Tensei Blue 75s playing at 43”.  It’s a rocket and feels excellent when centered plus it looks better then the BRNR from address. 

[uglande]

On 5/30/2025 at 3:52 PM, Josh H said:

Side note - sound difference is surprising between heavy weight forward/back! 

 

Which way sounds better/worse?

[Josh H]

1 hour ago, uglande said:

Which way sounds better/worse?

It's a very individual thing but I'd say sound is good in both configs overall, heavy weight forward sounds more solid and better to my ears for sure - more of a 'Titleist' sound, it feels like you're really shifting a fair bit of weight around with the standard 11/3g weights so it makes sense. 

 

I have played a little more with increased and more balanced weight last night getting swing weight back up a bit after fitting a shorter shaft and SW dipping to C9, back up to D1.5ish now and keen to see how that fares. 

 

But AD Di 7 really suits this club for me, much easier to get airborne off the deck too, probably helped by going just over 0.5" shorter to just under 43" playing length. 

[nwight09]

13.5 Elyte Mini turned down to 12.5, draw setting. 

 

Been loving it off the tee box. Game changer for my game. 105ish swing speed, 240 to 270 total yards depending on if I turn it over a little or not.