43.5 inch 2nd driver instead of mini driver?

[grantc79]

Wondering how many of you have tried this route?

 

I took my mini driver out of my bag and found out that I missed it. That said I never hit it off the deck, its a tee box only club. Then I started wondering if I'm just going to use it off the tee why have a mini driver? Why not just get a shorter 12 degree driver?

 

Got one yesterday haven't put it in play yet but did hit it on the sim and it seemed to work pretty well. More forgiving than a mini driver for sure, similar distance. 

[MattM97]

This is the Ping "Thriver" concept. 

[grantc79]

54 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

This is the Ping "Thriver" concept. 

Yup. 

[EddieEdwards]

I'm playing a 43.5" main driver.

[Hageman11]

I was just posting in the mini driver thread and thought i had my mind made up until reading this thread.  Thanks for that.

[grantc79]

54 minutes ago, Hageman11 said:

I was just posting in the mini driver thread and thought i had my mind made up until reading this thread.  Thanks for that.

Is that sarcasm or serious 🙂

 

If you are going to do it get a head that you can add weights too like a cobra darkspeed or something. When you cut it down you will need to make it heavier. 

[RogerinNewZealand]

4 hours ago, MattM97 said:

This is the Ping "Thriver" concept. 

T S I S 3+.....

[J-Blade]

4 hours ago, EddieEdwards said:

I'm playing a 43.5" main driver.

Me too.. Several years ago, I picked up a used Titleist 910, 10.5* with a 43.5" Aldila NV shaft. I thought, "This is weird", but for $50, I figured what the heck. I could always replace the shaft. It works great for me off the tee. 

[jarediogolf]

I went thriver. Love that thing. 
Epic Speed 12* at 13*. 
Swapped the 5 gram weight for an 18 gram weight. 

Main driver is an Epic Speed 10.5 at 9.5. I like that the heads match. 

[lil'mike]

2 hours ago, Hageman11 said:

I was just posting in the mini driver thread and thought i had my mind made up until reading this thread.  Thanks for that.

I just commented there about the thriver concept.  I think that if I struggled with the driver, I would want a shorter shafted big head driver for more forgiveness vs the mini head.  I also can't afford to lose 15-20 yards in driver distance using a mini as the main driver since I can only get about 210 now being I am getting old.  🙂

 

I have a 13.5 Elyte mini in my main bag as a 3wd replacement off the tee only club.  I picked up a 11.5 one thinking I would put it in the second bag as the same 3wd replacement off the tee only club but I am thinking it may be too low of loft for that purpose so I wondered if anyone uses one as a main driver.

 

So I was thinking about returning the 11.5 head.

 

Edited July 25 by lil'mike

[goudok]

The biggest issue with “thriver” vs mini driver is that a lot of people find “thrivers” feeling that it is a driver and minis feel like a fairway wood where they try to swing down on minis and up on thrivers.  While swinging up is good for distance i find that is the biggest issue with hitting a driver straight.

[Ghostwedge]

Purchased a Ping G430 12° head,  Ping Alta 65g 3 wood shaft, put a 18g weight in the draw position. The easiest 210-220 yd don't have to swing out of your shoes middle of the fairway club ever invented. It's only 20-30 yds  shorter than my driver. Tight tee shots, short courses..... MONEY💯

[Ger21]

22 hours ago, grantc79 said:

Why not just get a shorter 12 degree driver?

 

For many people, the size of the head is much more of an issue than the length of the shaft.

[Hageman11]

On 7/25/2025 at 3:53 PM, grantc79 said:

Is that sarcasm or serious 🙂

 

If you are going to do it get a head that you can add weights too like a cobra darkspeed or something. When you cut it down you will need to make it heavier. 

It’s sarcasm lol. I’m just now in a dilemma about what i should do. What’s the reasoning for needing a heavier head?  

[Johnny Biarritz]

1 hour ago, Hageman11 said:

It’s sarcasm lol. I’m just now in a dilemma about what i should do. What’s the reasoning for needing a heavier head?  

You need the swing weight to be the same as what you normally swing. You could go with a heavier shaft to make up the difference or potentially an ultralight grip. But if the swing weight isn't correct, you'll have a lot of problems making good contact. It's not as easy as chopping 2 inches off the butt end of the shaft.