Why Should You Buy a Mini-Driver?

Working in a golf shop, a regular question that you get hit with is ‘do you have any mini-drivers?’ And while these clubs have always been made in small batches and are therefore often an elusive club to come across, the concept has clearly captured the imagination of the wider golfing public. With the release of the Titleist GT280 mini-driver (and another big brand being on the cusp of a release) they will become more available to the masses. So why would you need a mini-driver over the more traditional wood offerings? Let’s explore:

The Common Question
Could this replace your driver? In my eyes this is actually one of the less useful utilisations of the mini-driver. The driver head is bigger and quite often a 3 wood actually achieves the performance that a mini-driver would put out with added forgiveness due to the extra loft. To be brutally honest the driver woes experienced by many are often mechanical and caused by some technical deficiency in the swing, sometimes this movement (often steep and across it) can suit a shorter shaft and lower tee, sounds a lot like a mini-driver!

The Tour Solution
Mini-drivers are becoming more and more popular among the elite level golfers with players like Tommy Fleetwood using them regularly and even Rory McIlroy experimenting with them, predominantly for tee shots. Taking Rory for example, he’s talked about using the mini-driver to still generate distance when his driver would go too far:
“I feel like there’s a lot of golf courses we go to that really pinch in at like 310, 320. I would hit a 3-wood — I can’t hit driver because it’s just too narrow, but then I would hit my 3-wood that’s going like 285, 290. Still, guys that are shorter than me are hitting driver sort of 300 or 310, so I’m actually, I feel like I was at a disadvantage in some ways, even to like people that hit it shorter than me, depending upon the course setup. So I sort of messed around with that the mini driver last year”
Not a bad problem to have only carrying 3 wood 290! But it illustrates what I believe is one of the primary benefits of the club, a nice big head that won’t get you into trouble at the distances that your driver may reach.

How Would a Mini-Driver Be Best Utilised For an Average Golfer?
As a strong 3 wood user, in my opinion mini-drivers are best used if the courses you play on often tighten up where your driver would finish where you would need something to still generate decent distance and not lay back too far. This is commonly a challenge for quicker/longer players who still want to be aggressive where possible and will only occasionally use this kind of club off the deck if the lie and shot distance dictates. The larger faces and guarantee of good ball speed allows the player to not hit a perfect lay up. That being said, if you aren’t Rory McIlroy long and still want to explore a mini-driver in the hopes you will be more comfortable with it, I certainly wouldn’t rule out the possibility of you getting the desired performance if it suits your delivery and is well fitted.

These are really versatile clubs and can be used in many lengths and variations so make sure you get fitted to see if the benefits are there for you in putting a mini-driver in the bag!