Should You Play A Mini Driver?

Golf gear either evolves or it dies.
That’s the game.

Titanium gave way to carbon. Adjustable weights turned your fittings into a science project, and that trusty iPod you swore by? A paperweight in the drawer you promised your wife you’d clean out last year.

Right now, all eyes are on mini drivers.
The big question? Should you be playing one?

Let’s get one thing straight: golf has no shortage of tech that promised to change the game and ended up collecting dust. So, are mini drivers the next big thing or just another trend destined for the bargain bin?

Before I break it down, you need to understand what a mini driver actually is.

Mini drivers have been around in various forms over the years, but they’ve recently grown in popularity. They typically feature a head size between 200cc and 300cc (compared to the 460cc limit for drivers and around 150-190cc for typical fairway woods

Smaller than a driver, bigger than a fairway wood…confused? You’re not alone! But could this “tweener” club be the secret weapon you’ve been missing?

How do I determine if a mini driver is right for me?

Let’s talk about the king of your golf bag: the driver. But is yours truly optimized? Do you hit it consistently and accurately? Because here’s the truth: a dialed-in driver should outshine a mini driver almost every single time.

Now, think about the course where you actually play. Those local courses… are there holes begging for something different off the tee? Situations where a mini driver could be your secret weapon? This is exactly how the pros are thinking. If the course whispers “mini driver,” it’s time to listen. This club is all about strategic versatility.

The last thing to consider … can the mini driver fully replace your 3-wood? The mini driver is designed to be your go-to, potentially even easier to launch off the turf than that 3-wood you might be dreading. Could this be the ultimate two-for-one upgrade your bag has been waiting for?

Let’s find out.

The Test: Is it worth a spot in your bag?

Is a mini driver right for you? How do the options at the top of the golf bag perform off a tee? We tested a driver, mini driver and 3-wood in a head to head battle to find out who (if anyone) should think about playing a mini driver.

Titleist GT3 Titleist GT280 Titleist GT2 13.5°

Testers who took part in this Lab fall into the category of “good” ball strikers with moderate-to-fast swing speeds. They were pulled from our overall pool of club testers.

A Dialed in Driver is Tough to Beat

A fully optimized driver should be the best option at the top of your golf bag. Take a look at the data for yourself. It’s clear and obvious that you’re giving up distance by ditching your driver.

Driver vs Mini Driver vs Fairway Wood (Tee)

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But comparing the fairway wood to the mini driver off the tee is where this gets interesting.

In the table, you’ll see metrics we utilize in our Most Wanted Driver tests:

Straight Shot Percentage Playable Shot Percentage Carry Delta Ball Speed Delta Backspin Delta

These metrics allow us to analyze accuracy and forgiveness. The accuracy comparison between the GT280 and GT2 13.5° is close.

The fairway wood has the edge in straight shot percentage/fairway percentage.

The mini driver (GT280) has a better playable shot percentage; these are shots missing the fairway but come to rest in or within 10 yards of the edge of a 35-yard-wide fairway.

The mini driver also has a strong edge in forgiveness. With any golf club, you want consistency and reliable shot outcomes. That is exactly what you are getting with the mini driver. It produces a better carry delta and “range” than the GT2 13.5° and the GT3.

With accuracy being a toss-up and forgiveness going to GT280, the kicker is distance potential.

The mini driver produced faster ball speeds, longer carry and total distances and lower spin rates. This is the “driver” performance you should expect from a mini driver. Additionally, it produces straighter and more playable shot outcomes than the full-sized driver.

Versatility

Off the tee, a mini driver has exceptional potential. But its versatility is what makes it dynamic. Can you effectively hit it off the turf?

Off-the-turf performance

Collecting data is one thing. Being an eyewitness to performance makes you a believer. This is exactly what transpired seeing mini driver performance outdoors.

All 10 testers hit the driver, mini driver and fairway wood indoors off the tee first. Next, I had all of them hit the mini driver and fairway wood off grass. There was data collection, which mirrored what we saw off the tee. Ball speed, carry, and backspin were all fairly comparable. The mini driver was the better of the two by the smallest of margins.

You’ll notice that it was higher launching and spinning on average. But most importantly, the offline total was significantly less, which is phenomenal.

*All outdoor shots were hit with brand new Pinnacle Range Golf Balls*

Club	Ball Speed	Carry	Launch Angle	Backspin	Offline
GT280	153	233.6	8.9	3842.7	-4.62
GT2 13.5	151.9	232.4	8.7	3596.8	-13.29

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But the main objective was to see how effectively each tester could hit the mini driver off the turf.

I ran a pass/fail scenario for each tester: How many shots would you deem playable with the mini driver and with the fairway wood?

Seventy-seven percent of the mini driver shots were declared playable versus 63 percent for the fairway wood! The minimum was 50 percent for the mini driver versus 20 percent with the fairway wood. These results were exactly what I was seeing in person and it was astonishing.

Yes, these golfers have higher swing speeds which should allow them to hit shots off the turf with relative ease. But, for most golfers, regardless of swing speed, hitting a fairway wood or mini driver off the deck consistently is no easy task. Not only were testers hitting playable shots but the overall consistency of the shots was remarkable. The GT280 was exceptionally straighter as well.

Even this small sample size makes me a believer in the playability of a mini driver versus a fairway wood off the turf. But don’t take my word for it.

What are golfers saying about mini drivers?

Feedback, reviews, comments … they’re everywhere and, as consumers, we rely heavily on them. Here are some comments made by our testers regarding the mini driver:

MH23001 – “Coming into the test, I didn’t think hitting the mini driver off the deck would perform so well. 3-wood was comparable, but it didn’t have as much control with shaping shots and changing the trajectory as the mini driver did. Both are nice clubs, but after hitting the mini driver indoors and now outdoors, I’d choose the mini over the 3-wood.” PB24001 – “Mini driver is definitely more forgiving. I didn’t hit many fully square with it compared to the 3-wood, but the consistency of the numbers and shot outcomes were much better” AP18001 – “I had trepidation going into this about hitting the mini driver off the deck. It is considerably larger dimensions than a fairway wood. However, I was shocked at how user friendly it was. It was a tick more right bias off the turf too, which I like. I’d consider the mini driver over a 3-wood going forward.” SW24001 – “I was skeptical about the mini driver after hitting it off the tee. However, I am extremely impressed with how well the GT280 handles turf interaction and the performance off the deck. Magical. The dispersion was night and day versus the fairway wood. I can see some possible gapping issues.” SC17001 – “The mini driver is very cool! Off the tee, it offered a repeatable shot shape. I was convinced I could find a spot in the bag for it. After hitting it off the turf, I am even more intrigued by it! It inspires confidence and the turf interaction is effortless. Even at my swing speed, I could hit the mini driver off the turf with ease.”

Key Takeaways

Driver can’t be beat for distance Mini driver is more forgiving than the fairway wood (off the tee) Mini driver was more accurate off the turf than the fairway wood

So, should you play a mini driver?

The mini driver is a niche golf club. But this small test validates why it is becoming a trendy option at the top of your bag. You can hit the GT280 off the tee or off the turf (with relative ease versus a stronger-lofted fairway wood). This speaks to the versatility of the mini driver.

Based on our findings, I see the mini driver as more of a fairway-wood replacement than anything.

The mini driver can also be used as a direct driver replacement, but not without giving up some distance. If you play from a yardage that is uniquely shorter or where accuracy is a premium, mini driver is a solid choice.

We will be embracing the trend with our upcoming 2025 Most Wanted Mini Driver test.

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