Mini Driver v 3 Wood

[IanM]

I've always been suspect woth a driver in my hand!!

Played Ashburnham today and left it in the car. Used a 3 wood of all par 4s and 5s, hardly missed a fairway, comfortably beat my handicap.

Ok, it's baked and the ball running miles, so no issues with distance, but what happens when the rains come?

Should I be trying a mini driver? Anyone been through this thought process? What did you find?

 

[Backache]

Is there any harm in trying ? I have not as I don't mind my driver I'm pretty much equally dodgy with all clubs.

I have recently played with two people though one a lower handicapper (Mid single figures) and one a higher handicapper (Around 20) and they have both moved on to mini drivers with success, Losing not too much distance and gaining significant accuracy.

 

[Pin-seeker]

How much distance do you lose when hitting 3w rather than driver?
unless you bomb driver I don’t think it’s making much of a difference.
1 extra club into a par 4,laying up on par 5(rather than 3 off tee).
Stick wi 3w.

 

[Burnsey]

I won't carry a 3 wood I can't hit off the deck and I can't do that with a mini-driver.

A lot depends on the profile of your 3 wood of course and if you never intend to hit it off the deck, or just use for tee shots.

 

[Oops!]

I've always been suspect woth a driver in my hand!!

Played Ashburnham today and left it in the car. Used a 3 wood of all par 4s and 5s, hardly missed a fairway, comfortably beat my handicap.

Ok, it's baked and the ball running miles, so no issues with distance, but what happens when the rains come?

Should I be trying a mini driver? Anyone been through this thought process? What did you find?

IIRC @Lucifer MorningStar reported here on the forum that he has purchased at least an additional mini driver, so he should be able to answer your questiones !

 

[Arthur Wedge]

A number of people have moved to a mini driver to improve dispersion but a little distance is lost

 

[PaulMdj]

I carry both a Driver and a Mini Driver, initially is was to try instead of the Driver, but as I don’t carry 14 Clubs both ended up staying.

Love the Mini Driver as on option from the first cut or fluffy lies.

Also use it if during a round the Driver misbehaves.

I have used it off the fairway, but with mixed results, as above, first cut or fluffy lies it’s a beast for me.

 

[Pin-seeker]

A number of people have moved to a mini driver to improve dispersion but a little distance is lost

And water is wet

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

IIRC @Lucifer MorningStar reported here on the forum that he has purchased at least an additional mini driver, so he should be able to answer your questiones !

Indeed I do carry a Mini driver I’ve got the PXG Secret Weapon Mini. I can confirm it is an absolute weapon as well.

Off the tee on tight holes it’s a superb fairway finder with not much lost in distance, into the wind absolute go to even on longer holes where I’d normally use driver as can tee it down and hit low raking stingers. Easy to work shots with it high/low, left/right and as @PaulMdj states great from the first cut, even in these hard baked fairways the low profile of it off the deck makes it a cracker to hit plus in winter on preferred lies gives you extra distance from the fairway in the longer holes.

I reckon I use it more than my driver which I save for holes where I wanna crack at a green or there’s ample room to open the shoulders. I binned a 3 wood in favour of it as it does everything that can but with better distance, trajectory and workability.

 

[Bagger Vance]

For those people thinking of trying a mini GC4C do a 30 day free return offer. Buy one from their website in a spec you like, if it’s not for you return it for a full refund.

 

[garyinderry]

The one and only time I broke par at my home course I hit 3 wood all day.

Had a funny pass at the ball. Aimed right and pulled it straight up the middle. Did it all day long.


Rented clubs in Portugal last month too. Tried the driver at the range and it was erratic at best. Tried the 3 wood. Just hit that all day and picked my way around a tight course.

There's an element of fun missing when you leave the driver on the bench. Scores might improve though.

 

[nickjdavis]

Good time to experiment with one at the moment....if your fairways are dry and dusty then it is quite possible that hitting driver might put you in more trouble....experimenting with a MiniDriver to see if the accuracy gains are there could be useful...and is not likely to give up ANY distance compared to your normal conditions driver.

I'm certainly leaving the big stick at home over the next few weeks in favour of the accuracy of the MiniDriver.

 

[Orikoru]

Could always put a shorter shaft in your driver and adjust the loft upwards. Then you have the control but still the forgiveness of the driver head. Just a thought.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Could always put a shorter shaft in your driver and adjust the loft upwards. Then you have the control but still the forgiveness of the driver head. Just a thought.

I’ve done this before and it caused me all sorts of issues. Swing weight was way off as driver heads are lighter than Mini driver or 3 wood heads. So I couldn’t feel where it was at all, also caused the ball to spin up and balloon. Found I had to swing a lot slower to due to the lighter weight and whilst that then made it slightly straighter lost a lot of distance due to the spin and ball flight.

Horses for courses though may work for someone else but for me it does not have the same versatility as the actual mini does.

 

[rudebhoy]

Interesting topic. As mentioned elsewhere, I’ve been really struggling with driver for a couple of months now. Have had a couple of lessons but they haven’t really helped. Have resorted to hitting a 17 degree 2 hybrid off the tee. It’s pretty accurate, but I’m losing a good bit of distance compared to when I hit the driver well.

Have thought about trying a mini driver or a 3 wood. The key factor for me is which is easier to hit / more forgiving? (65 yo 18 hcapper).

 

[Hobbit]

Way back in the mists of time, 1971, I played with a 2 wood. Size-wise, remember the low profile Adam’s driver from around the early 00’s.

I like the mini-drivers, it’s a bigger 2 wood, easier to hit than a driver and with the added benefit of being usable from the fairway & light rough. The trade off is distance. Then it becomes an equation between the distance you lose v the distance you require v the accuracy you need. But, equally, it’s a step up from a 3 wood.

What works for one person won’t necessarily work for the next…

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Interesting topic. As mentioned elsewhere, I’ve been really struggling with driver for a couple of months now. Have had a couple of lessons but they haven’t really helped. Have resorted to hitting a 17 degree 2 hybrid off the tee. It’s pretty accurate, but I’m losing a good bit of distance compared to when I hit the driver well.

Have thought about trying a mini driver or a 3 wood. The key factor for me is which is easier to hit / more forgiving? (65 yo 18 hcapper).

In this regard I’d definitely recommend trying the Mini driver over a 3 wood. You’re gaining distance over a 3 wood so not as big a drop off from driver. Plus if you play a 17° hybrid a 3 wood leaves you odd gapping in the bag. Try something like a 13° Mini that you can loft up or down to find the sweet spot and as long as you get the right shaft you’ll have a very useful club for off the tee and the deck.

Way back in the mists of time, 1971, I played with a 2 wood. Size-wise, remember the low profile Adam’s driver from around the early 00’s.

I like the mini-drivers, it’s a bigger 2 wood, easier to hit than a driver and with the added benefit of being usable from the fairway & light rough. The trade off is distance. Then it becomes an equation between the distance you lose v the distance you require v the accuracy you need. But, equally, it’s a step up from a 3 wood.

What works for one person won’t necessarily work for the next…

Kind of how I see it as a 2 wood, got mine set to 13° with the weight forward and toward toe open settings. Gives me a really strong flight and allows me to hit it hard when needed without fear of the face shutting at impact.

Your comment about the equation of distance v accuracy for me is one of the best comments in golf. When younger I was never the longest but always pretty accurate (weird how that’s changed over the years ). But our Pro always told me doesn’t matter if you’re the long or not what matters is are you long enough to play the course you’re on. Basically if you can still hit the green in the required number of shots for your handicap what does it matter if you’re 10-15yds shorter than others(he was a wise man and went on to coach England girls for years). That’s always stuck with me and how I always see it when I take the mini driver, maybe I’m 1-1.5 clubs longer going into the green than I would be with driver but I’m playing it from the fairway and not in the crap

 

[Orikoru]

Yeah, I personally don't think I hit long enough to ever give up driver. There's around 6 holes at my place where I'd struggle to reach in regulation without driver, and my course is short - on other courses that number will obviously be higher. Current conditions not withstanding. On a 400 yard par 4, without driver I'd have to hit two very good 3 woods to get on, which is very unlikely to see me on the green. Even if I had a mini-driver I'd be giving up 15-20 yards from driver I'd imagine which would make it tricky.

 

[PaulMdj]

Yeah, I personally don't think I hit long enough to ever give up driver. There's around 6 holes at my place where I'd struggle to reach in regulation without driver, and my course is short - on other courses that number will obviously be higher. Current conditions not withstanding. On a 400 yard par 4, without driver I'd have to hit two very good 3 woods to get on, which is very unlikely to see me on the green. Even if I had a mini-driver I'd be giving up 15-20 yards from driver I'd imagine which would make it tricky.

Overall across the last 100 shots with both clubs Arccos states I’m 12 yds longer with the Driver, but 4yds tighter with the Mini Driver.

Smart Range for both Clubs:
Driver - 217 to 230
Mini D - 203 to 220

When comparing them, it tells me I’m better off the tee with a Driver, but my Mini Driver has a more predictable miss and is a better option on tight or strategic holes.

 

[Orikoru]

Overall across the last 100 shots with both clubs Arccos states I’m 12 yds longer with the Driver, but 4yds tighter with the Mini Driver.

Smart Range for both Clubs:
Driver - 217 to 230
Mini D - 203 to 220

When comparing them, it tells me I’m better off the tee with a Driver, but my Mini Driver has a more predictable miss and is a better option on tight or strategic holes.

I'm never going to carry both though so it would be one or the other. As mentioned I can't really give up even 12 yards since I'm short enough as it is.