Mini Driver Players - Check in!!

[Ger21]

I'm hoping that this is the answer to random drives going 50 yards left or right. 🤔

I'm going to put my Attas 11 7S in it, and play it at 43". Have a 7g weight incoming.

 

 

 

Edited July 8 by Ger21

[notgreatnotterrible]

58 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

I'm hoping that this is the answer to random drives going 50 yards left or right. 🤔

I'm going to put my Attas 11 7S in it, and play it at 43". Have a 7g weight incoming.

 

Been playing the 300 for a few years now at its standard length.  It was revolutionary in straightening out my drives...something I had struggled with for years.  Nothing is more demoralizing than calling fore a few times/round or taking a 2nd shot from the next hole's fairway (that was me for awhile).  I'll still get a slight push or pull from time to time, but very rarely a slice or hook; and if I'm not in the fairway, I'm often just off of it.  Honestly, it made golf more fun for that reason alone.  I'm also convinced I haven't lost any yards because a fairway ball rolls out at least the distance given up by not playing a conventional driver (that I would have put in the rough)...I nailed a 275-yard drive with it last weekend, which was a personal best!

[Cstobaugh]

5 hours ago, horgo99 said:

@Cstobaugh I play something really similar. Currently have a Stealth Plus 8° turned to 6° as my driver and had been playing a stealth plus 3w turned 13.5°, but have replaced that head with a Sim Max 10.5° driver which I am just playing at natural loft in the 3w shaft. Play it is my mini driver/thriver. Perfectly happy to hit off tee or deck. Launches higher and spins a bit more then regular driver off the tee (good for gapping) but launches lower and spins less then my 3W (good for off the deck at my windy course). 
 

will it be my most used club? Absolutely not - but neither was my 3W. It fills a niche gap, and if I play a short set it’s either my longest club or it’s dropped. But if I’m playing 14 clubs it’s got a comfortable spot in the bag 👍

I played 2 rounds with the G410 @12 degrees in a Denali 3-wood shaft. Couldn’t be happier. I play shorter courses so never need a 3 wood on approaches. Hit this a bunch off the tee and played great. I may sell the 410 and get a 430/440 just for sound improvement. 

[Ger21]

Took the 300 Mini out for the first time today. Had to leave the course after two holes for a thunderstorm, and had torrential rain before we went back out. Already had a lot of rain last night, so the fairways were like sponges. Zero roll. Didn't hit any good drives on the front, but finally figured it out on 11. Hit nothing but rockets the entire back 9. Nice little 3 yard draws, carrying as far as my driver had been. I left it at standard length for now. If I can keep hitting it like I did on the back 9 today, this will be a game changer.

I've played around 45 rounds this year, and today was the first round that I didn't lose a single ball off the tee. 🔥🔥

[Boogs2]

Considering buying a Elyte Mini 11.5, playing at 43", and just use that instead of a full driver.  I stopped playing tees one up from tips, and started playing whatever is one back from front tees.  It';s made golf more enjoyable, doesnt make me hit just driver, and made the game more manageable.  I cant break into the 70s, I'm playing whatever tee that is until I do.  I barely get to practice as is and I only play once or twice every 2-3 months so I'm going to just enjoy the company and the day.  Plus less clubs since I'm trying to get my bag down to 11-12 clubs only and minimizing club choices. 

[BogeyTed]

What's the opinions of GT280 as an option off the tee? 

Edited July 13 by BogeyTed

[Tyrick24]

I'm officially ending my mini driver experiment and selling my GT280 head. The longer I went, the less and less I was using it as the newness wore off. Couple that with starting to hit driver better and just never seemed to use it. I think I was hitting it more off the deck for extra distance than I was off the tee and that's just not something I need.

[lil'mike]

I just got one and used it for the first time today as a 3wd replacement off the tee club.  I used it on a par 3 at 202 yards and stuck the green.  It was down hill some so we figured about 190.  Happy with that since my drives are only about 210-220 tops nowadays!

 

I get the part that it may not see much use as it is course dependent but I am okay with that and if I play a course that the yardages don't seem to fit it, I may pull it out and put something else in that I may be able to use like a hybrid or extra wedge.

 

Edited July 13 by lil'mike

[Ger21]

16 hours ago, BogeyTed said:

What's the opinions of GT280 as an option off the tee? 

 

One of my playing partners just got a GT280 last week, shelved his 2 year old Titleist driver, and has barely missed a fairway since.

three of my regular foursome have replaced full size drivers with mini drivers, and we're all hitting a lot more fairways, and not giving up much yardage at all. Our average drive length has probably gone up, and we are seeing fewer and smaller mishits with the mini drivers.

[3puttking14]

I use 3 wood weight since I’m basing more off length of the shaft. Feels good to me and I want to say from the WITB pics for pros that use mini drivers, they also do 3 wood weight

[me05501]

I've been hitting driver well lately and started to get a bit cocky about it. I'd look at the lonely BRNR headcover in my bag and wonder whether I should chuck it out to make room for something I might use more often. 

 

Then yesterday's round comes along and I have nothing with my driver. All I'm hitting are weak cuts and I'm missing every fairway. So I benched the driver and committed to the BRNR for the entire back nine. 

 

Hit every fairway. None of them were especially long but they were dead straight and predictable. My stress level went way down. Hadn't needed that solution all season but when I did need it I was glad to have it. 

 

FWIW I have a 13.5* BRNR on a longer shaft, probably plays at 45". I realized after the round that I had the loft set to 15* which obviously kept the distance down but there was enough backspin to keep the ball right on my target line. 

Edited July 14 by me05501

[hitnfades]

Follow up from original post:

Been playing the Elyte Mini 13.5* with GD Tour AD XC 6s or DI 6x stock length in S/N for 8 rounds and few range sessions now. For me, this set up is very easy to hit and I am able hit different shapes/heights as needed from the tee box. My overall miss can be high hook or block to the right. But, with this set up these misses are pretty rare or the miss is not as bad. I was looking for a trusted club from the tee box when the driver swing was not cooperating and wanting to hit something with a bigger face than my OG Apex UW 17* from the tee. So far, I have been extremely pleased and people I play with always ask a ton of questions since it is really long and they like the sound. 

[golf1010]

Just put the r7 13.5 in matched it with my driver shaft La golf axs red 60x at 43.75 and it might be same length of tee maybe 10 yards shorter

But It’s versatile enough to 3/4 a 225 yard cut on to a par 3. Really liked it … But felt like I was forcing it in play ….. wasn’t needed… I think on a tighter hike that’s where it may help

[prouse25]

Loving the Titleist GT280. Thought I would just test it to what everyone is talking about.  Finding it to be more versatile and more frequent uses than expected. 
 

certainly finding more fairways. Draws are only 10 yards behind the regular GT drive / fades closer to 25 yards shorter. Other than an occasional duck hook when I try to get too aggressive with it, the mini is really straight. 
 

I was really surprised by the ability to hit it off the deck. About 10 to 15 yards longer than my 4 wood. It has a very penetrating flight.  Difficult to launch it really high. 

knowing when to use it is the key. When do you really need that extra 20+ yards of the big driver/ when does a slightly shorter club force you to take a more conservative line and find the fairway more often / etc. finding that conditions, especially wind, may dictate which one I am going to use on a specific hole on a specific day. 
 

 

I think it’s going to stay in the bag for a while. 

[sollerak]

@prouse25 what shaft did you land on in the gt280 (heavier version of your driver shaft / same flex as your FW or same weight as your driver)?  Recently picked up a head and am experimenting later this week.

[BYK]

Those of you who have tried the BRNR and the R7, any difference you noticed?  Dunno if it's just me, but seems like a lot of the pros that I notice seem to have kept their BRNRs?

[Anton Lennartsson]

11 hours ago, BYK said:

Those of you who have tried the BRNR and the R7, any difference you noticed?  Dunno if it's just me, but seems like a lot of the pros that I notice seem to have kept their BRNRs?

Have played the BRNR 23 version 13,5g for a while, became quickly the favorite club in the bag, feels hot and goes straight and also useful of the ground, recently bought R7 13,5g to try, feels even hotter goes almost as long as my driver… looks better than BRNR i think so R7 is safe in the bag for me!

 

Looks like Scott, Fleetwood has made the change to R7, saw Rose, Haotong Li and F Molinari had R7 in the bag at the open! Probably a few more aswell

[odshot68]

R7 mini is best mini driver I’ve hit (and I’ve hit all but the new titleist). I play the 13.5 degree head and cut the shaft 1/2” short and use a 75 gram shaft in it. This club is so damn good. Almost automatic. Flew it 275 to a par four which plays along a ravine and landed it pin high and it stopped on the green. Not leaving my bag. Now to find a 4 wood for more playability of the deck. I can hit a pretty good low cut shot with this though off the deck.  

[prouse25]

21 hours ago, sollerak said:

@prouse25 what shaft did you land on in the gt280 (heavier version of your driver shaft / same flex as your FW or same weight as your driver)?  Recently picked up a head and am experimenting later this week.

My club didn’t have a lot of Titleist fairways length shaft options. I am generally a lower launch lower spin player. Currently, I have the Tensei Blue stiff in the mini - closest thing they have for my swing.  For reference, I have the Venus Red TR stiff in my driver and 4 wood. 

[braincramp52]

Picked up the callaway elyte 11.5 and I'm impressed. Sound and feel are spectacular and it hangs right there with TSR4 driver. More testing to do but the driver may have to go away. 

 

 

[JFORBES]

Loving the Elyte mini off the tee. 13.5 with Kai’Li dark waves white shaft. 

[Hageman11]

As the driver swing is in shambles right now I am slowly convincing myself to enter the mini market.  Looking at the GT280 or Elyte.  I am hitting my FW's well, but driver not so much.  Does a mini driver feel more like a fairway?  I don't want to spend the money only to struggle much like driver.

[C_rad]

Getting intrigued by this trend. Maybe it is the right answer for most amateur golfer. 

[Ger21]

43 minutes ago, Hageman11 said:

Does a mini driver feel more like a fairway?  I don't want to spend the money only to struggle much like driver.

 

They are a lot bigger than a fairway, and slightly longer, but yes, they feel more like a fairway than a driver. I find the larger size let's you really go after it. And they are far more forgiving than a fairway. I've played 6 rounds with my mini, and for me, the consistency is much better than a big driver. The really bad miss from the driver doesn't happen with the mini.

[Hageman11]

10 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

 

They are a lot bigger than a fairway, and slightly longer, but yes, they feel more like a fairway than a driver. I find the larger size let's you really go after it. And they are far more forgiving than a fairway. I've played 6 rounds with my mini, and for me, the consistency is much better than a big driver. The really bad miss from the driver doesn't happen with the mini.

What is the standard shaft length in a mini?

[Ger21]

38 minutes ago, Hageman11 said:

What is the standard shaft length in a mini?

 

43-3/4"?

I was planning on playing mine shorter, but after tipping a driver shaft 1/2", it finished at stock length, and I've been happy with it at that length.

[Hageman11]

On 7/13/2025 at 7:52 AM, Tyrick24 said:

I'm officially ending my mini driver experiment and selling my GT280 head. The longer I went, the less and less I was using it as the newness wore off. Couple that with starting to hit driver better and just never seemed to use it. I think I was hitting it more off the deck for extra distance than I was off the tee and that's just not something I need.

PM Sent

[odshot68]

2 hours ago, Ger21 said:

 

43-3/4"?

I was planning on playing mine shorter, but after tipping a driver shaft 1/2", it finished at stock length, and I've been happy with it at that length.

I play mine at 43.25” and use a 75 gram shaft tipped like a standard three wood. I’m giving up no distance and it’s so good. I only hit driver three times a round now. Only if trying to bomb it on a long par 5.  

[Hageman11]

I have a Diamana PD laying around I've been waiting to use for something like this.  I guess my mind is made up, need to find a head now.

[lil'mike]

8 hours ago, Ger21 said:

 

They are a lot bigger than a fairway, and slightly longer, but yes, they feel more like a fairway than a driver. I find the larger size let's you really go after it. And they are far more forgiving than a fairway. I've played 6 rounds with my mini, and for me, the consistency is much better than a big driver. The really bad miss from the driver doesn't happen with the mini.

Could you get better consistency if you just used a shorter shafted big driver?  It would give you more forgiveness and should be longer?

 

I love Elyte mini as a 3wd replacement only.  I don't hit it off the deck and rarely struggle off the tee with driver.  I picked up a second mini but it is the 11.5 head vs the 13.5 I like so not sure it will fit for the 3wd replacement in my second bag.

 

I have been asking if anyone is using the 11.5 as a 3wd without any issues.  I think for a main driver, I would stick to the thriver concept for extra forgiveness and because I am older and don't want to lose more yardage off the tee box so thinking about returning the 11.5 one as it might not fit very well for my 3wd replacement.