Callaway Ai Smoke Mini Driver Up for Preorder

[driveandputtmachine]

Mine arrived today, of course I had to go into the office today, so I called my oldest son and asked him to grab it off of the porch.  I am playing in a club league event tomorrow and I will put it straight in the bag.

 

I have a 300 mini (silver) 300 mini black, and tried the Burners and preferred the 300 mini to them.  I rarely hit 3 wood off of the ground(I counted three times since I put the silver 300 mini in my bag shortly after release), and two of them were in a scramble, one in a regular round, and all three I would have been fine with 5 wood off of the deck.

[bcflyguy1]

Mine delivered about an hour ago; looking forward to gathering some first impressions.

[Lobber]

Can’t wait to hear from those who receive one how it performs for you!

[ike31197]

Just got mine early today and went straight to the range.  13.5 playing .25" under standard at 43.5. S/N setting.  Club sits pretty square.  Not really open like a TD but not really closed like a lot of Callaway offerings.  I have a Tensei AV Raw Blue 70TX in it.  The head does seem draw biased.  My stock shot this range session was a baby draw, completely took the right side out of play while my driver was producing more of straight ball, maybe a slight fade.  Launch and spin were neither high or low, right in the range you'd expect for a 13.5 degree head.  My driver swing speed was in the 112-114 range today while I was swinging the mini right around 105 pretty consistently.  Carry was around 20-25 yards shorter with the mini.  I messed around with it off the deck and TBH it wasn't hard to elevate whatsoever. I could work it either way off the deck pretty easily, hit it high or low.  This was somewhat unexpected as the head is HUGE and deep.  It almost looks like my standard TD from a size standpoint.  I would say about the only thing this probably can't do that a standard 3 wood can is get it out of the rough, but with the distance my TD 5 wood provides I don't see using this as much else other than a secondary tee club that can take the right side out play and more easily find a fairway.  Maybe some wind cheaters out of the fairway but that's rarely needed where I play and I could probably do that with my TD Max anyway.  This club really feels like a cheat code off the tee.  Its size, length and loft are confidence inspiring and I can't argue with its performance. I cannot wait to get it on the course, I foresee this taking the slot in my bag my driving iron previously occupied.  Driver, Mini, 5 Wood, 7 Wood, 5 iron...  

[toddyc]

6 hours ago, ilikegolf26 said:

Yes, you were.  I got 2x trade value on the mini direct from Callaway and it arrived today. 

Yeah I got 2x value as well

[ike31197]

23 minutes ago, toddyc said:

Yeah I got 2x value as well

As did I.  2 old wedges and a Rogue LL Max paid for the mini in full.

[zstokes]

I hit two quick shots into the net before I had to finish dinner.  Plastic is still on.

Dont like the sound nearly as much at the TM Mini.  Hit it okay.

Full impressions tomorrow.

[HateTheHighDraw]

Anyone seen these in stores yet?

[StarFleetGolfer]

29 minutes ago, HateTheHighDraw said:

Anyone seen these in stores yet?

Yes a local store has five of them 

[jblough99]

Just got off the phone with Callaway, they told me they won't have components to start filling backorders until mid September.  I placed my order the second day after preoder started.  Probably just going to cancel at this point.  

Edited June 26, 2024 by jblough99

[zstokes]

16 hours ago, zstokes said:

I hit two quick shots into the net before I had to finish dinner.  Plastic is still on.

Dont like the sound nearly as much at the TM Mini.  Hit it okay.

Full impressions tomorrow.

10 shots each with the Callaway Mini vs the TM Mini, same exact shaft; VA Comp Nemesys, 65 R 43.25 inches.

 

Way too close to call into the net at home.  I only have a gen 1 Rapsodo, and it’s just not very accurate with numbers at home in the net.

 

Hitting them back to back though, the sound difference isn’t as big as I thought last night.  I could deal with either of them.

 

The look at address, the TM looks to my eye to sit a little more open than the Callaway.  Doesn’t matter at all for me since I try to hit a slight draw off the tee.

The 11.5 degree C “feels” like it may be able to squeeze a few more yards out than the TM, but that’s conjecture before I can get to the range.  

I can definitely feel a toe hit more with the TM than the C, but I don’t know yet if that’s a good thing.

 

It’s all going to come down to the flight and the distance, but I don’t think the Callaway will be up for sale.  I think I like it.

Edited June 26, 2024 by zstokes

[zstokes]

Hit a dozen or so shots into the net before work this morning, but I am *flushing it* with the Callaway, right in the center.  I cannot wait to hit this on the range.  I may need to adjust towards draw bias maybe.

[knappabn]

Received mine on Tuesday, tried it out yesterday at a range and on a few holes on the course. I went with 11.5 degree, ProjectX Denali Black 6X. Didn't play with loft sleeve yet. 

 

I have been spraying my regular driver (TM Qi10LS 8 degree) a bit this year so I was really looking for more control without losing the distance by going to 3W on the regular. This did it for me, it's about 20yrds short of a well-struck driver but much more forgiving and very straight. A little easier to turn over than the Qi10, I hit some nice controlled draws with it. Not as high launching as I thought it might be, which was pleasantly surprising. Sits very square to my eye, and had decent run out so I don't think it's too high spinning. I will try it 1 degree lower loft this week at the range and see how that feels. I wonder if I might have likes the 7x shaft, it does feel a little light on some swings. Overall very happy with it and it's a great option for when you're (and I mean me) struggling with controlling the driver or play an excessively tight course. 

[ike31197]

This thing is so long, so workable, so confidence inspiring.  Just wow.  Had my second extended range session today.  Kind of wondering why I ever went to 460cc.  It has me seriously considering dumping my TD Max, it's THAT good off the tee.  It's wild.  Just for fun I popped in a 44" Diamana TB TX70 today and was hitting bombs.  Ball speed, carry, everything was just marginally below my TD Max that I'm playing at 45.5".  Consistency was off the charts good.  Now, does it have that extra gear my TD Max has when I want it?  Not really, well, not at all.  If I want to step on my TD Max I can pump it up to 175 ball speed.  I don't see that happening playing a mini at 44", and I won't extend the mini even further.  I'll likely bag both, but I see the mini getting much more on real world usage.  Callaway has hit the jackpot with their AI Smoke line. 

 

Will revisit in a month...

Edited June 27, 2024 by ike31197

[SwingBlade]

20 hours ago, ike31197 said:

This thing is so long, so workable, so confidence inspiring.  Just wow.  
 

Callaway has hit the jackpot with their AI Smoke line. 

 

Will revisit in a month...

Thanks for the review.  Curious which head you chose?

[ike31197]

5 hours ago, SwingBlade said:

Thanks for the review.  Curious which head you chose?

13.5.  My TD Max is 9 turned up 1 to 10.  I wanted something that could be my secondary tee off club.  This fits the bill so well it's scary.  

[ike31197]

As an added bonus, I'll save a lot of money on 3.25" tees.  😂

[_Chase_]

Today I traded in my Phantom Black P790 irons and picked up a 9-degree Triple Diamond Max and a 13.5 Mini Driver at Golf Galaxy. After reading through the threads about each of these clubs, it seems I got extremely lucky to find both in stock.

 

I went out this afternoon to the course and hit 3-5 balls on about six different holes. I really like the TD Max, but I am in love with the Mini Driver.

 

I think the Mini Driver might be the easiest club I’ve ever hit. My biggest downfall in golf is finding the fairway, and the Mini Driver is confidence-inspiring. It’s unbelievable how easy it is to hit and hit accurately. I hit both the driver and Mini back to back about three times, flushing both. Each time, the Mini was right around 20 yards behind. The TD Max is very forgiving and accurate, but the accuracy with the Mini is something I’ve never experienced.

 

I also tried hitting it off the deck from the fairway. The first shot, I subconsciously tried to lift it and hit it poorly. But the next three times, I took a regular swing and produced rockets with surprising height. I was honestly stunned by how easy it was to hit off the deck. I’ve used my buddy’s TM Mini from the fairway and struggled to hit anything but a low cut. Maybe I was just swinging well today, but the Smoke Mini seriously seems like the easiest club I’ve ever hit.

 

I pray it stays this consistent and it wasn’t just  a day I was swinging great. I’m playing the next two days so I should find out. 

[GoldenAges]

I pulled the trigger on a 11.5* Ai Smoke mini driver yesterday. 

I have been looking to trade into a new 3w, but also interested in the mini drivers. There are very few mini drivers on the shelf in my local stores, but Galaxy had a few of the Ai Smoke mini drivers, as well as a suitable stock Denali blue shaft in stock, so I decided to demo it.

My first impression upon hitting a few shots were I like the shape of the head and the aesthetics. Due to the shorter shaft and size of the head my confidence was high. Sound, and feel are important to me and I liked the solid thwack, and feel was very solid. The clubface appeared a tad open to me, and the shot shape was a cut. As I progressed through the session, I noticed that even shots that I went for hard had that little cut. At one point I let loose a max speed swing that would have normally been a hook and the ball shot off the face with a baby cut right down the middle. By the end of the teed up part of the session, I knew I was able to fully release the club without worrying about the hook creeping in. For me this club was truly a left avoiding fairway finder.

So, I decided to hit off the deck. At address the clubhead dwarfs the ball. Part of what makes this a great fit for me is because I prefer deep faced fairway woods. Off the deck the performance of the 11.5* head was amazing. I had no issues launching it. The trajectory was slightly lower and ball flight otherwise identical to the tee'd up balls with a slight cut and accuracy was amazing. 

The best part was the financial incentive. Traded in two clubs. Got double value on the highest and straight up on the second. Their values are slightly lower than average, but the numbers work. 2nd Swing offered $270 for the two clubs. With the double trade-in, I got $350 all up. I paid $112 for the mini. Further, after 2 years of use on the clubs I traded in, I got $170 less than what I paid, meaning (170+112=$282) was the actual cost of the mini factoring everything. I could sell this driver for $450 tomorrow and be up $168.

This whole deal was a "no brainer" for me. 

If you have some used clubs you're looking to move and in the market for a mini, you need to check this out.

 

[GoldenAges]

[jblough99]

21 minutes ago, GoldenAges said:

Really drives me crazy when I see pics like this when my “pre-order” won’t be shipped until mid September!

[GoldenAges]

2 hours ago, jblough99 said:

Really drives me crazy when I see pics like this when my “pre-order” won’t be shipped until mid September!

Sorry to hear that. I feel bad that pre-orders somehow don't get priority. Never heard of that.

[TheFatArmadillo]

There were a bunch of these at Golf Galaxy this morning in metro Detroit.  Picked a 13.5 up and going to play it this afternoon.

[Rbsiedsc]

4 hours ago, jblough99 said:

Really drives me crazy when I see pics like this when my “pre-order” won’t be shipped until mid September!

Ya. Stores ordered a quota and had to receive them. They should have stated how many were part of pre order instead of letting everyone order and then now have to wait for months. 

[Yzmerf]

Anybody putting this in place of their driver? Hit both the 11.5 and 13.5 today. The 13.5 lofted down was really good. Ball speed was actually up close to where my driver cut dow to 45 is. It was nice to not feel like i had to help it in the air. Really thinking abot swapping out my Max TD 9 for it. 

[ike31197]

41 minutes ago, Yzmerf said:

Anybody putting this in place of their driver? Hit both the 11.5 and 13.5 today. The 13.5 lofted down was really good. Ball speed was actually up close to where my driver cut dow to 45 is. It was nice to not feel like i had to help it in the air. Really thinking abot swapping out my Max TD 9 for it. 

If not for my TD Max, I’d consider it, but the extra 25-30 yards with great accuracy makes it an easy decision for me to bag both.  The Mini is amazing, but it’s nice being able to hammer the TD when a little extra is needed. So impressed with both.

[zstokes]

53 minutes ago, Yzmerf said:

Anybody putting this in place of their driver? Hit both the 11.5 and 13.5 today. The 13.5 lofted down was really good. Ball speed was actually up close to where my driver cut dow to 45 is. It was nice to not feel like i had to help it in the air. Really thinking abot swapping out my Max TD 9 for it. 

I am.

I took it to the range today.  I found the magic sleeve setting, and was *flushing* this thing.

 

Im playing my first full round with it tomorrow so we’ll see if it translates. 

[EaglesGolf99]

52 minutes ago, Yzmerf said:

Anybody putting this in place of their driver? Hit both the 11.5 and 13.5 today. The 13.5 lofted down was really good. Ball speed was actually up close to where my driver cut dow to 45 is. It was nice to not feel like i had to help it in the air. Really thinking abot swapping out my Max TD 9 for it. 

 

8 minutes ago, ike31197 said:

If not for my TD Max, I’d consider it, but the extra 25-30 yards with great accuracy makes it an easy decision for me to bag both.  The Mini is amazing, but it’s nice being able to hammer the TD when a little extra is needed. So impressed with both.

Mine is an 11.5° with a D-Limited 60x coming in at 46". Green Strong Adapter.

 

My plan is to go with Neutral -1° or Neutral -2°. 

 

I want to see if it keeps up or maybe even surpasses my Epic Speed 10.5° with D-Limited 60x at 46". 

[lil'mike]

1 hour ago, Yzmerf said:

Anybody putting this in place of their driver? Hit both the 11.5 and 13.5 today. The 13.5 lofted down was really good. Ball speed was actually up close to where my driver cut dow to 45 is. It was nice to not feel like i had to help it in the air. Really thinking abot swapping out my Max TD 9 for it. 

 

I didn't and have no plans too but I did say that if I put together a "minimalist" set that I would have no problem using this as a driver and 3wd.  It wasn't much shorter than my driver and straight and high.

[ike31197]

8 hours ago, EaglesGolf99 said:

 

Mine is an 11.5° with a D-Limited 60x coming in at 46". Green Strong Adapter.

 

My plan is to go with Neutral -1° or Neutral -2°. 

 

I want to see if it keeps up or maybe even surpasses my Epic Speed 10.5° with D-Limited 60x at 46". 

This thing is juiced. At that loft and length, I see no reason it can't keep up with any modern offering out there.  Its' a bomber for sure.