I Tested The Mini Driver. Here’s Why I Still Prefer My 3-Wood

The mini driver is exactly what it sounds like - it’s just a smaller version of a driver. About a third smaller in terms of its volume in fact. Addressing the ball with this club was like stepping back in a time machine for me, to three decades ago when I learned to play golf with an old metal-headed driver very similar in size to this in my teens.

In those days, driving was my nemesis. I used to really struggle off the tee, hitting wayward shots into trouble, so for a number of years as a floundering beginner, I refused to take it out of the bag and would favour my more lofted 5-wood to help me find fairways.

Fast-forward several decades and I’m happy to report that the ‘modern’ mini driver is decidedly easier to hit. It fired powerfully off the face with a pleasing powerful ping and penetrating ball flight that blasted forward through the wind.

With the fast, firm summer fairways I was testing it on, the ball hit the ground running with topspin and easily went far as my existing driver. However I’m certain such marvellous results would not be achieved in the winter when the fairways return to being wet and receptive.

The 11.5 degree TaylorMade r7 quad mini driver that I was testing required a lower tee height, like teeing up a fairway wood and it had an effortless ease of use, which undoubtedly comes thanks to the added loft.

The ball launched high but with a noticeably more forward rainbow flight. It also felt lovely and lightweight to swing and very controllable courtesy of the shorter shaft. This club is, indeed, more akin to a 3-wood in make-up with a smaller footprint when put side-by-side with a normal driver, albeit with a deeper clubhead profile more like a traditional driver.

Where the mini driver falls down in the hands of a typical slower swinging woman, in my opinion, is in its forgiveness on mishits - mine were horrible. The smaller head means a smaller sweet spot and if you’re used to a 460cc driver head, then you may struggle with the 305cc volume. It certainly left me questioning my technique on several occasions.

If I’m honest, apart from the benefit of the added loft, making it easier to get airborne and the shorter shaft adding control, I can’t see the point of carrying a mini driver. Purely because you are unlikely to use it off the deck. Even a very skilful player will find it hard to sweep fairway shots away due to the deep clubhead shape - I certainly did.

The best women's fairway woods, in comparison, have a shallow face profile for this very reason. And personally, I’d rather carry a more versatile 3-wood in my bag as I know I would use it both off the tee for added accuracy and off the deck to chase the ball onto the green on long par-4s and reachable par-5s. A mini driver might only get hit a dozen times in a round.

So, why would any woman choose one? Perhaps you play a course that’s heavily tree-lined and there’s a premium placed on accuracy? If you genuinely have a problem off the tee or a fear of hitting the big stick, then a mini driver might put a smile of relief on your face.

But if I were a betting woman, my guess is that the number of women in search of a less forgiving, fairway finder off the tee that would never be used off the deck would be a relatively small number. Would you carry both? Feel free to prove me wrong!