Equipment

Forum Thread of the Day: “Mini driver vs. Big driver”

Published

5 years ago

Jun 27, 2019

Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from bjh1 who has been having success with the 2014 SLDR mini driver (14 degrees). However, bjh1 “wants to hit a ‘real’ driver”, and after explaining how his results haven’t been as good with ‘big’ drivers, our members give their advice on steps bjh1 could take.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

DaveGoodrich: “If you actually hit the “mini” better (i.e. more consistent center face contact), then the general recommendation has been to try a normal driver with a shorter shaft and/or more loft.”
MillHill88: “Keep Swing Weight in mind. Every inch you cut off a club, you will reduce the swing weight by a few points. Example: your D2 swing weight could become C9. If you cut the shaft down, put a heavier grip on to help eliminate too much SW loss.”
Valtiel: “For many people, it is a length thing, modern drivers are just too dang long most of the time. For others, it’s a head size thing. Remember, it’s just a piece of metal on a stick; everything else is in your head. Figure out what makes your head work and you’re golden. Try shortening your driver first and don’t be afraid to take a lot off. Maybe try with a cheap shaft first just to experiment.”
MBBG: “Just go with what works. It’s that simple. The Original One has been a life saver for me as I’ve struggled through some major driver issues this spring. Been playing driver roulette all season and think I now have something that is going to work, but I’m keeping it in the bag.”

Entire Thread: “Mini driver vs Big driver”

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Forum Thread of the Day: “Most overrated/underrated equipment in golf”

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Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

5 Comments

Dan

Jun 30, 2019 at 3:40 am

Ok, here is the real answer people. First MillHill88 has it the closest, but he’s wrong about the heavier grip helping, it actually does the opposite, it lightens swing weight more. Every inch cut is 5 swing weight points. The reason mini drivers work is the shorter length and heavier head weight. The shorter the club the heavier the head gets to balance the same. Driver is the lightest, wedges the heaviest. Solution- most drivers are too long for most to control, so get a 12 deg driver( use a bigger head with a bigger sweet spot and moi) cut it down to 44” ( old 1980’s std length) add weight to the head with lead tape to match the swing weight from before the cut. Pack of lead tape $6, new grip $5-10. Mabye no new club, just adjust current driver to max loft, take a lesson or two, and go have fun. You’re welcome.

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Rich

Jun 28, 2019 at 10:09 pm

I use the Mini Driver as a replacement for my fairway wood. I played the original SLDR club, and I’ve since put the new one in the bag. I love it! When I need to get it into the fairway with some distance, it’s the best choice for me. I lose about 30 yards in distance, but the accuracy is amazing.

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Tim

Jun 28, 2019 at 9:23 am

I think if someone has an issue with driver, but not the shorter clubs, its most often due to rhythm and sequence. So many golfers have poor rhythm. Everyone chops at the ball with their upper body, hoping desperately to catch it just right. That may work for short irons, but the driver requires a true golf-swing:

Turn your right pocket back and then the left pocket back. Let the club head follow freely, dragging lagging like a fish tail. Do this around a steady rotating sternum. Without a ball, swing back and forth slowly at first then let it pick up speed, making a louder and louder swish. Feel your weight pressure your right heel then your left toe.

Now put a ball in the way. Keep that sternum behind the ball and swish it past you through the ball.

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JP

Jun 27, 2019 at 10:57 pm

If you can’t hit a real driver, GO GET LESSONS. It’s only the most important shot on the course.

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- Jay
  
  Jun 28, 2019 at 8:59 pm
  
  Most important shot? You might pull a driver out 14 times but that number comes down with some course management skills. A great putter might use the putter 30 times and a shitty am will hit 45-50 putts cut down on those shoot better scores. Vast majority of people would be better off hitting less club, its probably the least important shot of each hole.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

21 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

Published

22 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Brian Knudson

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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Whats in the Bag

Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)

Published

23 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)