Equipment

Using a 300 Mini Driver as your only fairway wood – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

2 years ago

Feb 4, 2022

In our forums, our members have been discussing using TaylorMade’s 300 Mini Driver in place of any fairway woods. WRXer ‘Dufner’s Waggle’ is considering implementing the strategy and says in part:

“My whole bag is now built around giving me strong options off the tee to get it in play, but based on a very limited sample size, the mini is a par 5 killer off the deck too! I’ll hit whatever club is in that 2nd spot in my bag a max of about 5 times per round off the tee, so why not go for something with a larger head, twist face, great ball speed, etc.?”

And our members have been sharing their thoughts on the idea in our forum.

Related: Deeper faced fairway woods to use 70% off the tee and 30% off the deck – GolfWRXers discuss

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.

uglande: “Agree with all of the above. I am considering the mini as my only fairway one, but I need to do some testing with my new irons and also with some of the utilities that are on the market. I’m also intrigued by the UW. So, more to come, but I could definitely bypass fairway woods. The mini is fantastic, and it’s really interesting that you say that you hit a cut when you hit it off the deck. That’s my experience as well. Off the tee it wants to go a little bit left, and off the turf it wants to go a little bit right. But a very stable and powerful club overall that is a lot more versatile than people think. I have abandoned the idea of a two iron, in part because I can just hit low stingers with the mini and accomplishes the same goal.”
Poor Mans Ty Webb: “Sorry if this isn’t helpful/relevant, but I cut down an old 320 Ti to 43.5” (10.5*) and play that in a 7 club bag. I get 230-250 off the tee with plenty of control and have very little trouble getting it up off the deck. It doesn’t fly very high, and it wants to go right in the worst way, but I can comfortably carry 190 with it off the deck, and it has a chance to roll out well past 220 with the trajectory. I know it’s not the same, but the philosophy is still there. I did it intentionally so I wouldn’t need to carry two clubs at the top of the bag because I typically only use 3w on Par 5s. And for the hell of it. Because we don’t know what we’re made of until we do stupid things. So yeah, I’d say it’s possible with a newer, more forgiving club for sure.”
kthomas: “Interesting this has come up. I’ve been thinking that the higher lofted 300 mini driver would make a perfect driver/3W replacement for those with minimalist setups. If I was to incorporate it, it would get me from 10 clubs down to 9.”

Entire Thread: “Using a 300 Mini Driver as your only fairway wood – GolfWRXers discuss“

Jason Day WITB 2024 (April)

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 16, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: TPT Driver 15 Lo

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.

7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X

Irons: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (3, 4), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven

Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-10S, 60-04T), Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (56-10 MID, 52-10 MID)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven

Putter: TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Limited

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (with Mindset)

Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.

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Whats in the Bag

Ludvig Åberg WITB 2024 (April)

Published

3 hours ago

Apr 16, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.

Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X

7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 9 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.

Irons: Titleist 718 TMB (2), Titleist T200 (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour Hybrid 105 X (2), KBS Tour 130 X

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S, 60-08M, 60-04T), WedgeWorks Proto (60-10V)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.

Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa #1

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.

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Equipment

Spotted: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 mini driver, DUW fairway wood

Published

4 hours ago

Apr 16, 2024

Brian Knudson

We have seen a few new mini drivers from the likes of Titleist and TaylorMade being tested out on tour recently. Now, Callaway looks to be jumping into the mix at the RBC Heritage. We spotted Christian Bezuidenhout testing out a new Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 mini driver on the range. We don’t have any details yet but the club clearly states “mini driver” on it, and the “340” could easily refer to how many CCs the head is.

What we do know is that this mini driver has a very similar design to the current Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood. The sole looks to be made from steel or titanium, not forged carbon like the Paradym Ai Smoke drivers. It has weights up near the face and at the back of the club. Callaway’s OptiFit hosel is also present on this driver to allow loft and lie adjustments, and if you look closely on the face, you can make out the “Ai Smart Face” text at bottom center. The crown looks to have the familiar carbon fiber weave and Ai Smoke logos we have seen on the current clubs.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke DUW

The other Callaway prototype that was spotted looked to be a little more of a traditional fairway wood — but with non-traditional weight placements on it. Callaway’s Paradym Ai Smoke DUW looks to have four adjustable weights on it — two on the sole, one on the hosel, and one on the toe. This hosel isn’t adjustable, and I would assume that is to save some weight from creating spots for the movable weights.

It is hard to tell from the photos, but the face looks to be a touch deeper than the traditional Triple Diamond fairways. This deeper face could be where the “DUW” name comes from. With three weights all pushed forward near the face this DUW has to be a very low spinning and launching head. The sole is made from metal and similar in design to the current Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond fairway woods as is the carbon crown.