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mini-driver question from a historical hater

SuperStroke
MtlJeff

MtlJeff

Often called "Jeff Heavy"
Albatross 2026 Club
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I mentioned in another thread i might dabble with a mini-driver with some of the changes in my swing i have made. I think a shorter shaft , with my new ball position, might lead to a better turn and perhaps a similar SS, with a bit more control.

Today as an experiment, i used my TSR2+ set to 11.5 as a driver in my virtual round. This was on a trackman based system so the data was good, and i averaged 255yds off the tee and did not miss a fairway (my fairway percentage during the season with driver was 51% FWIW)

The TSR2 is 43.75 inches, and i'd probably order a mini at 44.25 or so to get a little more SS....I was thinking of the R7 which seems right in my sweet spot at 305cc. A bit smaller than the Callaway but a bit bigger than Titleist.

Question for guys that have them----Do you know what your SS difference is between a 45+ inch driver and a 44 inch mini? Are we talking 1-2 mph?

@Jman cause i'm sure he has some good data here
 
Did you use the same shaft in the mini?

Edit - I don't mean the same one from your driver, but the same model shaft
 
chile said:
Did you use the same shaft in the mini?
Click to expand...

I've never demo'd a mini. But today my TSR2+ yes , it has a Tensei Blue like 90% of my woods
 
MtlJeff said:
I've never demo'd a mini. But today my TSR2+ yes , it has a Tensei Blue like 90% of my woods
Click to expand...

I've been toying with the mini idea as well....not very seriously but I've debated about cutting down one of my BB's to try...but that doesn't appeal to me since I like having two of them...
 
chile said:
I've been toying with the mini idea as well....not very seriously but I've debated about cutting down one of my BB's to try...but that doesn't appeal to me since I like having two of them...
Click to expand...

I play my driver middle of my stance and my feet are more narrow now. I feel a bit clunky swinging a 45.5 inch driver this way. I am wondering if i could swing a 44.25 just as fast due to a more natural turn.

I also wonder if a 305cc head would help SS with less drag.

So maybe a R7 mini at 104mph wouldn't be much different than my GT1 at 105.5 or whatever.
 
MtlJeff said:
I play my driver middle of my stance and my feet are more narrow now. I feel a bit clunky swinging a 45.5 inch driver this way. I am wondering if i could swing a 44.25 just as fast due to a more natural turn.

I also wonder if a 305cc head would help SS with less drag.

So maybe a R7 mini at 104mph wouldn't be much different than my GT1 at 105.5 or whatever.
Click to expand...
I have no experience with minis but I went from a 45 inch driver to a 44.25 driver this past year and did not lose any clubhead speed.
 
I play my driver at 44.5” and my mini at 43”. I don’t believe I have ever seen a major swing speed difference. Maybe 1-2 mph? Maybe.
 
Thrillbilly Jim said:
I play my driver at 44.5” and my mini at 43”. I don’t believe I have ever seen a major swing speed difference. Maybe 1-2 mph? Maybe.
Click to expand...

I think 1-2mph is what would be expected yeah
 
MtlJeff said:
I play my driver middle of my stance and my feet are more narrow now. I feel a bit clunky swinging a 45.5 inch driver this way. I am wondering if i could swing a 44.25 just as fast due to a more natural turn.

I also wonder if a 305cc head would help SS with less drag.

So maybe a R7 mini at 104mph wouldn't be much different than my GT1 at 105.5 or whatever.
Click to expand...
Shouldn't see more than 1-2mph difference.
 
Don't have fully accurate data to confirm but I'd say maybe 1-2mph is a good estimate.

I'm about 10-15yds shorter with my mini than my driver on an average hit of each.
 
I just spent time on a monitor a few days ago with R7 versus my Elyte max td. It’s 2mph and about 10-15 yards shorter on average. I play my R7 as a forgiving 3w and it’s manageable off the deck.
 
MSEASU said:
I just spent time on a monitor a few days ago with R7 versus my Elyte max td. It’s 2mph and about 10-15 yards shorter on average. I play my R7 as a forgiving 3w and it’s manageable off the deck.
Click to expand...

That's great feedback thank you
 
I just looked in my rapsodo data to find a place where I hit driver and mini driver in the same session. I found 1 day where I hit them back to back. The speed difference looks like what you would expect. For a shorter club being 2-3 mph slower than the driver that is 2 inches longer.

When it comes to mini-driver with a longer than mini-driver shaft @Dougie games his “Franken-mini” so I’m sure he has thoughts.

If you did this would you be using mini just as a 2nd tee club or are you going off the deck too? The extra 30 cc of the Callaway is a good thing as a tee club. If you are going off the deck the TaylorMade or Titleist are probably better options.
 
leftybob said:
I just looked in my rapsodo data to find a place where I hit driver and mini driver in the same session. I found 1 day where I hit them back to back. The speed difference looks like what you would expect. For a shorter club being 2-3 mph slower than the driver that is 2 inches longer.

When it comes to mini-driver with a longer than mini-driver shaft @Dougie games his “Franken-mini” so I’m sure he has thoughts.

If you did this would you be using mini just as a 2nd tee club or are you going off the deck too? The extra 30 cc of the Callaway is a good thing as a tee club. If you are going off the deck the TaylorMade or Titleist are probably better options.
Click to expand...

Id probably only use it off the deck sparingly if ever. Would be almost exclusively a tee club.

Id be trying to create a bit of a franken club also. Because I'd order it longer than standard.

I don't need a ton of help forgiveness wise. 305cc doesn't really intimidate me so the R7 seemed appealing because it'd be easier to hit off the deck here and there than the Callaway
 
MtlJeff said:
I mentioned in another thread i might dabble with a mini-driver with some of the changes in my swing i have made. I think a shorter shaft , with my new ball position, might lead to a better turn and perhaps a similar SS, with a bit more control.

Today as an experiment, i used my TSR2+ set to 11.5 as a driver in my virtual round. This was on a trackman based system so the data was good, and i averaged 255yds off the tee and did not miss a fairway (my fairway percentage during the season with driver was 51% FWIW)

The TSR2 is 43.75 inches, and i'd probably order a mini at 44.25 or so to get a little more SS....I was thinking of the R7 which seems right in my sweet spot at 305cc. A bit smaller than the Callaway but a bit bigger than Titleist.

Question for guys that have them----Do you know what your SS difference is between a 45+ inch driver and a 44 inch mini? Are we talking 1-2 mph?

@Jman cause i'm sure he has some good data here
Click to expand...
I’m right at 1.5-2.5 mph swing speed.
 
The R7 seems to come stock with a Riptide , which I could probably get at D3-D4 if I ordered at 44.25

Hmmmmm, this might be one of my patented off season experiments
 
leftybob said:
I just looked in my rapsodo data to find a place where I hit driver and mini driver in the same session. I found 1 day where I hit them back to back. The speed difference looks like what you would expect. For a shorter club being 2-3 mph slower than the driver that is 2 inches longer.

When it comes to mini-driver with a longer than mini-driver shaft @Dougie games his “Franken-mini” so I’m sure he has thoughts.

If you did this would you be using mini just as a 2nd tee club or are you going off the deck too? The extra 30 cc of the Callaway is a good thing as a tee club. If you are going off the deck the TaylorMade or Titleist are probably better options.
Click to expand...
@Dougie has the best stuff. He’s got this amazing conduit punch as well.
 
MtlJeff said:
The R7 seems to come stock with a Riptide , which I could probably get at D3-D4 if I ordered at 44.25

Hmmmmm, this might be one of my patented off season experiments
Click to expand...
Do you generally like riptides?
 
Welcome to the playa haters club

 
Elyte mini with standard length shaft is around 108 and can see 110 at times.

With full shaft around 112 and can get to 115
 
I was seeing maybe 2-3 mph difference. Maybe 10 yards max difference for me.
 
I thought for a second Jeff was making threads about me. 😆
Needless to say, I'm interested in this thread. 2mph less seems about right. 10-20 yards less which just seems useless in most situations
 
leftybob said:
I just looked in my rapsodo data to find a place where I hit driver and mini driver in the same session. I found 1 day where I hit them back to back. The speed difference looks like what you would expect. For a shorter club being 2-3 mph slower than the driver that is 2 inches longer.

When it comes to mini-driver with a longer than mini-driver shaft @Dougie games his “Franken-mini” so I’m sure he has thoughts.

If you did this would you be using mini just as a 2nd tee club or are you going off the deck too? The extra 30 cc of the Callaway is a good thing as a tee club. If you are going off the deck the TaylorMade or Titleist are probably better options.
Click to expand...
Mine is actually similar to my driver. Both have the same shaft and length.

Building it this way brought it to D8 even with them putting lighter head weights in. Otherwise it would probably be a little faster. But I LOVE it!

I do not hit it off the deck, tee only club.

outlawx said:
@Dougie has the best stuff. He’s got this amazing conduit punch as well.
Click to expand...
Still too soon and can't believe he used it for that :ROFLMAO:
 
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