In this video, Joel Tadman tests the TaylorMade 300 Mini Driver - a curious new offering that sits in between a 3-wood and a driver - but does it offer the perfect blend of distance and accuracy? That's what he wanted to find out so he hit it on a launch monitor and then took it to the 17th hole at Wellingborough Golf Club to see how it performed against a TaylorMade SIM2 driver and SIM2 Max 3-wood. The results are interesting so be sure to watch right to the end.
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00:00 Do you need a tailor-made mini driver?
00:03 That's the question we're gonna try and answer
00:05 in this video.
00:06 Is this a club that you've never thought
00:08 to put in your bag before,
00:09 but you could actually really do with,
00:10 or is it simply a super niche product
00:13 that the vast majority of players just simply don't need?
00:16 So we're here at the beautiful Wellingborough Golf Club.
00:18 We're gonna hit some shots
00:19 with this tailor-made mini driver,
00:21 off the tee, off the deck,
00:22 see how it compares with a three-wood and a driver
00:25 to really gauge if this is a club
00:27 that could be useful in your bag.
00:29 (upbeat music)
00:32 So what have tailor-made done with the design of this club?
00:36 Well, it's a throwback from the 300 series of drivers
00:40 back in 2000, so it's 307cc,
00:43 much smaller than the four 60cc drivers we see today.
00:46 It comes in two lofts, 11 1/2
00:49 and the 13 1/2 degree loft I've got here,
00:52 which is obviously adjustable,
00:53 so you can go up or down up to two degrees.
00:55 And interestingly, the shaft on this driver
00:57 is 43.75 inches long,
01:00 so much shorter than the 45.7 inch drivers
01:04 we'll see on the SIM2 drivers,
01:05 but only marginally longer
01:07 than the three-woods in the SIM2 range,
01:09 so half an inch longer than that.
01:11 So it's an interesting concept.
01:12 It's got twist face, it's got the V-steel sole here,
01:15 which we see in some of the three-woods,
01:17 and it has been put in the bag
01:18 by Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
01:21 So clearly some players are finding
01:23 that it's become useful for them
01:24 in certain courses and certain shots.
01:26 But how does it play for me?
01:28 Well, before we hit some shots with it here on the hole,
01:30 we're down on the 17th, it's a par five,
01:32 and it's a super, super tight hole.
01:33 So for me, that's where I think a club like this
01:36 might be beneficial, is on holes
01:38 where you need to hit the fairway,
01:39 you're not too worried about distance,
01:40 you're worried about accuracy.
01:41 And potentially this could be a fairway-finding option
01:45 versus a driver.
01:46 But I did hit this driver up against a normal SIM2 driver,
01:49 my custom-fitted driver,
01:51 and a SIM2 max three-wood on the full-swing
01:54 golf simulator at Silvermere
01:55 to get some launch monitor data.
01:56 And I'll flash it up on the screen now,
01:58 and I think you'll agree,
01:59 some interesting findings there,
02:01 versus a 15-degree three-wood.
02:03 This club was actually flying a little bit lower,
02:06 as you might expect from the loft,
02:07 but the total distance was a lot longer than the three-wood.
02:11 So while it wasn't carrying much further,
02:13 it was giving me a lot more distance.
02:15 But it was nowhere near where I was with my driver,
02:17 my fitted SIM2 driver.
02:19 This was much shorter, about 12 yards on average.
02:22 And I tested it off the deck and off the tee,
02:24 and the results were fairly similar.
02:26 I think, obviously off the tee, it definitely excelled,
02:28 and I think that's the position
02:30 where I'm gonna be excited to try it more.
02:31 Can this give me more accuracy off the tee
02:34 versus a driver or a three-wood?
02:36 So let's hit some shots with it and find out.
02:38 Right, so I've got all three clubs,
02:41 my SIM2 driver, my SIM2 max three-wood,
02:43 and the 300 mini driver.
02:45 And what's interesting, down at address,
02:47 it has quite a tall face,
02:48 so you see a lot of the face impact,
02:50 even though it's a bit stronger in loft
02:52 versus the three-wood.
02:53 It looks like it's got more loft on it,
02:55 if that makes sense.
02:56 Obviously, it's a little bit larger than that three-wood.
02:59 And obviously, tee height is crucial
03:00 when using this mini driver.
03:02 You have to make sure that the ball
03:04 is hitting the center of the face.
03:05 You don't wanna see it as low as you would a three-wood.
03:09 So making sure you get it just right,
03:11 kind of about there, I would say.
03:12 So it's kind of in between where you would be
03:14 with the three-wood and the driver.
03:15 So let's hit some shots.
03:17 We're gonna hit two balls with each
03:19 on this really tight hole at Wellingborough.
03:22 See if this mini driver gives me, potentially,
03:25 the best combination of accuracy and distance.
03:27 Consistent.
03:38 It's gone pretty straight, very high, though.
03:49 Into the wind, that's gonna fall a long way short.
03:52 Much higher than the mini driver.
03:56 Same line as the mini driver, but a lot higher.
04:03 Interesting to see how those compare.
04:07 Let's hit driver now.
04:09 Hit that well.
04:21 Oh, hit that well.
04:22 Okay, so two pretty good shots with each of those clubs.
04:26 Let's go and see where they finished.
04:28 Okay, so we're up on the fairway,
04:32 and this is where my best shot
04:34 with the mini driver finished from TaylorMade.
04:37 You see, about 20 yards up there,
04:39 hit a really good one with the driver.
04:41 So that's a good 20 yards past there.
04:44 Then the other shot with the driver,
04:45 hit that tree and came down.
04:46 You can see it just in the rough there, maybe.
04:49 And then the three-wood shots,
04:50 we're hitting into the wind here,
04:51 and they really did climb quite considerably
04:53 versus the mini driver.
04:54 So they're a long way short at 10 yards over there.
04:57 Just off the fairway, and there's one on the fairway
05:00 about 10 yards back from where we are now.
05:01 So the shots, or the results of the shots,
05:04 clearly kind of match up where we were
05:05 with the launch one of today's series,
05:07 or what you would expect in terms of the mini driver
05:09 giving you, in terms of distance,
05:11 more than the three-wood, less with the driver.
05:13 Is it giving you more accuracy with the driver?
05:15 I would say probably not.
05:17 Obviously, it depends on how confident you are
05:18 with the driver versus the three-wood,
05:20 or a club like this.
05:21 But for me, there's no gain in accuracy
05:24 with the mini driver versus a driver.
05:26 Obviously, I was fitted for my driver,
05:28 and I wasn't fitted for the mini driver.
05:30 And that's going to have a really big impact
05:31 on your ability to square the club face
05:34 and the accuracy that results from that.
05:35 So, inconclusive really, but for me,
05:38 mini driver not really delivering me
05:40 any more accuracy versus the driver.
05:42 Okay, so we've seen how the 300 mini driver
05:45 fares off the tee.
05:47 Let's see how it fares off the deck.
05:48 TaylorMade claiming this is a club
05:50 that is playable off the deck.
05:52 So, let's see, hit some shots into this flag.
05:54 We've got a flag down there about 230 yards away,
05:57 into a fairly strong breeze.
05:58 So, it's a perfect shot to see how this compares
06:00 with the three-wood.
06:01 Could it be a useful asset into shots
06:03 or into par fives like this,
06:04 where you need to get the ball up by the green
06:06 to give you a chance at birdie?
06:07 Let's find out.
06:08 (upbeat music)
06:11 (club whacks)
06:13 Right, so here we are up by the green.
06:29 These are the three shots that I hit with the mini driver.
06:31 Actually, you could throw a pretty small blanket over them.
06:34 They're all pretty consistent.
06:36 They're just past the pin.
06:37 My shot with the three-wood is actually
06:39 just short of the pin over in that gully
06:41 behind that mound.
06:42 So, in terms of distance,
06:44 it's actually pretty similar versus the two clubs.
06:46 I think the reason for that is
06:48 you're not getting as much carry distance
06:49 with a mini driver as you are a three-wood.
06:52 So, in terms of how the ball lands in the grass,
06:55 you're not gonna get as much disparity
06:56 in terms of where the ball's finished.
06:58 But the fact that these three mini driver shots
07:01 missed to the right versus the three-wood
07:02 that missed to the left, I think is a result
07:04 of the fact that you feel like you need
07:06 to kind of trap it a bit more,
07:07 get steeper into it a bit more across the line
07:10 to get the flight and the strike with the mini driver.
07:12 And that's why they've curved a bit more to the right
07:14 versus the wind, hitting into the wind
07:17 has definitely accentuated that.
07:18 So, in terms of playability off the deck,
07:21 I don't think there's a great amount of difference.
07:23 And I did feel like the three-wood
07:24 was a little bit easier to flight.
07:26 But if you are hitting a longer shot,
07:28 maybe into the wind on a par five,
07:30 the mini driver, I actually found it
07:32 surprisingly easy to strike.
07:33 These were all pretty good hits.
07:34 So, I wasn't missing them pretty significantly.
07:37 So, in terms of the ease of strike,
07:39 I felt like it was easy to achieve,
07:41 but I don't think it was any better
07:42 necessarily than a three-wood.
07:44 So, the answer to the question we asked
07:47 at the start of this video,
07:48 do you need a tailor-made 300 mini driver?
07:51 I would say probably for the majority of players, no.
07:54 I'd say most players were better off
07:57 using a driver and then a three-wood.
07:59 But there are situations, I would say,
08:01 where a club like this could actually come in handy.
08:03 The first, while it wasn't necessarily the case for me,
08:06 I think over a longer period of time,
08:07 a longer number of shots,
08:09 the shorter shaft versus a driver
08:12 will give you more control of the club face.
08:15 Yes, you might not swing it quite as fast,
08:17 but this is definitely giving you a bit more speed
08:19 and a stronger flight than a three-wood.
08:21 And especially if you play into the wind.
08:24 If you hit a lot of shots in the wind,
08:25 you wanna flight the ball down
08:27 and you struggle with driver,
08:28 if you struggle to control the driver,
08:30 a club like this, I think, could give you more control.
08:32 So, if you play a lot of links golf, exposed golf courses,
08:34 you need to keep the ball down.
08:36 If you play a lot of long par fives, long par fours,
08:38 and that maybe you struggle to reach,
08:40 this club could help you hit those greens a bit more often
08:43 versus a three-wood that maybe bloons, spins too much,
08:46 and you don't get the carry that you want.
08:48 Obviously, the larger head versus a three-wood
08:51 does inspire a bit more confidence
08:53 over the ball off the deck.
08:54 I don't think it's necessarily any easier
08:56 to hit off the deck,
08:57 and you might actually be sacrificing
08:58 a little bit of playability.
09:00 But if you do practice with it
09:01 and you work out how to hit it cleanly,
09:03 I found it actually surprisingly easy
09:04 to hit cleanly off the deck,
09:06 you do get more carry distance off the deck.
09:09 So, again, if you're getting into the wind,
09:10 it could be an option to add into your bag
09:13 along with a driver or along with maybe a five-wood.
09:16 It's basically like just a strong three-wood,
09:17 gives you a bit more distance
09:19 versus a traditional three-wood
09:21 that some people find too intimidating to hit.
09:23 So, there's definitely food for thought there,
09:25 and there will be some golfers
09:27 where the makeup of their bag calls for a club like this,
09:29 all the course they play, all the conditions they play.
09:31 I think they're relatively niche,
09:33 but there's definitely a need for it.
09:35 Would I put it in my bag?
09:36 Probably not, 'cause I quite like the driver
09:38 I've got at the moment.
09:39 But if you struggle with your driver
09:41 and you're not confident with your three-wood,
09:43 it could be a really exciting option to try.
09:45 Hopefully, this video has given you
09:47 a really good insight into what this
09:48 TaylorMade 300 Mini Driver is all about
09:50 and whether it could be right for you.
09:51 Do like the video if you like what you're watching,
09:53 and comment down the video.
09:54 Is this something that you'd be considering
09:56 putting in the bag?
09:57 I'd love to hear from you.
09:58 But that's all from me from Wellingborough Golf Club.
10:00 I'll see you next time.
10:02 (upbeat music)
10:04 (upbeat music)
10:07 (upbeat music)
10:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]