Question

2.70K viewsAugust 20, 2024

canuker 25 August 12, 2024 1 Comment

Looking for some thoughts regarding a mini driver build. I’d like to build something to 43″ in length to use off the tee exclusively. Looking at existing mini drivers on the market, it’s clear they use higher lofts. It looks like that would essentially rule out everything other than the STw2 and M890 with regards to 12 degree and over.

Would I be losing much in terms of tech if I were to go with one of these older heads compared to the newer KE4 driver heads? I’d love to leverage some more recent tech but I’m guessing sub 12 degrees loft would make the mini driver a little more challenging which defeats the purpose.

It would be awesome if a mini driver head was offered given their recent popularity. I notice another component manufacturer made a couple mini heads 10 years ago but those feel like they would be out of date.

Would love to hear thoughts on what would make sense with the Maltby range for this build idea! I guess the alternative would be to play the KE4 TC Pro 3W off the tee.

Shrek74 Answered question August 20, 2024

theblake7 commented August 13, 2024

Personally i built a mini driver once, and i hated it. I dont know why but just maybe that head doesnt work well with so much extra weight or it felt like i was hitting the ball with a feather. In the end i gave it to my mum.

Since then I acquired a Cobra big tour 3W which at 13.5d is adjustable to 12.0d. Its got a deeper face than a normal 3W. I use it all the time off the tee and I hit bombs with it. My stats show that its only 10-12m shorter than my driver on average when set to 12.0d. I call it my 2W.

Dont ask me why i dont use my 2W all the time.

P.s. i recall a friend of mine said the secret to building a killer short shaft driver is to add some weight to the butt. He did it buy using lead tape under the grip. How much i dont know, but i guess enough to get gross weight up to typical 3W

2 Answers

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Personally i built a mini driver once, and i hated it. I dont know why but just maybe that head doesnt work well with so much extra weight or it felt like i was hitting the ball with a feather. In the end i gave it to my mum.

Since then I acquired a Cobra big tour 3W which at 13.5d is adjustable to 12.0d. Its got a deeper face than a normal 3W. I use it all the time off the tee and I hit bombs with it. My stats show that its only 10-12m shorter than my driver on average when set to 12.0d. I call it my 2W.

Dont ask me why i dont use my 2W all the time.

P.s. i recall a friend of mine said the secret to building a killer short shaft driver is to add some weight to the butt. He did it buy using lead tape under the grip. How much i dont know, but i guess enough to get gross weight up to typical 3W

Answer 1 · 2024-08-12T20:24:13+00:00

Mini Drivers have seen a resurgence and this is not the first, or second or even the third time, but I will spare you the history lesson. Interestingly, I did a build at 43″ with our Pro Driver as an experiment and it was fine. I have hit the Taylor Made mini Driver and it was good and to be honest, I liked the smaller head at the shorter length. I have been an advocate for shorter length drivers for a long time, meaning I know a 43, 43.5, 44 inch driver would benefit most players, providing more solid and consistent contact without loosing much distance, if any at all. The one issue with using one of our driver heads and making a 43 inch driver, especially if you use a sub 65 gram shaft, is going to be the swing weight. It will be lighter unless you add some weight. Nothing wrong with it being light, but just be aware and there is only so much weight you can add to the head. The good thing is that you can add some weight to our heads with our weight screws.

One thing about the mini drivers that are out now is that they are shallower in face height than regular drivers. That may or may not matter, but wanted to mention it.

So, yes you can make one using one of our drivers. If you want a higher lofted version, the only one we have remaining is the M890. The STw 12 degree is out of stock and we will not be getting any more. The adjustable drivers you can set at the max loft level but that only gets you 10.5 to 11 deg. I think the appeal off the tee is more control and a larger head than a #3 wood. You could just go with the IST PRO #3 wood, but it is a #3 wood and a standard size one, so you loose the extra size. Probably just going to have to experiment to see what works with the selection of models we have.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out.

Britt Lindsey