You’ve probably been hearing a lot about junior drivers – the class of club that exists between regular drivers and 3-woods.
What exactly is a small driver? Small drivers generally have stronger lofts than 3-woods but weaker than drivers. They also have smaller heads and shorter shaft lengths than standard drivers, making them more forgiving and easier to hit off the tee.
“Miniature drivers have taken the world by storm in the last few years,” said True Spec VP of sales Matt Morin. “With the game of golf, we’ve also seen a ‘back-in-time’ movement. The standard driver head size and shape since the early 2000s has always been a smaller profile that allows the better player to be able to use the club off the fairway and off the tee. The smaller driver profile has become smaller than your traditional driver but larger than your modern driver which allows for a better driver.
So what can a small driver do that a regular driver – or 3 wood – can’t? For many players, the mini driver provides some attractive new features, especially if regular drivers aren’t your strong suit.
“In this day and age, you see players putting a small driver in their back pocket for a second club if they tend to struggle with their driver,” said Morin. “With the unique technology and center of gravity, the mini driver has become the easiest club to hit from a perfect lie. This has become a home game in the beginner game.
“At the professional level, Tour players rely as much on the driver as the club off the tee,” Morin continued. “This is due to the increasing length of golf courses they play each week, where today’s 3-wood does not go the required distance.”
So how do you know which mini driver might be right for your game? According to Morin, players should consider their normal playing pattern and personality on the course.
“For amateur level players, they should know that the club is not going to have as many features as your traditional 3-wood,” he said. “It’s important to determine what the main goal of putting a small driver in the bag is. Is it primarily going to be an off-the-tee club? Even if you can hit a small driver on the desk, a high handicap will not produce the same quality or consistency of shots off the fairway that you can with a 3-wood if the lie is not perfect.
“If, like many novice players, you’re struggling with the fairway woods off the tee, you’re probably going to produce the highest levels and the highest lofts,” he continued. “A small driver is a great option to lower both of those data metrics. This type of player will benefit from a small driver from the fairway, because a well-struck shot will keep the plane down.”
