BostonSal Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Because I could never get good with a "Hit up at the ball" driver swing, this while playing the ball more forward than I like, I've had better luck teeing very low and using my regular fairway wood swing with a 2-wood. The big driver would be a 12° model anyway since fairways are my priority over distance, and also because I'm older with perhaps a reduced swingspeed now. Also, I'd only play it at around 44 or 44½" anyway for control. Therefore, a 13, 13.5, or even 14° fairway wood isn't a huge sacrifice in distance. I go with a 13.5. In any case, it works out best for me, but I haven't read about too many people doing it at MGS. Even driver haters among my friends at the club tend to use a regular 15° 3-wood that they also try to hit from the fairway. The 2-wood clearly isn't dead. It just has a new name with all the big OEMs still making it---Strong 3. But on the internet fora, it seems to be mostly a fairway wood for strong players rather than a driver substitute. Anybody else using one as a "mini-driver?" Quote Louisville Golf Persimmon___2, 4, 5, 7-woods; Epon AF-906___driving iron; Titleist T100 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons; Titleist T100S___48°; Edison 2.0___53º; Titleist SM-9 (T)___58º; Tad Moore Otto Hackbarth___putter; Titleist Pro V1x___ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 NiftyNiblick was. You should shoot him a message to get his thoughts as he doesn’t post here anymore for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shankster Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Tried it. Was leaving way too much distance in the bag. Learning to deal with the 460cc head and hitting up on the ball was the best thing I ever did for my game. They do have a place in golf, if I had a team like Phil, I’d have them make me a monster 2 wood. Glad you are having success with this approach. sirchunksalot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gusset Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Might not be exactly the same thing, but is the concept of a "hybrid driver" a similar variant of your thinking? After spending my first eight months back in the game consistently missing off the tee with both driver and 3-wood, I decided to leave the driver swing for the future and focus on my iron/hybrid swing. After watching a Rick Shiels review that didn't condemn it as a gimmick, I picked up a used 15-degree Teton HxD in September. Might have been the best golf related decision I made all year. A bad swing is still a bad swing, but in general I now have a realistic second shot on most holes. I really, really like it. Now they have a 12 degree version. One January round played at 40-45 degrees isn't enough to really know, but it seems similar in terms of control. Might not be a huge leap in carry (shaft length is the same), but I did note better roll out. Just one data point. I haven't heard anything from anyone else who has tried a Teton, a Thomas AT 705, or any of the other hybrid drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAC Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) On 1/15/2022 at 4:42 PM, BostonSal said: Because I could never get good with a "Hit up at the ball" driver swing, this while playing the ball more forward than I like, I've had better luck teeing very low and using my regular fairway wood swing with a 2-wood. The big driver would be a 12° model anyway since fairways are my priority over distance, and also because I'm older with perhaps a reduced swingspeed now. Also, I'd only play it at around 44 or 44½" anyway for control. Therefore, a 13, 13.5, or even 14° fairway wood isn't a huge sacrifice in distance. I go with a 13.5. In any case, it works out best for me, but I haven't read about too many people doing it at MGS. Even driver haters among my friends at the club tend to use a regular 15° 3-wood that they also try to hit from the fairway. The 2-wood clearly isn't dead. It just has a new name with all the big OEMs still making it---Strong 3. But on the internet fora, it seems to be mostly a fairway wood for strong players rather than a driver substitute. Anybody else using one as a "mini-driver?" How different is this from TaylorMade's mini driver?300 Mini Driver | TaylorMade (taylormadegolf.com) I have a friend who has one of these and likes it. Edited January 23, 2022 by HAC Quote Sim 2 Driver Fujikura Ventus Blue 6R shaft Sim 2 5 wood Fujikura Ventus Blue 5R shaft 0311 Gen 5 Seven Wood Project X Cypher 50 5.5 shaft. H818 Hybrid 25 degrees Tensei ck Series 60 HY regular flex shafts at C4 setting (flat for lefties) 0311 Gen 6 Hybrids 3-28 and 31 degrees. 718 AP1 irons 6-gap Tensei ck Series AMC IR regular flex bent two degrees flat SM 7 Wedge 58 degrees M grind with 8 bounce Steel shafts wedge flex bent 2 degrees flat Glide 3 52.12 and 56.14 with Alta CB Red Regular Flex shaft bent 2 degrees flat LAB DF3 putter - 33 inches long, 71 degree lie angle, Accra shaft Bridgestone B X or Titleist Pro V-1x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonSal Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 On 1/23/2022 at 4:43 PM, HAC said: How different is this from TaylorMade's mini driver?300 Mini Driver | TaylorMade (taylormadegolf.com) I have a friend who has one of these and likes it. The TM 300 is 307cc in volume which to me isn't a mini driver at all. It's a driver at that size. It's a good club, though Quote Louisville Golf Persimmon___2, 4, 5, 7-woods; Epon AF-906___driving iron; Titleist T100 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons; Titleist T100S___48°; Edison 2.0___53º; Titleist SM-9 (T)___58º; Tad Moore Otto Hackbarth___putter; Titleist Pro V1x___ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepred Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 There a few different component heads that might fit, most of them have easily adjustable weights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driveandputtmachine Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 I have a TM Mini 300 in 13.5 on the way, but I will be using it as a 3 wood, or basically a second tee shot option. Quote Clubs in great standing Driver - Callaway Epic Max LS - Rogue White 130 MSI TX 3 Wood - Taylormade 300 Mini 13.5 - UST Mamiya Black 79X 5 Wood - Taylormade Sim Max - HZRDOUS smoke black 6.5 Irons - Srixon ZX5 5 iron, Srixon ZX7 (6-9) - Recoil 110 F5 Wedges - Cleveland 46, 50*, 54*, & 60* Zipcore mid bounce - Recoil 110 F5 Putter - Mannkrafted MA/66 - UST Frequency Filter, LAB MEZZ.1 - BGT Stability Clubs in good standing(fighting for one spot).... 7 Wood - Company that shall not be named - UST Mamiya Black 79TX | Util - Callaway Apex X Forged UTIL 21* - AD-DI | Util - Srixon ZXU 18* - Recoil 110 F5 | Util - Callaway UW 19* - HZRDOUS smoke black 6.5 Clubs that need a timeout/replacing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbbuff Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Obviously, some guys just get on with a 3 wood better for whatever reason. But it seems more logical that, loft for loft, a higher MOI option (driver) will give better results than a lower MOI option (3 wood). So if you equalize shaft length and loft, driver should give you more forgiveness on mishits than 3 wood. Driver CG will give a higher launch (again at the same loft). 2puttbogey 1 Quote 8* SIM2 Custom / PX RDX Smoke Black 6.0 46.5" 15* SIM Ti / Velocore 7s 19* SIM Max Hy / GOST 39.5" 4,5 Srixon ZX5 6-P Srixon ZX7 ProjectX LZ 120 6.0 50/54/58 Cleveland Zipcore DG Tour Issue Scotty Cameron Phantom X12, Stability Tour shaft and SuperStroke JumboMax Ultralight Small on Driver, Golf Pride Tour Velvet (irons and MCC (woods) Mid on all others. TP5X Pix and -ProV1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2puttbogey Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 41 minutes ago, cbbuff said: Obviously, some guys just get on with a 3 wood better for whatever reason. But it seems more logical that, loft for loft, a higher MOI option (driver) will give better results than a lower MOI option (3 wood). So if you equalize shaft length and loft, driver should give you more forgiveness on mishits than 3 wood. Driver CG will give a higher launch (again at the same loft). This is basically my approach. I was fitted into a 12* driver that was dilated down to 11.25* , but after a couple lessons and some swing evolution I adjusted it to 13.5* and it’s working great. The adjustment took a lot of the fade away and has actually gained me distance than the lower loft. Well at least for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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