Mini drivers are everywhere right now.
They are one of the hottest equipment trends, both on the professional tours and with club golfers, but are far from a one-size-fits all type of club.
A hybrid mix of a traditional driver and a fairway wood, they’re primarily designed to be as accurate as a three-wood and as long as a driver. On the hole, mini drivers are built to strike that perfect balance between control and distance.
Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose are just a couple of the world’s top 10 golfers to have one in the bag. In fact their popularity is quite astounding.
One in four professionals at the 2025 BMW Championship chose to have a mini driver in play. Whilst, 25 to 30% of the field at the 2026 Masters also utilised one.
It’s fair to say then, that the mini driver has carved out a unique space in the market. Yet there still seems to be a bit of confusion as to who should use them.
According to PGA qualified golf coach Jack Backhouse, there are multiple types of golfers who stand to benefit most from putting one in play.
Speaking on the Your Golf by NCG podcast, he explained that they serve different purposes depending on the player and their ability.
Are mini drivers right for you?
“There’s two types of people I think use them,” said Backhouse.
“There’s someone who hits the ball a really long way. They’re actually using a mini driver, because a driver goes inappropriately far for some of the holes that they end up playing.
“So if there’s a hazard at 280 (yards) the driver can’t fly it, but can go in it, mini driver might lay short of it, for example.
“Equally they’re not using a three wood because it’s a bigger head, so it’s more forgiving. When you hit the ball a really long way, you don’t actually hit many three woods off the ground.”
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This strategic approach could go a long way to explaining why some many of the top players have adopted one and why recent major championships have featured a growing number of them.
For club golfers, though, Backhouse feels the appeal can be very different. He notes they can offer a lifeline to players who struggle to control a conventional driver.
“The other person that might use a mini driver is someone who is just really, really bad at using a driver” he added.
“There’s a small population of golfers who, because a driver has low loft and a long shaft, they typically hit crazy slices of the ball, and just can’t get anything from a driver.
“Where, because a mini driver has a smaller head, more loft, shorter shaft, it’s a little bit easier to hit, and a little bit easier to keep straight.
“So that club actually really works for them. Previously they were either hacking about in the trees with a driver, or using a three wood, or even hybrid, off the tee.”
Do good drivers of the ball need one?
Professional golfer and fellow co-host of the podcast, agreed that mini drivers appear to fill a gap between the driver and fairway wood for a certain category of golfer.
Yet, she questioned whether there was a need at all for them for strong drivers of the golf ball.
“I do actually find mini drivers really interesting, because for someone who hits my driver really well and could never see a mini driver going in my setup, it’s kind of quite a niche product in that sense” she explained.
“I almost look at many drivers and go, I don’t really see a place for them if you’re a good driver of the ball. But then you look at how much it’s being used on tour, and you look at who uses it on tour, and you go, well, they’re obviously using it for a reason.”
However, Backhouse pointed out: “I personally feel like I might hit a mini driver straighter than a driver, and sometimes that feeling is enough.
“I find that having more spin helps me hit it straighter, and I think we are deep into a world of high launch, low spin.
“But there are some people who almost can’t spin it enough anymore, where putting a mini driver in the bag helps keep the ball up in the air a little bit more.”
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