REVIEW – TaylorMade Original One Mini Driver

This baby boomer packs a powerful punch and might just be the answer to your fairway finding woes.

The recently released Original One Mini Driver celebrates 40 years of TaylorMade metalwood innovations and design.

• TaylorMade Original One Mini Driver – FIRST LOOK!

At its heart this new metalwood has been designed to provide you with the accuracy and control of a fairway wood but with the kind of distance and forgiveness you expect your driver to deliver from the tee.

The best way of describing the Original One Mini driver, however, is niche.

This product is only going to appeal to and suit a select few of you reading this.

Many golfers struggle with either their driver or fairway woods from the tee, but can usually rely on the other as a go-to substitute.

If, however, you find life hard with both of those options in your hands then this is one club that could become your saviour.

First let’s discuss the distance on offer. Testing the mini driver side-by-side with my current driver and 3-wood I was seeing it carry smack bang in the middle of the two.

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Pretty much as you would really expect from a 275cc clubhead. The flight was also smack bang in the middle of the two, flying higher than the 3-wood and lower than my driver.

In terms of forgiveness it was once again right in between the two, with the inclusion of TaylorMade’s Twist Face ensuring great accuracy on miss hits and the shorter 43.75” shaft leading to added control.

So it is a good option from the tee but what about from the fairway.

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The best way of describing it would be as a your 3-wood on steroids.

The shaping and looks are fantastic, providing you with confidence from the tee and also assurance that hitting this thing from the deck won’t be impossible.

Speed Pocket technology really helps to aid the level of forgiveness when striking from the fairway, rough or wherever else you decide to pull it out of the bag, making the Original One suitable for pretty much any skill level.

Having TaylorMade’s Loft Sleeve, with ±2° loft adjustability, helps to make this club versatile and allows you to dial it in to suit your distance and trajectory requirements.

I really can’t fault this club on performance.

That being said, however, choosing to put this club into play is going to come at the expense of another club in your current set up. The question is which one will it usurp.

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This is why the mini driver is such a niche product. Only those of you with a severe aversion to either your driver or 3-wood will find this club as a good fit for your game.

If it is a good fit then you are going love the performance it delivers and look set to benefit both from the tee and the fairway.

Available: Now
Price: £369
Stock Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana F Limited  55g (R) or 65g (S)  at 43.75”
Loft: 13.5˚