The mini driver certainly seems to be an emerging category of club gaining traction at almost every level of the game. The theory makes sense and yet I’d never had one in my bag… until one of the biggest rounds of my life.
The Old Course at St Andrews is one of the most historic and iconic courses in the world, so to put the brand new Callaway Quantum mini driver in play was a bold move. To use it to play the course in reverse, something golfers are only able to do three days of the year, was bordering on insanity.
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(Image credit: Future)
I employed the 11.5° model which comes in 340cc and with a 44” shaft. The look of this club, just like with the Quantum Max driver, impresses from every angle. The extra loft versus a standard driver makes it look inviting to hit and the proportions and shaping are just right for a club of this ilk, although I could lose the chevron near the leading edge if I was being ultra fussy.
The feel of this club is sensational in two ways. Firstly the sensation of power it sends up through your hands when you nut one out of the middle is addictive and testament to the Tri-Force face Callaway has implemented.
Secondly, the way this club engages with the turf, thanks to the Step Sole design, genuinely enhances its versatility and makes clean contact easier to achieve. It came in handy on the second shot to the par five 14th, and while it missed the green right, it got pin high from nigh on 260 yards away, albeit a little downwind.
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Performance wise, this club impressed both of the tee and turf, something the best mini drivers have to deliver. It was naturally longer when hit from a tee, but not by as much as you might think. I was pushing 260 yards of carry using a tee height around half what I use for a driver. It was roughly 10 yards shorter from the deck, an admirable performance considering the lack of loft, but on a similar trajectory.
I tended to use it off the tee a lot more than from the fairway, simply because there were more shots that demanded accuracy and staying short of certain bunkers on the route I was playing. On hole 7 on the Old Course (normal) for example, it was the perfect club to stay short of Shell bunker. Then on hole 2 on the Old Course (reversed), it helped me avoid the out of bounds down the left hand side due to its slight right bias.
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Overall I think it would be fair to say I was generally more accurate with the Quantum Mini versus a the best golf drivers and was pleasantly surprised about how little distance I was giving up. I could flight shots down into the wind when needed but also unleash some high bombs when the hole allowed. Then to add in that extra playability from the turf was especially useful when trying to reach long par fours and par fives into a stiff breeze.
(Image credit: Future)
Yes you need a healthy amount of speed to make it a viable option with the ball sitting on the ground, but I think the spectrum of abilities that could justify adding this club to the bag and benefitting from it both off the tee and into greens is surprisingly broad. This is a highly versatile and forgiving alternative to driver and 3-wood that balances both control and power very well.