Gear: Callaway Elyte Mini driver
Price: $449.99 with Project X Denali Charcoal shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip.
Specs: Thermoforged carbon crown with carbon fiber sole, titanium face and frame, adjustable back weight and adjustable hosel. 11.5 and 13.5-degree versions.
Available: April 4
Who it’s for: Golfers who rarely use their 3-wood from the fairway and who want more versatility, distance and forgiveness than standard fairway woods can provide off the tee.
What you should know: The Elyte Mini driver is designed with the same space-age technologies found in Callaway’s new Elyte drivers, but its added loft and shorter shaft should help it provide players with more control as a driver alternative.
The deep dive: For decades, golfers were encouraged to reach for their 3-wood instead of a driver when they faced a tight fairway or in times when hitting a driver could bring hazards into play. But then a funny thing happened: Many powerful players realized they never hit their 3-wood off the turf and the club had morphed into a secondary driving club. And if that is the case, a mini driver might be a logical replacement for their 3-wood.
For golfers in that situation, Callaway has released a club that is a downsized version of its new Elyte driver, the Callaway Elyte Mini driver, and packed it with all the technologies and features found in the 460cc club.
Replacing the Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 Mini driver that was released last season, the Elyte Mini driver is also 340cc in size, which is 26 percent smaller than a full-size driver. It comes standard at 43.75 inches in length, which is about 1.5 to 2 inches shorter than most modern drivers and is available in two lofts, 11.5 and 13.5 degrees. However, using the adjustable hosel, players and fitters can increase or decrease the loft to achieve the trajectory and distance they want.
At the same time, the Elyte Mini driver features the same type of thermoforged carbon fiber crown on the top of the head and the same carbon fiber sole plates on the bottom that are present in the Elyte driver, along with a 13-gram moveable back weight that can be shifted into a Fade, Neutral or Draw setting. It even has Callaway’s new Ai 10X face, like the full-size driver, which was created by feeding real players’ golf shots into supercomputers that utilize artificial intelligence to conceptualize and develop more efficient hitting areas.
For golfers who routinely use their 3-wood from the fairway and players who struggle to hit fairway wood shots high, mini drivers might not be ideal, but for people who want a club that goes farther off the tee than a traditional 3-wood and that is more forgiving, it could be a viable option.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Callaway Elyte Mini driver alternative driving club: price, specs
