Why Mini Drivers Are Becoming Critical At The Masters

By now you are well aware of the mini driver craze sweeping golf.

From the end of last year and continuing into the first few months of 2025, mini drivers are a popular topic of conversation. Everyone from Tour players to recreational golfers want one, given how versatile of a club it is. There is also a novelty effect given that many of us have never hit a mini driver before.

The Titleist GT280 popped up on the PGA Tour in Hawaii, shortly before PXG’s first mini driver offering with the Secret Weapon. Then the Callaway Elyte Mini and COBRA’s “The Deuce” prototype 2-wood came online.

A lot of this interest in the mini driver category was boosted by TaylorMade’s BRNR mini back in 2023.

Now as the Masters gets going, the mini driver is not being talked about as a rare, only slightly necessary, option—it’s being talked about as a tool players could really use to get around Augusta National.

Why Augusta National and mini drivers go together

Many courses in professional golf are about maximizing length off the tee. Hit it hard and go find it.

While Augusta National has some generosity off the tee, it is not a place where you can pound driver all over the lot and get away with it (Bryson DeChambeau has tried, and mostly failed, with that).

The course is a bit of a throwback in that multiple holes require right-to-left shots off the tee which is the opposite of how most modern players want to utilize their equipment best by hitting a power fade.

And there are also multiple holes in this category where you don’t want to go too far through the fairway but also need enough distance to get around a corner to set up the second shot.

Nos. 2, 10, 7 and 13 at ANGC are among the best examples. The 13th hole famously requires a draw off the tee for right-handed players but the shot is more about placement than power—and that is a dilemma players get faced with multiple times throughout the round.

Enter the mini driver. While a 3-wood could give up too much distance and a normal driver might be too difficult to “turn over” right-to-left into the fairway, a mini driver splits the difference.

A growing roster of players are gaming the mini driver at the Masters, including Tommy Fleetwood (BRNR Mini), Akshay Bhatia (Elyte Mini), Keegan Bradley (BRNR Mini), Adam Scott (BRNR Mini Copper) and Sergio Garcia (BRNR Mini). Justin Thomas was spotted hitting a mini driver at Bay Hill a few weeks ago and other players have tested various mini driver options in 2025.

Here is an example of how it can help at Augusta

Bhatia plans to use the Elyte Mini on multiple holes, including the narrow par-4 7th.

“It’s very treelined and the fairway slopes hard left to right,” Bhatia said of the tee shot. “The wind swirls there and typically it’s off the right. So, for me, it’s like I either have to hit a perfect driver through this small window, it has to curve enough but not too much, I can’t pull it because then it goes in the right trees. And then if you hit 3-wood there, your second shot is off a downslope to an elevated green.”

With the mini driver, Bhatia has more confidence to get the ball far enough down the fairway without having to curve it too much. He also has the ability to hit a consistent draw which goes against his normal shot shape.

Bhatia’s carry with the mini driver is about 270 yards with ball speed around 166 mph. Even on mishits, his spin rate is kept below 4,000 rpm. That shows how the club

“I think Augusta National for me is, it is a great week to put this in play, because there’s so many tee shots that are so tree lined,” Bhatia said. “For me, since I curve it so much, this can kind of straighten that out, and I’ll get little more out of it than my 3-wood. And then there’s hole 8, which is a great example where that that second shot is so uphill. For a right-hander, they can draw that 3-wood and take the spin off.”

Mini driver use is way up when it comes to Tour players and seeing Bhatia explain why it can help makes total sense.

While some players will opt for