PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — As mini drivers continue to surge in popularity, golfers are demanding more versatility from a club originally designed almost exclusively for the tee box.
With pros and amateurs alike looking to move beyond a course-dependent specialty club, manufacturers have responded. By adding multiple lofts, adjustable weights and smart soles, brands have made it possible to attack the turf with confidence.
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Callaway is the latest to emphasize sole geometry with the tour release of its Quantum mini driver. Early in the week ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Callaway staffer Max Greyserman—who already carries a mini driver in his regular setup—took the Quantum mini for a spin to see if it could earn a permanent spot in his bag. It didn’t take long for him to notice a difference while settling over his first shot from the fairway at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
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“Max is going to use [the mini] as a secondary tee club, but it needs to be more than something he uses in one situation,” Joe Toulon, Callaway’s director of pro tours, told Golf Digest. “First shots can tell you a lot about the club. [Max] throws a ball down and hits this perfect mini driver off the deck that spun 3,500-3,600 [rpm]. It was a dead-straight ball that fell back to the right, which is perfect for him.”
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Toulon noted that player feedback has been vital to the evolution of the category. “With our last three generations, guys have been able to hit it off the deck with more consistency,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback that lets us know we’re moving in the right direction.”
While the Quantum mini remains a tour-only offering for the moment, Toulon confirmed that its improved turf interaction stems from a redesigned sole-step geometry, a feature borrowed from the popular Apex UW.
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“Based on what we’ve been hearing,” Toulon said, “it was a natural addition to the mini design as well.”
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This shift toward fairway-wood sole geometries highlights a broader trend in equipment design: the blurring of lines between a driver and a high-lofted wood.
By borrowing the DNA of the Apex UW, Callaway is offering a best-of-both-worlds scenario, combining the raw ball-speed of a driver with the turf-cutting precision of a 3-wood. For players like Greyserman, that versatility is the bridge between a niche specialty club and a bag staple.