Perhaps no club category got hotter on the pro circuit than mini drivers did in 2024, as several players elected to add clubs that were easier to hit off the tee and flew shorter than their drivers.
Likewise, OEMs rushed to introduce new mini drivers to market and now PXG is ready to release its entry into the ever-growing space with the Secret Weapon Mini Driver.
Here are three things to know about the new offering from PXG.
1. More forgiving fairway wood
With the Secret Weapon, PXG is aiming the new club as a 3-wood replacement for better players, rather than an easier-to-hit driver for amateurs.
For starters, similarly to Titleist’s GT280, which just launched on the PGA Tour, the Secret Weapon features full-face grooves, more like a 3-wood than some of the other mini drivers out on the market.
Should I swap my 3-wood for a mini driver? Fully Equipped Mailbag
Because of a larger shape (300 cc) and increased perimeter weighting, the Secret Weapon has about six percent higher moment of inertia than the PXG Black Ops 3-wood. In robot testing, the Secret Weapon also produced about 3 mph more ball speed and spin was 300 rpms less than the Black Ops 3-wood.
Designers were able to accomplish these properties by using a lightweight composite crown insert crafted from high-grade carbon fiber in an advanced compression molding process. This allowed PXG to redistribute weight low and back, lowering the CG and increasing inertia, boosting both speed and forgiveness.
Compared to 3-woods, the Secret Weapon comes at a stock 43.75-inch playing length, which because of the larger size of the mini driver, means the shaft is actually only half an inch longer than the stock shafts that come in PXG’s 3-woods, which are built to 43 inches.
And while the club is made to be an option off the tee, off-the-deck performance is aided by a leading edge built flush to the ground to inspire confidence and improve turf interaction.
Other tech under the hood includes a high-strength ultra-thin titanium face and robotic polishing to refine the face’s bulge and roll.
2. Adjustability on point
The Secret Weapon is perhaps the most adjustable mini driver yet.
It starts with PXG’s loft sleeve, which allows the mini driver, which comes stock at 13 degrees of loft, to play anywhere from 11.5 to 13.5 degrees and a variety of lie angles.
But where the Secret Weapon really sets itself apart is the four adjustable weight ports on the sole to dial in CG location.
The standard configuration has two 15g weights and two 2.5g weights that can be customized to meet different swing weight and CG location needs.
3. Already a Tour winner
PXG introduced the Secret Weapon out on Tour late last year and it’s already picked up a few wins, including at the Zozo Championship when it was in the bag of then-staffer Nico Echavarria and at last month’s unofficial Grant Thornton Invitational, when it was in Jake Knapp’s bag.
