Wee Weapons: Two new gear offerings prove that smaller is often better

More and more small-sized golf club models are popping up on the market, and 2019 was a banner year for tiny gear. Here’s the lowdown on two new smaller gear options, and an explanation as to how they can improve your game.

TaylorMade Original One Mini Driver

A lot has changed at TaylorMade in the last 40 years, but the company continues to place an emphasis on its metalwood technology. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of founder Gary Adams’s industry-changing Pittsburgh Persimmon metalwood, TaylorMade designers created the Original One Mini Driver.

The club is closer in size to the Pittsburgh Persimmon, but it features current technology found in today’s M5 and M6 products, including TwistFace, a carbon-composite crown, titanium body and 50-gram sole plate that pushes the center of gravity deeper in the head for more forgiveness.

It’s important to note that the Original One Mini Driver ($399) is not a direct replacement for any current TaylorMade driver. At 275cc, the head is noticeably smaller than a standard driver but larger than today’s fairway woods, with a medium face depth for those who struggle to hit a fairway wood off the tee. taylormadegolf.com.

Miura Baby Blade

Only a small percentage of golfers play a traditional blade. The compact profile offers little in the way of forgiveness. The prudent choice would be a better-player cavity-back that blends the shaping and offset of a blade with the forgiveness of a game-improvement model. But who really wants to go with the prudent choice?!

There’s no harm in admitting that Miura’s Baby Blade ($2,350/3-PW) elicits a carnal feeling when you stare at it. That’s partly due to the minimal offset and compact profile. The face is dense and substantial to improve impact and lower flight, while the thinner sole glides through the turf more effectively due to minor relief in the heel and toe. Reducing the size actually makes it easier to square up the club at impact. miuragolf.com.

Miura and GOLF.com are operated by the same holding company, 8AM Golf.

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