Callaway Bertha Mini 1.5

[Mr. Desmond]

Very interested in this club, and may buy one sight unseen. Have been hitting my 3 wood (very well) off the tee because of my inconsistent driver. I really think those massive 460cc heads are big part of why it feels so weird to swing that damn club. 3w feels like my regular swing; driver does not. Hoping something like this would feel the same, with a bit more distance. Hitting off the deck would not be needed, as the 3w does just fine in that department.

Wondering what the difference between a driver and wood shaft would be? Aside from length of course.

Shorten your driver swing and see what happens.

Tighten it up ... the swing, not your muscles....

[Perihelion]

I'm gonna use the Mini 1.5 on course for the first time tomorrow.  Weather is going to be windy and rainy so I'll leave it in 12 degrees and see how it goes.  I pulled my 3 wood out to put this in the bag so I'll still have driver if needed and hybrid in case.  Stoked!

[Jeremie Boop]

I wish swinging a hybrid, fairway metal, or mini driver on the tee would add consistency/accuracy for me, but when I make a bad swing it's a bad swing and the club in my hand isn't going to have a significant enough impact on where the ball goes to make it worth while.

[cooke119]

This is designed for those of us that are Driver-impaired. I use the TM Mini-Driver. The latest 460cc 47 inch piledrivers are literally too much to hit. But these Super 3-woods are awesome. I have more club head speed on it and a 100% more consistent golf shot. I have a SS of about 93mph, and I hit this 70% fairways at 230 yards (with roll). Since the average Par 4 from the whites is 375, that leaves a nice 145 approach to the green...still par-able.

I too use the TM Mini-Driver off the tee, but not on the fairway off the deck. I went with the mini because I too am sometimes driver challenged. I've had three back surgeries so getting the turn in my swing is difficult for me. The mini works well.

[seenmyball]

I want this stick so bad...I can not hit the 460cc drivers. I currently hit a warbird cut down to 43 inches. I'm vertically challenged at 5'7". My thinking is get the mini at 12 degree knock it to 11 and I have my driver..When the price drops in time to the 150 range im grabbing one !!

[onthehunt526]

Agreed. This face just screams "don't try me off the deck": [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/123319/] [/URL] A second, higher lofted driver would be more forgiving and have higher ball speed off the face , if you're just going to carry another club specifically for the tee. I think the idea is, you buy this club and leave it in your garage until you play that one course where you need tight drives, then you play this instead of your driver? I still think I'd rather carry something more versatile, like a 4 wood.

Not necessarily, last I checked a fairway wood holds the ball speed record... I think these Mini Drivers are old brassies on steroids... No one wants to call it a 2-wood, hell Callaway calls it a 1.5 wood... As for hitting Driver off the deck... I can still do it with a 460cc Driver... I hit the shot maybe one to three times a year (like with a 25 mph wind in my face on 18... I hit Driver, Driver to that hole a few times)... If you can demo it, and you find its better than your current Driver, and have the $300 for it go ahead an pick it up... I'm tempted to get a "fairway" Driver and play it as my only wood... Just as soon as Tour Edge makes one...

[SavvySwede]

Not necessarily, last I checked a fairway wood holds the ball speed record...

I think these Mini Drivers are old brassies on steroids... No one wants to call it a 2-wood, hell Callaway calls it a 1.5 wood...

As for hitting Driver off the deck... I can still do it with a 460cc Driver... I hit the shot maybe one to three times a year (like with a 25 mph wind in my face on 18... I hit Driver, Driver to that hole a few times)...

If you can demo it, and you find its better than your current Driver, and have the $300 for it go ahead an pick it up...

I'm tempted to get a "fairway" Driver and play it as my only wood... Just as soon as Tour Edge makes one...

Ball speed record is held by Ryan Winther with a driver. The record you're talking about seem pretty iffy. I took a lot at the article  http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2012/8/22/211-mph-new-ball-speed-record-set-with-a-3-wood.html and it appears that "record" wasn't measured on a particularly good piece of equipment.

[billchao]

So I stopped at a golf store earlier today and tried this club out in the 12° setting. I hit three balls, switched to the Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver, hit three balls, back to the mini for three more, then back to the driver for three. I actually hit the mini just as well as the driver, if not better. Tighter dispersion and the good shots were better than the good driver shots. Granted, the driver wasn't set up like mine, so that may have been a factor. Smaller head was no issue for me. Didn't try it off the deck, though. I was rather impressed. I think if I had the time to do some real evaluation with it, I could see myself replacing my driver with it because the initial numbers were promising. I'm not going to spend $300 to find out, though.

[samjs]

I got it in12 degree. Was really excited to get it and then didn't hit it well. I changed the loft to 13 degree and draw and WOW. I now love it. I can hit it from tee and off the deck. I am selling my sldr driver and sldr mini. I hit the 1.5 better than both and love the feel. Never hit a long club better for me.

[JazzFatCat]

I'm also curious to try a mini driver since I don't like the feel of a big balloon-ish driver head.

[isukgolf]

I got it in12 degree. Was really excited to get it and then didn't hit it well. I changed the loft to 13 degree and draw and WOW. I now love it. I can hit it from tee and off the deck. I am selling my sldr driver and sldr mini. I hit the 1.5 better than both and love the feel. Never hit a long club better for me.

@samjs Welcome to TST, I am still thinking of getting the mini ...

[samjs]

Now I'm shanking the club.

[jsgolfer]

I am demo'ing the Callaway 1.5 mini driver (12 degree-regular shaft) and I will be putting one of these things in my bag.  Holy crap do I hit this thing good.  When I really go after it, I hit it as far as my driver and much more accurate.  I hit both of our longer par 5's in two in the last week using this club off the tee and then off the deck.  I'm amazed at how straight and long this club is.  There is a 370 yard par 4 with a creek on the right, normally I hit my driver with a little draw and I'm in the fairway about 110-120 from the green.  I hit this club with a slight draw through the fairway and into the creek, past where i normally hit my driver.  I'm also going to try the 14 degree and see how much difference there is.

[Kenny Lee]

I bought a TM mini-driver, 14 degree. Carrying 2 drivers makes sense to me. When accuracy is more important than distance, I'll hit the mini. And I can still hit it a long way. Seems like it's 10-15 yards shorter than my R15.

The mini is easier to hit than my 3-wood, and also longer than my 3-wood (off the tee box). I don't hit the mini from the fairway. That's what my 3-wood is for.

On a typical course, I hit the mini driver 6-7 times vs 7-8 times I hit the R15.

To make room in the bag, I removed my 62 degree wedge. I also bought a new 58 degree with a dual bounce. It's perfectly capable of performing the work of the 62 degree.

[TexasTom]

I would love for someone to head to head compare the TM Mini and the Bertha 1.5!

[JazzFatCat]

I bought one of these three weeks ago. I've tried to hit it off the grass but it just looks too weird to me and it is a bit pointless since I'm hitting my 20 degree hybrid well. I'm going to use it as a dedicated driver.

This year I've been using an old 3 wood off the tee and the Bertha Mini goes a bit further. I've got it set to 13 degree neutral and it seems to carry about 230 yards for me which is enough for the short but narrow course I play. I wish it were a magical "always goes straight" driver but it isn't for me.

Last week I did a comparison with the Bertha Mini and a 10.5 degree driver with a short shaft and they seemed pretty equal in length and dispersion and I prefer the feel the of Bertha Mini head to a big 460 driver head.

[billchao]

I have this club and am currently in the process of writing a review.

[jsgolfer]

I bought a TM mini-driver, 14 degree. Carrying 2 drivers makes sense to me. When accuracy is more important than distance, I'll hit the mini. And I can still hit it a long way. Seems like it's 10-15 yards shorter than my R15.

The mini is easier to hit than my 3-wood, and also longer than my 3-wood (off the tee box). I don't hit the mini from the fairway. That's what my 3-wood is for.

On a typical course, I hit the mini driver 6-7 times vs 7-8 times I hit the R15.

To make room in the bag, I removed my 62 degree wedge. I also bought a new 58 degree with a dual bounce. It's perfectly capable of performing the work of the 62 degree.

My new club arrives in a couple of days, I'm still using the demo club.  What I find really amazing is that even with the 12 degree loft, I hit this with a lower ball flight than my 9.5 degree Titleist 913 driver. And i actually get more roll from the trajectory, hit it with a nice draw.

I too took out my 62 degree out of my bad to carry this.  I can hit this off the deck with little problem.  It is far more accurate than my driver, although I lose about 20 yards when I hit them both well.  Although there are times when I hit this as far as my driver.

Can't say enough how much i love this club.

I have this club and am currently in the process of writing a review.

Once I have the new club, I'll write a review as well.