News

TaylorMade Original One: A new twist on the mini driver

Published

7 years ago

Apr 16, 2019

It’s been a while since TaylorMade launched its last mini driver, and with the new “Original One” nicknamed Pittsburgh Persimmon (a nod to both the VERY first metal wood and a city known for its steel) you could say this club is 40 years in the making.

There are not a lot of golf companies that get to 25 years, let alone 40, and in 2019 TaylorMade is celebrating its Ruby anniversary in a BIG way. We have already seen the P7TW irons and a HUGE green jacket win to go along with them, and now with the Original One, we are getting a lot of tech into a product designed to help a lot more golfers than a set of blade irons.

As speculated a few weeks ago by yours truly in another piece: Spotted: TM Original One Mini Driver, I’ll pat myself on the back and say that many of the design and technology features I took from that single black and white photo have been confirmed, minus the titanium crown part – its actually carbon fiber. (Hey, I can’t be right all the time)

TaylorMade Original One Technology

I’ll let TaylorMade explain the technology story

“With the Original One Mini Driver, engineers have utilized key product technologies found in many of the company’s most notable metalwood offerings intended to deliver a faster, more forgiving and adjustable product. It all starts with a revolutionary tri-material construction, comprised of a titanium body, 50g steel sole plate and TaylorMade’s instantly-recognizable carbon composite crown. The combination of these three materials creates an ultra-low CG for distance and playability.”

The heavy steel soleplate was my biggest speculation beyond TwistFace, and now we know they are utilizing this extremely heavy sole. To put that into perspective, 50g of mass is roughly 24 percent of a 208g clubhead — an assumed mass based on the stock length and swing weight spec. That’s a pretty easy way to drop CG and push mass to the outside to increase MOI — something many people that will primarily use this off the tee will want and need.

Additional features of the “Original One” Mini include

Loft Sleeve with ±2° loft adjustability – get ready for easy shaft testing 🙂

Twist Face Technology to provide the ultimate path to straight distance – brought in from other metal woods

Inverted Cone Technology – their tried & tested face design to promote ball speed on off-center hits

Specs, pricing, and availability

Available for preorder starting today, April 16 and at retail beginning May 1, the Original One Mini Driver ($399.99 USD) will be offered in 11.5-degree or 13.5-degree lofts and come equipped with Mitsubishi’s Diamana F Limited shafts in 55g (R), 65g (S) or 75g (X) flexes at 43.75” at a D3 swing weight. The stock grip is Golf Pride MCC Decade grips in black & blood orange. The Original One Mini Driver will also be available through TaylorMade’s custom program, allowing for numerous additional custom shaft and grip options.

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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

24 Comments

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Benny

May 5, 2019 at 7:07 pm

Well said Larry and Ian. Great article and posts. I have my SLdR mini in my trunk. I use it when I am in a tight course. About as ling as a 3w but I can find the curtesy cut if need be. I can cut and draw it and wish I had a driver set up the same way. Anyways these are just 2w guys and simply marketed differently so people buy them. But 2w were always bigger and slightly higher loft. Not as long but finding fairway is much better than woods.

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Funkaholic

May 3, 2019 at 8:08 pm

I hit the demo at the pgass on the stiff stock diamana. This may replace my 3w.

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JP

Apr 30, 2019 at 11:35 am

$399 for this latest gimmick? No thanks…
.
You’re better off just learning to hit a driver and fairway wood properly.

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- Dan
  
  May 2, 2019 at 8:49 am
  
  They’ll be $199 by July
  
  Reply Report comment
- Funkaholic
  
  May 3, 2019 at 8:05 pm
  
  Just because you are poor doesn’t mean this won’t be a fun club to own.
  
  Reply Report comment
David Mac Iver

Apr 17, 2019 at 8:54 pm

Larry asked my question- how many CC’s. After playing golf for 62 years, I still can’t get used to 460 CC heads and go to my 13 deg. Rocket Ballz, or my old Callaway Deuce, when I have driver woes.

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- David Mac Iver
  
  Apr 18, 2019 at 5:19 pm
  
  Carl-Magnus is correct 275 CC’s, limited production, available May 1st. My local off course golf shop owner told me to watch that date since he is only expecting a few to be available in store.
  
  Reply Report comment
TeeBone

Apr 17, 2019 at 6:25 pm

This will be a big hit initially for the many people who can’t hit a driver for beans who think that a shorter club and a smaller head is the answer. It isn’t. The problem is your crappy swing.

Reply Report comment
- James Calkins
  
  May 25, 2019 at 9:47 pm
  
  I can’t disagree. However, with limited practice time, I’d rather work on my standard iron – fairway wood swing (descending blow) and use that same swing for my driver, rather than practice what for me feel like a lot of changes in order to accommodate the upward path needed for current drivers.
  
  I tried the Original One today at Golf Galaxy. The significantly shorter shaft, and the ability to use a 3-wood swing rather than a driver swing, worked for me. I’m going to go back for a detailed fitting and then buy one. We’re moving soon to a house on a fairly narrow, tree-lined course. I’d much rather hit my driver 255 and be in the fairway almost every time, compared to maybe 280 but with ‘way more dispersion.
  
  The other issue is club count. Going with the Original One, I’ll be 5i, 4H, 5W, driver; compared to 5i, 4H, 5W, 3W, driver. So I’ll open up a club to use at the low end of the bag – a good thing to have.
  
  Maybe I’m just one of a minority, but I’m really glad TaylorMade put this club together.
  
  Reply Report comment
Larry

Apr 17, 2019 at 4:41 pm

How many cc is the club head

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- carl-magnus elg
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 9:12 pm
  
  275cc
  
  Reply Report comment
Dennis Sanderson

Apr 17, 2019 at 4:41 pm

I use the SLDR 12 degree Mini on tighter courses and in cooler weather. I believe it is quite lively and plenty accurate. Do you strongly expect the new one will be longer and more accurate and/or forgiving? With the loft adjustable on the new one would we be able to use a shaft longer than on the SLDR but still shorter than length of regular drivers? I would certainly like to try out that combination.

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Travis

Apr 17, 2019 at 7:42 am

I already play my 460cc driver at 44”, but I’m worried I would lose distance

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Borat

Apr 17, 2019 at 7:19 am

The club looks boring! Like my wife.

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- JP
  
  Apr 21, 2019 at 2:50 am
  
  Trade it in. Especially when you find a 50% trade in bonus!
  
  Reply Report comment
Steve

Apr 16, 2019 at 10:02 pm

Will this be any better than my 15 degree RBZ2 3 Wood? Looks way cooler, that’s for sure.

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Marc

Apr 16, 2019 at 10:45 am

I’m sure a lot of people are gonna hate on this because it is another mini driver. The reality is that many people can’t hit their big driver worth a damn, but their ego keeps it in the bag. My G400 3W is freakishly long and I hit it a lot in tournament rounds because of how long and accurate it is. If you constantly stripe it down the middle with a 3w, it wears down your competitors. I play so many events with people that shouldn’t hit drivers on a majority of the holes, but they do, and they make bogey or worse. Fact is, a lot of people would do best to replace their driver with something like this, because it will likely go further and straighter because they will have so much more confidence while hitting it. Standing on the tee with near 100% confidence is truly a weapon that many people don’t have.

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- Milo
  
  Apr 16, 2019 at 11:28 am
  
  I love by Callaway mini bertha driver, I’ll be interested to see how this stacks up to it.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Grayson
    
    Apr 16, 2019 at 6:49 pm
    
    I also have the Bertha Mini and absolutely love it. It’ll be hard to top it. My only wish is for maybe a 40cc smaller clubhead.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Milo
      
      Apr 16, 2019 at 7:45 pm
      
      I agree, if I had a problem getting the ball in the air it would be tough to hit off the turf but I actually have the opposite problem, haha.
      
      Reply Report comment
- Ian
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 8:05 pm
  
  Most sensible comment I’ve read for ages in regards to Drivers. I agree most are just not that consistent with the long stick. But one good shot in every 5 drives is enough for some to still keep it in the bag
  
  Reply Report comment
- Larry69
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 11:00 pm
  
  Great post. Confidence as a weapon. Awesome. Golf is beautiful because it’s played in the brain just as much if not more than physical ability.
  
  Reply Report comment

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News

GolfWRX’s Father’s Day Gift Guide (2026)

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

A reminder from your friends at GolfWRX: Father’s Day is June 21. And as we do every year, we’re rounding up the best gifts for dad.

As we say every year, there’s no better golf-related Father’s Day gift than a round of golf with pops. Be it a country club or your favorite muni, take the time to get together to play 18 if you can.

Let’s get to the gifts.

Ghost Golf Qualifier Diamond Polo

We like the new polos that Ghost is offering, as the fabric and fit are so good. These new Qualifier Collection polos breathe well, are lightweight, stretch with your swing, and of course look great. You can wear them on the course, in the office, or just out at a casual event and they will fit right in.

Buy here.

STR8-Strip Grip Tape Remover

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Buy here.

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Buy here.

OluKai Lae‘ahi Men’s Breathable Slip-On Shoes

Riding to and from the course in style and comfort is always a good thing. If you’re in a hurry, it’s a nice feature to slide into your shoes and get to the tee time. For the post-game shoe, at your locker or while putting your clubs away in the car. Nice to slide into a shoe that looks good anywhere. Pair that with meeting the family for dinner, no need to change!

Buy here.

Therabody Theragun Relief

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Buy here.

World Cup golf apparel

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Buy here.

FootJoy Pro SL spikeless golf shoes

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Buy here.

Bushnell Wingman 2 GPS speaker

Combine all the hits as well as some game improvement with the Wingman 2 Golf GPS Speaker by getting audible distance readings from 38,000+ courses worldwide through the Wingman 2 remote or speaker.

Buy here.

Personalized Titleist Pro V1 golf balls

The No. 1 ball in golf is a safe bet, and the Pro V1 fits the largest chunk of the bell curve if you don’t know what ball pops plays. Add personalization for a, well, personal touch!

Buy here.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 OccuNet Classic

Published

2 days ago

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GolfWRX Staff

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It’s always interesting to see what the guys are playing on the KFT, and this week certainly hasn’t disappointed so far, with some incredible wedge stamping on display.

Check out links to all our albums below.

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From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Scotty Cameron GOLO 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition

Published

2 days ago

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Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

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From the listing:

Scotty Cameron Golo 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition Scotty Headcover 34″ $375

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.