Equipment
Callaway Big Bertha Mini 1.5
Callaway’s Big Bertha Mini 1.5 is the latest entry into the recently crowded category of “driving woods” — clubs too large to be considered fairway woods, but only about half the size of modern drivers. Their larger size makes them longer and more forgiving than fairway woods off the tee, but smart sole shaping allows them to be a threat from the turf, if necessary. They also have shaft lengths that are shorter than drivers, which can offer golfers more control from the tee box.
[quote_box_center]”The pros generally hit their drivers pretty straight, so you’ll probably tend to see this club more widely used on shorter courses, where you don’t need driver on every hole, or on courses where you’re required to shape your shots a lot,” said Evan Gibbs, Callaway’s senior manager of R&D for woods, in a company interview. [/quote_box_center]
Callaway arguably started the modern driving wood category in 2013 when it released the X Hot 3Deep in 2013. Phil Mickelson used the strong-lofted, oversized fairway wood as a driver to win that year’s Open Championship, and raved to the press about the high ball speeds and low spin rates he saw from the club. He said he was able to hit the 43.5-inch 3Deep almost as far as his driver — and he did.
The Big Bertha Mini 1.5 is 35 percent larger than Callaway’s XR fairway woods.
The Big Bertha Mini 1.5 has a lot in common with the X Hot 3Deep, as well as Callaway’s follow-up models, but it’s a distinctly different club. At 235cc, 50cc bigger than the X Hot 3Deep, it’s more of a tee shot-first club. It’s also about 0.5 inches longer than those fairway woods at its stock length of 44 inches, which is still about 1.5 inches shorter than most modern drivers.
Callaway’s uses a “Hyper Speed Face Cup” to enhance ball speed on shots contacted across the club face.
Maybe the biggest difference between the Big Bertha Mini 1.5 and Callaway’s previous oversized fairway woods, aside from its added size, is that the Mini 1.5 is adjustable. It uses Callaway’s OptiFit hosel to give golfers a 3-degree range of adjustability (1 degree down, 2 degrees up from stock loft), as well as two independent lie angle settings (neutral and upright).
More detail-oriented golfers will want to know that the Mini 1.5 marks the first time Callaway has merged its Forged Hyper Speed Cup Face with a Forged Composite Crown in a fairway wood. The Face Cups are thin and strong to boost face flexibility for more ball speed, while the Forged Composite Crowns help engineers move weight lower in the club head for added forgiveness.
The Mini 1.5 uses Callaway’s cambered Warbird sole to help golfers use the oversized fairway wood from the turf.
The Big Bertha Mini 1.5 ($299) is available in lofts of 12 and 14 degrees, and will be in stores on May 29. It comes stock with Mitsubishi Rayon’s Kuro Kage Silver TiNi Second-Generation 60-gram shafts.
Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Big Bertha Mini 1.5 in our forum.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
JimmyO
May 28, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Was hitting low bullets with the 12 degree (even at +2 with the loft) but the dispersion was really tight. Would love to test this in the 14 degree model against my ti/tungsten Hawkeye 2 wood. It’s roughly the same size (+/- 10cc) so we’ll see how it compares to the trusty 2.
Golfraven
May 17, 2015 at 4:15 pm
I am becoming a fan of those mini driver. Currently playing a Fd 3 wood and even if I hit it crap the ball still has good distance and direction. Currently staying away from my driver especially when I hardly get to play.
Oldplayer
May 16, 2015 at 2:52 am
A club to hit from the tee that has a smaller head and a shorter shaft. Isn’t this back to the future? This describes what drivers were like 15 years ago. Although I concede modern materials and a thinner face does update the design.
Miguel
May 15, 2015 at 3:57 pm
I tried the SLDR Mini and I loved how it was so easy to use compared to my driver. Even if I lost a few yards compared to my driver, the dispersion and confidence it gave me was unbelievable. I am pretty sure this club will have the same effect. Higher loft, shorter shaft, smaller head…and this one is adjustable!
Jim
May 15, 2015 at 2:55 pm
I’m such a sap for this stuff, even when I am comfortable with my equipment I still jump.
rer4136
May 22, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Ditto to that. I am an equipment addict. Manufacturers take advantage at every turn.
Hazen
May 15, 2015 at 1:43 pm
Have been a fan of 3woods off the tee for a few years due to the smaller head. I’m a Callaway fan, have been since I started golf, but I recently tried one of the SLDR mini drivers and loved it but honestly didn’t get any more out of it over my 3 wood.
I will gladly try again with the Callaway though.
Hazen
May 15, 2015 at 1:53 pm
Forgot to mention the SLDR mini is not adjustable, and the fact that the Callaway Mini is, just makes it that much gooder. 🙂
Rick
May 15, 2015 at 10:52 am
I believe they are available in 12 and 14 degrees of loft
Zak Kozuchowski
May 15, 2015 at 10:56 am
That is correct, Rick. The story has been corrected.
Alex T
May 15, 2015 at 10:31 am
God I want one.
CHRIS
May 15, 2015 at 9:46 am
Currently gaming the X2 Hot PRO 2deep as my driver. May have to give this a shot to see if it knocks it out of the bag.
Desmond
May 15, 2015 at 7:40 am
Good looking stick!