Titleist's GT280 mini driver, new Wilson wedges and Srixon balls
Last year at the Masters, Cameron Young and a handful of Titleist staff players added a TSR 2-wood to their bags, a club that was a larger, tour-only offering that helped some players hit a draw off the tee on the 10th hole and turn a right-to-left shot around the corner on the eighth hole more easily. Over the course of 2024, the TSR 2-wood found its way into other staffers' bags as well, and now that club has been released in the form of the new Titleist GT280 mini driver.
Several other PGA Tour players have also added TaylorMade BRNR Mini and Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 Mini drivers to their bags over the last few seasons, and while I can't provide specific details here yet, more mini drivers are coming very soon.
While these super-charged fairway woods are an interesting option for the pros, should weekend players be in the market for a mini driver? Here is a simple way to tell :
YES: If you only hit your 3-wood exclusively off the tee, can easily hit fairway wood shots high but almost never need a 3-wood to reach par 5s, a mini driver could provide you with more distance than your 3-wood off the tee on holes when hitting driver brings hazards into play.
NO: If you regularly hit your 3-wood from the fairway on par 4s or par 5s, struggle to hit fairway woods high or naturally have a low ball flight, then a mini driver might be challenging for you to hit and probably will be a poor fit for your game.
As always, the best way to find out if a mini driver or any other clubs is right for you is to seek out the advice and help of a good custom fitter and try the clubs for yourself.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship prop bet picks and PGA Tour predictions
The FedExCup Playoffs are set with the top 70 players in the year-long standings vying to win the Tour Championship at East Lake in a few weeks. Things kick off on Thursday with the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the playoffs at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. Below, we search for the best value prop bets for the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship from BetMGM Sportsbook's odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions. There are 70 players in the FedExCup Playoffs, but only 69 are playing this week because Rory McIlroy is skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The top 50 players in the standings after this week will advance to the BMW Championship, with McIlroy already locking up a spot in the top 50. Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win in Memphis at +300, with Xander Schauffele (+1400) coming in as the second-favorite. Tommy Fleetwood (+2200), Justin Thomas (+2500) and Ludvig Aberg (+2500) are among the top contenders to win, as well. TPC Southwind is a difficult course that plays at 7,288 yards as a par 70, featuring water hazards throughout the property. The winning score has been between 13-under and 17-under each year since 2019, with this being the fourth year as a FedExCup Playoffs event on the calendar. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-5 picks Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 7:37 p.m. ET. Hovland has contended here in recent years, finishing second in 2024, 13th in 2023 and 20th in 2022. That's a testament to his ball-striking, which gives him a big advantage with how well he hits his irons. Thomas won this event in 2020 before it was a playoff event, so he knows how to take care of business at TPC Southwind. Since 2019, he also has finishes of 12th, 13th and 26th, showing his victory was no fluke. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-10 picks It's hard to bet Fleetwood to win at this point after seeing him give away the Travelers Championship in June, but this course is perfect for him. He's finished third, fourth and 22nd in 3 of his 5 starts since 2019, coming close to winning here in the past. Straka is as good an iron player as there is right now so he's someone to take seriously at a course like TPC Southwind. He finished second in 2022 when he lost in a playoff to Will Zalatoris, nearly taking home the title that week. Berger's coures history is the best of any player in the field, winning in 2016 and 2017, with finishes of second and fifth in 2020 and 2021, respectively. His lone hiccup was a missed cut in 2018, but other than that, he's been lights out in his last 5 starts here. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-20 picks Spieth must kick things into gear now and TPC Southwind is a good place for him to get going, having come in 12th in 2019, 12th in 2021 and sixth in 2023. He struggled here last year but if he can dial in his irons, he'll have a chance to contend. Im was sixth in 2023 and 12th in 2022 at this event, playing well 2 years in a row at TPC Southwind. It's been a disappointing year for him in 2025, but he did show signs of improvement last week with a T-27 at the Wyndham Championship. Rose can never be counted out at this point in his career, especially at a place where he's come in 22nd and 20th the last two years, with an 11th-place showing in 2019. He nearly won the Masters and finished 16th at the Open Championship, so he's been in good form. WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+ FedEx St. Jude Championship – Matchups Suggested play is golfer in bold. Justin Thomas (+105) vs. Russell Henley (-135) Thomas is a former champion and could be poised to go on a run in the playoffs. His worst finish in this event since 2019 is 26th, so his floor should be fairly high. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top English Fleetwood is the favorite in this market over Matt Fitzpatrick (+250) and Aaron Rai (+300), and he should be. He's played great all year and while he doesn't have a win, he has been in contention. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top Korean It's Im vs. Si Woo Kim (-125) in this market as the only two Koreans in the field. Take the underdog Im at a course where he's played well before. FedEx St. Jude Championship – First-round leader Fleetwood fired rounds of 66 and 66 in the last two years to open this event, so he's been close to claiming the first-round lead each time. He's comfortable at TPC Southwind and could be in for a big week. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Golfweek: Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship odds, picks and PGA Tour predictions
The PGA Tour regular season has ended and the playoffs get underway this week at the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis. It's the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs as the top 70 players in the standings attempt to advance to the Tour Championship, where a season-long champion will be crowned at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Below, we look at FedEx St. Jude Championship odds from BetMGM Sportsbook's odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions. Though 70 players made the field, only 69 golfers will tee off because Rory McIlroy has opted to skip this event. The top 50 players in the FedExCup standings after this week will advance to the BMW Championship, with the top 30 then going to the Tour Championship. Scottie Scheffler is in the field for the first time since winning the Open Championship, and he's the heavy favorite at +300. Xander Schauffele (+1400), Tommy Fleetwood (+2200) and Hideki Matsuyama (+2500) are among the favorites as well. There will be no cut this week with the field being 69 players. TPC Southwind (7,288 yards, par 70) features water hazards throughout the course, testing players' accuracy from tee to green. Since it became the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2019, the winning score has been between 13-under and 17-under each year, with Matsuyama taking the crown at 17-under a year ago. It also became a playoff event in 2022. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Expert picks Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 3:31 p.m. ET. Hovland has come close here before, finishing second last year, 13th in 2023 and 20th the year prior. He's a top-tier ball-striker, which is a plus this week at a course as demanding as TPC Southwind. Thomas won at Southwind in 2020 before it became a playoff event, but that wasn't his only solid finish here. He also came in 12th in 2019, 13th in 2022 and 26th in 2021, finishing no worse than 30th in his last 5 starts at the FedEx St. Jude. FedEx St. Jude Championship picks – Contenders This is exactly the type of event Straka could win. It emphasizes ball-striking from tee to green, of which he's one of the best in the world right now. It's also a strong field and Straka has excelled in signature events, winning the Truist Championship back in May. He finished second here in 2022, which was his best finish in 3 tries. Berger was a back-to-back winner at the FedEx St. Jude in 2016-17. He nearly won again in 2020 when he finished second and he also posted a fifth-place showing in 2021. He hasn't played here since then, but he's played well as of late and obviously loves the layout of this course. Spieth finished T-31 last week at the Wyndham as he tries to find a groove late in the season, an encouraging sign just before the playoffs. At this event, he's had finishes of sixth, 12th and 12th since 2019, though he did miss the cut in 2022 and finished 68th last year. It's been an up-and-down ride at TPC Southwind for Spieth, but he's worth a shot. WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+ FedEx St. Jude Championship picks – Long shots Im has had success in Memphis, finishing sixth in 2023 and 12th in 2022. He faded at the Wyndham Championship on the weekend when he shot 1-over on Sunday to drop to 27th on the leaderboard, but this could be the week he starts to heat up. Rose has already had a terrific season, finishing in the top 10 four times in just 15 starts – highlighted by a runner-up at the Masters. In the last 2 years here, he's finished 22nd and 20th, while also coming in 11th in 2019 during its first year as a championship. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Golfweek: Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
FedExCup Playoffs need more 'volatility'
Ryan Lavner, Rex Hoggard, Todd Lewis, and Eamon Lynch dive into several topics ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, including PGA Tour scheduling, FedExCup Playoffs structure, and Ryder Cup storylines.
