Callaway Elyte Mini Driver Review: Big distance in a small package

Key Features

• ThermaForged Crown enhances ball speed, spin and launch
• Ai10x Face gives the Elyte Mini more control points than the brand's previous Ai Smart Face, promoting forgiveness and launch across the face 
• Inherits the new shaping of the Elyte Driver for enhanced clubhead speed and a sleek look

The mini driver revolution is now well and truly mainstream in the game of golf, giving golfers who would normally look at a driver or fairway wood for a new option off the tee an entirely new category to consider. 

Having returned to the market to much noise and fuss a couple of years ago with the launch of TaylorMade's retro-styled BRNR Mini, the mini driver is now a firm favourite among everyday golfers and pour pros alike, providing a reliable, forgiving second option off the tee.

As such, the big players in the equipment space are working to ensure the mini driver proves more than a mere fad. TaylorMade followed up the BRNR Mini with another well-regarded retro throwback in the R7 Quad Mini. PXG and Titleist have also just launched their Secret Weapon and GT280 mini drivers respectively, and Cobra reportedly has one on the way soon. 

Now, Callaway have joined the party with the launch of the Elyte Mini: a club that leans heavily into the Mini Driver trend without skimping on the tech-forward feel we've come to expect from Callaway.

But just how good is it and how does it compare to the current market leader in the R7? GolfMagic's Equipment Editor Tom Usher hit the course at Malden Golf Club to find out.

Player Level

While the TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini Driver is firmly a club that'll suit better players, the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver has arrived to give a wider range of amateurs true versatility at the top of the bag. 

Easier to launch and higher-spinning than its rival, it's still a club that will reward mid-to-low handicappers more than a high-handicapper. However anyone who plays at a level where they feel broadly comfortable taking a wood off the tee box could find the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver an intriguing new option.

Looks and Feel

While the styling of most mini drivers since their return has been geared around reviving a retro feel, Callaway have leaned firmly into the brand's futuristic aesthetic. Put simply, this really does look like a mini version of Callaway's Elyte Driver. 

None of this is to say that's a negative. The Elyte Driver is a very good looking club—as is its mini variant. The metallic black and chrome paintjob is sleek, sexy and adds to the driver's aerodynamic feel, while the pop of bright green offsets the metallics nicely. It's certainly not a club with any real nostalgia factor, but as a standalone offering, it's nonetheless a handsome thing to behold.

On initial feel, it becomes very clear that the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver is a club designed to be a more comfortable, versatile option for a wider range of players. It's lighter and thus more easy to manipulate than the R7, and also feels more cushioned and easy-launching across the face.

Performance and Forgiveness

The Callaway Elyte Mini Driver's lean towards forgiveness reflects in its all-round performance on the course. The feeling the Elyte provides on a well-struck shot is soft and supple without being overly pillowy. It's also far kinder on mishits compared to the R7, which pings nicely off the middle but can feel a little harsh if you get it wrong.

In simulator testing, the Elyte Mini proved higher-spinning and higher-launching than its retro-styled rival, and for a better player like Tom slightly harder to dial in. Initially providing around 260 yards of distance with a spin rate in the low 3000s, as he got more accustomed to it he was able to find lower spin and a lower launch. 

Even on higher-spinning shots, however, the carry and total distance the Elyte Mini was able to generate were truly impressive, and well in the ball park of the R7.

Testing Data Summary

Technology and Adjustability

In keeping with its name and looks, the Elyte Mini Driver carries over a good deal of the tech that features prominently in its larger sibling. It inherits the proportions and enhanced shaping of the newly-redesigned Elyte Driver, as well as its ThermaForged Carbon Crown to help optimise launch, head speed and spin.

The Ai10x Face also carries down from the Elyte Driver line. Supposedly Callaway's most advanced face yet, it works in the Mini Driver to tighten disperson and optimise launch even more across the face, providing a more forgiving option for those who look at their 3-wood with dread on the tee.

While the R7 Mini Driver allows you a series of adjustable weights that allow you to truly fine-hone its performance, the Elyte Mini is more simple and perhaps more inviting to a wider range of golfers. A large adjustable weight sits towards the back of the club to aid with launch, with the ability to move it up or down the crown of the club to promote a draw or fade bias.

How It Compares

In many ways, the Callaway Elyte Mini feels like it serves a slightly different need to the R7, despite sitting in the same category. As we said before, the Callaway feels very much like a pint-sized driver, with a bigger head, short shaft and light feeling that invites you to swing it as you would its bigger brother. 

With higher spin and easier launch, it'll likely prove useful for a wider range of golfers, and we can see this ending up in the bag of many who want a little more control off the tee, but find it hard to hit a traditional 3-wood.

The TaylorMade R7, on the other hand, is a club geared more towards a particular type of golfer, while also one that's perhaps more satisfying to hit when you get it right. The R7's lower spin characteristics, combined with the weighting system that allows you to dial in that low, classically Burner-style shot, will better players with a level of precision the Elyte Mini simply can't. 

Of course, this comes at a cost of forgiveness if it's not struck well or properly adjusted to suit your swing.

Should You Buy It?

The spin and performance you get from the Elyte Mini are exactly what you'd expect from a Mini Driver packed with all of Callaway's most cutting-edge tech. It spins slightly more than the Elyte Driver, launches slightly higher, and allows you to swing as you would a driver in the knowledge you won't be punished as severely on mishits.

At an RRP of £449 it's a good deal more expensive than a fairway wood or a driving iron, but if you're at a loss as to how to control your tee shots on tight fairways, we'd highly recommend testing one out.

Verdict

The Callaway Elyte Mini fills a gap in the Mini Driver market that, until testing it, we didn't really know was there. While the TaylorMade R7 feels and performs like a larger 3 wood, providing a level of customisability that'll appeal to better golfers, the Elyte Mini casts a much broader net. It's easier to hit, easier to adjust, and truly feels like a miniature driver.

If you're looking for an option to a traditional driver on tight holes but don't mesh well with either a fairway wood or a driving iron off the tee, the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver well might be the answer to your prayers.