What the heck is a 'Tour Draw' driver, and why is Min Woo Lee playing one?

Tour-level golfers, particularly those who play with the grace and easy power of Min Woo Lee, aren't the typical profile of player you'd commonly associate with draw-biased drivers.

The sub-section of the category, synonymous with Max-sized heads and the most forgiving game improvement drivers, is rarely seen at a level where players can not only seemingly shape shots to their will, but in modern times prefer to play a natural fade as opposed to a draw anyway.

The Australian, however, has bucked the trend somewhat in the last few weeks, switching out of his Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond driver into a tour-only variant that's intriguing not just for its name, but its purpose. Called the Triple Diamond Tour Draw, or TD TD for short, it's a model that's not been seen in play on the game's most elite tour to this point.

Lee has had a funny year on tour, claiming his long-awaited maiden win at the Texas Children's Houston Open before sliding out of form. One of the tour's fastest swingers, he ended the year 15th in driving distance but a lowly 105th in strokes gained off the tee, with a wild right miss that occasionally crept into his game continually haunting him.

The Triple Diamond Tour Draw, more commonly seen on the Challengers and LPGA tours, is a slightly tweaked variant of the low-spin Triple Diamond designed to negate some of the fade bias that it's generally used for on tour. It does so by shifting the centre of gravity to produce a straighter ball flight, also moving the face further back behind the shaft to create more offset.

Speaking to Golf.com about the TD TD, Callaway Tour Content Manager Johnny Thompson said “with Triple Diamond, in the direction that his golf swing went. He was, he was looking up sometimes and seeing like, ‘Man, that kind of really slid and I just don’t feel like the golf swing produced that much slide.” 

“That little doubt, which, under high-pressure situations, on those difficult golf courses they play, can be very discomforting, especially coming down the stretch.”

Lee's Tour Draw variant is set up exactly the same as his former gamer, bringing across the Fujikura Ventus Blue shaft he has always used and playing the same swing weight and CG profile. “You could almost call it like a single variable change where they just gave a reduction of right bias.”

Already, it seems to have paid off. Lee finished third at the French Open a couple of weeks ago, ranking 2nd in strokes gained off-the-tee and tied for first in driving accuracy. He's also put in a strong showing so far at this week's Baycurrent Classic, surging in the home stretch of Friday's second round to post a 4-under 68 and place himself in a tie for 19th going into the weekend. 

He currently sits tied for 42nd in driving accuracy and, once again in the top 25 for strokes gained off-the-tee.