Equipment
Jake Knapp discusses why he opts for a mini driver instead of a 3-wood
The following is an excerpt from a piece we filed for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head on over there for the full story, which also includes the Mexico Open winner discussing how he configures his PXG irons set up.
Knapp may be a Tour rookie, but he’s experienced enough to know what works for him. And it’s not a 3-wood.
“I put in a 3-wood every once in a while, but I was just never able to find one that I loved,” Knapp told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday. “Three woods, in general, I just hit on the bottom of the face. They spin a lot and don’t go anywhere.”
Rather than using a fairway wood, Knapp goes with a TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver that has 13.5 degrees of loft. The club complements his 9-degree Ping G425 LST driver.
During a fitting session in Oklahoma last year, Knapp told his fitter he was looking for a club that goes 286 yards, and his first three shots with the mini driver went between 285 and 290.
“It’s just an easier club to hit than a 3-wood,” Knapp explained. “It spins more off the ground, but I don’t need it off the ground too often. And from 270+ yards away, you’re not really trying to be too precise. You’re just trying to get it up around the green most of the time. So, for me, it’s really just a tee club and kind of a fairway finder for me.”
Read more here and check out Jake Knapp’s full WITB below.
Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees @7.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 95 6.5
Irons: Srixon ZU85 (2), PXG 0311 X (4), PXG 0211 ST (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei White Hybrid 100 TX (2), KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X (4-PW)
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II (52-10), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56.5-10S), WedgeWorks (60-T @61)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X (52, 56), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Double Bend
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour SGP 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
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
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Photos from the ShopRite LPGA
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Brandon
Feb 28, 2024 at 8:13 pm
Same reason I carry a cobra big tour 3 wood. I almost never hit it off the turf. Feel much more confident with a hybrid than I do with any 3 wood I’ve ever owned, and if I can’t reach a long par 5 in 2,so be it.
Brian
Feb 28, 2024 at 5:13 pm
Wonder why he didn’t hit this off the tee when he was missing just about every fairway on Sunday with his driver?
Chuck
Feb 28, 2024 at 3:14 pm
286.
With “3”-wood.
In the late 1990’s, the longest hitter on Tour was John Daly. He was the Tour driving distance leader for 11 out of 12 years. 1991-2002. And before the advent of the Pro-V1 and multilayer urethane balls, Daly’s Tour-leading driving distance averages were between 288 and 299.
And now the Tour distance leaders are in the 320’s.
eastpointe
Feb 29, 2024 at 8:40 am
Imagine how far he would have hit the ball if he followed a fraction of the fitness regiment that the vast majority of players today do.
Chuck
Feb 29, 2024 at 10:06 am
There is of course an argument to be made that the ultra-low-spin technologies of the 21st century naturally (and even rightly?!) encourage and reward more fitness, more aggressive athleticism (less golfer technical skill in controlling spin) because spin is so well controlled on long shots by the urethane balls and high tech composite shafts and multimaterial alloy heads. That’s fine.
It doesn’t answer the question of why not keep that multilayer urethane ball technology, but just roll back the overall distance significantly. Which is what the ruling bodies are beginning to attempt.