Equipment
Thriver vs mini driver
In our forums, our members havee been pitting the thriver and mini driver against each other. WRXer ‘RoyalMustang’ is ready to pull the trigger and add one to his bag, and kicks off the discussion saying:
“I’m about to pull the trigger on a thriver or mini driver. I have a nice G400 LST head (9 degree) laying around: would that work for a thriver or do I need more loft? Shaft a regular 43” or do I go shorter? Would there be any other advantage/disadvantage of going with a thriver vs. a mini?
I’m looking for 3W length, so 30 yards off my driver. And less rollout, especially in TX winters .I carried 290 yesterday and ended up with a 345 yard drive-that’s great on some holes, not so hot though when you want the ball to land and stop rolling. This time of year, on our hole that has water downhill at 300 and with dormant grass fairways, I have to hit 3H or even 4i to not risk an uncontolled rollout into the pond, but that would be my “thriver/mini” hole in summer conditions.”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- RCCA: “I tried a Thriver in a G410 9* head at 43″ and couldn’t get the control I was looking for. IMO, you’re better off going to a higher spin head/shaft/loft combo, or you might as well just hitting a full length driver. I play my Thriver at 12″, but would love if Ping would release a 13 or 14* full sized G440 head.”
- Nelson.br.15.15: “I think the Thriver setup depends on how you want to use it. I have my G425 driver at 9.5 & 45” set up to draw and be my “hit it as far as possible” club. I then have my G425 Thriver at 13.5 & 43.5” and set up to hit more of a fade-straightish spinnier ball and be my “this has to stay on the fairway” club. I also have a 11.5 & 44” G400 Max backup that does a little bit of both. I had an extra slot in my bag so the driver/thriver combo makes sense for me.”
- tgrabowske: “9* is probably too low for what you want. you need probably minimum 12*”
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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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...
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Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
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Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Q
Jan 10, 2026 at 2:26 pm
I use a driver shaft in my 3wood set to 13 degrees. Works just fine with a bit of counterbalance at the end of the shaft.
It’s a normal 3wood head so I can still hit through some rough, which I cannot do with a mini-driver head which is too big still