The Perfect Driver Replacement – Callaway Elyte Mini Driver Review Review

Callaway have upgraded their Mini Driver in 2025, moving on from the Callaway Ai Smoke Ti 340 to the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver. After rigorously testing the Elyte Mini Driver, we believe this could be the perfect driver replacement for amateur golfers.

2025 has seen OEM’s firmly jump on the Mini Driver trend, with PXG’s Secret Weapon jostling for room with the new releases from TaylorMade’s R7 Quad Mini, Titleist’s GT280 and the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver.

Mini Drivers can be seen to all serve the same purpose; however, as more money and engineering go into these niche products, there are several different ways to carry them in your bag.

With the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver, they’ve clearly made this with one specific goal in mind. Let’s dive into the review and explain.

Looks, Sound and Feel – 4/5

The Callaway Elyte Mini Driver comes in at two lofts (11.5, 13.5), both with a profile of 340cc. This is 35cc larger than the TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini, and 60cc larger than the Titleist GT280! A considerable difference which can clearly be seen at address. It is rather large, and you can see the shaping of the Callaway Elyte Driver when looking at the playing profile.

It’s purely the little brother of the Callaway Elyte Driver. This is rather contrasting to the other Mini Drivers on offer in 2025, as they are all separate to their brand’s flagship range.

The Elyte family has received criticism in 2025 for the overall aesthetics, which I tend to agree with. Strangely enough, I do find myself warming to the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver in regards to its overall looks. The smaller, compact 340cc head for Elyte looks premium, modern, and inviting in all regards. The driver had some elements that made it look cheap, the Mini Driver does not.

Comparison is the thief of joy, but I have to look at other Mini Drivers when analysing the looks of the Callaway Elyte. The TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini and Titleist GT280 both have that wow factor, that instant reaction that makes you giddy at the thought of having it in your bag. The Elyte does not. It’s still a wonderful-looking Mini Driver, but it is not the best-looking.

The sound and feel of the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver is where the product excels. It feels very similar to the driver, as you’d expect. The feel doesn’t have as much of a trampoline effect, and it is a touch softer than the Ai Smoke Ti 340, which is a positive.

Forgiveness/Control – 5/5

Due to the size and technology on display with the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver, I assumed this would be a predominantly off-the-tee club to help you find the fairway, so I based the majority of my testing off the tee.

The results that followed, from a dispersion point of view, blew all of my other Mini Driver testing out of the water. The two lofts (11.5 & 13.5) did lead to different launch conditions, with my eventual choice being the 13.5. From the tee, I was able to tee the ball significantly lower than what I would with a driver to encourage a negative angle of attack, and swing freely with no mental block of that horror miss I’ve seen with my driver in years past.

Some Mini Drivers are built to be versatile. I don’t think the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver is particularly versatile in overall shot shaping and lie management for the amateur golfer. That being said, I view this as a club built for one purpose: to find the fairway. I hit 15 shots off the tee with the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver, with an 80% FIR return. That’s enough to impress even the professional golfer.

I did attempt to hit a variety of shots off the deck, and although I was successful with it, it didn’t feel like it was built for this. The lack of Step Sole (seen in Callaway’s Elyte fairway woods) and no significant tech to aid in turf interaction made the overall impact a bit rigid. Don’t get me wrong, I still launched it and could manoeuvre a shot, but the results were inconsistent with the launch angle. If it’s versatility off the tee and deck that you’re looking for, look at the PXG Secret Weapon or Titleist GT280.

Technology and Components – 5/5

Callaway have opted to incorporate all of the technology in the Callaway Elyte Driver family into the Mini Driver, making the Mini full of technology that will aid you on mishits. The new Ai10x face will maintain ball speed and launch conditions across the face (which I noticed off the tee), whereas the aerodynamic shaping of the metalwoods will increase swing speed and ball speed. I topped out at 174mph ball speed with the 11.5 head, which I could have pushed to 180 if I were swinging hard. It’s the largest Mini Driver on the market, and it’s also the fastest.

Like the core Callaway Elyte Driver, the Mini has movable weight technology at the back of the head, altering shot shape for neutral, fade and draw. There is also a custom weight closer to the face of the club for altering CG, but this isn’t able to change without custom.

The only element missing is for turf interaction, as mentioned previously. The omission of this from Callaway agrees with all other aspects of this club being primarily used for off the tee.

Final Verdict – 4.5/5

If you’re looking at purchasing a Mini Driver due to driver woes, Callaway have made their model with you in mind. Some Mini Drivers are meant to be a second in command to the driver itself, and although you could certainly still game both, I could easily game just the Callaway Elyte Mini Driver as a standalone club to send me off the tee.

This serves a different purpose than the Titleist GT280, which I imagine we’ll see more of as other OEM’s release their own version of the Mini Driver. Versatility will be sacrificed for efficiency off the tee, and that is the case with the Callaway Elyte Mini.

RRP $449.99 / £449   

Lofts: 11.5, 13.5

Length:  43.75” 

Head size: 340CC 

Stock shafts: True Temper Project X Denali Charcoal

Stock grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360