TaylorMade Heads Back to the Future with New BRNR Mini Driver Copper

by thebestworldevents.com 5 April 2024 · Golf

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On the one hand, with the Masters and the challenge presented by Augusta National right around the corner, we’ve come to expect the requisite mix of azalea-themed gear and niche, though typically purpose-built, performance offerings to saturate the market.

With that, the release of the latest iteration of TaylorMade’s Mini driver franchise – the BRNR Mini Copper Driver is, if you’ll excuse the pun, par for the course.

Why Mini?

While there is perhaps a bit more utility to a mini driver than a full-sized driver. In practice, the idea is to provide a bit more shot-shaping capability for those shots where the benefit of precise placement (at least to the extent that’s humanly possible) outweighs or mitigates the risk of a full send with the driver off the tee.

On the other hand, it’s perhaps surprising that the new BRNR Mini Driver Copper doesn’t appear to offer much that’s new.

BRNR Mini Copper – A New BRNR?

Notably absent are any specific performance enhancements or even claims from TaylorMade. Spec for spec, the BRNR Mini Copper matches the BRNR Mini that hit the market last April.

It’s available in two lofts – 11.5- and 13- degrees. It’s 43.75” long, and the head is still a mini-sized 304cc.

For the BRNR Mini Copper, TaylorMade is sticking with the UST Mamiya ProForce 65 Reto Burner Edition shaft that provides the look of the iconic Bubble shaft without the headaches that would come with actually reverting to it.

Try regripping one.

The BRNR Mini Driver Copper, like last season’s BRRN Mini, offers swappable weights (13g and 1.5g), which offer a bit of trajectory control.

It features TaylorMade’s 4-degree loft sleeve, which allows golfers to add and remove loft while simultaneously closing and opening the face. Upright settings are also part of the package.

True to the BRNR heritage, the BRNR Mini Copper offers the K-shaped K-SOLE design for improved turf interaction, though, if I’m being honest, at 304cc, that’s likely little more than wishful thinking for average golfers trying to hit it off the deck.

I’m still partial to TaylorMade’s SLDR Mini in that regard.

Short of a grip change (the SuperStroke S-Tech has been replaced with a Golf Pride Tour Victory Copper), the upgrades appear to be largely cosmetic.

Among them, two things stand out.

TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – What’s Different

TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper Driver at address

First, the BRNR logo on the sole has been replaced with the retro TaylorMade logo. The old-school design has occasionally popped up on hats, t-shirts, and other soft goods designs. Given the BRNR legacy, it feels like the right place to reintroduce it to the golf club line.

The other noticeable change is the crown design, which shifts from a gloss black carbon fiber weave with relatively subtle copper accents to a matte black design where the BRNR’s signature copper coats the leading edge of the crown and wraps around the sole.

Not For Everyone, but Still Fun

Mini Drivers (BRNR or otherwise) are never going to be mass-market needle movers, but the prior iteration of the BRNR Mini gained a following and was frequently sold out on TaylorMade.com.

Given where it sits in the market, reinventing the wheel one year into a cycle doesn’t make much sense. Swapping the logo to give the BRNR Mini Copper an even more retro vibe and arguably giving the crown design (you know…the part of the club you actually have to look at) more universal appeal seems like a sensible play.

I still wish TaylorMade had made it smaller this time around.