Gear: PXG Secret Weapon mini driver

Price: $499

Specs: The 300cc head has a titanium chassis, carbon-fiber crown, 13 degrees of loft and a 58.5-degree lie angle. The standard length is 43.25 inches. Four adjustable sole weights come in a stock configuration of two 7.5-gram weights and two 2.5-gram weights. Right- and left-handed versions are available.

Available: October 22

Who it's for: Golfers who want a more controllable alternative to their driver, or a club that can produce more speed and forgiveness than a 3-wood off the tee.

What you should know: PXG's second-generation Secret Weapon mini driver has a thinner face, a reinforced internal sole and more perimeter weighting than the original. It is designed to produce more distance off the tee than a 3-wood while retaining enough control and versatility to be used from the fairway.

The deep dive: Mini drivers once seemed like macho clubs for golfers fortunate enough to stand on a tee and worry that their driver might send the ball too far. Other players experimented with them because they wanted an alternative that would go straighter than a driver when facing an especially tight fairway.

The thinking has changed. Tour players now use mini drivers to create a specific ball flight, find more fairways or fill the substantial distance gap that can exist between a modern driver and 3-wood. Recreational golfers who consistently hit their fairway woods better than their driver have also started to consider them.

The updated PXG Secret Weapon is designed to serve all those golfers.

At 300cc, its head is approximately 35 percent smaller than a conventional 460cc driver but about 50 percent larger than a 3-wood with a 200cc head. The Secret Weapon also comes standard at 43.25 inches, making it easier to control than a driver, which is ordinarily 45.5 or 45.75 inches. Finally, its 13 degrees of loft should help golfers produce more spin and a more predictable flight.

PXG made the face of the updated Secret Weapon 4.4 percent thinner than the original club's hitting area, allowing it to flex more efficiently at impact. The company said the design pushes the club's characteristic time (CT) measurement to the USGA limit, with the goal of creating more ball speed over a larger portion of the face.

The carbon-fiber crown saves additional weight from the top of the club, allowing more mass to be positioned lower and deeper. That should help increase stability and make the Secret Weapon easier to launch.

Four adjustable sole weights provide another layer of fitting control. The club comes with two 7.5-gram weights and two 2.5-gram weights that can be moved among heel, toe, front and rear ports. Placing more weight forward can lower launch and reduce spin, while adding weight toward the toe can encourage a fade.

Golfers could also configure the Secret Weapon to favor a different shot shape from their driver, creating separate tee-shot options for holes that favor a draw or fade. An adjustable hosel provides more control over loft, launch and trajectory.

PXG also lowered the leading edge and gave the head a comparatively shallow profile. Those changes should help the club sit closer to the ground and make it slightly easier to hit from the fairway.

Make no mistake, though. A 300cc mini driver will be more challenging to play from a tight fairway lie than a 15-degree 3-wood. Most golfers will use the Secret Weapon almost exclusively from the tee, and that is perfectly reasonable. It does not have to replace a driver or 3-wood. It can simply provide another option when finding the fairway matters more than squeezing out every last yard.