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TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

SuperStroke
I think it's curious that after 55 pages of this thread the general consensus seems to be "I hear some guys are really getting good results from the SLDR, but I'm not one of them. Perhaps more tinkering will help."

Those were my thoughts as well. Perhaps we just need to move on. Perhaps TMag needs to release something else.
 
mark blanchard said:
I think it's curious that after 55 pages of this thread the general consensus seems to be "I hear some guys are really getting good results from the SLDR, but I'm not one of them. Perhaps more tinkering will help."

Those were my thoughts as well. Perhaps we just need to move on. Perhaps TMag needs to release something else.
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This was not a driver for the masses. That is very clear. But with the right adjustments, it can produce great results. It then becomes a matter of how often those great results can be replicated. Some people just cannot put a consistent enough swing on it to be happy with it. That is fine.
 
PhillyV said:
I wonder if maybe those who find it more forgiving had success with the 460. Because if I remember correctly from early on in the testing, this driver wasn't a good match for you right?
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Not really the case. I played this for close to six months. And I definitely do not think it skews the results from one head to the next.
 
JB said:
Not really the case. I played this for close to six months. And I definitely do not think it skews the results from one head to the next.
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Understand
 
JB said:
According to who? TaylorMade says it is.
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Ya don't say that to Hank Haney. Pretty much a salesman on twitter
 
JB said:
According to who? TaylorMade says it is.
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From the forum testing... That is just my assumption from what I have gathered in this thread, from Jman and his knowledge, and from seeing it first hand at the ultimate testing.

I like this driver, but that is usually the kiss of death for a 1wood.
 
blugold said:
From the forum testing... That is just my assumption from what I have gathered in this thread, from Jman and his knowledge, and from seeing it first hand at the ultimate testing.

I like this driver, but that is usually the kiss of death for a 1wood.
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I personally thought there was a good mix of good and bad results from our testing. I loved it and I know I wasn't the only one
 
Isn't this pretty much like any driver? It's going to fit some, not fit others.
 
Golf Ghost said:
Isn't this pretty much like any driver? It's going to fit some, not fit others.
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You might be right, but my 10,000 foot overview on this thread was just that there seem to be a lot of folks who wanted to like the SLDR and tried really really hard to get it to work for them, but ultimately came away unsatisfied.
 
mark blanchard said:
You might be right, but my 10,000 foot overview on this thread was just that there seem to be a lot of folks who wanted to like the SLDR and tried really really hard to get it to work for them, but ultimately came away unsatisfied.
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I felt that way about many clubs every year, including some that get rave reviews on THP.
 
mark blanchard said:
You might be right, but my 10,000 foot overview on this thread was just that there seem to be a lot of folks who wanted to like the SLDR and tried really really hard to get it to work for them, but ultimately came away unsatisfied.
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I think you are right.
Although to be fair, I think that has been the case for the last 4 TaylorMade driver releases.
 
JB said:
I think you are right.
Although to be fair, I think that has been the case for the last 4 TaylorMade driver releases.
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I can't disagree with you on this at all.

Two related thoughts: It seems to me that the 2014 "Loft Up" marketing campaign is a direct response to the 2013 feedback they got from the streets along the lines of "I can't get this thing to work, it's launching too low, I'm done with it." TMag astutely responds by SHOUTING at us to make the primary tinker needed to get the club to work.

My second thought is that while I was initially confused by and derisive of the Jetspeed, after having hit it I think it's the easiest TMag driver to hit in a long time. That's the driver for the masses! I think that if most folks go and test SLDR and JS side by side (and try nothing else) they walk away with JetSpeed.
 
JB said:
I think you are right.
Although to be fair, I think that has been the case for the last 4 TaylorMade driver releases.
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I think that is the case for all clubs
 
Brianbigoats said:
I think that is the case for all clubs
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I don't see so much "wanting-to-like-it-but-couldn't" tone in other review forums. You don't see that in the Rocketbladez or Speedblades or the BB review forums. All have their lovers and haters, of course. A few other clubs have their "I-didn't-think-I-would-end-up-liking-it, but-I-did" overall tones. But with SLDR it seems to be folks trying to like it, struggling to adjust it so they will like it, and coming up short. Just my impression. Also my experience of trying to get it to work for almost a month before giving up.
 
mark blanchard said:
I can't disagree with you on this at all.

Two related thoughts: It seems to me that the 2014 "Loft Up" marketing campaign is a direct response to the 2013 feedback they got from the streets along the lines of "I can't get this thing to work, it's launching too low, I'm done with it." TMag astutely responds by SHOUTING at us to make the primary tinker needed to get the club to work.
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Because the science in the clubhead says we need to use more loft. If tour pros are adding loft it only makes sense that use amateurs should also be adding loft.
 
mark blanchard said:
I don't see so much "wanting-to-like-it-but-couldn't" tone in other review forums. You don't see that in the Rocketbladez or Speedblades or the BB review forums. All have their lovers and haters, of course. A few other clubs have their "I-didn't-think-I-would-end-up-liking-it, but-I-did" overall tones. But with SLDR it seems to be folks trying to like it, struggling to adjust it so they will like it, and coming up short. Just my impression. Also my experience of trying to get it to work for almost a month before giving up.
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I think for evey OEM you can find people that want to like somthing but does not work for their game. The SLDR seems to be a Driver that need to be properly fit because shaft choice make a huge diffrence for me the Fuel out of my R1 did not work well but a ATX Tour Green is money
 
I was fitted into my R1 last year and then compared it side by side on the range with SLDR 10.5 with stock shaft. I was able to hit the stock SLDR as far and consistent as my fitted R1. I think as the clubs get more adjustable it will be even more important to be properly fitted because there are so many variables in the club and in our swings. I'm anxious to see what the SLDR can do when properly fitted for me.
 
Golf Ghost said:
Isn't this pretty much like any driver? It's going to fit some, not fit others.
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I think the amount of adjustability that this driver brought to the table created the idea that you could take any decent driver swing and use it to create a really powerful drive for a huge cross-section of golfers by just getting the weight and hosel in the right positions for that swing. It is still one of the most adjustable drivers out there, and is offered in a lot of different lofts, weight settings, face angles, and head sizes. But shaft fitting and your swing characteristics still matter. Not everyone's swing is going to work with this driver.

I still think this is a driver head that, properly fitted, will work for a large cross-section of golfers. It does require a bit more work to get there, though, simply due to the huge amount of fitting potential.
 
Paladin said:
I think the amount of adjustability that this driver brought to the table created the idea that you could take any decent driver swing and use it to create a really powerful drive for a huge cross-section of golfers by just getting the weight and hosel in the right positions for that swing. It is still one of the most adjustable drivers out there, and is offered in a lot of different lofts, weight settings, face angles, and head sizes. But shaft fitting and your swing characteristics still matter. Not everyone's swing is going to work with this driver.

I still think this is a driver head that, properly fitted, will work for a large cross-section of golfers. It does require a bit more work to get there, though, simply due to the huge amount of fitting potential.
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It's a great theory, but I think we all agree that no one driver will fit a wide range of golfer. There's a reason why companies often offer more than one line.

Also, sorry, didn't mean to take this off topic.
 
blugold said:
Because the science in the clubhead says we need to use more loft. If tour pros are adding loft it only makes sense that use amateurs should also be adding loft.
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I don't argue that with the SLDR you need to "loft up". I well remember, however, that midway through 2013 when it was released that TMag was not saying "loft up". They only started screaming it in their ads and on their hats in 2014. I think they started screaming this new mantra because they realized something wasn't quite working in 2013.

When the club was released, we bought it because of the nifty sliding weight that was supposed to help us control fade and draw. Yes, we heard as an afterthought that it was also really low spinning. Okay fine, that's what they told us about the RBZ2 too, good stuff, no problem. So I bought a head with similar loft to what I was used to before, 9.5. The damn thing wouldn't get off the deck! So I dial it all the way up as high as it will go (for me that was 11 degrees) and the thing still launches semi-low. I put in a high launching shaft and I end up trying it on ALL settings before I'm done. I find that the slider weight doesn't work all that well unless set to its far extremes. (An observation echoed by many others I came to find out.) After about a month, I give up.

So then I do more research and I start hearing from TMag, "Many folks need even more lofting up. No problem, we're releasing a 12 degree SLDR." And then I start to hear from many others, including in this forum, "Oh yeah, didn't you know? SLDR's are no good with stock shafts, you gotta get a good aftermarket shafts." ($200 more) And, "Oh yeah, didn't you know? You can't just get a SLDR and dial it in yourself, you gotta be fitted for it." ($100 more)

Well hell... if I have to be fitted for an adjustable driver, what is the point? Why not get fitted for a glued hosel driver like Tiger? And why sell SLDR's off the rack if to make the thing actually work you're looking at a $900 custom purchase that must be special ordered?

I think that SLDR 2.0 is just around the corner and this time it's not just because TMag loves its quarterly releases. I think that this time they NEED a SLDR BETA cause the Alpha was measured and found lacking!
 
Fitting is important.

Not every driver is going to fit everybody. It is what it is.
 
mark blanchard said:
I think that SLDR 2.0 is just around the corner and this time it's not just because TMag loves its quarterly releases. I think that this time they NEED a SLDR BETA cause the Alpha was measured and found lacking!
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It's not just around the corner.
 
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