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TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

SuperStroke
Thanks guys. My encounter with both R1 and SLDR have been brief, so it's just pondering now, I'll try to get a decent session with the SLDR as soon as possible.
 
Castor Hades said:
Thanks guys. My encounter with both R1 and SLDR have been brief, so it's just pondering now, I'll try to get a decent session with the SLDR as soon as possible.
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Some quick words of advice, trust the technology and trust the results. I've never hit a draw off the tee until the SLDR came along and I didn't trust the loft technology until I saw the results. And from personal experience, this isn't a club you wanna "go after" too much. Trust your swing and the bombs will follow
 
PhillyV said:
Some quick words of advice, trust the technology and trust the results. I've never hit a draw off the tee until the SLDR came along and I didn't trust the loft technology until I saw the results. And from personal experience, this isn't a club you wanna "go after" too much. Trust your swing and the bombs will follow
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That is some very good advise very similar to my experiance with the SLDR the harder you try to go after it the greater chance of a hook for me
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
I finally bought a SLDR head off a fellow THPer and had a chance to test it out in a simulator today. I was recently fitted in the SLDR with the shaft in my signature. At the fitting, I was hitting my R1 very well with the same shaft, so I figured I could switch out the heads while swinging the same shaft, as the adaptors are interchangeable.

A good question to ask me is why exactly am I trying to switch to the SLDR when the R1 has been one of my favorite clubs ever and exponentially increased my FIR? My answer would be I'm not sure. I really liked how the SLDR felt at the fitting and my numbers were much better across the board, so I suppose I'm interested in finding out whether I can improve my tee game even more. If it doesn't work out, switching back to the R1 will be effortless. In fact, the R1 head will stay in my golf bag, in case of emergency.

At any rate, the first 10 minutes hitting were not all that good. I was over swinging with excitement, but even good contact was slicing off right. I threw some impact tape on the face and realize I was hitting towards the heel (just had a lesson on this; I end way up on my toes at impact, shifting my weight and the clubhead in that direction. Again, overexcitement). I tried to ramp up the loft to 12* and couldn't even hit the ball. It was a head scratcher, but I tend to relax and swing better as I warm up, so I kept at it and finally starting seeing the numbers I saw at my fitting. I was getting more distance than I see with my R1 and everything was staying in the center, some with a draw bias. With that, I decided to play 9 holes at Oakmont, but was still seeing a lot of horizontal movement, albeit distance was acceptable. I toyed with the sliding weight a little as well and started seeing better dispersion. Then for comparison sake, I switched to the R1 and could tell my swing was some what off in the first instance. The R1, however, guided me to the fairway (with distance loss), showing its forgiveness even with my off swings.

I decided to go back to the range and work on the SLDR a little more to see if I could get a feel for the club. Finally, I found a groove, as my swing was much more relaxed and the impact tape showed I was making center contact. There more than a few that didn't register on the sim for whatever reason that were right on the screws, so it sucked I couldn't get the numbers from those shots. Regardless, I found the ball flight to be much stronger than I see with the R1, resulting in much more roll out. It was definitely mid to high flight, which was at the 11* setting.

Generally, I chalked all of this up to some getting-to-know-you time with the SLDR. I actually hit drivers better outside than on a sim for whatever reason, so I'm interested to take it outside and get the loft and weights in the right spot for me to see how it performs. It's a powerful feeling driver to me with a very simplistic adjustment system. Of course it is less forgiving than many other drivers because of the CG so forward and I suspect this will be the biggest factor in whether I will game the SLDR or not. If I'm able find a consistent swing and unleash its potential like I did on occasion today, my tee game will go up a notch. If side to side dispersion continues to be severe and as frequent as I saw today, then I'm likely staying with the R1.
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This post very much mirrors my experience with the SLDR so far. Slightly stronger total distance but my confidence is not yet where it is with the R1. My typical miss is a heel miss so my fitter got me into a 9.5 lofted UP to 10 rather than a 10.5 lofted down to 10 as it helped me to not lose as much distance on my mishits. I thought it was a brilliant bit of analysis by him and was clear on the numbers when comparing both heads with the TP 6.3 Speeder. The slightly more closed face and weight toward the draw setting fits my swing best.
 
Great thread and encouraged me to test the SLDR - led to an immediate purchase, 10.5 regular flex. Hit it well on simulator with std loft and two clicks draw. 20 metres longer (240 average) and tighter dispersion than my 09 Burner. Fitter did not mention using the other side of the shaft which gives an upright lie. According to the TM Tuning Guide this gives 250 rpm less spin at the same loft.
Has any longer term users played around with this?
 
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Thats great news Johno. Glad its working for you.
Welcome to THP. Looking forward to some feedback when you get a chance to spend some time with it.
 
Johno1 said:
Fitter did not mention using the other side of the shaft which gives an upright lie. According to the TM Tuning Guide this gives 250 rpm less spin at the same loft. Has any longer term users played around with this?
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I have not tried this yet but will check it out on the launch monitor this weekend and let you know if it changed anything for me. Will be an interesting test and I never thought about setting the club that way.
 
Got the SLDR out on the course today and finally found the setting that work for me! Fujikara Motore 7.2 X-Stiff, set to 9.5 and 3 clicks away from fade. Got my shot shaping down and this club is working the way I was hoping it would.


Tapping Away
 
Hit the SLDR on the range today and was absolutely pounding it. I'm blown away with the lack of height I get even with a higher launching shaft, yet it just seems to hang in the air thanks to the reduced spin it imparts on the ball. I have a feeling this combination is going to be lethal for me.
 
First round with the SLDR yesterday. Hit 10 out of 13 fairways. One just missed the other 2 were terrible due to a shocking swing because I tried to hit the ball off the planet. A smooth swing is certainly the way to go for me. Had the club set at 11 deg with 3 clicks towards draw. I still had a slight fade so I must have been hitting from outside in which I do when things are not quite right - that swing with my old driver produces a high slice well off the fairway. 3 of my drives were my longest ever on those particular holes. I have been playing on my home course for 10 years and I am not getting any younger so I am rapt. Unfortunately not much golf now for 3 weeks but I am going to try the upright lie at 11 deg as soon as I can. (and try to get my swing path back on track)
 
I played this driver for the last part of this past season and loved it. But now since I have the correct combination for my game I can't wait to get out this season and see the results.

Come on Spring!
 
I noticed something odd. A steeper angle of attack has been giving me better results. Higher launch and manageable spin numbers. Almost as if the low forward CG makes the club act like an iron.
 
blugold said:
I noticed something odd. A steeper angle of attack has been giving me better results. Higher launch and manageable spin numbers. Almost as if the low forward CG makes the club act like an iron.
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I can see why you would get higher launch, but what do you mean by manageable spin numbers? Higher or lower?
 
TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

PhillyV said:
I can see why you would get higher launch, but what do you mean by manageable spin numbers? Higher or lower?
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For a negative angle of attack, I was still seeing sub 2000 rpm on the Foresight monitor I was using.

Other than a 13° launch angle, the numbers were almost exactly what I would want to see from a players type iron.
 
That is odd
 
Maybe what I am trying to say is not to focus hitting up on the. Don't hang back and help it up.
 
One of these days I will have to look at picking up a used SLDR head. Considering I just got the R1 less than a year ago it's hard justifying buying another new driver. Head only might be doable.
 
At my fitting on Friday I was seeing total spin numbers at just over 2000 and a launch angle at just under 12. Really excited for the upcoming year.
 
ranger1989 said:
At my fitting on Friday I was seeing total spin numbers at just over 2000 and a launch angle at just under 12. Really excited for the upcoming year.
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Great numbers with a great shaft pairing!!! Seeing some improved distances in carry and roll?
 
Canadan said:
Great numbers with a great shaft pairing!!! Seeing some improved distances in carry and roll?
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So far only in the digital world. This combo really did give me the best in carry and roll. Now if Winter would just let go I could give this thing a try on the course.
 
ranger1989 said:
So far only in the digital world. This combo really did give me the best in carry and roll. Now if Winter would just let go I could give this thing a try on the course.
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What's also exciting is that my numbers and LM data were way worse than actually on a course. Maybe it's just me and my inability to hit well into monitors, but this was always a better performer on the course for me
 
Some stats for you... we all love stats!!!

I use a Flightscope launch monitor near to where I live and have a baseline for my clubs including my driver previous to the SLDR, the Cleveland Classic XL. I thought some of you may find the stats from my recent session with the SLDR interesting so have included them below.

For reference, with my previous driver on the same launch monitor, from memory I was averaging:

Launch: 12.5*
Spin: 2600rpm
Ballspeed: 148mph

As you can see from the SLDR stats below, these numbers have improved. Paired with a Tour AD DI-6s shaft and on the 11.5* loft setting (12* head with loft lowered one click) with slider weight set to neutral, my averages were:

Launch: 13.5*
Spin: 2300rpm
Ballspeed: 150mph

These numbers were achieved with an upward AoA in the region of 2-3* on average.

UORIkOK.jpg



Ignoring total distance, the carry distance for all shots was between 240-250yards which I'm very pleased with given my c.100mph clubhead speed, plus that's better than the previous drivers I've had on my local launch monitor.

I'd still like to get my launch angle up a bit together with peak height, but am unsure how to do this. I already have an upward angle of attack and the shaft I am using is one of the higher launching shafts available in the 'low spin' category. Furthermore, simply increasing the loft results in increased spin.

So, with my swing and with the technology currently available, I think this is about the best I can do. I wonder if TM will release the supposedly lower spin 430cc head in 14* loft?

Ps. Playing on my course this weekend just gone, I felt I was penalised somewhat on slightly off centre strikes. However, when on the launch monitor (and perhaps I was in more of a driver 'groove') I didn't feel that whatsoever; the club felt no less forgiving than others I have tried and I know a number of strikes in the photo above were not hit on the screws.
 
Just purchased a SLDR TP. Cannot wait to take this bad boy out to the course.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
PhillyV said:
What's also exciting is that my numbers and LM data were way worse than actually on a course. Maybe it's just me and my inability to hit well into monitors, but this was always a better performer on the course for me
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As long as my data does not get worse I'll be happy. But, I would not mind the improvement if the numbers end up being better than on the monitor.
 
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