A day later and I'm sitting here still thinking about this Driver. Really hoping for a chance to hit it in the near future. Love the look and all the feedback so far. Very interested. I still currently game the Epic so 2019 will be a year to upgrade
TaylorMade M5 and M6 Drivers
kc720
Active member
I love the story behind the face tech. Very bold to start talking about manufacturing tolerances. I've got to try this one for sure
Please hurry.....cause I want to do the same.....I need your thoughts ASAP!
Sharkguy95
Dreamer
Had a chance to hit some drives with the M6. The shaft wasn't quite to my spec but I'm not going to lie... I signed up to be notified of the preorder. I haven't been a real fan of the previous TM drivers as of late. My last TM was the SLDR. I can't say anything about the dispersion but it felt so beautiful off the face. The sound is much more muffled than my G400 Max (which isn't surprising). It also felt considerably lighter which I really enjoy. Setting up to the ball I thought it was much more appealing with the matte carbon fiber. Hope that I can get another chance to a hit a few more shots with it this week.
As for distance gains... it is too early to tell. I hit on an indoor simulator and it was going long but I needed to compare it to something else which I forgot to do because I really loved it. Couldn't put it down.
Edit: I haven't gone through this thread yet but if there are any concerns about the screws I think it is a non issue. I don't recall them being intrusive setting up to the ball or if I even saw them.
As for distance gains... it is too early to tell. I hit on an indoor simulator and it was going long but I needed to compare it to something else which I forgot to do because I really loved it. Couldn't put it down.
Edit: I haven't gone through this thread yet but if there are any concerns about the screws I think it is a non issue. I don't recall them being intrusive setting up to the ball or if I even saw them.
Badprop ZA
Member
Will reserve judgement until I have hit a couple. M6 looks interesting.
Doubt I will do any upgrade in my driver in 2019. I have recently come to grips with my M2 and getting some good distance and accuracy. May just upgrade to the M6 when the M8 is released. :act-up:
Doubt I will do any upgrade in my driver in 2019. I have recently come to grips with my M2 and getting some good distance and accuracy. May just upgrade to the M6 when the M8 is released. :act-up:
COR is what's matters for ball speed (it's the ratio of velocity before and after contact), CT is what's measured and constrained by the USGA.
- Moderator
- #132
Right, but not many companies still really use that in their advertising it seems? Their major competition are all flirting with that .830 limit. It’s like a phone company bragging about their newest phone is 4G LTE capable. Awesome. So is everyone else’s?
It's nuanced, but technically COR is not limited in drivers, CT is. They're related, but not exactly the same. You could feasibly stay within CT and have a COR slightly higher than originally thought you could get with that CT.
And this might be more relevant for another thread, but this kind of thing is exactly what computational optimization techniques are really good at doing - keeping one constraint while improving performance in another...
- Moderator
- #134
That is a fine nuance indeed, I thought for sure the max they’re allowed to do was .830
COR used to be measured, but Characteristic Time, which is now what's measured by the USGA is how long the ball stays on the face. So think of jumping on a spring, like a trampoline - the longer you stay on there, the faster you're going to come off. But... they're not 1:1. So while you hear everyone saying "there's no speed to be had, COR is maxed", that's not true. COR is intended to be maxed, but if that's not what they're measuring there's potential for improvements.
seastrunk
Member
Has anyone thought like me that I should be hitting 450 yd drives since every new driver claims they add 10-20 yds to your drives?
- Staff
- #137
Nope, because I know all the claims are dependent on fit and that not all golfers are the same, but it makes sense that the companies would market the extreme scenarios.
I would love to see an ad where TM has advertised more yards. I know RBZ fairways promised 17 yards. But, I have never seen a driver claim something. I get that you are attempting to be funny. But, after seeing this same post pop up multiple times every single TM release, it has grown old and tired.
- Moderator
- #139
Interesting thread to post this question in.
Pretty sure TaylorMade's story for 2019 is "everybody gets faster" not everbody gets longer.
What’s the benefit of “getting faster”?
I walked into one of the local course pro shops yesterday killing some time and low and behold they had all the M5/M6 Drivers, Woods, and hybrids for their fit cart. Evidently they had literally just taken the plastic off just before I walked in the door. Now to tell the truth I have never tried a TM driver that I actually liked or got along well with so I was not really all that excited or expecting much but I figured what the heck I was there so I might as well be the first to give one a swing or two. It didn't hurt that they had a PX HZRDUS Smoke shaft which I had been wanting a few swings with either.
To set the tone a bit, when I got to the course it was about 38* and the temperature was dropping as the day wore on so it was not ideal conditions. There was a bit of a crosswind blowing left to right as well. For me, I tend to miss high on the face with drivers and sometimes when trying to compensate I will miss low on the face because I tee it up too low. I went ahead and got a large bucket of balls, changed shoes, and grabbed my bag from the car. I didn't want to step up to a new experiment in the cold weather without some sort of warm up first. I started out with a few PW shots off the mats which have both the regular mat and a simulated rough. These are actually brand new and probably the best mats I have ever used and I typically hate mats. Surprisingly my swing was pretty good right off the bat. I worked my way up from the PW to 8i to 6i with about 4-5 balls with each off both sides of the mat. I also hit a few shots with my 4H and figured while I was there I would play with my 3U a bit. That went really well and I was smashing that 3U(mostly off a tee) better then I have ever hit it. I did take a couple ugly swipes with my 3W but was just not feeling that club and put it away before it got in my head. Finally it was driver time. I actually pulled out my F8 to see where my swing was and give me kind of a baseline for the TM. Again, I was swinging fairly well but hitting the ball a little higher launch and apex then I would like but I have been seeing that a lot lately and I think it just has to do with some swing changes I made a while back. I probably need to be using a lower lofted driver or lower launching shaft(PX EvenFlow Blue in the F8 set at 10.5* Draw setting).
Now on to the M6. I decided not to bother pulling out the M5 as I would be more likely to go with a more forgiving driver like the M6. When selecting which one to actually take out and try, I grabbed a 10.5* M6 D-Type head and stuck the PX HZRDUS Smoke stiff shaft in it. Loft was left to standard and no other adjustments were made. Now TM says standard length on their drivers is 45.75" which is much too long for me. I play my F8 at 44.5"(more like 44.25 now that I switched grips and no Arccos in it). My F8 swing weight is D2 right now(confirmed that yesterday) and the M6 is a D3 according to TM. I was not expecting to be able to make as good of contact or have as good control as I do with my F8. Quite honestly, I was worried I would skymark their new driver accidentally since I have a high face miss sometimes and a much longer shaft. I hate gripping down on a club for the most part it just feels awkward to me. Also for reference, I tried the M4 several times and absolutely hated that driver with a passion so I did not have very high expectations.
I was instantly surprised by the results. First, the HZRDUS Smoke shaft is certainly something that may end up in a gamer for me in the future. I have tried the others before and never cared for them but the Smoke felt good to me. Second, I did not have a single high face miss the entire time I hit the driver. I don't know why because I sat it side by side with my driver and also the M5 inside and they look the same height but for some reason when I am standing over the ball it looks taller and I was finding center face strikes regularly. Control was not as big an issue as I expected it to be but I could tell the difference with the longer shaft. Distances were hard to judge due to cold and limited flight range balls but it did appear to be going longer then my Cobra which it should with a longer shaft in it. My 3 best shots were all slightly low and very slightly heel shots on the face. They did not launch too high or have too high an apex like I was seeing with my center face strikes(same as my F8). Those 3-4 shots were long and straight as can be. After about 10 or so balls with it, I put it down and went back to hitting wedges and other irons for a few shots and then back to the M6. Again similar results. Not too hard to control and forgiving when I felt slight swing flaws. Still a bit high launch and Apex robbing me of some distance I think but not short either.
All in all I was quite surprised how much I was enjoying the M6. I walked away feeling like I could stick it in my bag with some modifications to length of shaft and such and be very happy with the results. I won't say it was enough for me to run inside and whip out my credit card by any means but I felt like it was a solid option a lot of people should take a look at this year if considering a driver upgrade.
To set the tone a bit, when I got to the course it was about 38* and the temperature was dropping as the day wore on so it was not ideal conditions. There was a bit of a crosswind blowing left to right as well. For me, I tend to miss high on the face with drivers and sometimes when trying to compensate I will miss low on the face because I tee it up too low. I went ahead and got a large bucket of balls, changed shoes, and grabbed my bag from the car. I didn't want to step up to a new experiment in the cold weather without some sort of warm up first. I started out with a few PW shots off the mats which have both the regular mat and a simulated rough. These are actually brand new and probably the best mats I have ever used and I typically hate mats. Surprisingly my swing was pretty good right off the bat. I worked my way up from the PW to 8i to 6i with about 4-5 balls with each off both sides of the mat. I also hit a few shots with my 4H and figured while I was there I would play with my 3U a bit. That went really well and I was smashing that 3U(mostly off a tee) better then I have ever hit it. I did take a couple ugly swipes with my 3W but was just not feeling that club and put it away before it got in my head. Finally it was driver time. I actually pulled out my F8 to see where my swing was and give me kind of a baseline for the TM. Again, I was swinging fairly well but hitting the ball a little higher launch and apex then I would like but I have been seeing that a lot lately and I think it just has to do with some swing changes I made a while back. I probably need to be using a lower lofted driver or lower launching shaft(PX EvenFlow Blue in the F8 set at 10.5* Draw setting).
Now on to the M6. I decided not to bother pulling out the M5 as I would be more likely to go with a more forgiving driver like the M6. When selecting which one to actually take out and try, I grabbed a 10.5* M6 D-Type head and stuck the PX HZRDUS Smoke stiff shaft in it. Loft was left to standard and no other adjustments were made. Now TM says standard length on their drivers is 45.75" which is much too long for me. I play my F8 at 44.5"(more like 44.25 now that I switched grips and no Arccos in it). My F8 swing weight is D2 right now(confirmed that yesterday) and the M6 is a D3 according to TM. I was not expecting to be able to make as good of contact or have as good control as I do with my F8. Quite honestly, I was worried I would skymark their new driver accidentally since I have a high face miss sometimes and a much longer shaft. I hate gripping down on a club for the most part it just feels awkward to me. Also for reference, I tried the M4 several times and absolutely hated that driver with a passion so I did not have very high expectations.
I was instantly surprised by the results. First, the HZRDUS Smoke shaft is certainly something that may end up in a gamer for me in the future. I have tried the others before and never cared for them but the Smoke felt good to me. Second, I did not have a single high face miss the entire time I hit the driver. I don't know why because I sat it side by side with my driver and also the M5 inside and they look the same height but for some reason when I am standing over the ball it looks taller and I was finding center face strikes regularly. Control was not as big an issue as I expected it to be but I could tell the difference with the longer shaft. Distances were hard to judge due to cold and limited flight range balls but it did appear to be going longer then my Cobra which it should with a longer shaft in it. My 3 best shots were all slightly low and very slightly heel shots on the face. They did not launch too high or have too high an apex like I was seeing with my center face strikes(same as my F8). Those 3-4 shots were long and straight as can be. After about 10 or so balls with it, I put it down and went back to hitting wedges and other irons for a few shots and then back to the M6. Again similar results. Not too hard to control and forgiving when I felt slight swing flaws. Still a bit high launch and Apex robbing me of some distance I think but not short either.
All in all I was quite surprised how much I was enjoying the M6. I walked away feeling like I could stick it in my bag with some modifications to length of shaft and such and be very happy with the results. I won't say it was enough for me to run inside and whip out my credit card by any means but I felt like it was a solid option a lot of people should take a look at this year if considering a driver upgrade.
At the end of my lesson today my coach asked if I wanted to hit the M5 and M6. I said of course. From a look, sound, and feel standpoint IMO Taylor Made nailed it on all accounts. I have been a big fan of the look of both iterations of M1/M2 and M3/M4. The M5/M6 are the best looking of the bunch at least to me. At setup both drivers frame the ball beautifully. The sound was pleasantly muted - loud but not to loud. The feel is solid and just felt good. Compared to my M2 (2017) it just felt like the ball was coming of the face faster with both drivers
I hit 10 balls each with my driver 2017 m2 fuji speeder evo xflex 10.5 turned down to 9. The M5 was a 9 degree head and the M6 was a 10.5 turned down to 9. Used my shaft in the M5 and M6. While I thought the M6 felt better than my M2 there wasn't much difference for me. Similar ball speed numbers ( low 160's), launch (14), spin numbers (2600 to 2700 range)and smash (1.49). The M5 however was a different story. Ball speed increased by 5 mph (mid to high 160's) same launch (14), spin dropped 400 rpm (2200 range) and smash 1.50. I was shocked in the M5. Historically I have not hit the adjustable TM drivers well. I preferred the burners back in the day and M2/M4 recently. I will test them both out a couple of more times but I could see the M5 in the bag. It today's story repeats itself again.
I hit 10 balls each with my driver 2017 m2 fuji speeder evo xflex 10.5 turned down to 9. The M5 was a 9 degree head and the M6 was a 10.5 turned down to 9. Used my shaft in the M5 and M6. While I thought the M6 felt better than my M2 there wasn't much difference for me. Similar ball speed numbers ( low 160's), launch (14), spin numbers (2600 to 2700 range)and smash (1.49). The M5 however was a different story. Ball speed increased by 5 mph (mid to high 160's) same launch (14), spin dropped 400 rpm (2200 range) and smash 1.50. I was shocked in the M5. Historically I have not hit the adjustable TM drivers well. I preferred the burners back in the day and M2/M4 recently. I will test them both out a couple of more times but I could see the M5 in the bag. It today's story repeats itself again.
Buster1
Well-known member
Thanks for the nice write-up Dan, as well as others who have commented on their experiences too with the various TM drivers.
I'm a long time TM SLDR user, and I think it's time for an upgrade. Which type of driver should I be looking for...that is to say the adjustable type (M5), or the non adjustable ones (M6)? What are the benefits and drawbacks to each type given similar swings?
Thanks!
I'm a long time TM SLDR user, and I think it's time for an upgrade. Which type of driver should I be looking for...that is to say the adjustable type (M5), or the non adjustable ones (M6)? What are the benefits and drawbacks to each type given similar swings?
Thanks!
- Moderator
- #144
If you’re an SLDR fan I’m sure you’d get on well with the M5.
Tito Santana
Active member
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It's going to take a lot for me to switch from my M2. It's simply one of the best drivers ever made, imo. It just produces the right amount of spin for my swing. It seems like on course, nothing can beat it. My LTD Pro and G400LST have come closest so far. I'm intrigued by the difference in number you saw. I may test the new M line later in the spring....
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For me, this is the best looking crown out of all the 2019 drivers. Looks stunning in pics, and I'm sure I'll get to see it in hand next month when new product finally makes its way down here.
I'm glad there's a THP event with TM this year because for me, the implementation of their face tech needs a little more explanation. I'm glad TM is focusing on making their faces faster - last year I played a handful of rounds with the '17 M1 and was getting good launch, flight, and great consistency, but it was just not fast.
Where I get lost with this is - how is the amount of "Slow foam" being regulated per head? Are we to believe each head is being tested in every spot on it and then their formula is being added to specific parts behind each face? That seems incredibly hard to implement.
I get Cobra's message of machine CNC milling to get the best tolerances possible. I also get AI running iteration after iteration trying to get optimal ball speeds across the biggest portion of the face. Again, I'm sure clarification is coming. Right now that's the reason I'm not excited with the tech.
I'm glad there's a THP event with TM this year because for me, the implementation of their face tech needs a little more explanation. I'm glad TM is focusing on making their faces faster - last year I played a handful of rounds with the '17 M1 and was getting good launch, flight, and great consistency, but it was just not fast.
Where I get lost with this is - how is the amount of "Slow foam" being regulated per head? Are we to believe each head is being tested in every spot on it and then their formula is being added to specific parts behind each face? That seems incredibly hard to implement.
I get Cobra's message of machine CNC milling to get the best tolerances possible. I also get AI running iteration after iteration trying to get optimal ball speeds across the biggest portion of the face. Again, I'm sure clarification is coming. Right now that's the reason I'm not excited with the tech.
The M5 Tour is a thing of beauty from the top. I have to get it in hand though as the face looks a little odd. Almost like the gray crown folds over the face a great deal.
You can just call it epoxy.
It is a good looking head from the top though.
My local place has it in, and I should get a chance to hit it tomorrow during my driver fitting.
I had several TM drivers in the past, so I’m looking forward to trying this one, but I’d be lying if I said that I hope it’s the winner in a fitting.
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Always worth testing imo. I had a full fitting at Club Champion last year. Tried every new driver and shaft combo. At the end of the day the driver my current setup was the best for me. Nothing wrong with sticking with what you have. If it works for you.
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emart2173
#journey2017
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I wish they would have found a way to keep the pattern of the silver to match the m1/2 and 3/4. I liked how it made a perfect alignment aid to frame the ball.
Noticed they have the attas coool as an upgrade in the fw and wish they would make that available in the driver...fortunately I snagged one off eBay over a month ago with a tm tip so it will get demo’d against the other shaft offerings they have.
Noticed they have the attas coool as an upgrade in the fw and wish they would make that available in the driver...fortunately I snagged one off eBay over a month ago with a tm tip so it will get demo’d against the other shaft offerings they have.