- Moderator
- #376
I had a chance to get on the range with a couple different shafts in the new SLDR driver this weekend, and then spend some time with an unbelievable club fitter in Bob Vansweden. I do wish I had of taken maybe half the swings I did before getting on the monitor, but it was sooooo worth it.
I started out with the standard TP shaft with the 9.5 head, and I was hitting it pretty well. A bit of a rising shot, I wasn't entirely sold on the shaft pairing, and started to get a bit creative in the staff bag absolutely LOADED with shaft options.
Next in was the AD-DI 7x at the suggestion of Bob, and it was a machine. Not only was it penetrating and far (for me), it was very accurate and I did not hit many turning shots with it, mostly just long straight arrows with maybe a slight left turn. I am going to try and get more information about the AD-DI7x and see what similar shafts are out there, but in any case, the pairing was exceptional for me.
It's tough to start with such a good pairing, because the rest seem to be a downgrade. I dropped in an Oban Devotion 5 afterwards (I can't remember the weight) and while the contact and flight was still really good, I don't think it measured up to the AD-DI overall. In reality, it seemed like I had to work a bit harder to get the ideal flight, maybe because of the stiffness of the shaft.
We joked around a bit and decided to drop the Kiyoshi in (because anybody who is anybody should probably want to play a Kiyoshi haha). Unfortunately by that time, I was pretty gassed from the sun and swinging, and most of the results were pull draws, so I stopped for a bit and went to grab some food.
Upon returning, many of the guys were done with their iron fittings, so I chatted with Bob and jumped on the monitor with the AD-DI 7x in the 9.5 head, set to neutral. I hit about 5 shots, and he seemed pleased by the results. A couple of them were smash factor of 1.49, carrying nearly 260, and getting some solid roll. Spin rates flirted with the 2500 range which is just absolutely beyond me. Also averaging a launch angle of just over 11 degrees, which again is a big win for me.
Much of the golf I play up here in Ohio is around softer fairways, and I GPS most of my well struck drives to check for distance, often times finding my ball sitting beside the divot it creates on the fly. Many of the drives I have come to expect are more in the 265-275 carry when I really get solid contact, so I talked to him about that and we decided to switch it up to the Kai-li 70x which I hit a bit higher and a bit spinnier, and then switched to my gamer which I definitely hit higher and spun more. Distance wise, I was seeing much of the same on my best strike with my gamer than the average strikes of the SLDR.
Sound has been improved tremendously. I'd need to hit it more to really give you a clear indication of sound, but I think that might be the best part -- The neutrality of the sound really just makes it a solid noise overall.
I am not a guy who likes to flight or work a driver, so I can't really speak to that, however, I hit the SLDR with the settings adjusted to a fade bias, and there's no doubt in my mind that it works, because the couple I hit with it on that setting (unknowingly on that setting, at that) were fades.
Hopefully you enjoyed the recap as much as I enjoyed the experience. Having that many shafts to play around with along with an awesome fitter in Bob was such a treat for me. Having him hand me shafts and solidifying my opinion to play that style of shaft was also such a huge confidence booster.
Thanks again TaylorMade and THP. What an experience. Worth every mile I sat in planes hahaha!
I started out with the standard TP shaft with the 9.5 head, and I was hitting it pretty well. A bit of a rising shot, I wasn't entirely sold on the shaft pairing, and started to get a bit creative in the staff bag absolutely LOADED with shaft options.
Next in was the AD-DI 7x at the suggestion of Bob, and it was a machine. Not only was it penetrating and far (for me), it was very accurate and I did not hit many turning shots with it, mostly just long straight arrows with maybe a slight left turn. I am going to try and get more information about the AD-DI7x and see what similar shafts are out there, but in any case, the pairing was exceptional for me.
It's tough to start with such a good pairing, because the rest seem to be a downgrade. I dropped in an Oban Devotion 5 afterwards (I can't remember the weight) and while the contact and flight was still really good, I don't think it measured up to the AD-DI overall. In reality, it seemed like I had to work a bit harder to get the ideal flight, maybe because of the stiffness of the shaft.
We joked around a bit and decided to drop the Kiyoshi in (because anybody who is anybody should probably want to play a Kiyoshi haha). Unfortunately by that time, I was pretty gassed from the sun and swinging, and most of the results were pull draws, so I stopped for a bit and went to grab some food.
Upon returning, many of the guys were done with their iron fittings, so I chatted with Bob and jumped on the monitor with the AD-DI 7x in the 9.5 head, set to neutral. I hit about 5 shots, and he seemed pleased by the results. A couple of them were smash factor of 1.49, carrying nearly 260, and getting some solid roll. Spin rates flirted with the 2500 range which is just absolutely beyond me. Also averaging a launch angle of just over 11 degrees, which again is a big win for me.
Much of the golf I play up here in Ohio is around softer fairways, and I GPS most of my well struck drives to check for distance, often times finding my ball sitting beside the divot it creates on the fly. Many of the drives I have come to expect are more in the 265-275 carry when I really get solid contact, so I talked to him about that and we decided to switch it up to the Kai-li 70x which I hit a bit higher and a bit spinnier, and then switched to my gamer which I definitely hit higher and spun more. Distance wise, I was seeing much of the same on my best strike with my gamer than the average strikes of the SLDR.
Sound has been improved tremendously. I'd need to hit it more to really give you a clear indication of sound, but I think that might be the best part -- The neutrality of the sound really just makes it a solid noise overall.
I am not a guy who likes to flight or work a driver, so I can't really speak to that, however, I hit the SLDR with the settings adjusted to a fade bias, and there's no doubt in my mind that it works, because the couple I hit with it on that setting (unknowingly on that setting, at that) were fades.
Hopefully you enjoyed the recap as much as I enjoyed the experience. Having that many shafts to play around with along with an awesome fitter in Bob was such a treat for me. Having him hand me shafts and solidifying my opinion to play that style of shaft was also such a huge confidence booster.
Thanks again TaylorMade and THP. What an experience. Worth every mile I sat in planes hahaha!
