TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread
lopsta5
Active member
I was hitting the 10.5 but he had it set down to 9 or 9.5 because he said I get good launch with my swing, also the weight was set on the fade side to even out my draw a little bit. Ive got another picture, not sure if it any help to you. I assume the dynamic loft bit is my launch angle? Is that correct? Also this is the stock stiff shaft, if I remember correctly which did give me good numbers as well.
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Lopsta,
Did they record every shot? Or were some thrown away?
Im curious if you saw any significant losses when mishit?
Did they record every shot? Or were some thrown away?
Im curious if you saw any significant losses when mishit?
lopsta5
Active member
Im not positive on that but I guess the crap ones I hit didn't count but there wasn't many as id just come from golf and was nice and warmed up, but from what I was watching my slight mishits didn't lose much maybe 5mtrs, except for the real poo one I hit that just feel in front of me haha.
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Good info. Thanks so much for sharing.
mayday1775
New member
lopsta5
Active member
Just a question is lower ball speed better or higher? Also is the lower the spin(rpm) better? Does that equate to more distance. Some of the things I don't quite understand. Thank you
Also just to mention I did not get along with the TP shaft at all, my shots with that were all over the show.
Also just to mention I did not get along with the TP shaft at all, my shots with that were all over the show.
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Higher ball speed is better.
As for spin, its not really lower or higher. Its about being in a range that works best for your swing.
It can change quite a bit even with a golf ball change.
lopsta5
Active member
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The ball seems to be doing okay. Your numbers look pretty darn good.
mayday1775
New member
Your dynamic loft is the combo of your static (10.5 etc) and the angle of attack (you hitting up or down on the ball). So say you had the driver set at 10 degrees and your dynamic loft is 16.4 then you are hitting up on the ball 6.4 degrees. That make sense?
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arydolphin
GTHC!
While that is the correct definition, I highly doubt he is hitting up by that much. Could be adding loft to the driver at impact.
lopsta5
Active member
The taylormade man had the driver set on 9-9.5 if that helps.
That's been my miss with this club. I've noticed (and as someone who misses a lot of different ways, I feel like a bit of an authority) that the closed club face hook is a much more punishing miss with the club than an open-faced fade/slice distance wise. That might mean a little closer to the hole, but it might also just mean more carry into the rattlesnake infested grass.
I got a few swings in with this tonight for the first time. I thought it was just okay. A couple were hit not in the middle and the sound was noticeably different. Maybe that's appropriate feedback. The ones in the middle sounded better and got out there pretty good.
Were you comparing it to another driver? Or just hitting the SLDR by itself
RPBGator
New member
Ok here they are. The guy told me they were quite good, I had a good smash factor, he said the optimal is 1.50 and as you can see I got 1.48, 1.47, 1.49 with the top 3 shafts. Also I hit up on the ball which is good and helps with the spin, he said a lot of people hit down on there driver so I was happy to hear that. Any way here is photo I took of the numbers, let me know what you think. Also these were all done with the yellow range balls so my distances should be a bit longer with proper and better balls. I was hitting them over the fence at the end of the range at the golf course into a new housing sub division that has just been cleared, lucky no houses there yet.
Those really are good numbers and seem right on. Not the "Get the Sale" numbers on some monitors around. Are you thinking of getting this driver or where do you stand now?
Today marks the 6 week mark since I first hit a ball with the SLDR. Before I go any further in this post, I want to again thank THP and TaylorMade for this opportunity. This was my first testing and I hope I did the process justice. One of my favorite things about THP is the equipment testing. I think it's awesome that everyday guys like me get a chance to test the newest and top of the line equipment. And I truly take it as an honor and privilege to be a tester. I have done some pretty cool things in my life but this is right up there on the list of most fun things I've done.
When I first got selected, I was just as nervous as I was excited. Knowing this would be a very popular testing meant that I needed to step my game up too. I was lucky to have a couple THP members to help me with the testing and I was also lucky enough to have the SLDR for the Ohio get together in October and watch a handful of guys hit balls and turn around and give me that same look I had the first time I caught the ball on the screws. So I hope my feedback was everything you were looking for throughout this thread. I played as much as I could and on the course I hit driver as much as I could (even tho I probably shouldn't have lol).
From the unboxing in my living room to sitting here at my desk right now, I've had nothing but love for this driver. In my opinion, this is the perfect driver for me. The forgiveness has been the biggest issue by everyone who has commented in this thread, but in my case, the forgiveness is no where near a big enough issue to pull it from the bag. The places this driver puts me on the course when I make a good swing are mind blowing. I'm a huge taylormade fan and have had taylormade drivers in my bag for the last 5+ years. My only gripes have been cosmetic durability and the sound at impact. The SLDR has been extremely durable and the sound at contact is absolutely addicting. The feel is above and bye one expectations as well. This may not be the driver for everyone, but this is the driver for me. It's been years since I've been this excited to step up to a tee box.
It seems like the weather here is taking a turn for the worse so I'm not sure how much more on course feedback I'll be able to give, but I promise I will take every chance I get to hit balls at a range or LM. Thanks again for everyone's feedback and questions
When I first got selected, I was just as nervous as I was excited. Knowing this would be a very popular testing meant that I needed to step my game up too. I was lucky to have a couple THP members to help me with the testing and I was also lucky enough to have the SLDR for the Ohio get together in October and watch a handful of guys hit balls and turn around and give me that same look I had the first time I caught the ball on the screws. So I hope my feedback was everything you were looking for throughout this thread. I played as much as I could and on the course I hit driver as much as I could (even tho I probably shouldn't have lol).
From the unboxing in my living room to sitting here at my desk right now, I've had nothing but love for this driver. In my opinion, this is the perfect driver for me. The forgiveness has been the biggest issue by everyone who has commented in this thread, but in my case, the forgiveness is no where near a big enough issue to pull it from the bag. The places this driver puts me on the course when I make a good swing are mind blowing. I'm a huge taylormade fan and have had taylormade drivers in my bag for the last 5+ years. My only gripes have been cosmetic durability and the sound at impact. The SLDR has been extremely durable and the sound at contact is absolutely addicting. The feel is above and bye one expectations as well. This may not be the driver for everyone, but this is the driver for me. It's been years since I've been this excited to step up to a tee box.
It seems like the weather here is taking a turn for the worse so I'm not sure how much more on course feedback I'll be able to give, but I promise I will take every chance I get to hit balls at a range or LM. Thanks again for everyone's feedback and questions
I ultimately hit the Altitude, too. But at the time I was hitting this by itself and was not intentionally comparing it to anything.
I've got one more decent-sized testing opportunity for the year. Heading up to Tucson to play as many holes as sunlight allows Saturday. This testing has been a lot of fun, and really caused me to take a good, solid look at my play off the tee, which has been a big double-edged sword for me in general, and lately has definitely been on the bad side. Can't thank JB and y'all at THP for this opportunity and listening to my rantings.
lopsta5
Active member
Thank you for the nice comments. I would really like to get this driver to replace or perhaps interchange with my r11s but to be quite honest they are way out of my price range, currently they are selling here in NZ at the shops for $659nzd which is coin I just don't have at the moment. I also tried some speedblades at the same time and have been thinking about them as I could get a whole set of those for only a couple more $$ than the one driver.
tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
Hope the wind is not too bad. Predicted at 25-35 mph tomorrow. Where are you playing?
Starr Pass. Getting a twilight tee time (3pm) before the Marine Corps Ball that I got invited to. Should be a fun weekend.
mayday1775
New member
I hope the wind is gone by the time I tee off Saturday at 1:30 here in Yuma.
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