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TaylorMade SLDR Fairway Wood - THP Review Thread

SuperStroke
Great review up to this point. Will be interesting to see when these get into the hands of the additonal testers what type of feedback we will receive. As for my 2014 the 3W will be a club that will be making its way in to replace the old. Like the look of the SLDR FW. Thanks again James!
 
Tons of great info here!
A real intriguing club.
Actually interested in the whole product line.

Thanks for this excellent review.

Just call me...Barb
First official '15 Morgan cup hopeful.
(Gonna work on the game!)
 
Awesome thoughts so far Jman. Im just wondering is that shaft you are playing the one that comes standard or is it an option? Also is that a weight just behind the speed pocket? I have never tried the stage 2 so arnt quite sure. Thanks
 
lopsta5 said:
Awesome thoughts so far Jman. Im just wondering is that shaft you are playing the one that comes standard or is it an option? Also is that a weight just behind the speed pocket? I have never tried the stage 2 so arnt quite sure. Thanks
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Yep, the speeder 77 (72g) is the standard shaft. It is indeed a weight, same as they have used in some previous models like the Stage 2 Tour but I can honestly say I've never seen different weights to swap them out.
 
That shaft make this club very intriguing to me. At least the weight. That's where I like my fairways.
 
blugold said:
That shaft make this club very intriguing to me. At least the weight. That's where I like my fairways.
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I agree, I like a little more heft and the low 70g range is perfect for me, I can feel the club all the way through and it keeps me ore consistent.
 
Jman said:
I agree, I like a little more heft and the low 70g range is perfect for me, I can feel the club all the way through and it keeps me ore consistent.
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I am sure the high launch low spin construction needed a heavier shaft for launch purposes. I don't know how. But nonetheless it is nice to see a heavier shaft in play by an OEM
 
I like the sound of the heavier shafts. When I went to the cobra demo day here the guy gave me a fair way to try with a light shaft and i was slicing it, then I tried his one with the heavier shaft and boom they were all going straight. Can't remember what it was but it was a dark purple colour and I think it was 72 grams as well. My r11s is 70 so I think this shaft weight would suit me well.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 4
 
I like my fairway wood shafts how I like my women: heavy and stout.
 
Post for subscription. Some great stuff so far James.
 
James, how does it compare or not compare to the Amp Cell? I am really thinking about replacing my AC 3w. I have never been able to hit that club well and I am looking for something that well fit my swing better.
 
I got a few swings in with this tonight for the first time. The shaft/club felt obviously heavier to me. Not a bad thing, just different. I was hitting the 3HL but still was getting much lower than usual trajectory...this would have been perfect in the wind or on firm fairways. Distance came easy and wad effortless. The visual that came to mind was driving a nail with a heavy hammer instead of light one.
 
capt.dru said:
James, how does it compare or not compare to the Amp Cell? I am really thinking about replacing my AC 3w. I have never been able to hit that club well and I am looking for something that well fit my swing better.
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If Matthew has received his FW or hybrid by Saturday, maybe he will let you take a few swings with it. Not sure if he has it yet, but hitting it on the course would definitely help in your decision.
 
afwcardinal said:
If Matthew has received his FW or hybrid by Saturday, maybe he will let you take a few swings with it. Not sure if he has it yet, but hitting it on the course would definitely help in your decision.
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I haven't gotten it yet but there's always tomorrow. I really hope to have by the weekend, it's like waiting for Christmas morning.
 
Guys we understand you are waiting for the clubs.
If there is an issue, please keep it in banter threads or PM.
Lets remember that this is a thread about the fairway wood, not shipping and delivery.
We know you are excited and swear the clubs will be there soon.
 
I got my SLDR TP 5 wood the took it to the range and hit it against my Rocketballs tour & R9 5 wood. I love the feel it seem like a Vsteel and Rocketballs had a baby nice small head with a super great feel but it is long like a Rocketballs. The TP shaft is also very nice smooth great high launch. The launch is similar to my speeder 7.1 but much smoother and lower spinning

The SLDR Fairway seems like a real winner
 
Great review James, sounds like a bomber off the tee and a solid off the deck offering once the loft is properly dialed in. Also glad to see the polymer insert instead of the empty slot from previous TM models. Price range is approaching some driver offerings but I guess that's to be expected these days.
 
Well done as always James. I dont use my woods much off the tee but it sounds like this one would change that. Like Cookie said, the price tag is up there but I would love to at least give it a try.
 
Thanks Cookie. I need to make it down soon for you to have a go with this and the JetSpeed.
 
High quality stuff there James.

Some of your feedback mirrors my thoughts on the hybrid, as we've discussed. I think a big part of what we are seeing in terms of no massive drop-off in forgiveness is the fact that these clubs are a little easier to hit center-face to start with. In addition, my thought is the slot offers some help there too.

This isn't really one I think would fit all that well in my bag as a 3w, though it's obviously one I'd love to hit for myself. I would be interested to try the higher lofted versions though.
 
Hawk said:
High quality stuff there James.

Some of your feedback mirrors my thoughts on the hybrid, as we've discussed. I think a big part of what we are seeing in terms of no massive drop-off in forgiveness is the fact that these clubs are a little easier to hit center-face to start with. In addition, my thought is the slot offers some help there too.

This isn't really one I think would fit all that well in my bag as a 3w, though it's obviously one I'd love to hit for myself. I would be interested to try the higher lofted versions though.
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That point is odd to me as everything I have heard and read about the SLDR Driver is that it isnt very forgiving.
 
DevRickus said:
That point is odd to me as everything I have heard and read about the SLDR Driver is that it isnt very forgiving.
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After my experience with the driver I wasn't all that excited to test the hybrid, but it's not the same beast. Like I said though, you're talking about to very different clubs and one is definitely easier to hit the center with more consistently.
 
DevRickus said:
That point is odd to me as everything I have heard and read about the SLDR Driver is that it isnt very forgiving.
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Trust me Rick, it was odd to Hawk and I as well as we expected the same that we saw from the driver in the fairway and hybrid with the CG pushed lower and more forward.

I agree completely with the Hawkster that there are two factors which keep it from being as penal as the driver, the face size and the slot (and the re-shape of the slot IMO plays a BIG role here), it gives back some of that which is lost cross face from the CG move.

I came into this cringing a bit because the driver is just SO bad for me (probably THE most penal driver I've ever used for me) but, I didn't see a lot of that in this one. Sure, with a smaller footprint and a slightly open face its a little more demanding than some other options out there, but man it can be a weapon off the tee.
 
Hawk said:
After my experience with the driver I wasn't all that excited to test the hybrid, but it's not the same beast. Like I said though, you're talking about to very different clubs and one is definitely easier to hit the center with more consistently.
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Understandable. That makes sense. I wouldnt expect a driver to behave the same way as a hybrid but I would expect the FW to behave the same way as the driver off the tee.
 
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