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TaylorMade SLDR Mini Driver Preview

SuperStroke
Really love this club. Has kicked the driver out of the bag. Much more consistent and get around the same yardage. Hitting it off the deck is pretty easy as long as your try to hit like a 3w and not scoop it.
 
Butters said:
Really love this club. Has kicked the driver out of the bag. Much more consistent and get around the same yardage. Hitting it off the deck is pretty easy as long as your try to hit like a 3w and not scoop it.
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butters how bad is the miss if you catch it thin of the deck? I imagine that would be my miss with it.
 
ddec said:
butters how bad is the miss if you catch it thin of the deck? I imagine that would be my miss with it.
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For me is was more of a line drive with a little fade.

Hardest part for me is just to get it in my mind to hit it like a 3w
 
I had a chance to hit the 12* mini and it was very solid. It had similar trajectory to my 2Deep but I can vary trajectory easier with the Callaway, the mini wants to go medium height when I was trying to hit it low. Also, no fault of the club head, but the stock stiff shaft on the mini did not hold up as well on hard swings as the Tour Green in my 2Deep does. Overall I'd give the mini a B+ but I like the sound and look of the 2Deep more.
 
I have been thinking seriously about dropping the 60° wedge from my bag, the only thing keeping be from doing it was that I don't have any huge gaps at the top of my bag that I really needed another club for. I'm starting to think that this may be the club that could knock the wedge out of the bag.
 
Local store let me swap the 14* stiff non TP today for a 12* TP for difference in price. Was cool of them since I didn't buy the 14 from them.

Tried out the SLDR 430 also today, nice club, I liked it over the regular SLDR. Was shocked how much my SS has dropped since I last had it measured, down from 105ish to around 98-99mph.
 
I hit the mini yesterday as I was looking for another club to hit off the tee and occasionally off the deck. My first impression was that this club was amazing looking. Then I hit it and realized that it's a bit long for me to use it as an alternative to driver since it was only about 10 yards shorter than my driver. Boy is it easy to hit though.....If I didn't love my Alpha so much I would put this in my bag and not look back. It was a little intimidating off the deck, but I can see where some could make it work.

Really nice club IMO. Didn't originally think I would like this club, but I was proven wrong.
 
Right someone help me out here because I am confused! What are people finding the longest degree wise then? Some people are saying 12 degree and some are saying 14?! With the stock shaft are we saying that the 14 degree is longer?
 
I guess it depends on your swing, i have a 8.5 driver that i hit 245, when adjusted to10 degrees it goes 257.same club huh ?


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Well my ss is pretty much dead on 100, really hitting it I could get 105 but to be honest I would prefer to swing soft at around 95 to gain some control.
I have the SLDR 430 10.5 head, and I have lofted down to be honest because it was just too high for me
 
adamw238 said:
It was a little intimidating off the deck, but I can see where some could make it work.
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To me the face does not look much deeper then OG RBZ which could be difficult to hit off the deck at times as well. but i guess it is metter than trying to take driver off the deck
 
I played 18 today using just the mini 12* TP off all the tees and used it on all the par 5s for the second shots also. Surprisingly I found it very easy to hit off the deck. Off the tee I didn't see the same numbers as I was seeing on the Trackman the other day. On Trackman with the 12* TP xstiff it was showing carry of around 255 with about 10yds rollout sometimes a little more carry, had some that were 270 with roll out. On the course today in fairly calm conditions not much if any wind affecting the shots I was averaging 235-240 off the tee. We don't get much roll in the fairways at Paiute as they keep them pretty lush. Off the deck I was getting a consistent straight shot sometimes a little fade at the end, which I was happy with. With my R11s 14* I have adjusted to 12.5* it was always a fade never straight. I assume this might be because you have to open the face to lower the loft. In the end I like the club and think I will be using it in place of my driver on a lot of holes I've been using driver. May end up using it on the 2nd shots on par 5s also. I figure once I get a few more rounds and practice with it, I will get some more distance out of it off the deck. Confident enough after today I will be using it in 2 tournament rounds this weekend, only missed one fairway and that was me over swinging to see how I could get out of it.
 
Bought the non tp version and I gotta say the stock shaft is pretty bad. Have a speeder 757 coming so we'll see how it goes. If I had to do it again, definately would pay the extra money for the tp version.
 
Snedekerrr said:
This is very similar to what I experienced, good to hear someone else having success with this beauty.



When I was getting fit for it at Taylormade the fitter recommended playing it just like a driver off the tee. So we put about 1/3 of the ball above the top of the club at address and the ball was all the way forward even with my front instep. I could not believe the numbers at first but the results were even better outside. Then it seemed as though it got even better on the course! I can't wait to play again. I have to be a normal person though and work this week.
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Thanks much...this is really helpful. I'm doing a fitting next week with a TM fitter specifically looking at the mini vs. SLDR S fairways, and I'll probably look at the SLDR S Hybrids too. So again, thanks for the great reports...
 
Another round in the books with the mini and it will definitely be staying in my bag. It just feels so effortless to hit off the tee and the fairway. Got a little cocky with it today and tried to hit out of a fairway bunker, wasn't a smart move lol.
 
bigmcclarron said:
Right someone help me out here because I am confused! What are people finding the longest degree wise then? Some people are saying 12 degree and some are saying 14?! With the stock shaft are we saying that the 14 degree is longer?
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We have the same swing speed and for me the 12 was definitely longer. I guess it would depend a lot on angle of attack but if you lofted down the SLDR driver then I would think it would definitely be the 12 for you.

Vegan702 said:
Another round in the books with the mini and it will definitely be staying in my bag. It just feels so effortless to hit off the tee and the fairway. Got a little cocky with it today and tried to hit out of a fairway bunker, wasn't a smart move lol.
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Haha that's awesome. Also a funny coincidence because I had to talk myself out of doing the exact same thing today.
 
Snedekerrr said:
We have the same swing speed and for me the 12 was definitely longer. I guess it would depend a lot on angle of attack but if you lofted down the SLDR driver then I would think it would definitely be the 12 for you.



Haha that's awesome. Also a funny coincidence because I had to talk myself out of doing the exact same thing today.
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Thanks man, need to hit this soon! Sounds like most people are enjoying the TP setup more than the standard
 
bigmcclarron said:
Thanks man, need to hit this soon! Sounds like most people are enjoying the TP setup more than the standard
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Mine is standard. I had a really good range session with it tonight and I was experimenting with hitting it off the deck. This thing is so awesome!
 
Snedekerrr said:
Mine is standard. I had a really good range session with it tonight and I was experimenting with hitting it off the deck. This thing is so awesome!
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Do you mind if I ask what your handicap and swing speed is? I am a bit confused with what one to get now!
 
I'm an 11 and SS around a 100mph. I personally went with the TP as I have a quick tempo and transition so I do better with heavier shafts.
 
To be honest I have quite heavy shafts in most my clubs, so sounds like the TP version might suit me better, shame they are not in stock over here in the UK!
 
TaylorMade SLDR Mini Driver Preview

After watching someone continually out drive my driver with a 2 Deep this week I'm officially interested in these type mini drivers.

I've always been one to hit my 3 wood very well off the tees. I think I need to give these a fair shot cause it might be what I've been needing off the tee. Just finished up reading all the pages of info so thanks for the info. I'm just gonna need to find out for myself.
 
Nate said:
After watching someone continually out drive my driver with a 2 Deep this week I'm officially interested in these type mini drivers.

I've always been one to hit my 3 wood very well off the tees. I think I need to give these a fair shot cause it might be what I've been needing off the tee. Just finished up reading all the pages of info so thanks for the info. I'm just gonna need to find out for myself.
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I went with the x2 3 deep and love it. It's not as long as my driver, but just enough to keep me out of trouble. Also pretty easy to hit off the deck.

Tapping away on my Galaxy 2 Note
 
Nate said:
After watching someone continually out drive my driver with a 2 Deep this week I'm officially interested in these type mini drivers.

I've always been one to hit my 3 wood very well off the tees. I think I need to give these a fair shot cause it might be what I've been needing off the tee. Just finished up reading all the pages of info so thanks for the info. I'm just gonna need to find out for myself.
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I'm with you Nate. I am just about as long off the tee with a fairway wood as I am with my driver. ( Obviously, that is a swing flaw with the driver )I just am more confident hitting the ball consistent and finding the fairway hitting down on the ball. My SS is quite a bit less than yours, but for some reason, with irons, etc, I am as long as some guys with higher swing speeds. This mini is definitely causing a ponder - which I can't afford!
 
So I think i am going to get one deciding between a 14* & 16* Replacing 3 & 5 woods with a 17* 4 wood
 
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