As an Internet golfer, would somebody explain a "bad drive"
320 yard drive the rolls through the fairway.
TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread
320 yard drive the rolls through the fairway.
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That is great brother. I know you had struggles in the past with it. Glad to hear that has been turned around.
mikedean441
6X HOF
This is awesome to hear dude. Being able to trust that club in your hands will be huge.
TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread
Ok somehow my subscripted threads changed. First I see someone say mis hits perform well and now Beags is crushing this driver???? I'm so confused
Ok somehow my subscripted threads changed. First I see someone say mis hits perform well and now Beags is crushing this driver???? I'm so confused
ehamady.6
Vulgar Display Of Power
Hit more bombs with the driver today and only missed two faiways, and those were only a few feet into the rough. I've finally stopped aiming too far left for the power fade that I've hit all my life with all of the other drivers I've ever owned. Teeing it up higher with the 3 1/4" tees continues to be magic. Today I worked on keeping my right shoulder lower than my left at address to make sure impact happens with the clubhead moving upwards. For some reason lofting up to 12* has drastically lowered my hits towards the toe, but the added loft has naturally helped those shots go farther. I feel that breaking 70 is finally going to happen!
mark blanchard
New member
I agree with everyone on the subject of "feel" being completely subjective. It's the main reason why folks choose different heads, all of which have close to the same COR. It's also the reason why I hated the SLDR when I first bought my 9.5 last August and it's the main reason why I love my Opti -- the misses feel good, even when they stray. But I'm trying to be as objective as I can with this test. I'm finding that my misses must be occurring in a pretty good spot for what-ever forgiveness the face offers, because they're not too bad. I think I'm missing a shade low and inside, but need to check with the Dr. Scholls to be sure.
I also agree with that statement that golfers have a the tendency to remember the good shots and forget the bad, that's why I'm trying to focus on just my turds. I want to know how many with each club and where they end up. My turd results are showing me basically the same yardage as my gamer, but significantly more in the fairway. I think this is largely due to the SLDR having more of a one side miss than the Opti. It just goes left, never right and it never seems to spin much, so no big hooks. This means it stays closer to my aim point. When I miss with my Opti, it could flare a little left or right, I'm never sure. I confess that with the SLDR I have to LOOK UP to see if the shot is going to be good or bad, I can't feel it. They all feel clangy to me.
I can say this with conviction, though -- I would NOT use the SLDR in wet conditions. With lower ball flight it's too dependent on rollout for good results. I would choose it, however, with high wind conditions! It's lower ball flight isn't pushed around by the wind. I'll also say that the softer compression FG Tour takes away a lot of the clangy feel of the SLDR face.
I also agree with that statement that golfers have a the tendency to remember the good shots and forget the bad, that's why I'm trying to focus on just my turds. I want to know how many with each club and where they end up. My turd results are showing me basically the same yardage as my gamer, but significantly more in the fairway. I think this is largely due to the SLDR having more of a one side miss than the Opti. It just goes left, never right and it never seems to spin much, so no big hooks. This means it stays closer to my aim point. When I miss with my Opti, it could flare a little left or right, I'm never sure. I confess that with the SLDR I have to LOOK UP to see if the shot is going to be good or bad, I can't feel it. They all feel clangy to me.
I can say this with conviction, though -- I would NOT use the SLDR in wet conditions. With lower ball flight it's too dependent on rollout for good results. I would choose it, however, with high wind conditions! It's lower ball flight isn't pushed around by the wind. I'll also say that the softer compression FG Tour takes away a lot of the clangy feel of the SLDR face.
rallo
#FYF
haha... 315 yard drive that hits the flagstick and richochets OB
-CRW-
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I thought the peak height for the SLDR was supposed to be close to the same or higher for most people?
mark blanchard
New member
Man, I don't know what other people do with this club, all I can say is that I couldn't get the 9.5 off the deck, but the 12 has pretty good piercing flight. It's still a shade lower than my 9.5 Opti set to 10.5. I played with another guy on Friday who had a 10.5 SLDR S and he was hitting it way higher than I was. Everybody is different. If I keep it I'll experiment with dialing it up even further I think.
Brianbigoats
Active member
I am surprised that you want miss hits to feel good i prefer a bit of feed back
As for the SLDR not using in wet conditions that is not the case for everyone i carry more yards with my SLDR than my R1 so in wet conditions i get more yards because the SLDR is less dependent on roll for me
If you are not getting much carry you might try a higher loft
mark blanchard
New member
I'd prefer that the whole club felt differently! Hitting the SLDR is like a bad kiss with a hot chick. I like it less than a good kiss with normal girl, but I keep going back.
I will try dialing it up a notch though. That guy who hit his SLDR S higher than me did seem to hit shots that went further than I thought they would go.
-CRW-
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What shaft do you have in your SLDR, and how does it compare to the shaft in your Optiforce?
mark blanchard
New member
Good question -- it is the exact same Fujikura shaft cut to the exact same length in both clubs. (See my signature for specifics.) Was fitted for this shaft years back in my old Cally Razr Fit and loved it ever since due to high launch, low torque and lots of kick. My SS is about 105-108 and I launch low. I bought a few of them and keep one each with Tmag, Ping, Titleist and Cally tips for testing. (Sorry Cobra and Nike.) Looks like I'll have to get a new tip for the G30, but the 915 should still take the same tip I've got.
BTW, this HL shaft definitely helps get the SLDR up because I also have a stock Speeder 57 and an longer Motore F1 and both launch lower than the Zcom.
Tested this out with the TP shaft this afternoon. First tried it at 9.5º at it launched a little low, then with a 12º head it was too high with too much spin. Went back to the other head and changed it to 10.5º. That seemed to be the best for me, on good hits was seeing a 15º launch and 1800 spin. My R1 was showing 15º and 2300 rpm. When I put a good swing on the SLDR I really liked the results. I think the R1 might be better for me though on the not so good swings. Not sure I am ready to make the jump yet.
HBirdman80
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Definitely is for me, I hit it just as high with a better, more piercing, flight profile.
mark blanchard
New member
Played another 18 with just the SLDR alone. 13 drives, of which one was foozled, 1 hooked in hazard, 5 were great in fairway, 2 were mishits that ended up nicely in fairway 250-270, and 4 were pretty good in the rough.
Not bad, I'm getting much more comfortable with it and starting to hit it higher. Except for the one hook, it was very straight.
Not bad, I'm getting much more comfortable with it and starting to hit it higher. Except for the one hook, it was very straight.
mark blanchard
New member
The flight is good mid to occasionally highish. This is a club I really like and long, so my quibbles are minor, mind you. The club is tweaked so it is generally straight, but can flare left or right with equal probability. And I can produce the same hook as I'll occasionally also produce with the SLDR (swing flaw in both cases) if I sway and my plane is too shallow. But when the Opti hooks, it hooks worse. The main difference is that if I am at the right edge rough with the Opti, it could go further right just as commonly as it goes a bit left. The SLDR either stays on line or it draws. I cannot fade it, I can only push it.
Regardless of how I hit it, the SLDR seems to move with less curve. It balloons less too. Yesterday I was hitting high shots with it, but they were high and still getting out there. I also hit one line drive on 9 that my brother said, "Now that's a definite mishit, let's see where it ends up." Since it stayed in the fairway, it bounced and skipped and rolled five yards past the 250 marker on a 525 yd par 5. So 280 dead straight on a skulled mishit.
The one foozle was my fault, my insidious brother talking to me about how he changed his grip on the 2 tee box, got me thinking about it. The ol' "Do you inhale or exale on your backswing" trick and he got me. The hook was just an overcooked attempt to draw. Everything else was pretty sweet,
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For the read you are a fellow southpaw? Your findings are exactly mine and the primary reason this is #bestdriverEVER. .....or at least in this decade! The "lefts" are non-existent which means I can take more aggressive lines with loads of confidence. Not bragging but I've missed a total of ONE fairway in 3 1/2 rounds. .....44 swings......enough mishits in there too but in play all day without the massive distance loss others have found......only gains! Oh well ...lucky me?
mark blanchard
New member
No I'm a righty. So are my lefts your rights? Anyway, it's a one side miss and the misses end up pretty good.
Sorry.....misread your line about optiforce and the hooks , right side.....etc, etc.....my bad but continued success!
ehamady.6
Vulgar Display Of Power
I'm growing more comfortable with this driver every round. Changing to the 10.5* head from a 9.5* has made all the difference for me. And putting on a new grip with 4 wraps of tape staggered to build up the lower hand feels so much better. A few people on the range stopped and asked me about the club today (Is that the SLDR? Does "lofting up" really work? Is that the TP model?). The BANG sound and vapor trails usually grab attention.
silversnakes
New member
I personally can't get enough loft out of this thing. I had a 9* R11 and currently have the 10.5* SLDR lofted to 12*. I wonder if a 12 or 14* head would outperform my current set-up since I wouldn't open up the face as much. Anyone have any experience with the higher lofted SLDRs?