We've launched the new forums! Read more here

TaylorMade JetSpeed Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
tequila4kapp said:
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around where the JetSpeed fits with the SLDR. Is it a progression of the same technology? Are the clubs meant to serve different golf demographics and if so, which ones? This really applies to the whole line, not just the driver.
Click to expand...

Good question. I wouldn't consider it a progression of the same technology as much as the same technology at a different price point. It's lacking some of the bells and whistles. Also, it's got a light and long shaft, so it's more of a 'traditional' distance offering in that regard.

I'm going to be a little PC here, but my feelings about this line are that it's lacking excitement and innovation. It doesn't scream premium to me. To me, it's very much a price point line and (almost) just looks like it was made so they could cover a base rather than offer something unique. Now, maybe it's more forgiving than the SLDR, which would be a very good thing for most amateurs, but with the CG low/forward I don't know how much that will improve. That said, I test everything with an open mind and we'll let the numbers do the talking.
 
Hawk, the low spin low off the face thing reminds me of something...the irons.

Maybe the "driver slot" will serve the same role/results as we saw out of the last two sets of irons there? Not apples to apples I know, but its baffling me as well.
 
Jman said:
Hawk, the low spin low off the face thing reminds me of something...the irons.

Maybe the "driver slot" will serve the same role/results as we saw out of the last two sets of irons there? Not apples to apples I know, but its baffling me as well.
Click to expand...

I've thought about that parallel to the irons. The only thing will be - can low face strikes still launch high though? It's definitely interesting to think about.
 
Hawk said:
I've thought about that parallel to the irons. The only thing will be - can low face strikes still launch high though? It's definitely interesting to think about.
Click to expand...

Its confusing as hell to think about really HA!

I'm just a bit baffled by several things here, I really am.
 
Jman said:
Hawk, the low spin low off the face thing reminds me of something...the irons.

Maybe the "driver slot" will serve the same role/results as we saw out of the last two sets of irons there? Not apples to apples I know, but its baffling me as well.
Click to expand...

Hawk said:
I've thought about that parallel to the irons. The only thing will be - can low face strikes still launch high though? It's definitely interesting to think about.
Click to expand...
I actually had these same thoughts reading your preview. If they could somehow get that low face launch/forgiveness of the irons to translate to a driver...I think that would be a huge success.
 
One of the things I would be extremely intrigued by is a comparison with the SLDR. While I am not normally all that interested in comparisons, this one intrigues me. My limited time with the JetSpeed made me think it was a very similar driver head. Obviously the adjustment level is different and the weight by a bit, but I am intrigued to say the least.

A few years ago TaylorMade was definitely putting out long and light. Other companies put out lighter and it appeared as though TaylorMade abandoned the lighter idea. Now this comes out, but does so in a way that is "different" from my original thought due to the technical aspects of the head (Cg, weighting, etc).

So I am intrigued to want to hear more, but I am so confused by this release.
 
JB said:
One of the things I would be extremely intrigued by is a comparison with the SLDR. While I am not normally all that interested in comparisons, this one intrigues me. My limited time with the JetSpeed made me think it was a very similar driver head. Obviously the adjustment level is different and the weight by a bit, but I am intrigued to say the least.

A few years ago TaylorMade was definitely putting out long and light. Other companies put out lighter and it appeared as though TaylorMade abandoned the lighter idea. Now this comes out, but does so in a way that is "different" from my original thought due to the technical aspects of the head (Cg, weighting, etc).

So I am intrigued to want to hear more, but I am so confused by this release.
Click to expand...

I am confused by it as well. I was hoping for a higher spin head compared to the SLDR combined with the lighter weight to promote higher ball speed, but if that isnt the case, there is only one reason I see that this might be released... Lower cost, more sales.
 
Glad I'm not alone in being a bit confused. The driver in this line is what confuses me though, not so much the fairway or hybo, this is just baffling to me.
 
I agree the crown just looks like a Burner. I am not a fan of it so far, the Burner just never fascinated me with its looks or performance.
 
Yea it's very interesting. Just looking at what is coming from a similar price point from others (i.e X2Hot, Cell Bio), I'm just a little underwhelmed. Again though, we'll see how it pans out. I will say that I just choked down 1+ inches last night and that took away some of the long-shock and numbers were pretty good. Just a few swipes though.
 
Hawk said:
First of all, thanks for the comments on the pictures guys. This was actually a really hard driver to photograph. Some are harder than others believe it or not!



Yea, that's interesting. Generally there is a reason for that (higher spin) low on the face. Really, it's an element of forgiveness. Low hits = low launch, so higher spin helps them get in the air and carry more. This is really the exact opposite of that way of thinking and I'm not sure how it will pan out. Only one way to find out though!
Click to expand...

Yeah the low spin for low hits has me a tad confused. I know when I've hit it low on the driver it ends up in a really low trajectory, not ballooning. Only time it balloons high is when I hit it high on the club face. It's a head scratcher here.
 
I don't know what it is, but I really like the look of that matte finish on the crown, I can't wait to hear more Ryan!!!
 
It looks like a nice club, overall it don't really "pop" for me, but it's not something I would say, couldn't go in my bag if the numbers and fell were right.
 
I'm excited to give this stick a few swings. I like the looks and the tech sounds like it would fit my game.
 
Hawk said:
First of all, thanks for the comments on the pictures guys. This was actually a really hard driver to photograph. Some are harder than others believe it or not!



Yea, that's interesting. Generally there is a reason for that (higher spin) low on the face. Really, it's an element of forgiveness. Low hits = low launch, so higher spin helps them get in the air and carry more. This is really the exact opposite of that way of thinking and I'm not sure how it will pan out. Only one way to find out though!

Here's a graphic about the alignment...
Click to expand...

I did not see the TM logo on the front of the crown, though I think a combination of the lighting and watermark did that.

The way TM's press release makes it sound, they're saying that a hit low on the face produces too much spin, which I can only presume is the result of hitting down on the ball and producing a strike with excess backspin. Which makes sense to me for two reasons: One, I struggled with this miss for a long time (still do, for that matter), and because striking down on the ball is largely the result of your swing off the tee and your iron swing having too many similarities, such as weight transfer to the front foot and letting the hands get ahead of the club head. Not bad things with an iron, but produce the exact kind of miss TM is talking about here.

So they're talking about reducing excess backspin associated with that kind of swing, to my mind. I guess that opens up some new questions. The biggest one on my mind is that if they're reducing spin on downward-strike mishits with the driver, and they're reducing it in a way that really affects distance, say 400 rpm and 10-15 yards (the yardage actually being far more than that in my experience of backspinning mishits versus properly struck shots), then will well-struck balls also get a similar drop in RPMs? Admittedly, swings are unique, but if I got prime yardage from, say, 2500 RPM, but my low-face mishits are 3100 RPM, then while it might make my mishits much closer to my best yardage, I might also wonder why well-struck shots knuckle and fall from the sky. Just my thoughts.
 
Paladin said:
I did not see the TM logo on the front of the crown, though I think a combination of the lighting and watermark did that.

The way TM's press release makes it sound, they're saying that a hit low on the face produces too much spin, which I can only presume is the result of hitting down on the ball and producing a strike with excess backspin. Which makes sense to me for two reasons: One, I struggled with this miss for a long time (still do, for that matter), and because striking down on the ball is largely the result of your swing off the tee and your iron swing having too many similarities, such as weight transfer to the front foot and letting the hands get ahead of the club head. Not bad things with an iron, but produce the exact kind of miss TM is talking about here.

So they're talking about reducing excess backspin associated with that kind of swing, to my mind. I guess that opens up some new questions. The biggest one on my mind is that if they're reducing spin on downward-strike mishits with the driver, and they're reducing it in a way that really affects distance, say 400 rpm and 10-15 yards (the yardage actually being far more than that in my experience of backspinning mishits versus properly struck shots), then will well-struck balls also get a similar drop in RPMs? Admittedly, swings are unique, but if I got prime yardage from, say, 2500 RPM, but my low-face mishits are 3100 RPM, then while it might make my mishits much closer to my best yardage, I might also wonder why well-struck shots knuckle and fall from the sky. Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

My thought when I hit it low on the club face is that I do so hitting up on the ball slightly; coming out of my stance too early. It definitely could be different for different people. For me though, it seems to happen that way, and results in a very low flying ball that does not get up high enough. I would think I'd want more backspin there.
 
Yea, it's a good thought and sort of why I hate the idea of chasing perfect numbers on perfect strikes (when it comes to choosing what I actually keep in my bag).

You are right about a reason higher spin is created, but it's also a product of the driver itself.

Driver faces have what is called bulge and roll, which is curvature of the face. It's a big part of forgiveness on off-center misses. Toe balls (which are often pushes) will have increased draw spin to bring them back to center, and vise versa for heel shots and fades. Works the same way up and down the face, which is why many people find they get as good or better numbers with high face (not super high) shots. The ball launches higher, spins less, and as a result - carries a long way.
 
I'm confused by this so much that it feels like a release just for the sake of a release. The SLDR I get because it's a real player's driver.

I'd think that'd be paired with a SGI type driver. As JB mentions, this doesn't really seem to be that kind of release. It's got a long, light weight shaft which suggests SGI, but the head doesn't seem that way.

Oh well, I'm sure some will buy it and be happy.
 
ryebread said:
I'm confused by this so much that it feels like a release just for the sake of a release. The SLDR I get because it's a real player's driver.

I'd think that'd be paired with a SGI type driver. As JB mentions, this doesn't really seem to be that kind of release. It's got a long, light weight shaft which suggests SGI, but the head doesn't seem that way.

Oh well, I'm sure some will buy it and be happy.
Click to expand...

I think marketing had something to do with it. Putting out a new product helps get older products off the main shelf. I say this mostly because I remember last time I went to a big box golf store, and walking down the aisle for TaylorMade is like getting beset upon by an array of colors and themes. RBZ green, RBZ stage 2 yellow, R1 drivers in red (with black & white crowns), SLDR blue...this isn't Cobra's "different color but same scheme," it's somewhere between unfocused and downright schizo.

So by putting out a new series that is thematically similar to the SLDR, I think TaylorMade gets to hopefully get some of the older items off the showroom and tighten up its image a little bit. That's how it looks to me, anyhow.
 
Looks like the alignment aid puts the ball just inside the center. Is that where the sweet spot is? I usually line mine up just outside of center, since my swing path usually drifts outward...
 
I'll be interested on how this performs side by side with the X2 driver. Taking the recommendation and staying away from the SLDR and this TM driver could be a decent upgrade while retaining some of the characteristics of the SLDR.
 
AngryYankee said:
I'll be interested on how this performs side by side with the X2 driver. Taking the recommendation and staying away from the SLDR and this TM driver could be a decent upgrade while retaining some of the characteristics of the SLDR.
Click to expand...


Not exactly the same thing, but as of now I can at least give you some X-hot comparisons since that's my normal gamer. Even have the aftermarket version of the same shaft in my X-Hot(though its a heavier version).
 
Hawk said:
Not exactly the same thing, but as of now I can at least give you some X-hot comparisons since that's my normal gamer. Even have the aftermarket version of the same shaft in my X-Hot(though its a heavier version).
Click to expand...

That'd be great to see XHot vs JetSpeed numbers side by side. Whenever you can, I'll appreciate it.
 
Sure thing.
 
I look forward to hitting this offering from TM but im disapointed in the marketing team.....Jetspeed...Really guys!?!?!?!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top