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TaylorMade M1 Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
tgtt said:
Rich Shiels video is up. Doesn't sound amazing but doesn't sound bad either. Numbers are good but normal for current drivers. Could be camera angle but almost looks as it sets closed to me.
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I think the numbers in his video are above average for sure! 295+ carry distance is huge! Going with 8-10% more for roll brings you over 320 which is long for him.
 
I don't know what's got into me but I actually am going to go out of my way to hit this line. I'm intrigued for better or for worse.
 
golfisforfun said:
I think the numbers in his video are above average for sure! 295+ carry distance is huge! Going with 8-10% more for roll brings you over 320 which is long for him.
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In his 816 Alpha Vid, different day, different monitor -- so it's tough to make a comparison, he averaged 286 carry with 2 really bad balls. Spin was lower in the Alpha. But not the same monitor nor same day ... but it seems things were more similar than not. I think Rick was more intrigued with the look and flight - "sports car!" Okay, the theme, I get it, is fast. It looks fine on the M1.

Looking forward to hitting it this fall.
 
#Cookie said:
Undoubtedly an issue facing both of those OEM's as they offer so many options.

Folks tend to get chastised for not going through a fitting but if a fitter doesn't have all of the no upcharge options available then it makes it very challenging to get the win from a fitting.

While I may get great numbers with a shaft they have in stock I would have a tough time purchasing not knowing if one of the other shafts *could* perform any better for me.

That's not to say I need to hit all 20 or 28 or whatever it is......but have a hard time believing that one of the 3 available in the store is truly the best out of 20+ available.
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But even with three on the shelf "stock", you're probably fitting 90+ percent of people. That's a really cool thing we're seeing w/ the R15 and the Great Big Bertha - the store near me has the Bassara, Kuro Kage, and the Speeder all on the rack. That's something I haven't seen before, and it sounds like the strategy TM is taking here.
 
I'm hoping this is a hit for TM. It's good for the industry when there is strong competition, solid options and well capitalized OEM's. Personally I'm not doing cart wheels over what I've seen so far but I'd be lying if I claimed I wasn't going to give it a try.


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My favorite looking driver released so far. At least out of the 3 that have been released recently. Now can it perform is the real question. For me every driver they have put has, but the masses disagree with that.
 
Not blown away with the looks, I had the L4VX and the 460 Comp so carbon heads are kinda blah for me. I think I will be waiting for the performance report. But here is the kicker...in the gut...

So for long, TM has been preaching low spin, high launch and the R15 now looks like being the most forward weight driver out there (for those of you with a R15 head, sit it on the crown and all it wants to do is to tip over to the sole).

So now we're all launching it high (I now run the 10.5 head instead of the usual 9.5) and I have a Kuro Kage Silver Tini - what a combo...but what does the M1 mean - its down to a single weight in the left-right slot and the forward-backward has the other weight and its set more back (ala SLDR). Based on the picture, I can't see this being a low spin head even in the 430, I suspect the R15 430 will be the lower spin head in a head to head.

The only thing I can't figure out is the effect of the carbon crown - now, its a half combo and not full.

I dunno...if I buy one, it will be a good shaft, try it and if it doesn't work out, I may even swap out the shaft in my R15 430 and sell the M1 head...


Anyone got a list of the 25 no-charge upgrade shafts?!?!
 
I love the look, and I love what they're saying about it. I hope it gets TM back on track. I /really/ hope it doesn't mess up DJ or Jason Day in the last couple playoff events (see Spieth's iron change).
 
I saw some videos today and thought "wow, this is the 15th year in a row I've seen Sergio hit a drive at the range and proclaim " whoa", oh wait did Justin Rise just say "amazing" again?"

Not knocking the product, but I'm kinda tired of TM's marketing angles.
 
#Cookie said:
Undoubtedly an issue facing both of those OEM's as they offer so many options.

Folks tend to get chastised for not going through a fitting but if a fitter doesn't have all of the no upcharge options available then it makes it very challenging to get the win from a fitting.

While I may get great numbers with a shaft they have in stock I would have a tough time purchasing not knowing if one of the other shafts *could* perform any better for me.

That's not to say I need to hit all 20 or 28 or whatever it is......but have a hard time believing that one of the 3 available in the store is truly the best out of 20+ available.
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Bingo!!! It drives me NUTS when I read or hear, "Go get fit!" There are very few locations in the USA where one TRULY has access to multiple shafts in a category of spin and launch characteristics to really narrow down and find the true "best one" for that golfer. "I went and got fit at Dick's. I tried all three shafts they had.." That's not a TRUE fitting. Yeah, we all know that what's offered will fit "most", but that's the point of being fit- we're not "most". We're all different. Anyway, copy and paste that to the rant thread!
I think it would be extremely beneficial if TM would publish WHICH locations have all of the shafts or which reps/demo days will have the plethora for being fit.
 
Desmond said:
In his 816 Alpha Vid, different day, different monitor -- so it's tough to make a comparison, he averaged 286 carry with 2 really bad balls. Spin was lower in the Alpha. But not the same monitor nor same day ... but it seems things were more similar than not. I think Rick was more intrigued with the look and flight - "sports car!" Okay, the theme, I get it, is fast. It looks fine on the M1.

Looking forward to hitting it this fall.
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The one thing that jumped out was the ball speed he was seeing. 168 average?! He hasn't had that in a video yet! But, I will say his swing speed was generally higher. He's usually around 111-113, here he was 116 and showed one at 123. That has a LOT to do with the distance numbers, obviously.
 
T2GRN18 said:
Reading through most of the posts here. Honest question.... What does TaylorMade need to do to win back the "gear head" population? They've been on the ropes for a few years now it seems.
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If the right person says it's the bomb, the masses will follow.
 
Tadashi70 said:
If the right person says it's the bomb, the masses will follow.
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Curious as to whom that would be. All of their pros are, but they're paid to say so.
 
Pkielwa said:
Curious as to whom that would be. All of their pros are, but they're paid to say so.
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You get a few positive reviews online from various places and many will give it a fair shake. Right now people hear TaylorMade and have a negative thought before even picking the club up for whatever their reason may be.
The tech in this club is very real and I think will shock many people in a good way

Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk
 
Maybe I will like it and the masses will follow?
 
lightningbolt44 said:
And I'll follow deano

Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk
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just like that TM has their swagger back!

Not sure if people have mentioned this or not, but on the TM site it shows/states that this has the optimal cog. Shows it somewhat in the middle. The simplistic thought of mine would be the cog would have to be somewhat neutral for that back sliding weight to work properly right? Although as we've seen with some other clubs on the market with the weight that can go front to back, the differences aren't always night and day.
 
lightningbolt44 said:
And I'll follow deano

Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk
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It will be a giant conga line! This is the first TM driver since the R11 I am excited to hit - so I'm in line!
 
My question is still forgiveness? Does the tech work to make this a forgiving club, or did they make a really good M1 Rescue club because you are going to need it??
 
6foot9_41 said:
My question is still forgiveness? Does the tech work to make this a forgiving club, or did they make a really good M1 Rescue club because you are going to need it??
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From initial reviews and things I have read and seen, this is a step in the right direction in terms of forgiveness. Everyone is different but I definitely want to hit it really badly. I have absolutely no idea why but I cant stop thinking about hitting this.
 
TaylorMade M1 Driver Preview

TaylorMade M1 Driver Preview

I'm skimming, but does anyone know if it uses the same adapter as the R1/SLDR/R15?
 
Orange Hog said:
Same here dude. I usually don't get jacked up about new drivers because, frankly, you can get that new driver at a much lower price 6-9 months after release. This launch, though, has me super intrigued. As soon as my club gets a demo I'm going to check it out and try it on the course for sure.



Rick always uses the same GC2 launch monitor so his reviews are truly and an apple-to-apple comparison. If you compare the numbers between the GBB test and the M1 test I'd say the M1 was the clear winner...

Great Big Bertha DBD - 162 ball speed, 1965 rpm total spin, 286 yd carry

Taylormade M1 - 168 ball speed, 2421 rpm total spin, 295 yd carry

Obviously the results of any driver test will vary from person to person, but I'd say the results from his reviews/tests were a pretty compelling argument that Taylormade has a bomber in this new launch. There will be other areas, such as forgiveness, that will vary, as well, but it's hard to argue with the numbers from the same launch monitor.
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With his swing speed being similar to mine, I suspect his ball speed should have been better with the 816 DBD. I was getting 168mph with the DBD when swinging in the 112-115mph area.

I get that swings are different but if 2 people are swinging the same speed and making good contact, I'd bet the numbers should be pretty close.

Just an observation on my end. I thought the M1 performed really well and I'm definitely interested in hitting it.
 
168 ball speed...in my dreams.
 
I'm pretty excited to get these in and hopefully be able to hit some off the LM at work. I'll be interested to experience/see/feel the front to back weight difference, the OG weight slot did next to nothing for me.
 
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