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TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

SuperStroke
Damoegan said:
I've just dropped a 6M3 Black Tie into my 460 10.5* head (set at 9*).

First two swings on course with it yesterday both produced 300yrd drives!
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Nice Damo.

Funny you doing that as I put a White Tie in mine a couple of weeks ago and been loving it ever since!


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I finally bought one of these, only because DSG had it marked down to $169 from $499. Got the 9.5* head and have two range sessions and two rounds in with it. I think I got it adjusted for me now though, it really started working well when I hit the back 9 of my second round with it. It works much better for me than my Bio Cell did and I've never been great with a driver but it was my best 9 holes I've had with a driver, so for right now I'm happy with it and it will be in my bag for a while.
 
After a few range sessions I've settled on two weights that work good for me.

At first I tried two stock 18's and it was just too heavy. Next I tried an 18 and an 8 and the results were about the same as with one stock weight. The best two weight combo for me was an 8 gram (2 clicks to the draw side) and a 4 gram. That set gave me a slight draw with a slight increase in distance when compared to the stock one weight setup. It decreased the overall weight and I think it also increased the forgiveness. I'm going to game this configuration for a few weeks and see the results.
 
Update. After a couple of rounds of trying the 2 weights I going back to the single stock weight. Saturday I had a horrible round and had no idea which way the ball was going to go. I could not hit a fade at all ( it was set up for a slight draw bias but never had that problem with the original configuration). Went home and put the stock weight back in. Went to the range yesterday and much more predictable results for me.

I'm done experimenting with the weights and multiple weights on mine.
 
Micael said:
Well look at the video, TM is all about marketing :rolleyes:
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I don't deny that the SLDR was a bomber of a golf club, but most could not get a long with it due to the weight placement. I for one struggled with that driver and never gamed it. Although, I'm not the person to talk about TM drivers, they've never fit me well.
 
Tywithay said:
Any driver is going to be long out of the middle of the face. Today's technology improves on the strikes around the perimeter.
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I was just going to come in and say this exact thing. While center strikes are similar across all clubs from the past 5 (even 10 in this case) years, the ones that miss the center will retain more ball speed and be less penal than the SLDR
 
Tywithay said:
Any driver is going to be long out of the middle of the face. Today's technology improves on the strikes around the perimeter.
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Well so they say. But yeah the strike pattern in this video, pretty similar. And yeah of course it is personal and I like the fade so. Also, I am used to smaller drivers. I gamed the first big Berthas and then the Titleist 975D. I will stay with the SLDR 430 (and btw have the 460s but prefer the 430).
 
Micael said:
Well so they say. But yeah the strike pattern in this video, pretty similar. And yeah of course it is personal and I like the fade so. Also, I am used to smaller drivers. I gamed the first big Berthas and then the Titleist 975D. I will stay with the SLDR 430 (and btw have the 460s but prefer the 430).
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We do a lot of testing at THP and I can say without much doubt that nearly every quality driver on the marketplace is more forgiving now than 5 years ago. More weight low, more on the perimeter, better balance to facilitate face closure.

Videos that focus on center contact (and I don’t watch many) solely do golfers a disservice
 
JB said:
We do a lot of testing at THP and I can say without much doubt that nearly every quality driver on the marketplace is more forgiving now than 5 years ago. More weight low, more on the perimeter, better balance to facilitate face closure.

Videos that focus on center contact (and I don’t watch many) solely do golfers a disservice
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with so many factors happening at the same time, do you think good center contact optimizes a straight swing and that good contact can optimize others?
 
I have a SLDR (430?-frick I haven’t touched it in 5 years). The loft up thing isn’t for someone that hits up 5* on the ball. I will say it’s long when centered. It’s not when I suck? There is a very small window between the two.
 
The SLDR always reminded me of Jurassic Park Jeff Goldblum.



Taylormade went out to make the lowest spin driver possible, and succeeded so greatly that they never tried it again. 7 years later, it is STILL the longest driver out there, but it's really difficult to hit for golf mortals.

I demo'ed a 9* SLDR out of the local golf shop's used bin and I couldn't get the thing in the air. I swing up with positive AoA, but have a really low swing speed. Everything I hit with the SLDR was a low bullet that fell probably 50 yards short of my gamer M4. That's when I realized just how much work back weighting really does for me.
 
Micael said:
Well so they say. But yeah the strike pattern in this video, pretty similar. And yeah of course it is personal and I like the fade so. Also, I am used to smaller drivers. I gamed the first big Berthas and then the Titleist 975D. I will stay with the SLDR 430 (and btw have the 460s but prefer the 430).
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If you prefer a smaller driver, take a look at the Tour Edge C722 (445cc) with the ability to move weights around on the bottom to get either more forgiveness (back) or lower spin (front). Also, will save you about $100 over the Stealth
 
Also, does the Stealth+ get closer to the SLDR? I mean comparing a bomber players driver to their more forgiving option. Typically the more player (low spin) focused a driver is the longer it'll go
 
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