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TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

SuperStroke
tucsondivots said:
Hey Paladin, what kind of trajectory were you seeing? I found it to be much lower than my Stage 2 or Cell, possibly due to low spin. Going up to 13* did not seem to help with that. Great for hard fairways where you can get some roll time.
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I think it's a pretty high trajectory, but not ballooning. I think it'll get some decent roll, but it's not the super-piercing trajectory I have in my dreams, but that's because my reality sets in, and that super-piercing trajectory veers sharply to the right.

BTW, my wife booked me for an afternoon 9 holes @ Starr Pass in November. The 16th, I think, in conjunction with the USMC Birthday gala. SE AZ THPer's should get together, if possible.
 
Nice thoughts, Paladin. Hopefully mine will be here today and I can get to the range.
 
jt2929 said:
Nice thoughts, Paladin. Hopefully mine will be here today and I can get to the range.
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Same here. East coast gets the longest wait!
 
I'm not an official tester but I did get to hit this club on the range and course yesterday. I currently hit a R11. I don't know that I gained much with the SLDR but I very much did like it. I liked the feel at address. The face is deeper than the R11. Meaning wider top to bottom, don't know if I am explaining that right. Anyway, the club is solid. When you hit it in the screws, it feels solid. In a good way. It's always hard to tell if you are getting more distance in just a day of hitting. I would hit both clubs off the tee to compare. In reality, I think you need to do this several days to get a good feel. Gee, I guess that's why they are doing the testing, lol... Great club, not sure of if I would switch just yet.
 
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Little testing going on right now with TyJohnston. Full review coming when I get home. Anyone wanna buy an R11s?? :)
 
Well my first range session with the SLDR is in the books. Im really not sure what i was expecting driving to the range. Normally when Im driving to the range i have a plan in mind so that its not just a wasted trip. Maybe i would hit a few balls and go back and forth with the SLDR and my R11s and compare the two. But once i got loose and took a swing with the SLDR, the R11s never saw another swing again. TyJohnston brought his R11s TP and new RBZ Stage 2 with him so we had a wide variety of clubs to choose from, but nothing came close to the performance of the SLDR.

I started out with the SLDR set at 11* and the slider at neutral (The head is 10.5 but was sent to me at 11). After a few balls and getting used to the shaft and overall weight of the club (noticeably lighter compared to my R11s), I was getting about 260 carry with a high launch. I took the loft down to 10.5 and went one slot towards the Draw setting. I hit a couple more balls with this setting and was happy, but it wasnt perfect just yet. My last adjustment was taking the sliding weight to the neutral setting. Yahtzee! Perfect launch, high straight flight with a carry right around 270. It was real hard to get an accurate distance because the longest yard marker at the range was 250 but there are mounds behind that sign and from what ive been told theyre about 20 yards past it and i was flying the ball into the mound. Standard loft and slider settings are where Im going to keep this until further notice.

One thing about this driver that i fell in love with is my miss. My miss is a big, no reason to go even look for it, slice. My miss was cut down dramatically to the point where its off to the right but in the rough still. And that will shave strokes off of my game more than anything. Im absolutely thrilled about the results of the first session and i cant wait to get out and play again.

My only gripe with this club is one that might not be an issue with everyone. Im a neat freak with my clubs and its to the point where im OCD about it. I clean my clubs after every use and hate when i cant get them perfectly clean. The slot where the sliding weight is going to be nearly impossible to keep clean.

Thanks again THP and TaylorMade for this opportunity and i cant wait to add more to this testing process.
 
Phillyv and myself had some fun this morning! It was sweet watching him try to dial that SLDR in. He was hitting some rockets with it.
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We are both TM guys at heart when it comes to drivers so we pulled out all the recent models we own to do a side by side. I just have to say the sldr has that polished feel and look that many look for in a driver. Many say the r11s is a bit harsh, especially with the TP shaft in it like mine (I personally love it) but the sldr feels the exact opposite to me. It's smooth and soft and feels like it goes back to TM's roots when it comes to sound and the black dome instead of white like they have recently had an obsession with. It's like the Audi or Benz of TM drivers right now.

I can't wait to see Phil work a course with this beauty because it's got so much fine tuning potential. Once he finds his right settings it's gonna be lights out and that's saying something because he's already a beast from the tee box.
 
PhillyV said:
Well my first range session with the SLDR is in the books. Im really not sure what i was expecting driving to the range. Normally when Im driving to the range i have a plan in mind so that its not just a wasted trip. Maybe i would hit a few balls and go back and forth with the SLDR and my R11s and compare the two. But once i got loose and took a swing with the SLDR, the R11s never saw another swing again. TyJohnston brought his R11s TP and new RBZ Stage 2 with him so we had a wide variety of clubs to choose from, but nothing came close to the performance of the SLDR.

I started out with the SLDR set at 11* and the slider at neutral (The head is 10.5 but was sent to me at 11). After a few balls and getting used to the shaft and overall weight of the club (noticeably lighter compared to my R11s), I was getting about 260 carry with a high launch. I took the loft down to 10.5 and went one slot towards the Draw setting. I hit a couple more balls with this setting and was happy, but it wasnt perfect just yet. My last adjustment was taking the sliding weight to the neutral setting. Yahtzee! Perfect launch, high straight flight with a carry right around 270. It was real hard to get an accurate distance because the longest yard marker at the range was 250 but there are mounds behind that sign and from what ive been told theyre about 20 yards past it and i was flying the ball into the mound. Standard loft and slider settings are where Im going to keep this until further notice.

One thing about this driver that i fell in love with is my miss. My miss is a big, no reason to go even look for it, slice. My miss was cut down dramatically to the point where its off to the right but in the rough still. And that will shave strokes off of my game more than anything. Im absolutely thrilled about the results of the first session and i cant wait to get out and play again.

My only gripe with this club is one that might not be an issue with everyone. Im a neat freak with my clubs and its to the point where im OCD about it. I clean my clubs after every use and hate when i cant get them perfectly clean. The slot where the sliding weight is going to be nearly impossible to keep clean.

Thanks again THP and TaylorMade for this opportunity and i cant wait to add more to this testing process.
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Impressive first time out with the SLDR. 270 yards of carry is some serious distance.
 
War Eagle said:
Impressive first time out with the SLDR. 270 yards of carry is some serious distance.
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again these are exact numbers but pretty close estimates. which would be about right because my r11s was about 260 carry and the SLDR just flies like no other
 
War Eagle said:
Impressive first time out with the SLDR. 270 yards of carry is some serious distance.
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I wonder what that feels like.

Also I do like the headcover
 
ddec said:
I wonder what that feels like.

Also I do like the headcover
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one thing about this headcover is its a lot softer than headcovers in the past. has a broken in feel to it without the beat up look
 
ddec said:
I wonder what that feels like.

Also I do like the headcover
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No clue, but I bet if we add our drives together we could hit that #.
 
War your a tester for this driver and i know youve had some time with it. what are your thoughts?
 
PhillyV said:
War your a tester for this driver and i know youve had some time with it. what are your thoughts?
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Mine hasnt come in yet, but I have hit the SLDR on one occasion. It was the 10.5* with the loft set to 12*. Here are my initial thoughts that were posted in the SLDR Preview Thread;

I took some cuts with this one on Sunday, both on the range and in play during my round. Very interesting driver this one is. Sets up at address perfectly to my eye, just love the look of it.

Starting out with this one, it was set on the higher loft of 12* with the sliding weight on the Neutral setting. Hitting this one the range, I was greeted with one of the best sounding drivers TaylorMade has put out in quite some time. What I was seeing was definitely impressive. Nice high ball flight, good distance, and straight...dead straight. That had me excited, and I was hitting this one dead on the screws.

Took it to the course, and was seeing more of the same. I would take my normal line down the left side of the fairway, and would hit it dead on my line, with little to no movement on the ball.

Then, the back 9 happened. My swing was tired, and I just couldnt get it to go. My swing wasnt what it needed to be, and I wasnt getting a good move on the ball. The miss was penalizing, for sure. Low, and very very right. I was able to put a few more good swings on it, but was surprised at how much difference there was between my good shots and my bad shots. Didnt seem to be much "in between."

I didnt adjust any settings, just left it neutral with the sliding weight and left it on the higher loft. Like I said, when hit well, I was pounding it...enough so that I am quite eager to get one in hand to get some more work with. I am quite intrigued by the sliding weight on the bottom to see what it does for my slightly strong power-cut that I have been known to do.
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oh yes i remember reading this. my bad. looking forward to the rest of the testers getting their drivers today and really getting this thread goin.
 
Man, 270 carry is a bomb. I've done that before at 5000 ft elevation hahaha

Great to read your initial thoughts Philly. How would you say the stock shaft compares to the R11S stock shaft? I personally felt like it was a little softer, but I only hit the club a few times, plus it plays longer than my R11S which is cut down a bit.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Man, 270 carry is a bomb. I've done that before at 5000 ft elevation hahaha

Great to read your initial thoughts Philly. How would you say the stock shaft compares to the R11S stock shaft? I personally felt like it was a little softer, but I only hit the club a few times, plus it plays longer than my R11S which is cut down a bit.
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everything about the SLDR is softer than the R11s. the shaft, to me, is a big part of that. when i dont over swing and just put a good move on it, its like hitting a flush putt.
 
Nice writeup. I really like the comparison to the previous models. Keep up the good work.
 
ddec said:
I wonder what that feels like.

Also I do like the headcover
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Canadan told me it feels like eating poutine with wine gums and a side of Tim Hortons coffee. So... good?


I'm really interested in swinging the SLDR. The partial weight adjustability is really intriguing, and the reported distance numbers so far have been outstanding.

Keep up the excellent work, testers. The early reviews have been very good.
 
ddec said:
I wonder what that feels like.

Also I do like the headcover
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The headcover is very, very nice. A good mix of modern and classy. The striping at the bottom is probably my favorite part.

Also, Philly, that is some monster distance. Best part about this club is how smooth the middle of the clubface feels. It's awesome to be able to feel it in my hands and ears that I've got mid-face contact and say, "I know where that one went, straight down the line." The positive feedback is addictive.

Found out I've got tomorrow off from work (hooray!) so I'll be able to get in 18 on what should be a pretty empty course. Will have more time with the SLDR and see how it hits the B-Stone e6. Can't wait.
 
yes. you absolutely get instant feedback on where the ball hit on the face. and one thing i like is the grey/silver face. the black face, to me, dinged up real easy
 
Another trip to the range this afternoon, this one much better.

Goodness, this club is long. Even mishits get great (for me) distance. It's not quite as forgiving in terms of direction on mishits, but it's fun to swing.

Did hit the reset button and went back to neutral settings, and slowly increased the weight towards the draw side. Ended up with about 225 or so (have to estimate, the last sign is 200) of carry with a nice little fade. Taking it out to the course tomorrow morning to get a round in. Will have more to say then.
 
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