TaylorMade M1 Driver Review Thread

2nd outing with my M1 this past weekend was great. Love this club so far! Getting great distance too :)


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What shaft Did,yiu go with Mike?
My M1 was money yesterday

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What shaft Did,yiu go with Mike?
My M1 was money yesterday

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Aldila Rogue Silver Stiff. Low launch low spin. Got the 10.5 head clicked down to 9.


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I couldn't get this driver to work for me.
 
What head and shaft combo are you folks playing. TM seem to be offering a few shaft options.
My experience of Taylormade drivers were long, but not the most forgiving.
How does it stack up against the GBB?
 
What head and shaft combo are you folks playing. TM seem to be offering a few shaft options.
My experience of Taylormade drivers were long, but not the most forgiving.
How does it stack up against the GBB?

Only in my testing, as others might be different, but the results will very different drivers.
Lower spin and lower launch from the M1. Less lateral forgiveness on the M1 by a pretty large margin.
High on the face, the M1 was solid. In fact more solid than a number of releases.
 
I found toe side to be very forgiving for me on the m1. Almost a ball out to the toe, I saw minimal draw and very little distance loss. Heel side saw much more reduction in ball speed with slight fade. High and on the face I saw the most distance loss with pretty big difference in flight height as expected
 
Had a solid range session with the M1 last night - currently playing it at 11.5* with 2 "notches" towards the "Draw" setting (Side of the weight is just covering the "D" in DRAW)

I had the back weight set all the way to "High" and was seeing great distance but felt I was spinning the ball a bit much and was trailing off at times.

The range I was using was a 250 yard range and the balls were landing at the bottom of the net on a fly at times and most times landing just short and bouncing into the net.

I then adjusted the back weight to the middle setting and immediately saw a better fall flight which didn't balloon with great carry - at that point I was hitting the 250 yard fence on a fly consistently.

I am so much happier with this driver compared to the 815 I was gaming before.
 
I found toe side to be very forgiving for me on the m1. Almost a ball out to the toe, I saw minimal draw and very little distance loss. Heel side saw much more reduction in ball speed with slight fade. High and on the face I saw the most distance loss with pretty big difference in flight height as expected

I haven't missed this really high on the face yet, but totally agree on the toe. I've had a couple misses out there that went much better than they should have.
 
Same here. Toe forgiveness is excellent.
I will give a real world example. You remember number 18 at my course, yesterday I hit one towards the toe. It was going right at that left side bunker. A slipght miss in the past always puts me in that bunker. Yesterday I flew it by 10 yards and was only 117 from the pin.

I will say when I hit them both flush the B Stone and M1 are really close in distance, a little lower and more roll on the B Stone (that is the shaft difference I am sure) but on the toe misses (my main miss) the M1 excels there.



I found toe side to be very forgiving for me on the m1. Almost a ball out to the toe, I saw minimal draw and very little distance loss. Heel side saw much more reduction in ball speed with slight fade. High and on the face I saw the most distance loss with pretty big difference in flight height as expected
 
I think it's awesome to see so many excited about M1. I enjoyed my time with R15 and it's been a pretty big improvement in conversation here from SLDR (which I bet a majority of you slammed haha!) to R15 to M1. What I do find intriguing, is how little about the visual design has changed from SLDR. We've still got way low and forward, but the added benefit of a weight you can slide backwards for some extra forgiveness.

What I'd love to see, is an explanation from the source about what has changed from the SLDR progression to R15 to M1. It'd be fun to see if their goal of bringing back an "R" feel to a relatively similar looking driver made all the difference in the world for consumers, or whether there are genuine MOI improvements across the face of the M1.

it's kind of exciting. I didn't struggle with distance on either the SLDR or the R15... It was the misses that were pretty underwhelming. If there's tech that allows me to miss more on the face, I'll be pretty excited for TaylorMade to come back out to my course for a demo day.

Final question for owners that might set a couple minds at ease: How's the seam on the crown? I've seen a couple of ugly photos that show some fractures along that line. Hopefully no issues for you guys?
 
I've had no issues with seam or clear coat cracking. I will say that I dont have many rounds with the M1 under my belt but enough that if the problem was there, I'd have seen some indication of it already since I've hit all over the face.
 
I've had no issues with seam or clear coat cracking. I will say that I dont have many rounds with the M1 under my belt but enough that if the problem was there, I'd have seen some indication of it already since I've hit all over the face.

Same here. No issues after about 3 rounds and 2 range sessions - even with a miss or two very close to a sky mark.
 
I think it's awesome to see so many excited about M1. I enjoyed my time with R15 and it's been a pretty big improvement in conversation here from SLDR (which I bet a majority of you slammed haha!) to R15 to M1. What I do find intriguing, is how little about the visual design has changed from SLDR. We've still got way low and forward, but the added benefit of a weight you can slide backwards for some extra forgiveness.

What I'd love to see, is an explanation from the source about what has changed from the SLDR progression to R15 to M1. It'd be fun to see if their goal of bringing back an "R" feel to a relatively similar looking driver made all the difference in the world for consumers, or whether there are genuine MOI improvements across the face of the M1.

it's kind of exciting. I didn't struggle with distance on either the SLDR or the R15... It was the misses that were pretty underwhelming. If there's tech that allows me to miss more on the face, I'll be pretty excited for TaylorMade to come back out to my course for a demo day.

Final question for owners that might set a couple minds at ease: How's the seam on the crown? I've seen a couple of ugly photos that show some fractures along that line. Hopefully no issues for you guys?
I'm with you on these questions, Dan. My understanding is the design is quite similar (low/forward) to SLDR and per the designer of the club the rear weight only changes spin a few hundred RPM's max (the chart jlukes posted showed additional spin reduction via loft settings). Yet so many people - most of whom probably panned the SLDR - are seeing so much better results here.
 
I'm with you on these questions, Dan. My understanding is the design is quite similar (low/forward) to SLDR and per the designer of the club the rear weight only changes spin a few hundred RPM's max (the chart jlukes posted showed additional spin reduction via loft settings). Yet so many people - most of whom probably panned the SLDR - are seeing so much better results here.

The RPM transition from front to back weight isn't really what has me intrigued... It's the hits that fall well outside the sweet spot that intrigue me. I saw a TON of golfers post about how retention across the face sucked with SLDR and R15... For me it was never a huge deal because my inability to properly pair shafts allowed me to get lower spin on the outer portions, thus maintaining my carry despite drops in ball speed.

I've seen repeated posts in here about how great the retention is way out on the toe -- And I think that's awesome! It's just very very surprising. I'd love to hear the tech reasoning around it.
 
Had a chance to try the M1 in a simulator (I prefer hitting outside on a simulator). The Aeroburner has been a good fit for me the 3 or 4 times I've tried it. The guy at Golfsmith suggested I try the M1.

I'm a slow swing speed player (87-90 mph) but my miss is left and I tend to create more spin than is necessary for maximizing distance. Bottom line the M1 was very impressive for me. It was a little longer than the Aerkburner and actually a little more consistent dispersion wise.
 
Had a chance to try the M1 in a simulator (I prefer hitting outside on a simulator). The Aeroburner has been a good fit for me the 3 or 4 times I've tried it. The guy at Golfsmith suggested I try the M1.

I'm a slow swing speed player (87-90 mph) but my miss is left and I tend to create more spin than is necessary for maximizing distance. Bottom line the M1 was very impressive for me. It was a little longer than the Aerkburner and actually a little more consistent dispersion wise.

Similar speed and miss issue.....my research lead me to the reinforced tip of the kuro kage silver tini regular flex 60g......supposedly anti-hook. .....so far my findings !

As far as bonding point, 20 rounds and still no issues!
 
I've had no issues with seam or clear coat cracking. I will say that I dont have many rounds with the M1 under my belt but enough that if the problem was there, I'd have seen some indication of it already since I've hit all over the face.

This is my experience as well.
 
Got to see this one in action and hit it for the first time and wanted to add my own observations to a few posts here.
I got out and played a round today with Sposey, Shakey and Daddio. I've been playing shorter/tighter tracks lately for a couple of tournaments so I haven't had many opportunities to really unleash the M1. That is, until today! Pretty carefree round with the guys so we were ripping the big dogs on pretty much every Par 4/5 on the course and the M1 did not disappoint one bit.

A few Game Golf stats from today's round with the M1 driver...
Shortest Drive: 260 yards
Longest Drive: 302 yards
Average Drive: 277 yards
(Note: these are total distances, not carry)

The M1 is hands down the longest driver I've ever gamed. Shane has his own M1 but I let Daddio and Shakey hit mine several times on the range and on the course and the performance between the M1 and their current drivers were night and day.

Pre-round at the range
: Says a TON about Cace (Orange Hog) and THP that 10 minutes after meeting me he's letting me hit his new M1. Some context first. Chilly foggy, and damp. Cold floater range balls that sat overnight in 40 something degree temps. At Shane's (sposey) range, (at my slow swing speed), I hit out into a narrow lake with more than enough structure on the banks to accurately compare how far I'm hitting it. I've done several multi-OEM demo days there with Trackmans etc... so I have an idea what to expect. Just before (and just after) hitting Cace's M1 I hit some real decent balls with my Bio+. FIRST SWING ever with that M1 ... effin WOW! After it finally splashes down I immediately turn to Shane (whom I've played and practiced with many times) to ask if he's EVER seen me hit a drive like that ... I believe his answer was 'not close...told ya it was stupid long'. Realize too that I'm beyond tentative hitting a new friend's club, and it's at a stiffer flex and shaft profile than I can handle as a slower swinging 60 year old. I hit it once more, caught it a little lower and toward the toe, fully expected to lose 25+ yards of carry, only to see it splah down maybe 12 yards left of the first ball, but not any shorter. I didn't nut either of those drives, but WOW, I cannot wait to find one of these to put through some thourough testing. FWIW, Tom (Shakey) tried Cace's driver right after me. About 20 yards past the end of the lake there is a big hill dotted with mature oaks. Tom's initial M1 drive, a high soaring tight draw carried well up that hill, then he bombed the next one, a carbon copy, even further up it. I played with Tom once earlier this year when he was prepping for The Legacy and I don't recall anything longer than those bombs. My takeaway from the range portion is this: We were four different golfers with very very different swings. We were not necessarily puring anything and conditions weren't ideal. Yet that one driver provided each of us with beyond amazing distance and forgiveness. That's a mega leap forward from recent TM offerings and IMO anyone who is seriously considering a driver upgarde needs to give M1 a fair look. I'm NOW considering an upgrade that I wasn't up to a couple days ago.

On the course: There wasn't all that much extra rollout on those distances Cace posted above. My ball picked up mud on many of my tee shots and the course just played cool and damp. I was lucky enough to share a cart with Cace so we had ample opportunities to dicuss M1 during play. Absolutely enjoyed the day and he's an awesome guy (aren't most THPers?). I'm sure many of you probably know him becuase he's played and supported so many official and unofficial events. He's certainly not one who struck me as someone who might over hype or exaggerate what he was experiencing. He mentioned picking up about 30 yards on a recent gamer and relayed that a couple previously out of range par fives at his home course are now routinely reachable two. From what I saw Tuesday; nearly all the par fives I play would be vulnerable to him. All round long though, Cace would bomb one, I'd ask 'wasn't that toe-y? low? a little higher off the face? to see him nod incredulously and giggle, 'yup...it's stupid'.

What head and shaft combo are you folks playing. TM seem to be offering a few shaft options.
My experience of Taylormade drivers were long, but not the most forgiving.
How does it stack up against the GBB?
I can only relay my own results here. I've gotten along very well with heads like '14BBA, Bio+, 815DBD, R15 etc... but I consistently lost ball speed, average yardage, and consitency when testing GBB or heads similar to it. I think it depends some on where your preveant misses might be. I tend to miss low on the face with a +AoA. I can say that M1 performed awesome for me and my miss as well as for the other guys I played with a couple days ago. Guys with very different misses and swings than me, but likely more typical to a greater number of THPers than me. GBB just doesn't fit golfers from both sides of that chasm as well as I experienced with M1.


I think it's awesome to see so many excited about M1. I enjoyed my time with R15 and it's been a pretty big improvement in conversation here from SLDR (which I bet a majority of you slammed haha!) to R15 to M1. What I do find intriguing, is how little about the visual design has changed from SLDR. We've still got way low and forward, but the added benefit of a weight you can slide backwards for some extra forgiveness.

What I'd love to see, is an explanation from the source about what has changed from the SLDR progression to R15 to M1. It'd be fun to see if their goal of bringing back an "R" feel to a relatively similar looking driver made all the difference in the world for consumers, or whether there are genuine MOI improvements across the face of the M1.

Just looking at the M1 design I think the COG on M1 just has to be further back than SLDR or R15. Even if the back/front weight is all the way forward, it's still behind the lateral weight. That and then the extra weight required to construct and support that front/back channel has to bump COG back even more.

Same here. Toe forgiveness is excellent.
I will give a real world example. You remember number 18 at my course, yesterday I hit one towards the toe. It was going right at that left side bunker. A slipght miss in the past always puts me in that bunker. Yesterday I flew it by 10 yards and was only 117 from the pin.
Seeing that shot up close, it was definately not an SLDR-esque low knuckle hook at all. It soar high and carried forever and if you hadn't pointed out it being off the toe, I woulda never guessed. FWIW we were cart part only and Shane had a long way to go over to his ball from the cart path down the right side. While waiting to hit I watched Shane searching for his ball well back of where I later saw him playing from after I hit. Shane might be directionally challenged behind the wheel but he's typically spot on as to where a ball will be on his home course. In fact prior to reading his post today, I thought Shane had punched out from back where he was searching and was playing his third into the green later. A belated nice par buddy!
 
I hit the M1 on the simulator at Golf Galaxy yesterday and it gave me great numbers, nearly identical to my Ping Anser. The 816 DBD was straighter and a few yards longer for me, maybe because the head shape looks better for my eye.
 
Just looking at the M1 design I think the COG on M1 just has to be further back than SLDR or R15. Even if the back/front weight is all the way forward, it's still behind the lateral weight. That and then the extra weight required to construct and support that front/back channel has to bump COG back even more.

yeah, maybe... But we're talking fractions. Like I said, I would love to see some actual tech talk to draw comparisons.
 
yeah, maybe... But we're talking fractions. Like I said, I would love to see some actual tech talk to draw comparisons.
I am not a tech guy when it comes to golf but I can say on course and range the m1 and sldr are light years apart on foregivness. I have weights set slightly to draw side and about center on the front to back weight.
I am sure the tech will not support this, but I got better results with the 430 head

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yeah, maybe... But we're talking fractions. Like I said, I would love to see some actual tech talk to draw comparisons.
While the M1 has been great for me so far I will say one thing that hasn't changed from the sldr for me is how sensitive it is to what shaft /weight combo the club has.

I have hit a few configurations (shafts,loft, head size) and there is far more range between a good and bad combo for me with the M1 compared to most drivers something that has been the case the last few TM releases. For me I need to make sure the weights and loft are set a certain way or I get very very bad results. Driver is super touchy to that. That said I think once it is dialed in it is one of the beat out there
 
While the M1 has been great for me so far I will say one thing that hasn't changed from the sldr for me is how sensitive it is to what shaft /weight combo the club has.

I have hit a few configurations (shafts,loft, head size) and there is far more range between a good and bad combo for me with the M1 compared to most drivers something that has been the case the last few TM releases. For me I need to make sure the weights and loft are set a certain way or I get very very bad results. Driver is super touchy to that. That said I think once it is dialed in it is one of the beat out there

That doesn't surprise me at all, my friend. It's wild the kind of numbers I got with R15 when hit on the screws.
 
I am not a tech guy when it comes to golf but I can say on course and range the m1 and sldr are light years apart on foregivness. I have weights set slightly to draw side and about center on the front to back weight.
I am sure the tech will not support this, but I got better results with the 430 head

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How's that? Just the way it sets up for you? What made the difference between 430 and 460 for you?
 
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