TaylorMade M2 Driver Review Thread

After some more time with this one I find myself a little conflicted.

On the one hand this driver is doing EVERYTHING I've asked of it. It's going far, it's hitting fairways, it has eliminated the left side of the course, it looks amazing and it sounds great.

On the other hand I just can't call this a 'forgiving' club head. The heel miss is too punishing to put this club head anywhere near the "forgiving" category. Yes the toe is an extension of the sweet spot and high on the face shows remarkable performance but it's just not a forgiving head overall. Further to that point, I actually think the M1 driver performs better overall from the heel side of the face, and low on the face. From this perspective I guess you'd have to call the M2 a bit of a failed release since it's just not doing what Taylormade says it should do; be forgiving and moreso be more forgiving brother to M1.
 
I just received mine today and looking forward to taking out on the course soon. Hopefully for a quick 9 after work tomorrow. If it is anything like I was swinging on the launch monitor, I will be very happy.
 
I just received mine today and looking forward to taking out on the course soon. Hopefully for a quick 9 after work tomorrow. If it is anything like I was swinging on the launch monitor, I will be very happy.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts and see how you like it. What shaft/loft did you go with?
 
Can't wait to hear your thoughts and see how you like it. What shaft/loft did you go with?

10.5 set to 10.25 with the Aldila Rogue Silver stiff. Was fit at Carl's launch pad for it.
 
10.5 set to 10.25 with the Aldila Rogue Silver stiff. Was fit at Carl's launch pad for it.

Great setup! Really solid shaft. Launchpad is where I have been fit for all my gear. I love Carl's!
 
The thing that I am really struggling with the tech involved in the M2 is the constant talk of the lower CG and putting the weight further back as something that can really get the ball up in the air and have a better launch.

While, yes, in theory that will work. However, with the face designed as such, and missing laterally across the face causing a penalizing miss (for most), and what point is that added assistance of the weight being lower and further back in the head non-existent as the result of missing the sweet spot is significantly different than a center struck shot?

Does that make sense?
 
It will be interesting to get this one back on the FlightScope this weekend with the increase in loft and having had more time with it. Numbers from my first session on the monitor wasnt great, so will be intrigued to see how they have changed...if any.

I'm also tempted to commandeer this and give it a few swings just to see how it feels and such.
 
I'm also tempted to commandeer this and give it a few swings just to see how it feels and such.
I think you should.
 
Consider it done then
I think you will enjoy watching the FlightScope as I hit the one.

But then again, I might turn out and be a range pro and not miss off the center of the face.
 
Having hit the M2 a lot lately, it is very good, but I still prefer the M1. The forgiveness seems to be similar for me between the two, but the M1 is longer overall, not by a ton, but still longer. If I was going for the most bang for the buck, then the M2 would win. jmho
 
After some more time with this one I find myself a little conflicted.

On the one hand this driver is doing EVERYTHING I've asked of it. It's going far, it's hitting fairways, it has eliminated the left side of the course, it looks amazing and it sounds great.

On the other hand I just can't call this a 'forgiving' club head. The heel miss is too punishing to put this club head anywhere near the "forgiving" category. Yes the toe is an extension of the sweet spot and high on the face shows remarkable performance but it's just not a forgiving head overall. Further to that point, I actually think the M1 driver performs better overall from the heel side of the face, and low on the face. From this perspective I guess you'd have to call the M2 a bit of a failed release since it's just not doing what Taylormade says it should do; be forgiving and moreso be more forgiving brother to M1.

I have been following along with the M2 (and M1 and a few others), and this seems to be a common piece of feedback about the forgiveness. Now for me, my miss tends to be toe more than heel, so it may not be a big issue. Overall the visual and feedback about sound and feel are highly positive to me. I wouldn't complain about a little more distance either. I can still be tempted by this one. The bigger challenge will be shaft. I will either have to wait until mid-summer when I can get someplace for fitting or take a chance. I may not be patient enough to wait.
 
I have been following along with the M2 (and M1 and a few others), and this seems to be a common piece of feedback about the forgiveness. Now for me, my miss tends to be toe more than heel, so it may not be a big issue. Overall the visual and feedback about sound and feel are highly positive to me. I wouldn't complain about a little more distance either. I can still be tempted by this one. The bigger challenge will be shaft. I will either have to wait until mid-summer when I can get someplace for fitting or take a chance. I may not be patient enough to wait.

Just to comment on this... personally, I couldn't find any shaft or loft combo that I liked the feel of with the M1. I was able to try a handful of shaft combos, and nothing seemed to have the feel the M2 gives me. This was somewhat surprising because even though they are different, they are very similar heads!
 
i find the M2 to be forgiving for me, i am playing the HL cranked up to higher so around 15 and I am getting longer carry and roll out. I have dropped my xxio 8 as I prefer the feel and results of the M2. I do not have a heel miss and looking at the ball marks after a range session i have none at the heel. All the marks at the center or right of center with some high and some low and I am not noticing much distance loss.
 
A friend of mine was recently fit for the M2 so I will be interested to see what he has to say about it compared to the driver he was hitting previously which, I think, was the original TM RBZ

I will also get a few hits with it as it is one of my friends who is coming to The Belfry in a couple weeks so it will be interesting for me to see how this performs against my GBB considering the changes I have made to my swing over the last month

It won't be on a launch monitor so I will only be able to give thoughts over the visual flight of the ball
 
I tried this driver out after reading this thread and basically everything is correct. The heel misses are penal. Great news for me is I rarely miss on the heel. My miss is high or low on the face and towards the toe. I compared this driver to my Cobra Fly-Z and overall the numbers blew it out the water. Lower spin, more carry and dispersion was the size of a peanut m&m on the screen. So I bought it.

Take it to the course, Mountain Meadows in Pomona empty course so I was able to hit them side by side. M2 outdrove the cobra on all but 3 holes. I put tape on the face so I could see my strikes. Pretty much the same, near the center but high or low on the face for both clubs.

My final thoughts, if your miss is towards the heel stay away from this club. If your miss is more towards the toe or high and low then test it out. I was pleasantly surprised because I haven't liked one Taylormade product since the Burner 2.0 irons.
 
I was able to sneak out at lunch today to take a few swings with my M2, 10.5 (set to 10.25) with an Aldila Rogue Silver shaft.

Coming from my fitting a week or so ago, I had really high hopes the way I was hitting it. I don't want to say I was disappointed, but I definitely wasn't blown away. I am sure some of that is the user, but it didn't feel like the ball was jumping off the face like at the fitting. One thing that I noticed was the flight of the ball seemed much lower than I expected. After about 10 balls I readjusted it up to 10.5 from 10.25. That helped a little bit, I might even try adjusting it up a little bit more. I typically hit it higher with the driver, so the line drives were a bit of a surprise. It did have a penetrating ball flight though.

On my mishits, it did seem forgiving and seemed to keep the ball relatively on line. The one heel miss I had was no good and that seems to be the place not to miss. My high on the face hits were decent and seemed forgiving.

The sound is definitely an adjustment coming from my Xhot. Its not a bad sound, just different that I am sure I'll like once I get use to it.

Playing 9 after work today, so will be good to get in a course environment to get a better idea of where its going and how far it went.

Will check back in after for additional thoughts.
 
Lack of consistency.

That's what I am dealing with with this club. On the range this afternoon, I hit ball after ball with the M2, and the results were just never consistent for me. A well struck, center of the face shot, gave me my ideal result; a low rising fade that climbed nicely and turned over from left to right. However, that was probably 6 out of 10 balls. The heel misses snuck in a bit, but wasn't he main issue with the miss today. A low ball flight that just had no distance just creeps in and frustrates me.

However, while the consistency is not what I would like it, I am improving with this driver. It's still a bit more low spin than I would like, but it's coming around a bit.

Really excited to get it back on the Flightscope this weekend.
 
Lack of consistency.

That's what I am dealing with with this club. On the range this afternoon, I hit ball after ball with the M2, and the results were just never consistent for me. A well struck, center of the face shot, gave me my ideal result; a low rising fade that climbed nicely and turned over from left to right. However, that was probably 6 out of 10 balls. The heel misses snuck in a bit, but wasn't he main issue with the miss today. A low ball flight that just had no distance just creeps in and frustrates me.

However, while the consistency is not what I would like it, I am improving with this driver. It's still a bit more low spin than I would like, but it's coming around a bit.

Really excited to get it back on the Flightscope this weekend.

You are killing the review. Did you loft up yet? Is the low ball flight only seen on your heel miss or are you seeing it elsewhere as well?
 
You are killing the review. Did you loft up yet? Is the low ball flight only seen on your heel miss or are you seeing it elsewhere as well?
I did set the loft on this one as high as it could go.

Heel miss and low on the face cause me the lower ball flights. I'm really starting to think it's either a lie angle issue or a swing weight issue.
 
I did set the loft on this one as high as it could go.

Heel miss and low on the face cause me the lower ball flights. I'm really starting to think it's either a lie angle issue or a swing weight issue.

I was hoping the lofting up would help with your misses. Both thoughts on the cause sound logical. Hope you get it figured out because it sounds like it works for you on good contact and getting that closer to 8-9/10 would be a good addition to the bag
 
I was hoping the lofting up would help with your misses. Both thoughts on the cause sound logical. Hope you get it figured out because it sounds like it works for you on good contact and getting that closer to 8-9/10 would be a good addition to the bag
The added loft has helped a good bit, dont get me wrong. I would really like to see one of these at a 12.5* or 14* loft compared to the 10.5* I have.
 
The added loft has helped a good bit, dont get me wrong. I would really like to see one of these at a 12.5* or 14* loft compared to the 10.5* I have.

Gotcha. Good to hear there was and improvement. Wonder if the higher lofted ones will be at Club Clash
 
The added loft has helped a good bit, dont get me wrong. I would really like to see one of these at a 12.5* or 14* loft compared to the 10.5* I have.

It seems like you are really trying everything you can to get this driver to perform for you...probably much more than your average consumer would do that's for sure.
 
It seems like you are really trying everything you can to get this driver to perform for you...probably much more than your average consumer would do that's for sure.

Just putting it through its paces.

I had similar growing pains with the SLDR. While the SLDR is much different, I was finally able to settle in with it and game it very well.
 
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