TaylorMade JetSpeed Driver Review

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THP in depth look at the new driver from TaylorMade called JetSpeed. Details here.

http://bit.ly/1bbZIs5
 
Nice writeup, Ryan.

The JetSpeed seems like a curious driver. I would be interested to see how low on the face shots work with my swing, since that is my common miss.

I've also wondered when a speed pocket would appear on a driver. They always seem limited to FWs and hybrids (and I guess now some of the newer irons). It will be interesting to see if that trend continues.
 
Great write up

I find it interesting that there is a product so lightweight yet it produces more of a mid trajectory. Based on this review I would at least think about trying this one and compare it to the SLDR


KG

Just Tapping Away
 
Nice write up Ryan. I was at Scheels this past weekend and tried to hit this but was told they would have it in two weeks. I tried the SLDR and wasn't a big fan so I would defiantly be interested into this driver. Any word on if anyone will be using this on the Tour or is everyone using the SLDR?
 
Nice job, Ryan. Low forward cg, longer shaft, lighter, speed pocket, low spin... I'm getting a bit confused at what will work best for me, but does make me want to try this one out and see how it goes. I almost get the feeling TM was looking more at ways to differentiate a line than create a performer.
 
Nice job on the review Hawk. I know this was a tough review for you because, like me, we rely on forgiveness with our drivers and something this punishing off the toe is worrisome. Solid information though. I have a love hate relationship with TaylorMade drivers and woods so I will likely skip this release. It is a really nice looking club though.
 
Nice Review Hawk.

I played on Sunday with a partner who had picked up a 10.5/Stiff Jetspeed the previous day. I used it on 10 holes and could not get it dialed in, while I hit a few good one I had to work too hard at keeping it in play, the natural shot of a high floating hook to the left. The last 4 driver holes I used my Callaway 3 Deep and found out how the fairways were playing on Sunday!
 
Having gotten my first TM driver since the Bubble shafted Burner many years ago I'm a fan. This looks to be in the same realm as the SLDR and even though it may be geared toward the better ball striker it certainly makes one strive to get there because the rewards are noticeable. Hopefully TM will get the forgiveness in this line dialed in soon because I really think this is a solid offering. Great, honest write up Ryan.
 
Great write up! The part I like best is how unbiased it was; the club isn't for everyone and you told it like it was which I think will really help a lot of people. I agree with the question about who it is aimed at, and whether TM is missing a whole host of high handicappers who need forgiveness from their drivers, but I guess time will tell.
 
Great review Ryan. I am puzzled with this driver. It seems to me like they took some of the characteristics of a more expensive driver, and put it into this and dropped the price $100 bucks. It doesn't make sense IMO to have 2 driver lines that are both very unforgiving on off-center hits. Seems to go away from what TM used to do, but I am sure they will still sell pretty well
 
Another excellent review, Ryan!!! I really want to give the JetSpeed a try. I tried the SLDR several times and I just couldn't get it to perform for me. Based on your review it could be that the JetSpeed doesn't have the forgiveness that I am going to need, but I still want to try it. I love the look of it and really hope that it is a driver I can hit.
 
Well thought out review. I also value forgiveness along with distance in my driver of choice. From what I am hearing about the Big Bertha, it looks like I may be trying it as opposed to the JetSpeed.
 
Thorough review here Hawk! I liked the premise of the speed pocket to help with the low face shots but was a bit disappointed to read that across the face misses were quite penal. Was hoping this would be a good alternative to the SLDR in that aspect but I suppose it's not.

Unsure what TM has in the plans, but I'm still waiting for a R1 replacement that provides similar performance.
 
Thanks for reading guys.

Looking back, maybe I need to temper my expectations a bit and maybe that contributes to my overall perception of the driver. To me, I see an industry that usually hits a couple (or more) different different segments of the market within their full line - one piece is related to price point and the other to skill level/player type. To have only one of those bases covered (price point) and the other just barely covered gives me the feeling that you're looking at an incomplete line of products. Maybe that's rectified with further releases in 2014.

I don't think the low-forward CG migration is a good one for the central theme of a company's entire metalwood line. It will work for a certain segment, but on the whole - I think it's more trouble than it's worth for many. What happened to the days of the R9/R460/R9 SuperTri? Those were three very good drivers that gave pretty much every type of player a driver they could work with.
 
Thanks for reading guys.

Looking back, maybe I need to temper my expectations a bit and maybe that contributes to my overall perception of the driver. To me, I see an industry that usually hits a couple (or more) different different segments of the market within their full line - one piece is related to price point and the other to skill level/player type. To have only one of those bases covered (price point) and the other just barely covered gives me the feeling that you're looking at an incomplete line of products. Maybe that's rectified with further releases in 2014.

I don't think the low-forward CG migration is a good one for the central theme of a company's entire metalwood line. It will work for a certain segment, but on the whole - I think it's more trouble than it's worth for many. What happened to the days of the R9/R460/R9 SuperTri? Those were three very good drivers that gave pretty much every type of player a driver they could work with.

I think TM has lost its way a little bit in the pursuit of more distance. COR limits have been reached, club head max size has been reached, weight reduction, shaft length, etc. etc. Removing forgiveness to add a little distance is great for the tour pros and a pretty small segment of amateur golfers. I agree that TM needs a Super Tri like driver. Despite their successful marketing machine, I think their sales will actually start to be affected this year due to performance for the average golfer. Callaway, Cobra and others may start to win back some market share with more suitable offerings.
 
Nice review, Hawk. It seems a little off to me that TaylorMade is making clubs with less forgiveness. Yeah, they go far if you hit them on the center of the face, but how many amateurs hit the center of the face that often? If your penalized greatly for off-center hits, the average golfer isn't going to see distance gains with these. I read somewhere before that pro golfers are 10x more accurate than the average amateur when it comes to hitting the center of the club face. Penalizing off center hits just seems like a bad recipe.
 
I'm in agreement with most here that are a little confused as to the strategy here. I assumed this would be aimed at a different target audience than the SLDR much like the Burner/R series days.
 
Great insight, it sounds like TM has a great driver on their hands, the most intriguing part for me was the low face forgiveness, I have a tendency to come up too early and would benefit greatly from added forgiveness on those shots.
 
Good review Hawk. Interesting that the forgiveness still doesn't seem to be there. I've got my fitting at the TMPL at Olympia Fields next weekend, so it will be interesting to try this club, hopefully with some different shafts.
 
That is one great looking driver form the crown to the back! Can't wait to see if it hits as good as it looks! Thanks Hawk!
 
Nice, simple looking driver all around. Extra forgiveness never hurts either.
 
Enjoyed the review Ryan. If you had the chance to do it again, would you have jumped the loft up to 10.5 or more opposed to the 9.5 in order to get your carry up some?
 
Excellent review Hawk. Looks like TM is really helping support the bomb and gouge philosophy of golf. I played a course in northern Alabama a couple months ago that had almost no hazards or OB areas within the course. I could definitely see people who regularly play this type of course to snatch these drivers up quickly. If I could add 10 yards to my drives AND my misses won't penalize me, sign me up.

But the courses in my area tend to be pretty tight/wooded. I'm definitely going to give this a swing or two, but I'm not sure it will go into my bag.
 
Enjoyed the review Ryan. If you had the chance to do it again, would you have jumped the loft up to 10.5 or more opposed to the 9.5 in order to get your carry up some?

Definitely, if not more. I'm sort of locked into the higher lofts with drivers like this, because adjusting them up closes the face and I don't like that. I like higher loft to start with and then adjusting down.
 
Definitely, if not more. I'm sort of locked into the higher lofts with drivers like this, because adjusting them up closes the face and I don't like that. I like higher loft to start with and then adjusting down.

Excellent way in looking at the loft and how you want the clubface angle to look!
 
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