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TaylorMade SLDR Fairway Wood - THP Review Thread

SuperStroke
DevRickus said:
Understandable. That makes sense. I wouldnt expect a driver to behave the same way as a hybrid but I would expect the FW to behave the same way as the driver off the tee.
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I think it comes back to that for most golfers, they tend to find the middle of a fairway wood easier than the large face of a driver. That is, there is less surface area so the "misses" don't have the ability to be as widespread from the sweet spot if that makes sense.
 
Jman said:
I think it comes back to that for most golfers, they tend to find the middle of a fairway wood easier than the large face of a driver. That is, there is less surface area so the "misses" don't have the ability to be as widespread from the sweet spot if that makes sense.
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I posted that before I saw your last post. Makes perfect sense.
 
Jman said:
Trust me Rick, it was odd to Hawk and I as well as we expected the same that we saw from the driver in the fairway and hybrid with the CG pushed lower and more forward.

I agree completely with the Hawkster that there are two factors which keep it from being as penal as the driver, the face size and the slot (and the re-shape of the slot IMO plays a BIG role here), it gives back some of that which is lost cross face from the CG move.

I came into this cringing a bit because the driver is just SO bad for me (probably THE most penal driver I've ever used for me) but, I didn't see a lot of that in this one. Sure, with a smaller footprint and a slightly open face its a little more demanding than some other options out there, but man it can be a weapon off the tee.
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DevRickus said:
Understandable. That makes sense. I wouldnt expect a driver to behave the same way as a hybrid but I would expect the FW to behave the same way as the driver off the tee.
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The hybrid review will be up eventually, but I sort of described it like this - it's not going to be like a game improvement category hybrid/fairway wood (XHot, Mashie, etc), but it's not in the ultra 'players' realm either. To me, similar to the Super LS series. You'll see distance loss on mishits obviously, but I literally just couldn't not hook the snot out of the driver. It was the first driver I've ever got for review that I sent back within a week.
 
Great write up James. I cannot wait to put my hands on one. The high launch with low spin part is what I am really interested in. I hit JBs SLDR driver in Sarasota and in the middle I killed but did not have much pop if it was just a hair off center. So hearing the review I will be curious if this is the same for me. But low spin and high launch is right up my alley.
 
Nice write up. I appreciated the thoughtfulness of differentiating trajectory off the tee vs deck. I saw the low flight off the deck when I hit it and dismissed the club for me. But your explanation brings it back into play - a longer FW that gives us accuracy off the tee is great.
 
TNTCigarguy said:
Great write up James. I cannot wait to put my hands on one. The high launch with low spin part is what I am really interested in. I hit JBs SLDR driver in Sarasota and in the middle I killed but did not have much pop if it was just a hair off center. So hearing the review I will be curious if this is the same for me. But low spin and high launch is right up my alley.
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Haha, oh the driver. I lost 20+ on mishits on that one, so coming into this I will fully admit I was petrified.

I think you're dead on Hawk, not a GI fairway at all, but not super difficult to hit like some of the "players" clubs out there at all. The LS is a damn good reference point when I think about it.
 
Just catching up with this thread now and it has me really thinking. My tee game (well, driver mostly) has always been my weakest link. The idea of a long(er) fairway wood to use from pretty much every tee has me interested...the Mashie T3 and I really got along and I wonder if this would be a similar situation.
 
bbuonic81 said:
Just catching up with this thread now and it has me really thinking. My tee game (well, driver mostly) has always been my weakest link. The idea of a long(er) fairway wood to use from pretty much every tee has me interested...the Mashie T3 and I really got along and I wonder if this would be a similar situation.
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JMO, but this one won't be as forgiving as the T3 having gamed both. It's a little longer sure, but I always thought the T3 was sneaky long off the tee itself.
 
tequila4kapp said:
Nice write up. I appreciated the thoughtfulness of differentiating trajectory off the tee vs deck. I saw the low flight off the deck when I hit it and dismissed the club for me. But your explanation brings it back into play - a longer FW that gives us accuracy off the tee is great.
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Thanks T4K.

In my non testing game (hahaha) I'm not a fairway off the deck guy, I'm a lay up guy. If I were to game it full time with intentions to use it off the turf I would definitely crank the loft to 16.5, but that's just my personal game.
 
Jman, really enjoyed your review. This is one of the clubs that I'll be looking at in 2014 as a possible upgrade in the fairway wood slot of my bag. I think a 17 degree version would be pretty versatile. The open face doesn't bother me as I tend to draw the ball anyways.
 
Great review. Time for me to order mine now. I haven't had a 3w all year and after reading the review I'm sure this club is going to help my game. Thanks again.


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Ordering one of these to see how it compares with my XHP immediately. Enjoying the driver and I'd love to have some adjustability in my 3 wood.
 
Finally got a minute to check out the home page review. Good stuff as usual James. Looking forward to the testing of this one.
 
Great review

I love my 5w it is a nice size and the ball gets up quickly alot easier to hit of the deck
 
Nice writeup, Jman. Appreciate the detailed info on the new tech on this one. You said it was longer than the Stage 2 and RBZ. I can't imagine there being too much of a distance increase, but I am curious, how much of an increase did you see?
 
Jeff Spicoli said:
Nice writeup, Jman. Appreciate the detailed info on the new tech on this one. You said it was longer than the Stage 2 and RBZ. I can't imagine there being too much of a distance increase, but I am curious, how much of an increase did you see?
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Off the tee a substantial amount to be honest, I was surprised by it, the spin IMO has everything to do with that though.
 
Jman
What do you think of the head weight compared to the RBZ & Stage 2 ? To me it feels heavier and just a lot more solid
 
Jman, I might have overlooked it but what are your thoughts compared to the XHot Pros?
 
Brianbigoats said:
Jman
What do you think of the head weight compared to the RBZ & Stage 2 ? To me it feels heavier and just a lot more solid
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Definitely feels a bit more "there" if you will, I think its all b/c of the heavier shaft, brilliant move for a fairway like this IMO.

Matthew said:
Jman, I might have overlooked it but what are your thoughts compared to the XHot Pros?
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Eh, thats tough. I think this one def spins lower for me and would probably net me more distance b/c of that. I do think that this one is a little more demanding IMO though, not a ton mind you, but its def there.
 
Sorry for the delay I'm catching up with this review. As always very well done Jman. I had the original RBZ 13 TP model, and while I could absolutely destroy the ball off the tee, once I got in a fairway I was dead in the water. It seems that they've come a long way with changing the technology, moving the CG and altering the speed pocket from back with the original RBZ. With these changes do you think this will aloe people to go to lower lofts like the 13 to maximize distance of both the Tee and from the fairway?
 
T2GRN18 said:
Sorry for the delay I'm catching up with this review. As always very well done Jman. I had the original RBZ 13 TP model, and while I could absolutely destroy the ball off the tee, once I got in a fairway I was dead in the water. It seems that they've come a long way with changing the technology, moving the CG and altering the speed pocket from back with the original RBZ. With these changes do you think this will aloe people to go to lower lofts like the 13 to maximize distance of both the Tee and from the fairway?
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Man, I'll be honest, I think the TS14* off the deck with this forward CG and lower spin could be TOUGH for a lot of guys, but by the same token I think they'd be surprised and see the distance they want from that out of the 15 off the tee. Its longer, than the RBZ, it really was for me.
 
After reading your review I can't wait to get my test club in. I am a 3 wood from the tee kinda guy in most of the holes on two of the four courses here. How high are you teeing it up? I normally have just the hat of the tee out of the ground.


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mayday1775 said:
After reading your review I can't wait to get my test club in. I am a 3 wood from the tee kinda guy in most of the holes on two of the four courses here. How high are you teeing it up? I normally have just the hat of the tee out of the ground.


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I tee this one up pretty high for a fairway, the deep face just seems to work best that way for me. It was trial and error to find "the right spot" for me, I will say its a good bit higher than where I'm having to tee the JetSpeed in comparison.
 
Jman said:
I tee this one up pretty high for a fairway, the deep face just seems to work best that way for me. It was trial and error to find "the right spot" for me, I will say its a good bit higher than where I'm having to tee the JetSpeed in comparison.
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Any chance of getting back this way? I wouldn't mind hitting them head to head.
 
Matthew said:
Any chance of getting back this way? I wouldn't mind hitting them head to head.
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Still trying to feel out this weekend and if its possible, soon though. I'm overdue for a trek down.
 
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