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TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

SuperStroke
Johan185 said:
It was a head to head on a flight scope simulator. Can't really afford buying every club and testing them on the golf course.

But first of all when I am on my game the SLDR is 50 to 70 yards longer on the course than any driver I have access to. Including 2015 drivers my friend have let me swing.

But if I don't warm up properly or have a driver slump I will have a serious case of the two way miss hooks and slices all day.

So. Thanks to the Bobcat SLDR Mod. I'm feeling better about the club.

Details after I play this weekend
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Perhaps I should find someone that plays it and give it another go. I do agree with you about warming up and getting mentally focused in. I never seem to be that way in the golf shop.
 
Floppy said:
Wow really? Are you using the 430 or the 460?
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I don't find much difference in Forgiveness between the 460 and 430 cc heads. But I do have a more penetrating ball flight and greater distance with the 430 cc.

So I am playing 430 cc 90 % of the time.

JMTC
 
Johan185 said:
I don't find much difference in Forgiveness between the 460 and 430 cc heads. But I do have a more penetrating ball flight and greater distance with the 430 cc.

So I am playing 430 cc 90 % of the time.

JMTC
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That's surprising. I've heard the 430cc head is like the least forgiving driver of the 2000s, lol.
 
Floppy said:
That's surprising. I've heard the 430cc head is like the least forgiving driver of the 2000s, lol.
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Just shows how different we all are.

But I started with a 230 cc wilson staff driver. Steel head. In the stone ages. So anything over 400 cc looks like a mallet

The smaller head feels to me like it has a bigger sweet spot. But I know it's just me.

The slightly smaller head increases my focus and improves my striking accuracy.


JMTC
 
Johan185 said:
Just shows how different we all are.

But I started with a 230 cc wilson staff driver. Steel head. In the stone ages. So anything over 400 cc looks like a mallet

The smaller head feels to me like it has a bigger sweet spot. But I know it's just me.

The slightly smaller head increases my focus and improves my striking accuracy.


JMTC
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Hey man, whatever works. I hit my TaylorMade blades better than my AP1s... go figure.
 
Floppy said:
Hey man, whatever works. I hit my TaylorMade blades better than my AP1s... go figure.
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I hear you. I have no clue why. Just want to keep getting better.
 
Evok said:
Misses dont have to necessarily be left or right. My time with the sldr showed intense distance loss and knuckle balls that just drop out of the sky on hits that were just a tiny bit off. I know some will defend this till the end but the fact is, it just isnt forgiving.
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It's not forgiving, but so far I haven't seen anything like you are describing. My misses with this driver are very similar to the misses with other drivers I've tried.

To each their own though.
 
Oh this thread, the thread that keeps on giving.
 
I did the R15 thing a few months back..

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Interesting (but not surprising) to hear all this talk of the 'low left duck' because of the weird weighting... I haven't seen this aspect of the club, but i will say that it is VERY hard to hit a fade or cut with this club for me (even with an exaggerated 'chicken wing'). So much that i often play my 3wood on holes that require any kind of left to right ball flight. I don't hit it incredibly far, so this can be a little bit of a problem.

I wonder if the extra toe weight would help?

Either way, still very happy with this club... the ony other club to touch it (for me) was the x2hot pro. (which actually seemed to be slightly more forgiving)
 
Damoegan said:
I did the R15 thing a few months back..

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Using a 2nd SLDR slider weight was previously addressed in post #2930 on page 196 of this thread just in case anyone wants to read it. It won't turn an SLDR into an R15...you can read why in that previous post...
 
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The power fade down the middle of the fairway worked like a charm.

Opened up the club face. Put the ball in the middle of my stance and open up like Bubba Watson.

Not as long as a draw but middle of the fairway is better than the middle of the woods with a hook.

The Bobcat SLDR Mod weights haven't arrived yet. I set the weight to middle of the club. Two clicks towards fade. The extreme fade gave me too much of a slice to be of any use.

Next stop. Bobcat Mod.
 
Bobcat Mod in the house
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SLDR 460 Bobcat Mod.
 
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SLDR 430 Bobcat Mod
 
bobcat said:
Using a 2nd SLDR slider weight was previously addressed in post #2930 on page 196 of this thread just in case anyone wants to read it. It won't turn an SLDR into an R15...you can read why in that previous post...
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Btw is there a Bobcat R15 Mod hidden in your bag of tips.

If so please share

 
First impression. The swing has increased a hair. But the awareness of club head position through the swing has increased.

Swing speed hasn't been noticeably affected. But swing path and plane feels smooth.

Distance not affected. But there is a little bit of a tail wind on the range.

Ball straight but workable in both directions with the 430.

But the real test will have to wait for my next round in a couple of days.

So far. Better maybe. Definitely not hurting.

Final Judgements to be determined by actually playing a couple of rounds
 
SLDR 460 head feels more balanced through the striking area. The increase weight is more noticeable. The sweet spot appears to be or feels like it has increased. But the swing speed has decreased a bit. Maybe 5 to 10 yard less distance. But straighter ball flight. Which can either be a result of a slower swing and therefore better contact. A larger apparent sweet spot and apparent Increased stability from the enhanced feel throughout the swing. Or maybe a little bit of everything.

But curious if a lighter shaft would be a better fit. Given the increased weight of the head a decreased in shaft weight might balance the effect with out any loss of distance.

I am currently swinging a 77 grams shaft.

Time to engage ponder mode.
 
Johan185 said:
First impression. The swing has increased a hair. But the awareness of club head position through the swing has increased.

Swing speed hasn't been noticeably affected. But swing path and plane feels smooth.

Distance not affected. But there is a little bit of a tail wind on the range.

Ball straight but workable in both directions with the 430.

But the real test will have to wait for my next round in a couple of days.

So far. Better maybe. Definitely not hurting.

Final Judgements to be determined by actually playing a couple of rounds
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Johan...Since the (2) rubber tungsten weights added 2-swingweights, do you also plan to change the silver weight beneath the blue slider to reduce the swingweight somewhat? You can use the online swingweight calculator at www.golf-components.com/swing-weight-calculator.html to check the swingweight. (Scroll down when you reach the landing page)

If you still have the 16-gram silver weight installed then the swingweight of your driver is likely very high, possibly too high. While personal preference is what matters most, a swingwieght that is too high can reduce your swing speed. If you have a stock spec 430 TP, your swingweight could actually be as high as an E-1 now.

I replaced the 16-gram silver weight with an 8-gram weight in my own Retail 430 TP which has the TM stock spec 45.25" Motore Speeder 7.3 shaft, (76-grams in stiff flex), and TM 360 54-gram grip. Swapping out the silver weight put the swingweight back to where I needed it to be. You may want to consider doing the same thing if your SLDR feels too heavy.

The SLDR TP models usually come stock with a higher swingweight than other drivers...(often in the D-8 or D-9 range, with no added weight). Most other better player drivers are in the D-4 or D-5 range. My own Retail 430 is a D-8 swingweight WITH the (2) tungsten weights installed. However it would have been an E-0 had I not swapped out the 16-gram weight) for the 8-gram silver weight.

Use the swingweight calculator to help guide your decisions on swingweight. The 7.5-gram shaft adapter must be included as clubhead weight, not additional shaft weight. Use 46" when asked to provide the "raw" shaft length. You need to enter the playing length, of your shaft and shaft's weight (76-grams) as well. Hopefully you have a gram scale to get the precise head weight.
 
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bobcat said:
Johan...Since the (2) rubber tungsten weights added 2-swingweights, do also plan to change the silver weight beneath the blue slider to reduce the swingweight somewhat? You can use the online swingweight calculator at www.golf-components.com/swing-weight-calculator.html to check the swingweight. (Scroll down when you reach the landing page)

If you still have the 16-gram silver weight, the swingweight of your driver is likely high, possibly even too high, though personal preference is what matters most.
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It feels ok with the 430 which of course is a lighter head. But in the 460 the increased weight is definitely noticeable and has decreased my carry and total distance.

But straighter is better. So while it is a bit shorter if it's down the pipe. Who am I to complain.

The truth is I play relatively short courses and regularly hit 250 to 270 yard drives leaving me with a wedge shot even on the longest par 4's I play.

But I have to actually play a few rounds and test out the results. Before I start changing swing weight and shafts. Because even if it is my longest driver ever it still might provide me with a better scoring opportunity

Right now the increased weight has increased club head awareness which is a great thing to experience.

But which weigh would be most likely to return the club to it proper swing weight. 10 gram. 12. ?
 
The link provided details beyond this hacker handicap potential. Lol
 
Johan185 said:
Which weigh would be most likely to return the club to it proper swing weight. 10 gram. 12. ?
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Curious as to why you say the 430 head is lighter in weight than the 460 head...have you weighed both on a gram scale to determine the difference in weight? I know the stock TP shaft in the 460 is 67-grams, vs 77-grams for the 430 TP shaft. I believe the stock length of both TP shafts is 45.25". I would expect the 460 to feel heavy with a heavier shaft installed than the 67 gram TP stock shaft.

A 12-gram replacement weight being 4-grams less than the 16-gram stock weight would simply offset the 4-grams of tungsten weight you just added. To get the swingweight where I wanted it, I chose an 8-gram silver weight. I felt my SLDR 430's swingweight was on the heavy side even before I added the (2) tungsten weights to get rid of the low hook problem.

Again, it is best to let the swingweight calculator guide you once you know the clubhead weight. Remember...the shaft adapter weight must be part of the clubhead weight.
 
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bobcat said:
The 12-gram weight being 4-grams less would offset the 4-grams of tungsten weight you just added, however to get the swingweight where I wanted it, I went with an 8-gram silver weight.

I felt my SLDR 430's swingweight was on the heavy side even before I added the (2) tungsten weights to get rid of the low hook problem.

Again, it is best to let the swingweight calculator guide you once you know the clubhead weight. Remember...the shaft adapter weight must be part of the clubhead weight.
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I believe you. I just hadn't weight the heads before the

Now awaiting US Patent pending Bobcat SLDR Mod.

But I guess I could just weight it now and subtract 4 grams.

But in all honesty. The clubs feels fine. Not to heavy. For me at least.

But I also played a lot of baseball in high school and junior college. And I remember even back then I would prefer a heavier bat. It gave me more pop and would improve my contact and distance.

So. I'm really in no hurry to change the weight. Let me get a feel for this setup.

So far. It looks like a keeper.

Thanks for the heads up.

I won't have discovered this easy Mod without your knowledge and experience.

 
If you decide to change the weights later on, this info may be of some help: The heaviest of my (2) Retail 430 heads, with the stock 16-gram silver weight beneath the blue slider, a loose shaft adapter attached, and (2) of the 2-gram rubber tungsten weights installed was weighed on a calibrated gram scale and the weight was a very hefty 212 grams. (According to the online calculator that's a E-3 swingweight with the stock 430 TP shaft and grip). That is the reason why I chose to go with the lighter 8-gram silver replacement weight rather than either the 10-gram or 12-gram replacement weights. Bringing the clubhead weight down to 204 grams made it a D-8 swingweight which is more manageable for my swing.

If you don't have a gram scale handy to weigh your own 430 clubhead, just use 212 grams in the swingweight calculator since yours must be very close to that.

As mentioned earlier, swingweight is often a matter of personal preference, so whatever "feels" best to you, will likely perform best too. You'll know soon enough if its too heavy.
 
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