TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Review Thread

News Flash: A brand new SLDR Driver has just been announced by TaylorMade:

The SLDR "C-Series" Drivers have a non-adjustable hosel like the "S" models, but with the "C", there no slider weight either. The sole of the 460cc "C" Driver looks more like an enlarged SLDR Mini Driver, but the sole is bright silver, not black as in the "S". From pics, the crown finish appears to be gloss black, a color found in no previous SLDR . The SLDR "C" Drivers are available in 9.5*, 10.5* and 12*.

This one appears to be an SLDR Driver for the masses with a very attractive Retail price point of $169. Due to the complete lack of adjustability, it is likely the most forgiving SLDR Driver of them all!

TM also announced "C" Series Fairways and Rescue Hybrids to round out the "C" Series Family, and all appear to have a new gloss black finish.

I have a feeling the "C" acutally designates a "Commercial Series" so this one may appear in big box stores, like Sports Authority, Walmart, etc, and not just at Golf Retailers. However, Golfsmith was first to get them. I noted today they are starting to show up on ebay as well. (ebay seller 3balls has them).

Golfsmiths' description for the SLDR "C" driver mentions a "lower profile design" but the head's shape looks the same as other SLDR's to my eye, so not sure what that means. Perhaps it has a lower COG than other SLDR's for a higher launch. Swingweight is lower at D-2 with the stock Fuji 57 lightweight shaft. No other shaft options are mentioned.

If indeed it is the easiest to hit of all the SLDR Drivers, while still providing the kind of low spin distance the SLDR is famous for, then this new "C" Series Driver may just find a market even though the R15 and AeroBurner lines are the only ones with an advertising budget. TM knows all the previous buzz about SLDR's can carry this one, so yet another smart move by TM's marketing department.

The SLDR "C" could turn out to be a "sleeper", but also a "keeper". Certainly a bit shocked and surprised to see TM announce a new SLDR driver at this point in time, but really looking forward to seeing some reviews on this!

:act-up:

SLDR TP

SLDR TP

Johan185 said:

And now back to the second honeymoon.

Playing the SLDR 430 set to 10.5 down from 12*

Sweet sounds. Lovely flight. Very long and controlled ball flight. Fades or draws without needing to exaggerate your swing or tempo.

Truly the best driver I have ever played. Makes birdies a possibility even on the longest par 4's I play.

I find the sweet spot quite generous though I understand most feel like that may be this clubs weakness. But it seems to just explode the ball off the face time and time again.

JMTC

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Yep, this is me also. Have been gaming since May 2014. Never was consistently longer than my golf buddies until I got SLDR. Absolutely love the look of the club at address.

I have a new SLDR coming tomorrow. Excited about it. It will replace a RBZ 9.5. I ordered a 10.5. And may loft it up a bit when I get it.

I've played two courses lately where hitting my SLDR has left me "too close" to the green and not having a full shot lol

Still love it to bits, even the SLDR 3 wood is silly long

Played a course last weekend that I have played many times in the past. Hitting one full club less into the greens now. Love the Speeder/SLDR combo.

Damoegan said:

I've played two courses lately where hitting my SLDR has left me "too close" to the green and not having a full shot lol

Still love it to bits, even the SLDR 3 wood is silly long

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I hit the SLDR 3w for the first time today and I was impressed.

BamBooBender said:

I hit the SLDR 3w for the first time today and I was impressed.

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I'm thinking about picking up a 5 wood while they are going for cheaper.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

Played my first round today with my SLDR 430 on a course I play all the time. I've always been suspect of the hype around the SLDR and have been very "meh" about TMaG in general. Well I'm eating crow. Lots of it. I saw a ball flight that I never have before with any of the dozens of other premium drivers I've bagged the last couple years. High, high draw and low descent that led to drives rolling past some of my usual landing spots. There was a new tee box today on 18, about ten yards back, I rolled about 10 yards past where I usually am. Perfect swing and I was rewarded for it. The hype is real.

Anyone else have the snap hook.

I don't hook my other drivers like this one.

Johan185 said:

Anyone else have the snap hook.

I don't hook my other drivers like this one.

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I had it pretty bad for a little while. I see it far less often with the R15.

GolfFest said:

I had it pretty bad for a little while. I see it far less often with the R15.

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Any advice. Lovin the distance but like tervino says you can't talk to a hook

Johan185 said:

Anyone else have the snap hook.

I don't hook my other drivers like this one.

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My miss is a hook with every driver and this one is no different.

I just have it set a notch or two towards fade and do more of a cut swing. Hitting this driver longer and straighter than any I've hit in the past. I found this driver to naturally sit a lot more square than the Covert 2.0 and G30 rather than closed a bit. I really struggled to keep the face square at address with the other two.

Johan185 said:

Any advice. Lovin the distance but like tervino says you can't talk to a hook

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If it is only the SLDR you hook you can try setting the weight to fade or open the face up. Where do you typically miss on the face? Out on the toe?

Yeap. So the weight works. But of course can't make a change on the course.

So I need a swing thoughts or minor adjustment.


Maybe just power fade it to the end of the round.

The adjustable SLDR Drivers are very "heel heavy" and because of that the face can close down too fast through impact resulting in the dreaded "low duck hook" the driver is now famous for.

As a TEMPORARY fix, you can move the slider all the way over to max fade which helps to balance out the head somewhat. (Don't worry, it won't actually cause a fade). The max fade slider position is a temporary fix and will help you better understand the heel heaviness problem.

A better and more permanent solution is to add (2) rubber tungsten peel-and-stick weights, (Golfworks Item # GW0054) to the toe section. Each 1/2" square = 1-swingweight . Place one rubber tungsten weight over the little removable cover that is in line with the slider channel, and another of these weights in the "notched out" area on the FADE side of the soleplate. Once you have done that, you need to move the blue slider directly behind the sweetspot, (2-clicks toward fade from the blue-marked neutral position). That is the lowest COG position and will help to raise launch angle. (Be aware that TM's blue marked neutral position is actually a slight draw bias).

If you find the swingweight too heavy, (another common SLDR complaint), Billy Bob's Golf has replacement silver slider weights ranging from 2-12 grams. (The stock silver weight beneath the blue slider is 16-grams). A 12-gram weight will restore the original stock swingweight, but many find that still feels too heavy compared to other drivers, so the 8 and 10-gram weights are also very popular choices. Billy Bob's Website also has detailed and illustrated instructions on how to change remove the weight cover and change out the silver weights beneath the blue slider.

Before you change these silver slider weights, you may wish to obtain a replacement weight cover in case you damage the original during removal. (You have to pry the cover off with a flat head screwdriver even though it is held in place simply by 2-sided 3M tape and a little flange inserted into a tiny slot). The SLDR replacement covers also come with new2-sided tape, and you can find them on ebay.

You may be interested and perhaps very surprised to learn that SLDR Tour issued heads usually come with 9-11 grams of sliver weight beneath the blue slider, whereas ALL Retail SLDR's come with 16-gram weights. (Yes....Tour heads are actually lighter in weight than the Retail heads).

Once you have properly balanced out the SLDR clubhead, so that it is no longer "heel heavy", the dreaded low duck hook miss will disappear. All of this has previously been much discussed in another forum but I won't mention the name of that forum here. Many SLDR Users have benefited from learning about this.

Below is a pic from ebay of a replacement weight and cover kit. (Available from multiple sellers).

bobcat said:

The adjustable SLDR Drivers are very "heel heavy" and because of that the face can close down too fast through impact resulting in the dreaded "low duck hook" the driver is now famous for. As a TEMPORARY fix, you can move the slider all the way over to max fade which helps to balance out the head somewhat. (Don't worry, it won't actually cause a fade). The max fade slider position is a temporary fix and will help you better understand the heel heaviness problem. However, the better and more permanent solution is to add (2) rubber tungsten peel-and-stick weights, (Golfworks Item # GW0054) to the toe section. Each 1/2" square = 1-swingweight . Place one rubber tungsten weight over the little removable cover that is in line with the slider channel, and another of these weights in the "notched out" area on the FADE side of the soleplate. Once you have done that, you need to move the blue slider directly behind the sweetspot, (2-clicks toward fade from the blue-marked neutral position). That is the lowest COG position and will help to raise launch angle. (Be aware that TM's blue marked neutral position is actually a slight draw bias).

If you find the swingweight too heavy, (another common SLDR complaint), Billy Bob's Golf has replacement silver slider weights ranging from 2-12 grams. (The stock silver weight beneath the blue slider is 16-grams). A 12-gram weight will restore the original stock swingweight, but many find that still feels too heavy compared to other drivers, so the 8-gram weights are a popular choice. Before you change these weights, you may wish to obtain a replacement weight cover in case you damage the original during removal. (You pry the cover off with a flat head screwdriver...it is help in place by two-sided tape). The replacement covers come with new two-sided tape. You can find them on ebay.

You may be interested t know that SLDR Tour heads come with 9-11 grams of sliver weight beneath the blue slider, whereas all Retail SLDR's come with 16-gram weights there.

Once you have balanced out the SLDR clubhead, so that it is no longer "heel heavy", the dreaded low duck hook miss will disappear.

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Sounds like a lot of work just to make the club fit. Wouldn't it just be easier to find a club without so many "design flaws?"

blugold said:

Sounds like a lot of work just to make the club fit. Wouldn't it just be easier to find a club without so many "design flaws?"

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The weight changes are not very expensive and adding/replacing the weights is pretty easy. You just need to order the proper components. That said, replacing your Retail head with a Tour issued head is another option, albeit far more expensive. (I have done both)

Perhaps the numerous complaints and lack of forgiveness is one reason TM finally brought out the SLDR C-Series driver. A completely different shaped clubhead than the original SLDR, the "C" is a Classic (bonded) non-adjustable SLDR clubhead with none of the SLDR original's issues. Much like the SLDR, Mini Driver, The SLDR "C" just wants to go dead straight and there is no need to "loft up".

The SLDR C-Series Driver has been very under-appreciated on this forum simply because very few, if ANY people here, have bothered to go and hit it. If, and when that occurs, I expect to see positive feedback on the C-Series Driver.

bobcat said:

The adjustable SLDR Drivers are very "heel heavy" and because of that the face can close down too fast through impact resulting in the dreaded "low duck hook" the driver is now famous for.

As a TEMPORARY fix, you can move the slider all the way over to max fade which helps to balance out the head somewhat. (Don't worry, it won't actually cause a fade). The max fade slider position is a temporary fix and will help you better understand the heel heaviness problem.

A better and more permanent solution is to add (2) rubber tungsten peel-and-stick weights, (Golfworks Item # GW0054) to the toe section. Each 1/2" square = 1-swingweight . Place one rubber tungsten weight over the little removable cover that is in line with the slider channel, and another of these weights in the "notched out" area on the FADE side of the soleplate. Once you have done that, you need to move the blue slider directly behind the sweetspot, (2-clicks toward fade from the blue-marked neutral position). That is the lowest COG position and will help to raise launch angle. (Be aware that TM's blue marked neutral position is actually a slight draw bias).

If you find the swingweight too heavy, (another common SLDR complaint), Billy Bob's Golf has replacement silver slider weights ranging from 2-12 grams. (The stock silver weight beneath the blue slider is 16-grams). A 12-gram weight will restore the original stock swingweight, but many find that still feels too heavy compared to other drivers, so the 8-gram weights are a popular choice. Before you change these weights, you may wish to obtain a replacement weight cover in case you damage the original during removal. (You pry the cover off with a flat head screwdriver...it is help in place only by two-sided 3M tape). The SLDR replacement covers come with new two-sided tape, and you can find them on ebay.

You may be interested and surprised to learn that SLDR Tour issued heads usually come with 9-11 grams of sliver weight beneath the blue slider, whereas ALL Retail SLDR's come with 16-gram weights. (Yes....Tour heads are actually lighter in weight than the Retail heads).

Once you have properly balanced out the SLDR clubhead, so that it is no longer "heel heavy", the dreaded low duck hook miss will disappear.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Will give it a try. But at least now I understand what has been happening all along.

When I have the with on the sweet spot two clicks towards fade I get a straight ball flight. But if I was slightly of the dreaded Hook appeared.

Did not realize adding weight to the toe would have cured this problem.

Thanks

Johan185 said:

Thanks. Will give it a try. But at least now I understand what has been happening all along.

When I have the with on the sweet spot two clicks towards fade I get a straight ball flight. But if I was slightly of the dreaded Hook appeared.

Did not realize adding weight to the toe would have cured this problem.

Thanks

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Using the max fade slider position will provide some immediate relief, but it is not the best or final solution. Since 10 of the rubber tungsten weights cost only $4.99 at Golfworks and provide a very clean, elegant, solution to the problem it is a better way to go. If you don't mind the heavier swingweight, (which can be as high as E-1 once you add the 4-grams of tungsten). then you don't need to replace the 16-gram silver weight beneath the blue slider. It is a good idea to weigh your SLDR head on a gram weight scale to see understand the weight you are starting with. The shaft adapter becomes additional head weight and because it is weights over 7-grams (3.5 swingweights), it is a huge contributor to the "heel heavy" nature of the SLDR driver. The "true" headwieght of an SLDR must include the required shaft adapter weight.

However keep in mind, the SLDR's heavy swingweight is an equally common complaint. TM specs says the SLDR is D-4, but many are actually in the D-8 range. A swingweight that is too heavy can slow your swingspeed.

You can spend another $25 or so getting a replacement weight and new weight cover with 2-sided tape, but I think its worth it. That will allow you to move the blue slider back to the centered position directly behind the sweetspot for the lowest COG, best launch angle, and max distance.

Tour issued SLDR heads can be found on ebay. I picked up a new 430 head still in the plastic for $152 recently (auction price). I considered that a very good buy because I have seen BIN prices for much more than that.

I have found that Retail head with the recommended weight changes will play virtually the same as a SLDR Tour issued heads. While the Tour issued heads have a somewhat more open face angle in the "standard "FCT hosel adjustment position than a Retail model, hovering the clubhead for a square face at address should negate that difference.

bobcat said:

Using the max fade slider position will help, but it is not the best solution. 10 of the rubber tungsten weights cost $4.99 at Golfworks and provide a clean, elegant solution to the problem. If you don't mind the heavier swingweight, (which can be as high as E-1 once you add the 4-grams of tungsten). then you don't need to replace the 16-gram silver weight beneath the blue slider. However, the SLDR's heavy swingweight is an equally common complaint. TM specs says the SLDR is D-4, but many are actually in the D-8 range. A swingweight that is too heavy can slow swingspeed.

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Will give it a go. This also explains how the r15 works.

Could buying the extra weight and turning the SLDR into the r15 work ?

Johan185 said:

Will give it a go. This also explains how the r15 works.

Could buying the extra weight and turning the SLDR into the r15 work ?

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I have done that but it does make the club heavier. I ended up cutting off part of the weights to get the overall weight back down.

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I tried full fade setting for a second, and it makes the club feel VERY weird. I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe it's not that big a deal to others.

Johan185 said:

Will give it a go. This also explains how the r15 works.

Could buying the extra weight and turning the SLDR into the r15 work ?

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Because the SLDR is already too "heel heavy", you certainly don't need a 2nd weight placed to the heel side of the first one. Any weight added must be out towards the toe to properly balance and stabilize the head. The (black) rubber tungsten weights are a clean,elegant, solution that actually look quite nice when applied to the sole of the SLDR in the two positions I suggested. Each adds 2-grams or 1-swingweight.

Taylormade seems to have done a better job balancing the R15 head. Most likely it has more weight placed in the toe section to begin with, compared to the SLDR adjustable driver. You need to begin with a properly balanced head before (any number of) movable weights will perform as TM intended, (i.e. create a draw or fade ball flight).

bobcat said:

The weight changes are not very expensive and adding/replacing the weights is pretty easy. You just need to order the proper components. That said, replacing your Retail head with a Tour issued head is an even better option, just far more expensive. (I have done both)

Perhaps the numerous complaints and lack of forgiveness is one reason TM finally brought out the SLDR C-Series driver. A completely different shaped clubhead...The "C" is a Classic (bonded) non-adjustable SLDR clubhead with none of the SLDR original's issues. Much like the SLDR, Mini Driver, The SLDR "C" just wants to go dead straight and there is no need to "loft up". Its under-appreciated on this forum only because very few have hit it.

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Wouldn't the SLDR S be the release Taylormade used to "fix" the heavy heel issue?

Floppy said:

I tried full fade setting for a second, and it makes the club feel VERY weird. I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe it's not that big a deal to others.

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Agreed...It can help with the duck hook, but as I said it is a temporary fix, not the permanent one. After adding the (2) rubber tungten weights you should move the slider back to the center position which is located directly behind the sweetspot, (2-clicks toward fade).