The mythical SLDR

Ok not played golf that long so I was just wondering if the sldr is really as long as I’ve read on some of these posts and more to the point, I can pick up one for around 45.00 is it worth it? Currently game x2hot and so far no matter what driver I use I fight a slice! Also which sldr to go with sldr, white, S, TP. Specifics lefty, 45 years old swing speed hovers around 95! Thanks to all

Brent

Probably not the best club for you. You might need a little more swing speed to take full advantage of it

But hell, for $45, why not.

I'm sure bobcat will be along soon to tell you all about it.

Never played it, but I agree it can be had for a song nowadays. I think others on this forum have recommended the sldr-c for corrective measures Taylormade implemented on that model.

Ok not played golf that long so I was just wondering if the sldr is really as long as I’ve read on some of these posts and more to the point, I can pick up one for around 45.00 is it worth it? Currently game x2hot and so far no matter what driver I use I fight a slice! Also which sldr to go with sldr, white, S, TP. Specifics lefty, 45 years old swing speed hovers around 95! Thanks to all

 

Brent

In its day, I think the SLDR could have been the longest driver on the market. But, that came at price. It didn't produce higher ball speeds, just a lot less spin. Now, I think the more current drivers accomplish that with a great deal more forgiveness. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who couldn't realistically hit very close to center each time. Jetspeed is a good alternative. Or even, try to find something just a few years newer. Can still find some good deals.

I'll add this. I can produce some good ball speed and the only way I could get the SLDR to work for me was to get it in 12 degrees and hit it ridiculously high.

It's a super low spin head but the ball speeds aren't as great as others. Super small sweet spot too.

The SLDR 3 wood went nearly as far as the driver as well.

I still have a SLDR 3w in my "I'm not getting along with my current 3w" bag. Monster long.

To be honest, with 95 ss, SLDR is not the best driver for you. It's too low spinning.

Only a maniac would use an SLDR.

Yes for the right person. I’m not the one of the many 115-120 swing speed guys on this forum but I probably hit more bombs with that driver than any other I’ve had. But as others have said it’s probably not right for you at 95. I played with a guy who won one that didn’t know much about it. He’s speed is probably a bit lower than yours but he could barely get it airborne.

And you do need to hit it on the screws which is why I eventually moved away from it.

Try it out. But keep the X2 Hot which is still a great driver.

Only a maniac would use an SLDR.

nail meet head...

I have a slow swing speed and I love my SLDR 430 12 degree senior flex driver

I gained 20 yards over my xhot driver, and it flies very straight

I think the SLDR C might be a better option.

Nope... You need at least 110mph+ CHS and be a very consistent ball striker. If you miss the sweet spot by an inch you'll lose 20 yds.

Look at the 2016 M2 and that'll fix your driver itch.

Nope... You need at least 110mph+ CHS and be a very consistent ball striker. If you miss the sweet spot by an inch you'll lose 20 yds.

 

Look at the 2016 M2 and that'll fix your driver itch.

Exactly the club to look for. M2 26 was the first driver in s while that had genuine gains in forgiveness and distance. Make sure you get a shafted suited to your game. From memory the standard was very light.

Gotta agree with most people on here, if you're 15hc the sldr is not for you. There are many more forgiving drivers available now which will help your game. Saying that though, iv'e just put one in the bag. I'm knocking on a bit now but still have good speed and i started experimenting with a 430 and tried to perfect Bobcats fix to the sldr head. I can say it definately works and my 10 degree, lofted up a click fitted with an Attas G7 6x is a rocketship for me. Mind you, a bad miss is still bad and the secret for me is not to get infront of the ball at impact or you're dead. It blew out a 2017 m1 440 and the Mizuno GT180. I'm ball testing a lot with it as i now have my preferred real high launch dialled in and one surprising ball has been a Srixon soft feel, green paintfill, but not yet been able to try the Titleist AVX. I work on a golf course and its great to slip away at lunchtime and blast 20 or 30.

^^^calling the bobcat

Save your money and buy a SLDR-C. Available for $4.99 from any decent petrol station.

And the (false) myths continue to be propagated. Don't pigeon-hole people based on their handicap or swing speed. That has little to do with whether a low spin head can help or not. Folks of all swing speeds and handicaps can suffer from spin that's too high and not enough detail to know if the OP is in that category or not.

The sweet spot on the SLDR is not any smaller than any of the other drivers of the same period. The problem with being unforgiving is that the same thing that helps the low spin - lots of gear effect - also potentially hurts on heel or toe misses by adding more side spin. But only if the gear effect tendencies is the same direction as the face-to-path tendencies. A slice miss with heel impact tendencies would make the SLDR a bad idea. But the same slice miss with toe impact tendencies results in the added gear effect that can actually be a big help. That's one of the reasons the SLDR was actually more forgiving for me. If your problems are more face/path but have good impact, then the SLDR's not going to be any more unforgiving than any other head - of course that doesn't mean it will help either.

Much more important are the other clubs specs - shaft length, shaft weight, swing weight, etc.. that will have a big impact on how consistent or inconsistent the face impact will be. A super forgiving head really only critical when a compensation is needed for those other specs being a poor fit.

Bottom line, is without knowing your current numbers and impact tendencies, its' impossible to say if any low spin head would be a good or a bad idea or whether it might be worth a try or not.

But, it also has a relatively open face angle compared to many other drivers - so with a slice tendencies you'd likely want to get a very low loft and increase the loft through the hosel adjustment to help close the face angle.

Nope... You need at least 110mph+ CHS and be a very consistent ball striker. If you miss the sweet spot by an inch you'll lose 20 yds.

 

Look at the 2016 M2 and that'll fix your driver itch.

Miss any driver sweet spot by an inch and you'll see a large distance loss. Also your clubhead speed comment is not true at all.

OP no way in the world you should use a SLDR when you haven't even gotten past slicing the ball. Buy it, put it away and wait until your game improves. Also you need to get it in a higher loft than normal.

And the (false) myths continue to be propagated. Don't pigeon-hole people based on their handicap or swing speed. That has little to do with whether a low spin head can help or not. Folks of all swing speeds and handicaps can suffer from spin that's too high and not enough detail to know if the OP is in that category or not.

 

The sweet spot on the SLDR is not any smaller than any of the other drivers of the same period. The problem with being unforgiving is that the same thing that helps the low spin - lots of gear effect - also potentially hurts on heel or toe misses by adding more side spin. But only if the gear effect tendencies is the same direction as the face-to-path tendencies. A slice miss with heel impact tendencies would make the SLDR a bad idea. But the same slice miss with toe impact tendencies results in the added gear effect that can actually be a big help. That's one of the reasons the SLDR was actually more forgiving for me. If your problems are more face/path but have good impact, then the SLDR's not going to be any more unforgiving than any other head - of course that doesn't mean it will help either.

 

Much more important are the other clubs specs - shaft length, shaft weight, swing weight, etc.. that will have a big impact on how consistent or inconsistent the face impact will be. A super forgiving head really only critical when a compensation is needed for those other specs being a poor fit.

 

Bottom line, is without knowing your current numbers and impact tendencies, its' impossible to say if any low spin head would be a good or a bad idea or whether it might be worth a try or not.

 

But, it also has a relatively open face angle compared to many other drivers - so with a slice tendencies you'd likely want to get a very low loft and increase the loft through the hosel adjustment to help close the face angle.

Finally some facts.

The webpage that tests new equipment and that can’t be mentioned here showed moderate and slow swing speed players got good results with low spin drivers

And the (false) myths continue to be propagated. Don't pigeon-hole people based on their handicap or swing speed. That has little to do with whether a low spin head can help or not. Folks of all swing speeds and handicaps can suffer from spin that's too high and not enough detail to know if the OP is in that category or not.

 

The sweet spot on the SLDR is not any smaller than any of the other drivers of the same period. The problem with being unforgiving is that the same thing that helps the low spin - lots of gear effect - also potentially hurts on heel or toe misses by adding more side spin. But only if the gear effect tendencies is the same direction as the face-to-path tendencies. A slice miss with heel impact tendencies would make the SLDR a bad idea. But the same slice miss with toe impact tendencies results in the added gear effect that can actually be a big help. That's one of the reasons the SLDR was actually more forgiving for me. If your problems are more face/path but have good impact, then the SLDR's not going to be any more unforgiving than any other head - of course that doesn't mean it will help either.

 

Much more important are the other clubs specs - shaft length, shaft weight, swing weight, etc.. that will have a big impact on how consistent or inconsistent the face impact will be. A super forgiving head really only critical when a compensation is needed for those other specs being a poor fit.

 

Bottom line, is without knowing your current numbers and impact tendencies, its' impossible to say if any low spin head would be a good or a bad idea or whether it might be worth a try or not.

 

But, it also has a relatively open face angle compared to many other drivers - so with a slice tendencies you'd likely want to get a very low loft and increase the loft through the hosel adjustment to help close the face angle.

Thanks for injecting some truth.

Sldr isn’t unforgiving,

And it’s isn’t hook prone unless you have a severe flip at the ball. All you had to do was get the right shaft and loft on it and it worked. May look for another this week myself. Played 430 10.5 for 2 years and only quit it because i couldn’t find another silver head.

Well forgiving is a nebulous term that needs to be defined, but the sldr has the smallest measured moi of any driver they've tested at that other site we're not allowed to link to.

I think the newer (2015) SLDR-C might be a much better option.

Well yes, indeed it would be!... :rolleyes:

JP has always struggled with driver spin. For whatever reason, his drivers have always been spin machines for him.

The TM SLDR TP with a 661 speeder in stiff has been the first driver/shaft that he’s felt he could actually go after.

He went with the lowest spin head he could find. The SLDR TP or the Callaway GBB Double D whatever were his two options on

The cheap. He likes cheap experiments. He plays it with a cut shot.

It is the longest driver shaft combo he’s ever owned and he is reasonably accurate with it.

...but he is a maniac, of course.

And the (false) myths continue to be propagated. Don't pigeon-hole people based on their handicap or swing speed. That has little to do with whether a low spin head can help or not. Folks of all swing speeds and handicaps can suffer from spin that's too high and not enough detail to know if the OP is in that category or not.

 

The sweet spot on the SLDR is not any smaller than any of the other drivers of the same period. The problem with being unforgiving is that the same thing that helps the low spin - lots of gear effect - also potentially hurts on heel or toe misses by adding more side spin. But only if the gear effect tendencies is the same direction as the face-to-path tendencies. A slice miss with heel impact tendencies would make the SLDR a bad idea. But the same slice miss with toe impact tendencies results in the added gear effect that can actually be a big help. That's one of the reasons the SLDR was actually more forgiving for me. If your problems are more face/path but have good impact, then the SLDR's not going to be any more unforgiving than any other head - of course that doesn't mean it will help either.

 

Much more important are the other clubs specs - shaft length, shaft weight, swing weight, etc.. that will have a big impact on how consistent or inconsistent the face impact will be. A super forgiving head really only critical when a compensation is needed for those other specs being a poor fit.

 

Bottom line, is without knowing your current numbers and impact tendencies, its' impossible to say if any low spin head would be a good or a bad idea or whether it might be worth a try or not.

 

But, it also has a relatively open face angle compared to many other drivers - so with a slice tendencies you'd likely want to get a very low loft and increase the loft through the hosel adjustment to help close the face angle.

 

Thanks for injecting some truth.

 

Sldr isn’t unforgiving,

 

And it’s isn’t hook prone unless you have a severe flip at the ball. All you had to do was get the right shaft and loft on it and it worked. May look for another this week myself. Played 430 10.5 for 2 years and only quit it because i couldn’t find another silver head.

I still don't understand the hook machine business. And, I had some crazy hooks with that club. I don't know why it was the case. I was using a shaft that I've used many times before and after. I didn't hit many of those hooks before the SLDR and they pretty much went away when I moved on from the club. I don't know what the underlying cause of it was. I do know that getting yourself in the most optimal setup on the SLDR seemed to be a lot harder than other clubs (without access to a true fitting that is).

Again. For those who don’t flip a driver to try to turn it over no fix is needed. Never heard a guy who plays a fade with Driver say that Sldr turned it into a Hook. Sldr is a great Driver for the strong guy who creates a lot of spin and wants to feel the head weight. No flaw there. Just people who don’t fit it.

And the (false) myths continue to be propagated. Don't pigeon-hole people based on their handicap or swing speed. That has little to do with whether a low spin head can help or not. Folks of all swing speeds and handicaps can suffer from spin that's too high and not enough detail to know if the OP is in that category or not.

 

The sweet spot on the SLDR is not any smaller than any of the other drivers of the same period. The problem with being unforgiving is that the same thing that helps the low spin - lots of gear effect - also potentially hurts on heel or toe misses by adding more side spin. But only if the gear effect tendencies is the same direction as the face-to-path tendencies. A slice miss with heel impact tendencies would make the SLDR a bad idea. But the same slice miss with toe impact tendencies results in the added gear effect that can actually be a big help. That's one of the reasons the SLDR was actually more forgiving for me. If your problems are more face/path but have good impact, then the SLDR's not going to be any more unforgiving than any other head - of course that doesn't mean it will help either.

 

Much more important are the other clubs specs - shaft length, shaft weight, swing weight, etc.. that will have a big impact on how consistent or inconsistent the face impact will be. A super forgiving head really only critical when a compensation is needed for those other specs being a poor fit.

 

Bottom line, is without knowing your current numbers and impact tendencies, its' impossible to say if any low spin head would be a good or a bad idea or whether it might be worth a try or not.

 

But, it also has a relatively open face angle compared to many other drivers - so with a slice tendencies you'd likely want to get a very low loft and increase the loft through the hosel adjustment to help close the face angle.

 

Thanks for injecting some truth.

 

Sldr isn’t unforgiving,

 

And it’s isn’t hook prone unless you have a severe flip at the ball. All you had to do was get the right shaft and loft on it and it worked. May look for another this week myself. Played 430 10.5 for 2 years and only quit it because i couldn’t find another silver head.

 

I still don't understand the hook machine business. And, I had some crazy hooks with that club. I don't know why it was the case. I was using a shaft that I've used many times before and after. I didn't hit many of those hooks before the SLDR and they pretty much went away when I moved on from the club. I don't know what the underlying cause of it was. I do know that getting yourself in the most optimal setup on the SLDR seemed to be a lot harder than other clubs (without access to a true fitting that is).

My opinion is that today’s Driver requires a pronounced toe impact flip to get a ball to turn over . Which is not a real draw shot. Plenty of people play that shot as a draw because it rolls out. The Sldr was weighed toward the heel. And that same move and toe impact probably does go farther left. But it’s a swing flaw not a flaw in the club. The club is actually weighted and plays closer to older drivers in that I could move it both ways ( 430 version). My head was a 205 g head with hotmelt in the toe , so pretty neutral. But played a fade with a retail head before that and no hook issues.