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[JC671]

Any of the guys that hit the SLDR mini ever hit the 3deep? Is the SLDR easier/harder to elevate of the deck? Any comparisons off the tee ballflight-wise?

[tembolo1284]

[size=4]Hey everyone! Nik here. First I just want to thank GolfWRX and Taylormade for the amazing experience! Good lord, I must have shook HipCheck's hand 7+ times...and that was before we got to play Sawgrass and the Sirloin and red wine were served, and before we got to meet Jonas Blixt at the bar![/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Now I don't have my trackman numbers yet, but I did want to give you my initial thoughts on the SLDR and game play out on the course.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Some of you might know that my clubs are a bit extreme in spec...to put it delicately. I'm a short guy with long arms, and play really flat and heavy gear. I went to a Wishon driver recently and built a first driver that was built to be mid to mid-low flight but runs hot for 5-6 particular courses I play here in NY during tournaments. It's 9 deg and plays at 44.25" and is 54 (not a typo) lie angle. The shaft in it is a lower launching and spinning proprietary shaft that Wishon made and it weighs about 85 grams and is an X flex. Kadin tipped it 0.5" also. It's been cold so for the 2-3 rounds I played it here it was launching very low but going extremely straight and rolling out 30+ yards. I would estimate it was carrying 260+ and rolling out to 290+ or so most of the time. I thought to myself, "Ok great when it warms up the ball will launch and spin more and I'll get my usually low 270s carry and it'll roll out to 300+ no problem." I used the spinniest balls I could find (b330s) and I played with this driver and hit the ball amazing. I imagine as it warms up and I tweak it a bit with Kadin's help, it'll only get better. That's still the case even after the TM experience.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Ok...enter TM...[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]So I started warming up on the range and people were giving me crazy looks because my driver was covered in lead and felt very heavy to some folks. I measured it when I got home and it was E2.5. The TM fitter estimated E6...so I think that just shows how head heavy it felt to people. In any case, I was smoking the Wishon before the fitting hitting mid to mid-low bullets that were barely bleeding right or left, and it def was running hot. It was exactly what I was expecting. Needless to say I was excited to see what TM could do to beat this driver, especially since it has such a customized spec. The lie angle was my biggest concern.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]So I get on the trackman and I start hitting the same mid/mid-low bullets. The ball was barely moving...push draw after push draw. Now I did snap one with both the Wishon and the SLDR, so those two I'd take out. That's obviously me and not the clubs.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]I remember the TM fitter saying my launch was something like 6-7 degrees and I was only carrying it 250-260 yards. I was thinking, “OK that's fine...it’s awfully hot and we are all a bit nervous with all the cameras...it’s not terrible....the driver is clearing running hot and easily is rolling out past 300” One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Now onto the SLDR. The fitter was no dummy and saw immediately how flat my club was. He told me right off the bat that I was easily the most extreme case he had ever encountered. He gave me a 460 SLDR in 12 degrees and cranked it open to just one above the most open setting. So about 10.75 degrees he said. He also moved the weight on the bottom two clicks toward the fade. I can't remember what shaft he gave me, but it was a stiff flex of some kind. The first drive I hit was EXTREMELY high and it curved an awful lot to the left. Something like 15 deg launch and it must have hooked 20+ yards. We'll have to wait for the trackman to get the exact results but needless to say I didn't like it. Even Jeff from my group could see the look on my face. Ok no problem let's hit again. BOOM! Another drive and I got a similar result. Fitter could tell the shaft wasn't right and he put me into what eventually would be the shaft for me. It was a Speeder 661 X. I think that shows how good this guy was. After missing on the first attempt he got it on the second try. When I starting hitting this combo it was also extremely high, but it wasn't drawing as much. I would estimate about 5-7 yards of draw.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]I was told at first that it had nearly carried to where my Wishon was finishing. When they told me the smash was 1.52, I was thinking, "But isn't 1.5 the max smash possible?" In any case...I hit a few more and ended up cranking the fade weight one more towards fade. It was absolutely bananas how far I was hitting it on the fly. I can’t wait to see the numbers from Trackman.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]It was shortly after everyone finished the fitting that we were given the bad news by HipCheck, “Sorry fellas, but we have to play SAWGRASS!” Needless to say that got my little tail wagging! [/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]We get to the sawgrass first tee and the place never ceases to amaze me. I was so damn excited that I didn’t even realize I left Jeff behind (Sorry Jeff!). After driving back over and picking him up we were off...and our caddy Jason was ready too![/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Before talking about myself I just wanted to mention Jeff’s driving on this course. This course is no joke as you can imagine, and I know Jeff is fairly new to the game. He is one of iTeach’s students and we met very briefly when I went to iTeach last year.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4]On this day Jeff was a driving MACHINE. He averaged easily 25+ yards over his average drive with his old club, and he missed all but 3 fairways. It was truly a sight to behold. Hole after hole it was an online to slight pull fade that was just very high and running hot. He kept saying, “Oh no Nik I skied that one!” The TM fitter who was riding with us kept saying, “No Jeff that’s perfect.” And sure enough it was bombed out 280+. It was truly a pleasure to watch that driving exhibition on such a difficult and intimidating course.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]As for me…It was so much fun to be able to aim at trees and just blow a push draw over them. I will say that is easily one of the most enjoyable parts of this high launch thing. I got to hit the mini-SLDR a couple times as well and that baby is just one of the sweetest clubs I’ve ever had the pleasure of hitting. [/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]One thing I will say about the SLDR club that concerns me, and it will take quite a bit more testing on the course, in tournaments, and in better weather, is the tendency for it to go left when I want to go after it. I’m sure the upright lie of 60 degrees is the culprit. To counteract that the fitter said I just needed to get used to the look, and I could always tweak the weight more towards the fade. The Wishon driver doesn't go left, and that is one of the best parts of that particular club and Kadin's work. Also, with the SLDR, [/size]I still have one more setting I can open the face up a bit more. So along with my Wishon getting tweaks from Kadin, the SLDR will also get tweaks.
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]So that’s it for now. I don’t want you guys to drown in my thoughts too much. If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Also when the trackman numbers come out I’ll be giving my thoughts on those as well and what the future will be. I can honestly say right now over the next couple of months I will continue tweaking the Wishon and TM drivers. The Wishon I’ll tweak to hit it a bit higher, and the TM I’ll think about how I can best eliminate the left tendency I notice when I swing harder and go after one.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Thanks again guys![/size][size=1][/size]

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='peterra671' timestamp='1396871873' post='9037009']
Any of the guys that hit the SLDR mini ever hit the 3deep? Is the SLDR easier/harder to elevate of the deck? Any comparisons off the tee ballflight-wise?
[/quote]

The SLDR mini for me is easier to hit off the deck and doesn't draw as much. The ball flight was higher with the Mini for me compared to the 3Deep.

[vtnerf]

[quote name='ESP' timestamp='1396839236' post='9035805']

At the end of the day I improved my distance the most in the group by gaining an average of 22 total yards and earned $550 of cash! I also hit it great on the front 9 after the fitting. I was a little tired on the back 9 from a full day of fitting and didn't play very well overall, but still had more distance than I typically achieved with my SuperDeep. I am sold on the SLDR. The mini is pretty sweet too! It may be a little bit of a novelty, but since I hit is so well off the fairway and hit so few 3Ws from the fairway I can see replacing my 3W with a 14* mini.

[/quote]

Eric, thank you for this post. I wasn't being negative in my post on Friday, I just saw it as curious that everyone was seeing an increase in distance while maintaining some semblance of control and your numbers showed a -47!!! I found it hard to believe that you would end up with such a worse dispersion with such experienced fitters. There's no way (in my mind) that TMAG would just fit you with 22 more yards but allow you just hit it OB. I'm glad that you like it on the course and look forward to your reviews coming in the next few weeks. After reading this, I'm going to have to check the SLDR out at a local demo day soon!

[CosmosMpower]

[quote name='Hoover98' timestamp='1396854152' post='9036689']
Scratch...unfortunately, no... I have always had a low launch angle due to a negative AOA, caused by sliding forward too much. At 38, I'm just convinced it's in my genes. My brother does it, also...

Best launch angle I've ever gotten on a monitor was around 11, but it was 10 years ago...
[/quote]

Seems low on paper but let me tell you Hoover98 hit some bombs this weekend, he couldn't miss with his new SLDR. They looked like long high towering tight draws from the tee to me. I think he found a winner.

[GooseHook]

[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396872548' post='9037053']
[size=4]Hey everyone! Nik here. First I just want to thank GolfWRX and Taylormade for the amazing experience! Good lord, I must have shook HipCheck's hand 7+ times...and that was before we got to play Sawgrass and the Sirloin and red wine were served, and before we got to meet Jonas Blixt at the bar![/size]

[size=4]Now I don't have my trackman numbers yet, but I did want to give you my initial thoughts on the SLDR and game play out on the course.[/size]

[size=4]Some of you might know that my clubs are a bit extreme in spec...to put it delicately. I'm a short guy with long arms, and play really flat and heavy gear. I went to a Wishon driver recently and built a first driver that was built to be mid to mid-low flight but runs hot for 5-6 particular courses I play here in NY during tournaments. It's 9 deg and plays at 44.25" and is 54 (not a typo) lie angle. The shaft in it is a lower launching and spinning proprietary shaft that Wishon made and it weighs about 85 grams and is an X flex. Kadin tipped it 0.5" also. It's been cold so for the 2-3 rounds I played it here it was launching very low but going extremely straight and rolling out 30+ yards. I would estimate it was carrying 260+ and rolling out to 290+ or so most of the time. I thought to myself, "Ok great when it warms up the ball will launch and spin more and I'll get my usually low 270s carry and it'll roll out to 300+ no problem." I used the spinniest balls I could find (b330s) and I played with this driver and hit the ball amazing. I imagine as it warms up and I tweak it a bit with Kadin's help, it'll only get better. That's still the case even after the TM experience.[/size]

[size=4]Ok...enter TM...[/size]


[size=4]So I started warming up on the range and people were giving me crazy looks because my driver was covered in lead and felt very heavy to some folks. I measured it when I got home and it was E2.5. The TM fitter estimated E6...so I think that just shows how head heavy it felt to people. In any case, I was smoking the Wishon before the fitting hitting mid to mid-low bullets that were barely bleeding right or left, and it def was running hot. It was exactly what I was expecting. Needless to say I was excited to see what TM could do to beat this driver, especially since it has such a customized spec. The lie angle was my biggest concern.[/size]


[size=4]So I get on the trackman and I start hitting the same mid/mid-low bullets. The ball was barely moving...push draw after push draw. Now I did snap one with both the Wishon and the SLDR, so those two I'd take out. That's obviously me and not the clubs.[/size]

[size=4]I remember the TM fitter saying my launch was something like 6-7 degrees and I was only carrying it 250-260 yards. I was thinking, “OK that's fine...it’s awfully hot and we are all a bit nervous with all the cameras...it’s not terrible....the driver is clearing running hot and easily is rolling out past 300” One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low.[/size]

[size=4]Now onto the SLDR. The fitter was no dummy and saw immediately how flat my club was. He told me right off the bat that I was easily the most extreme case he had ever encountered. He gave me a 460 SLDR in 12 degrees and cranked it open to just one above the most open setting. So about 10.75 degrees he said. He also moved the weight on the bottom two clicks toward the fade. I can't remember what shaft he gave me, but it was a stiff flex of some kind. The first drive I hit was EXTREMELY high and it curved an awful lot to the left. Something like 15 deg launch and it must have hooked 20+ yards. We'll have to wait for the trackman to get the exact results but needless to say I didn't like it. Even Jeff from my group could see the look on my face. Ok no problem let's hit again. BOOM! Another drive and I got a similar result. Fitter could tell the shaft wasn't right and he put me into what eventually would be the shaft for me. It was a Speeder 661 X. I think that shows how good this guy was. After missing on the first attempt he got it on the second try. When I starting hitting this combo it was also extremely high, but it wasn't drawing as much. I would estimate about 5-7 yards of draw.[/size]

[size=4]I was told at first that it had nearly carried to where my Wishon was finishing. When they told me the smash was 1.52, I was thinking, "But isn't 1.5 the max smash possible?" In any case...I hit a few more and ended up cranking the fade weight one more towards fade. It was absolutely bananas how far I was hitting it on the fly. I can’t wait to see the numbers from Trackman.[/size]

[size=4]It was shortly after everyone finished the fitting that we were given the bad news by HipCheck, “Sorry fellas, but we have to play SAWGRASS!” Needless to say that got my little tail wagging! [/size]

[size=4]We get to the sawgrass first tee and the place never ceases to amaze me. I was so damn excited that I didn’t even realize I left Jeff behind (Sorry Jeff!). After driving back over and picking him up we were off...and our caddy Jason was ready too![/size]

[size=4]Before talking about myself I just wanted to mention Jeff’s driving on this course. This course is no joke as you can imagine, and I know Jeff is fairly new to the game. He is one of iTeach’s students and we met very briefly when I went to iTeach last year.[/size]
[size=4]On this day Jeff was a driving MACHINE. He averaged easily 25+ yards over his average drive with his old club, and he missed all but 3 fairways. It was truly a sight to behold. Hole after hole it was an online to slight pull fade that was just very high and running hot. He kept saying, “Oh no Nik I skied that one!” The TM fitter who was riding with us kept saying, “No Jeff that’s perfect.” And sure enough it was bombed out 280+. It was truly a pleasure to watch that driving exhibition on such a difficult and intimidating course.[/size]

[size=4]As for me…It was so much fun to be able to aim at trees and just blow a push draw over them. I will say that is easily one of the most enjoyable parts of this high launch thing. I got to hit the mini-SLDR a couple times as well and that baby is just one of the sweetest clubs I’ve ever had the pleasure of hitting. [/size]

[size=4]One thing I will say about the SLDR club that concerns me, and it will take quite a bit more testing on the course, in tournaments, and in better weather, is the tendency for it to go left when I want to go after it. I’m sure the upright lie of 60 degrees is the culprit. To counteract that the fitter said I just needed to get used to the look, and I could always tweak the weight more towards the fade. The Wishon driver doesn't go left, and that is one of the best parts of that particular club and Kadin's work. Also, with the SLDR, [/size]I still have one more setting I can open the face up a bit more. So along with my Wishon getting tweaks from Kadin, the SLDR will also get tweaks.

[size=4]So that’s it for now. I don’t want you guys to drown in my thoughts too much. If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Also when the trackman numbers come out I’ll be giving my thoughts on those as well and what the future will be. I can honestly say right now over the next couple of months I will continue tweaking the Wishon and TM drivers. The Wishon I’ll tweak to hit it a bit higher, and the TM I’ll think about how I can best eliminate the left tendency I notice when I swing harder and go after one.[/size]

[size=4]Thanks again guys![/size]
[/quote]

Looks like the extra loft definitely benefited you, and I'm still revisiting this as well. I'm testing a 430 and a 460 to get one straightened out, and I actually think my 10.5 430 might be too low. This was confirmed by me hitting an 12° head at on a monitor (set at 11.5), and [i]averaging [/i]1900rpm in backspin (and I have an 8° G25). I could turn my 10.5 up to that, but like you I'm concerned about the resultant closed face angle and losing things left again. I did hit one off the first tee that felt like a sky ball, but I found it plugged in the wet fairway 275 out.

I guess my question to you is: was your 12 degree head selected because going down meant you could keep the face angle open, and how did the driver face angle play into your decision making with the fitter?

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='GooseHook' timestamp='1396874202' post='9037157']
[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396872548' post='9037053']
Hey everyone! Nik here. First I just want to thank GolfWRX and Taylormade for the amazing experience! Good lord, I must have shook HipCheck's hand 7+ times...and that was before we got to play Sawgrass and the Sirloin and red wine were served, and before we got to meet Jonas Blixt at the bar!

Now I don't have my trackman numbers yet, but I did want to give you my initial thoughts on the SLDR and game play out on the course.

Some of you might know that my clubs are a bit extreme in spec...to put it delicately. I'm a short guy with long arms, and play really flat and heavy gear. I went to a Wishon driver recently and built a first driver that was built to be mid to mid-low flight but runs hot for 5-6 particular courses I play here in NY during tournaments. It's 9 deg and plays at 44.25" and is 54 (not a typo) lie angle. The shaft in it is a lower launching and spinning proprietary shaft that Wishon made and it weighs about 85 grams and is an X flex. Kadin tipped it 0.5" also. It's been cold so for the 2-3 rounds I played it here it was launching very low but going extremely straight and rolling out 30+ yards. I would estimate it was carrying 260+ and rolling out to 290+ or so most of the time. I thought to myself, "Ok great when it warms up the ball will launch and spin more and I'll get my usually low 270s carry and it'll roll out to 300+ no problem." I used the spinniest balls I could find (b330s) and I played with this driver and hit the ball amazing. I imagine as it warms up and I tweak it a bit with Kadin's help, it'll only get better. That's still the case even after the TM experience.

Ok...enter TM...


So I started warming up on the range and people were giving me crazy looks because my driver was covered in lead and felt very heavy to some folks. I measured it when I got home and it was E2.5. The TM fitter estimated E6...so I think that just shows how head heavy it felt to people. In any case, I was smoking the Wishon before the fitting hitting mid to mid-low bullets that were barely bleeding right or left, and it def was running hot. It was exactly what I was expecting. Needless to say I was excited to see what TM could do to beat this driver, especially since it has such a customized spec. The lie angle was my biggest concern.


So I get on the trackman and I start hitting the same mid/mid-low bullets. The ball was barely moving...push draw after push draw. Now I did snap one with both the Wishon and the SLDR, so those two I'd take out. That's obviously me and not the clubs.

I remember the TM fitter saying my launch was something like 6-7 degrees and I was only carrying it 250-260 yards. I was thinking, “OK that's fine...it’s awfully hot and we are all a bit nervous with all the cameras...it’s not terrible....the driver is clearing running hot and easily is rolling out past 300” One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low.

Now onto the SLDR. The fitter was no dummy and saw immediately how flat my club was. He told me right off the bat that I was easily the most extreme case he had ever encountered. He gave me a 460 SLDR in 12 degrees and cranked it open to just one above the most open setting. So about 10.75 degrees he said. He also moved the weight on the bottom two clicks toward the fade. I can't remember what shaft he gave me, but it was a stiff flex of some kind. The first drive I hit was EXTREMELY high and it curved an awful lot to the left. Something like 15 deg launch and it must have hooked 20+ yards. We'll have to wait for the trackman to get the exact results but needless to say I didn't like it. Even Jeff from my group could see the look on my face. Ok no problem let's hit again. BOOM! Another drive and I got a similar result. Fitter could tell the shaft wasn't right and he put me into what eventually would be the shaft for me. It was a Speeder 661 X. I think that shows how good this guy was. After missing on the first attempt he got it on the second try. When I starting hitting this combo it was also extremely high, but it wasn't drawing as much. I would estimate about 5-7 yards of draw.

I was told at first that it had nearly carried to where my Wishon was finishing. When they told me the smash was 1.52, I was thinking, "But isn't 1.5 the max smash possible?" In any case...I hit a few more and ended up cranking the fade weight one more towards fade. It was absolutely bananas how far I was hitting it on the fly. I can’t wait to see the numbers from Trackman.

It was shortly after everyone finished the fitting that we were given the bad news by HipCheck, “Sorry fellas, but we have to play SAWGRASS!” Needless to say that got my little tail wagging!

We get to the sawgrass first tee and the place never ceases to amaze me. I was so damn excited that I didn’t even realize I left Jeff behind (Sorry Jeff!). After driving back over and picking him up we were off...and our caddy Jason was ready too!

Before talking about myself I just wanted to mention Jeff’s driving on this course. This course is no joke as you can imagine, and I know Jeff is fairly new to the game. He is one of iTeach’s students and we met very briefly when I went to iTeach last year.
On this day Jeff was a driving MACHINE. He averaged easily 25+ yards over his average drive with his old club, and he missed all but 3 fairways. It was truly a sight to behold. Hole after hole it was an online to slight pull fade that was just very high and running hot. He kept saying, “Oh no Nik I skied that one!” The TM fitter who was riding with us kept saying, “No Jeff that’s perfect.” And sure enough it was bombed out 280+. It was truly a pleasure to watch that driving exhibition on such a difficult and intimidating course.

As for me…It was so much fun to be able to aim at trees and just blow a push draw over them. I will say that is easily one of the most enjoyable parts of this high launch thing. I got to hit the mini-SLDR a couple times as well and that baby is just one of the sweetest clubs I’ve ever had the pleasure of hitting.

One thing I will say about the SLDR club that concerns me, and it will take quite a bit more testing on the course, in tournaments, and in better weather, is the tendency for it to go left when I want to go after it. I’m sure the upright lie of 60 degrees is the culprit. To counteract that the fitter said I just needed to get used to the look, and I could always tweak the weight more towards the fade. The Wishon driver doesn't go left, and that is one of the best parts of that particular club and Kadin's work. Also, with the SLDR, I still have one more setting I can open the face up a bit more. So along with my Wishon getting tweaks from Kadin, the SLDR will also get tweaks.

So that’s it for now. I don’t want you guys to drown in my thoughts too much. If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Also when the trackman numbers come out I’ll be giving my thoughts on those as well and what the future will be. I can honestly say right now over the next couple of months I will continue tweaking the Wishon and TM drivers. The Wishon I’ll tweak to hit it a bit higher, and the TM I’ll think about how I can best eliminate the left tendency I notice when I swing harder and go after one.

Thanks again guys!
[/quote]

Looks like the extra loft definitely benefited you, and I'm still revisiting this as well. I'm testing a 430 and a 460 to get one straightened out, and I actually think my 10.5 430 might be too low. This was confirmed by me hitting an 12° head at on a monitor (set at 11.5), and [i]averaging [/i]1900rpm in backspin (and I have an 8° G25). I could turn my 10.5 up to that, but like you I'm concerned about the resultant closed face angle and losing things left again. I did hit one off the first tee that felt like a sky ball, but I found it plugged in the wet fairway 275 out.

I guess my question to you is: was your 12 degree head selected because going down meant you could keep the face angle open, and how did the driver face angle play into your decision making with the fitter?
[/quote]

The fitter was thinking I would need something in the 10.5 range, but also knew my lie angle was very flat and my clubface was one deg open with my Wishon. So he knew I preferred an open look. His moving the weight 2 and ultimately 3 clicks toward the fade bias was basically his way of counteracting the upright lie angle, and he opened up the face quite a bit to further help with the more upright lie angle, and to more closely match my open faced preference.

So I have that going for me...I could also shorten the shaft 44.25" or even 44" to help me a bit more with the lie angle....so plenty for me to tweak.

With the Wishon adding a degree or so will def help.

[Kadin 25]

[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396872548' post='9037053']
[size=4]Hey everyone! Nik here. First I just want to thank GolfWRX and Taylormade for the amazing experience! Good lord, I must have shook HipCheck's hand 7+ times...and that was before we got to play Sawgrass and the Sirloin and red wine were served, and before we got to meet Jonas Blixt at the bar![/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Now I don't have my trackman numbers yet, but I did want to give you my initial thoughts on the SLDR and game play out on the course.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Some of you might know that my clubs are a bit extreme in spec...to put it delicately. I'm a short guy with long arms, and play really flat and heavy gear. I went to a Wishon driver recently and built a first driver that was built to be mid to mid-low flight but runs hot for 5-6 particular courses I play here in NY during tournaments. It's 9 deg and plays at 44.25" and is 54 (not a typo) lie angle. The shaft in it is a lower launching and spinning proprietary shaft that Wishon made and it weighs about 85 grams and is an X flex. Kadin tipped it 0.5" also. It's been cold so for the 2-3 rounds I played it here it was launching very low but going extremely straight and rolling out 30+ yards. I would estimate it was carrying 260+ and rolling out to 290+ or so most of the time. I thought to myself, "Ok great when it warms up the ball will launch and spin more and I'll get my usually low 270s carry and it'll roll out to 300+ no problem." I used the spinniest balls I could find (b330s) and I played with this driver and hit the ball amazing. I imagine as it warms up and I tweak it a bit with Kadin's help, it'll only get better. That's still the case even after the TM experience.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Ok...enter TM...[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]So I started warming up on the range and people were giving me crazy looks because my driver was covered in lead and felt very heavy to some folks. I measured it when I got home and it was E2.5. The TM fitter estimated E6...so I think that just shows how head heavy it felt to people. In any case, I was smoking the Wishon before the fitting hitting mid to mid-low bullets that were barely bleeding right or left, and it def was running hot. It was exactly what I was expecting. Needless to say I was excited to see what TM could do to beat this driver, especially since it has such a customized spec. The lie angle was my biggest concern.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]So I get on the trackman and I start hitting the same mid/mid-low bullets. The ball was barely moving...push draw after push draw. Now I did snap one with both the Wishon and the SLDR, so those two I'd take out. That's obviously me and not the clubs.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]I remember the TM fitter saying my launch was something like 6-7 degrees and I was only carrying it 250-260 yards. I was thinking, “OK that's fine...it’s awfully hot and we are all a bit nervous with all the cameras...it’s not terrible....the driver is clearing running hot and easily is rolling out past 300” One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Now onto the SLDR. The fitter was no dummy and saw immediately how flat my club was. He told me right off the bat that I was easily the most extreme case he had ever encountered. He gave me a 460 SLDR in 12 degrees and cranked it open to just one above the most open setting. So about 10.75 degrees he said. He also moved the weight on the bottom two clicks toward the fade. I can't remember what shaft he gave me, but it was a stiff flex of some kind. The first drive I hit was EXTREMELY high and it curved an awful lot to the left. Something like 15 deg launch and it must have hooked 20+ yards. We'll have to wait for the trackman to get the exact results but needless to say I didn't like it. Even Jeff from my group could see the look on my face. Ok no problem let's hit again. BOOM! Another drive and I got a similar result. Fitter could tell the shaft wasn't right and he put me into what eventually would be the shaft for me. It was a Speeder 661 X. I think that shows how good this guy was. After missing on the first attempt he got it on the second try. When I starting hitting this combo it was also extremely high, but it wasn't drawing as much. I would estimate about 5-7 yards of draw.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]I was told at first that it had nearly carried to where my Wishon was finishing. When they told me the smash was 1.52, I was thinking, "But isn't 1.5 the max smash possible?" In any case...I hit a few more and ended up cranking the fade weight one more towards fade. It was absolutely bananas how far I was hitting it on the fly. I can’t wait to see the numbers from Trackman.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]It was shortly after everyone finished the fitting that we were given the bad news by HipCheck, “Sorry fellas, but we have to play SAWGRASS!” Needless to say that got my little tail wagging! [/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]We get to the sawgrass first tee and the place never ceases to amaze me. I was so damn excited that I didn’t even realize I left Jeff behind (Sorry Jeff!). After driving back over and picking him up we were off...and our caddy Jason was ready too![/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Before talking about myself I just wanted to mention Jeff’s driving on this course. This course is no joke as you can imagine, and I know Jeff is fairly new to the game. He is one of iTeach’s students and we met very briefly when I went to iTeach last year.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4]On this day Jeff was a driving MACHINE. He averaged easily 25+ yards over his average drive with his old club, and he missed all but 3 fairways. It was truly a sight to behold. Hole after hole it was an online to slight pull fade that was just very high and running hot. He kept saying, “Oh no Nik I skied that one!” The TM fitter who was riding with us kept saying, “No Jeff that’s perfect.” And sure enough it was bombed out 280+. It was truly a pleasure to watch that driving exhibition on such a difficult and intimidating course.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]As for me…It was so much fun to be able to aim at trees and just blow a push draw over them. I will say that is easily one of the most enjoyable parts of this high launch thing. I got to hit the mini-SLDR a couple times as well and that baby is just one of the sweetest clubs I’ve ever had the pleasure of hitting. [/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]One thing I will say about the SLDR club that concerns me, and it will take quite a bit more testing on the course, in tournaments, and in better weather, is the tendency for it to go left when I want to go after it. I’m sure the upright lie of 60 degrees is the culprit. To counteract that the fitter said I just needed to get used to the look, and I could always tweak the weight more towards the fade. The Wishon driver doesn't go left, and that is one of the best parts of that particular club and Kadin's work. Also, with the SLDR, [/size]I still have one more setting I can open the face up a bit more. So along with my Wishon getting tweaks from Kadin, the SLDR will also get tweaks.
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]So that’s it for now. I don’t want you guys to drown in my thoughts too much. If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Also when the trackman numbers come out I’ll be giving my thoughts on those as well and what the future will be. I can honestly say right now over the next couple of months I will continue tweaking the Wishon and TM drivers. The Wishon I’ll tweak to hit it a bit higher, and the TM I’ll think about how I can best eliminate the left tendency I notice when I swing harder and go after one.[/size][size=1][/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]Thanks again guys![/size][size=1][/size]
[/quote]

"One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low."

This got my attention as well. To the point that I found it very hard to believe and brought it it to Tom's attention.

He had this to say...



"I know it is only my saying this but I cannot tell you how many times clubmakers with a launch monitor have told us that it has been easy for them to sell the 919 because all they have to do is get the golfer on a launch monitor with any other driver and the smash factor of the 919 is always higher. Actually, I heard this so often through our sales department talking to clubmakers that I actually had additional CT tests done on production heads of the 919 so I could be more sure that the foundry was not making a mistake and putting these heads out with too high of a COR/CT."

Considering we built your driver based on email correspondence without the aid of a Trackman and a plethora of shafts to choose from along with an "alleged" 1.42 smash factor..to hear that the yardage difference was only 11 yards...I would say the driver build was pretty successful. Even to the point I offered to build Tembolo a new driver with a new head and to send off the old head to be tested.

Great write up Tems and I'm sure with some minor tweaks you'll be even happier in the end.

See ya on the green...Kadin

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='Kadin 25' timestamp='1396875084' post='9037189']
[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396872548' post='9037053']
Hey everyone! Nik here. First I just want to thank GolfWRX and Taylormade for the amazing experience! Good lord, I must have shook HipCheck's hand 7+ times...and that was before we got to play Sawgrass and the Sirloin and red wine were served, and before we got to meet Jonas Blixt at the bar!

Now I don't have my trackman numbers yet, but I did want to give you my initial thoughts on the SLDR and game play out on the course.

Some of you might know that my clubs are a bit extreme in spec...to put it delicately. I'm a short guy with long arms, and play really flat and heavy gear. I went to a Wishon driver recently and built a first driver that was built to be mid to mid-low flight but runs hot for 5-6 particular courses I play here in NY during tournaments. It's 9 deg and plays at 44.25" and is 54 (not a typo) lie angle. The shaft in it is a lower launching and spinning proprietary shaft that Wishon made and it weighs about 85 grams and is an X flex. Kadin tipped it 0.5" also. It's been cold so for the 2-3 rounds I played it here it was launching very low but going extremely straight and rolling out 30+ yards. I would estimate it was carrying 260+ and rolling out to 290+ or so most of the time. I thought to myself, "Ok great when it warms up the ball will launch and spin more and I'll get my usually low 270s carry and it'll roll out to 300+ no problem." I used the spinniest balls I could find (b330s) and I played with this driver and hit the ball amazing. I imagine as it warms up and I tweak it a bit with Kadin's help, it'll only get better. That's still the case even after the TM experience.

Ok...enter TM...


So I started warming up on the range and people were giving me crazy looks because my driver was covered in lead and felt very heavy to some folks. I measured it when I got home and it was E2.5. The TM fitter estimated E6...so I think that just shows how head heavy it felt to people. In any case, I was smoking the Wishon before the fitting hitting mid to mid-low bullets that were barely bleeding right or left, and it def was running hot. It was exactly what I was expecting. Needless to say I was excited to see what TM could do to beat this driver, especially since it has such a customized spec. The lie angle was my biggest concern.


So I get on the trackman and I start hitting the same mid/mid-low bullets. The ball was barely moving...push draw after push draw. Now I did snap one with both the Wishon and the SLDR, so those two I'd take out. That's obviously me and not the clubs.

I remember the TM fitter saying my launch was something like 6-7 degrees and I was only carrying it 250-260 yards. I was thinking, "OK that's fine...it's awfully hot and we are all a bit nervous with all the cameras...it's not terrible....the driver is clearing running hot and easily is rolling out past 300" One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low.

Now onto the SLDR. The fitter was no dummy and saw immediately how flat my club was. He told me right off the bat that I was easily the most extreme case he had ever encountered. He gave me a 460 SLDR in 12 degrees and cranked it open to just one above the most open setting. So about 10.75 degrees he said. He also moved the weight on the bottom two clicks toward the fade. I can't remember what shaft he gave me, but it was a stiff flex of some kind. The first drive I hit was EXTREMELY high and it curved an awful lot to the left. Something like 15 deg launch and it must have hooked 20+ yards. We'll have to wait for the trackman to get the exact results but needless to say I didn't like it. Even Jeff from my group could see the look on my face. Ok no problem let's hit again. BOOM! Another drive and I got a similar result. Fitter could tell the shaft wasn't right and he put me into what eventually would be the shaft for me. It was a Speeder 661 X. I think that shows how good this guy was. After missing on the first attempt he got it on the second try. When I starting hitting this combo it was also extremely high, but it wasn't drawing as much. I would estimate about 5-7 yards of draw.

I was told at first that it had nearly carried to where my Wishon was finishing. When they told me the smash was 1.52, I was thinking, "But isn't 1.5 the max smash possible?" In any case...I hit a few more and ended up cranking the fade weight one more towards fade. It was absolutely bananas how far I was hitting it on the fly. I can't wait to see the numbers from Trackman.

It was shortly after everyone finished the fitting that we were given the bad news by HipCheck, "Sorry fellas, but we have to play SAWGRASS!" Needless to say that got my little tail wagging!

We get to the sawgrass first tee and the place never ceases to amaze me. I was so damn excited that I didn't even realize I left Jeff behind (Sorry Jeff!). After driving back over and picking him up we were off...and our caddy Jason was ready too!

Before talking about myself I just wanted to mention Jeff's driving on this course. This course is no joke as you can imagine, and I know Jeff is fairly new to the game. He is one of iTeach's students and we met very briefly when I went to iTeach last year.
On this day Jeff was a driving MACHINE. He averaged easily 25+ yards over his average drive with his old club, and he missed all but 3 fairways. It was truly a sight to behold. Hole after hole it was an online to slight pull fade that was just very high and running hot. He kept saying, "Oh no Nik I skied that one!" The TM fitter who was riding with us kept saying, "No Jeff that's perfect." And sure enough it was bombed out 280+. It was truly a pleasure to watch that driving exhibition on such a difficult and intimidating course.

As for me…It was so much fun to be able to aim at trees and just blow a push draw over them. I will say that is easily one of the most enjoyable parts of this high launch thing. I got to hit the mini-SLDR a couple times as well and that baby is just one of the sweetest clubs I've ever had the pleasure of hitting.

One thing I will say about the SLDR club that concerns me, and it will take quite a bit more testing on the course, in tournaments, and in better weather, is the tendency for it to go left when I want to go after it. I'm sure the upright lie of 60 degrees is the culprit. To counteract that the fitter said I just needed to get used to the look, and I could always tweak the weight more towards the fade. The Wishon driver doesn't go left, and that is one of the best parts of that particular club and Kadin's work. Also, with the SLDR, I still have one more setting I can open the face up a bit more. So along with my Wishon getting tweaks from Kadin, the SLDR will also get tweaks.

So that's it for now. I don't want you guys to drown in my thoughts too much. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Also when the trackman numbers come out I'll be giving my thoughts on those as well and what the future will be. I can honestly say right now over the next couple of months I will continue tweaking the Wishon and TM drivers. The Wishon I'll tweak to hit it a bit higher, and the TM I'll think about how I can best eliminate the left tendency I notice when I swing harder and go after one.

Thanks again guys!
[/quote]

"One thing that got my attention was the 1.41 smash factor the fitter mentioned. I will say if that is indeed the official number for the club...it seems awfully low."

This got my attention as well. To the point that I found it very hard to believe and brought it it to Tom's attention.

He had this to say...



"I know it is only my saying this but I cannot tell you how many times clubmakers with a launch monitor have told us that it has been easy for them to sell the 919 because all they have to do is get the golfer on a launch monitor with any other driver and the smash factor of the 919 is always higher. Actually, I heard this so often through our sales department talking to clubmakers that I actually had additional CT tests done on production heads of the 919 so I could be more sure that the foundry was not making a mistake and putting these heads out with too high of a COR/CT."

Considering we built your driver based on email correspondence without the aid of a Trackman and a plethora of shafts to choose from along with an "alleged" 1.42 smash factor..to hear that the yardage difference was only 11 yards...I would say the driver build was pretty successful. Even to the point I offered to build Tembolo a new driver with a new head and to send off the old head to be tested.

Great write up Tems and I'm sure with some minor tweaks you'll be even happier in the end.

See ya on the green...Kadin
[/quote]

Thank you sir! Looking forward to getting the hands dirty and finding out how to tweak the head!

[NTKT10]

I will get a full recap posted later tonight [size=4]hopefully.[/size][size=4] I'm swamped at work, had to go in for an emergency 3 hour meeting yesterday. [/size]

[size=4]A short preview of this amazing experience. I was fit on the Foresight first, because the Sawgrass TMPL's Trackman had not been delivered yet. If I am remembering correctly, my longest drive with my Nike Vr Pro Ltd w/TourSPX VTS Red was 269, my longest with the SLDR with Kiyoshi Black was 317.[/size]

[geauxWRX]

trying not to be that guy but very hard to believe you gained 48 yards. From 269 to 317 is a BIG jump

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='geauxWRX' timestamp='1396877931' post='9037401']
trying not to be that guy but very hard to believe you gained 48 yards. From 269 to 317 is a BIG jump
[/quote]

I saw it personally. It was one shot of maybe a dozen. I'm sure we'll get normalized/average distance diff from the guys at TM soon.

[ESP]

[quote name='amackey10' timestamp='1396829972' post='9034703']
Let me start off by saying thanks a ton to TaylorMade and GolfWRX. This experience was unreal and is something I surely will not forget anytime soon. Everyone who was involved in putting on the event was first class to say the least. They went out of their way to make sure that this trip was amazing. One of the best parts of the trip was just hanging with all of the guys and getting to talk to our TM guys, Tom Kroll and Ryan (who was our TPML fitter in Dallas). Both guys are awesome and truly love what they do. One of the things that surprised me the most was that everyone I met with TaylorMade absolutely loves golf. When you get to hang out with these guys you realize that they do not just work and run a golf company, they are golfers. They all think like golfers and they want to produce and make products that will make the game more enjoyable to everyone who plays it.

I will now talk about what everyone wants – the fitting. I was previously fit out at Cool Clubs in Scottsdale about 2 years ago. I was fit into a Callaway RAZR Fit 8.5* driver with an Accra Tour Z M5-85 gram shaft @ 44.75”. I have played this driver for about 1.5 years and I absolutely love it. Keep in mind that during this fitting we were hitting directly into the Dallas wind and it was blowing 15-25 MPH. It was also probably around 60-65 degrees outside for what its worth. Also, I was hitting balls on and off for about 3.5 hours before I started my fitting so I was a little worn out.

My numbers from the Callaway driver from Friday were as follows. These were 7-10 shot averages:

Swing Speed: 120.4 MPH
Ball Speed: 174.5 MPH
Smash Factor: 1.45
Launch Angle: 7.8*
Total Spin: 2,716 RPM
Carry Distance: 289 yards
Total Distance: 315 yards
Offline: -13 yards
AoA: -3.4
Descent Angle: 34

Then Ryan handed me a SLDR 460 9.5* with the new Aldila Tour Green 75TX. This shaft was still spinning the ball too much. I liked the feel of it but it just was not cutting it. Next up was the Black Tie 8X version. This shaft did not feel as good as the Aldila and it still was spinning it too much. Next, I tried the SLDR 9* 430 head turn up a 2 clicks and 2 clicks towards the draw setting with the Fujikura Motore Speeder Tour Spec 7.2 X shaft. This seemed to be the ideal set up until I asked if I could hit this shaft in the 9.5* SLDR 460. Boom. This was the one was I was keeping. The first ball I hit with this thing just launched up into the Texas wind and kept going and going. It was obvious simply from watching the ball flight that it was spinning noticeably less.

My final driver was the SLDR 460 9.5* turned up 2 clicks, the weight was moved two clicks towards the draw setting shafted with a Fujikura Motore Speeder Tour Spec 7.2 X shaft @ 45”. My average numbers were as follows:

Swing Speed: 119.8 MPH
Ball Speed: 172.9 MPH
Smash Factor: 1.45
Launch Angle: 9.8*
Total Spin: 2,282 RPM
Carry Distance: 294 yards
Total Distance: 323 yards
Offline: -14 yards
AoA: -3.4
Descent Angle: 33

As you can see, my ball speed went slightly down (most likely due to being tired), my launch increased by 2* and my spin decreased by 434 RPM’s leading to an average increase of distance of 8 yards. I did “loft up” one degree but more importantly I launched-up with less spin.

As far as hitting this driver on the course, my misses went significantly straighter. My typical miss is a big wipe that has a huge cut on it. On average I would say that this miss with the RAZR Fit goes about 260-270 ish but with the SLDR it was going about the same distance but much, much straighter. At the Cowboy Club, I hit a ball that was directly off of the toe and it still went about 310 dead straight. I was amazed. After I hit this ball, I looked to Tom and said, “This driver is f****** insane. It is going straight in my bag.” I have never hit a drive off the toe that went so straight like that with my RAZR Fit.

Also, the SLDR mini is a cannon! As I said before, you know that feeling you get when your buddies double bounce you on a trampoline? That is the feeling I got when I hit the mini. Its an awesome little club.

As for the -47 yards offline that has been discussed earlier in the thread, from my memory, I am almost positive that ESP (Eric) picked a different target without adjusting the machine. This was due to him hitting out of depressions that were left on the ground from previous people being fit in the same place. But, I am sure that he will chime in soon.

This was an awesome experience and I cannot express how grateful I am to have had this opportunity to represent GolfWRX. The technology behind the SLDR driver is legit and it does launch higher with less spin. Feel free to PM with any questions. I will update this thread once I get some time to play my home track and compare.
[/quote]

Austin is right. I was third in line and there was a pretty good wear spot from the feet of the guys that hit before me. I also created my own little wear spot and ended up moving the ball around a couple of different times. The computer screen was hard to read because of the sunlight and I didn't even notice the 47 yds off, as I was focusing on the launch angle and spin rate. I hit a few offline, but no worse than my current driver and definitely not 47 yds off my target line. As I mentioned in my post, I hit it really well on the front 9 after our fitting and got tired and missed several fairways on the back. All in all this club is longer than my current and misses are no worse. I'll take misses with shorter shots into the green than misses with longer shots into the green all day.

By the way, I don't know if it has been mentioned, but amackey10 put on a show with his last few swings of his fitting and was hitting absolute bombs straight into the teeth of a 20-25 mph wind a couple of which cleared the fence at the end of the range and were dead straight.

[QMany]

[quote name='geauxWRX' timestamp='1396877931' post='9037401']
trying not to be that guy but very hard to believe you gained 48 yards. From 269 to 317 is a BIG jump
[/quote]
One shot. Be patient, averages are coming.

[Chilli9880]

I don't know what it is with these trips. It always seems to bring out the best... ... and the worst in folks. For all 20 guys and the 4 escorts, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading most of the posts within this thread and I continue to look forward to more reviews. I'm absolutely sold on the SLDR. What I'm also reading is that I can't just go and pick one off the rack or have one just delivered to my house. Which is fine, it's something that needs to be done anyways. Congrats to all of you, it certainly looks like a trip that makes dreams come true. Enjoy the memories of a lifetime!

[HipCheck]

[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396878110' post='9037421']
[quote name='geauxWRX' timestamp='1396877931' post='9037401']
trying not to be that guy but very hard to believe you gained 48 yards. From 269 to 317 is a BIG jump
[/quote]

I saw it personally. It was one shot of maybe a dozen. I'm sure we'll get normalized/average distance diff from the guys at TM soon.
[/quote]

I saw the difference with my own eyes because I was very interested on seeing Nik's driver in action. I hit it once or twice and it was straight bullets. I'm not sure you could actually hit a C6 swing weight driver off line .

It was night and day for him. He was actually pretty easy to fit. The hardest adjustment is probably getting used to a high (and by high I mean typical) ball flight.

As a by product, TM probably saved him from lead poisoning later in life

[tbowles411]

[quote name='HipCheck' timestamp='1396881419' post='9037879']
[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396878110' post='9037421']
[quote name='geauxWRX' timestamp='1396877931' post='9037401']
trying not to be that guy but very hard to believe you gained 48 yards. From 269 to 317 is a BIG jump
[/quote]

I saw it personally. It was one shot of maybe a dozen. I'm sure we'll get normalized/average distance diff from the guys at TM soon.
[/quote]

I saw the difference with my own eyes because I was very interested on seeing Nik's driver in action. I hit it once or twice and it was straight bullets. I'm not sure you could actually hit a C6 swing weight driver off line .

It was night and day for him. He was actually pretty easy to fit. The hardest adjustment is probably getting used to a high (and by high I mean typical) ball flight.

As a by product, TM probably saved him from lead poisoning later in life
[/quote]
I wouldn't be so sure. The damage may have been done! LOL

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1396881770' post='9037919']
[quote name='HipCheck' timestamp='1396881419' post='9037879']
[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1396878110' post='9037421']
[quote name='geauxWRX' timestamp='1396877931' post='9037401']
trying not to be that guy but very hard to believe you gained 48 yards. From 269 to 317 is a BIG jump
[/quote]

I saw it personally. It was one shot of maybe a dozen. I'm sure we'll get normalized/average distance diff from the guys at TM soon.
[/quote]

I saw the difference with my own eyes because I was very interested on seeing Nik's driver in action. I hit it once or twice and it was straight bullets. I'm not sure you could actually hit a C6 swing weight driver off line .

It was night and day for him. He was actually pretty easy to fit. The hardest adjustment is probably getting used to a high (and by high I mean typical) ball flight.

As a by product, TM probably saved him from lead poisoning later in life
[/quote]
I wouldn't be so sure. The damage may have been done! LOL
[/quote]

You guys are too much! LOL!

[QMany]

I wear one of those lead vests from the dentist when I play with Tembolo.

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='QMany' timestamp='1396881970' post='9037953']
I wear one of those lead vests from the dentist when I play with Tembolo.
[/quote]

TM Fitter and Rep both said I should change my screenname to leadTapeMan1284 or just leadMan1284.

[Kratus977]

Thanks for the reviews so far guys! Really appreciate the information coming out here. Also, glad to see the SLDR working for so many. I play a SLDR, and until it was actually handed to me, I never even thought about trying it. I was formerly in love with my 913D2, but the SLDR beat it out of the bag in a hurry.

[cphrey]

My review should be up by Wednesday. I too am swamped at work after taking a few days off last week, but everyone in the office is curious too, so I have about 100 sales guys with plenty of cash to spend that want to hear all about the SLDR. TMaG might get a few sales from my office!

I was the ONE guy that beat the SLDR so I will have some things to say about that and can explain why and how I think it happened. Also, since the SLDR might not be my best choice for driver going forward, I think some of you will find my review helpful, because I have a few words to say about another product everyone is gaga over right now, the Mini.

So, I will get my full review written with pictures in the next day or so, and it will be posted shortly after. As I sit hear at my desk at work, I miss the Kingdom more and more. I could live on a cot in the hallway there and be perfectly happy!

[Doc420]

I would like to start by thanking Golfwrx and staff, and everyone at Taylormade that made this trip possible. It was a very unique and fun experience. My name is Donovan and I was picked for this trip based on some doubt that I showed based on the claims of this driver. I was professionally fit for my last driver two years ago, and had a chance to hit most of the shafts that were available to us on this trip. So I had my doubts that TM would be able to raise my launch and cut spin enough to make a difference in my game, and give me enough reason to go out and spend the money on a new driver. When all was said and done, it looks like TM. has possibly proven their point to me.

I drove down on my own, because I had the chance to play TPC Sugarloaf earlier in the week. I spent an extra night at a hotel in Greensboro and then drove out to the Kingdom on Wednesday to look around. I watched Ian Woosnam hit balls on the range with a group he brought in, and talked a little with Robin English and the rest of the staff, and was allowed to chip and putt some that afternoon before I left for the day.

[b] Thursday [/b]- This is the Day that everybody was due to arrive, so I checked out of my hotel and headed over to Reynolds to see when my condo would be ready. Like I thought, It wouldn't be ready until sometime in the afternoon. Paranormal was due in early, so we would have nothing to do all day, so I and booked a round over at the Plantation course.

Later that evening we met for dinner and had the chance to get to know everyone. Robin English who is the Gm over at The Kingdom talked to us about growing the game and the [b]Hack golf concept.[/b] Then Tom Fisher arrived, he was a little delayed thanks to the airlines. We had a good meal and chatted about everything TM. Austin, Aka [b]Hulk Smash, [/b]was grilling Fish on every aspect of Taylormade. Tom went around the table and could tell you what driver and shaft you brought with you. I don't know if he looked it up on his phone, but either way that stuck out in my mind.

[b]Friday [/b]- Fitting day we made it to The Kingdom, had something to eat and got ready for the day. We made it out to the range and began to get loose. We drew numbers for the order of the fitting, and was told not to blow ourselves out. So I hit some balls to get loose, then went and hit some of the new wedges for awhile.

The time for me was up. I started to hit the first few shots, and they were all struck pretty well with a good ball flight. I could hear Tom and Zak talking in the background saying that my move was really consistent. I was then handed my first SLDR, put the first swing on it, and hear wow come from behind me. We hit 3 or 4 shafts before deciding witch one was the best fit and had the best dispersion.

Old driver R11S set to 11.25 Accra Dymatch 2.0 Mt50 m4 flex
new driver SLDR 12 DI 6S shaft.
I raised my loft and reduced my spin by almost 1000, gaining me 20 yards carry and 27 total

[b]Golf [/b]That afternoon we made it out to the course. A few of us had a hard round because we got very tight backs after the morning fittings. This resulted and a bunch of toe Snap hooks for me. Later in the round I was able to get everything back under control and hit some very good drives. The fairways were still dormant and gave a few of us plenty of bad shots due to the turf just giving away. The next day we played an early morning round and things went much better for me off the tee with a little rest.

[b]Fairway and Hybrid[/b] I selected a 3 HL turned one down to 16.5 with the stock shaft. Hybrid is the 19 degree with the 85 gram Fuji Fuel shaft I believe. I hit both well on the range with good turf. On course I couldn't hit the 3 wood, mainly due to fairway condition. I will have to make up my mind when I get it out on good bent grass next week.

[b]Conclusion[/b]- I think TM has proved their claims about this driver, the numbers prove that. I'm 95 percent sure that this will go in the bag, I need a little more course time to figure out if the toe snap I get every now and then won't hurt me. This driver really needs to be fit, and this setup would cost close to 700. So if you want stock shafts or what works best, that is up to you decide how much you are willing to spend and how much time you want to look for that perfect setup.

I thought if they gave me 10 yards they would win, but they gave me 27 when I was well fit before.

[Pure745]

@ Tembolo - great write up and a very interesting read. I think that both driver you have will work for you, it just depends on the courses you play and which driver will travel better at most tracks. One of my friends who is a mini tour player had an RFX that was similar to your Wishon, very straight and low but his carry distances were so short and he relied on the roll so much, it really affected the lines he could take or not take on certain holes. He recently switched to the SLDR 460 and has picked up easily 20 yards, because now with the added carry, in the same firm conditions he used to rely on getting roll out, he still gets the roll out with the SLDR, just with an additional 20 yards of carry. He is a lower SS guy, so the distance gain has been huge for his game. Definitely reminds me of the 2 driver setups you have where they both will work, but it just depends on the courses and preference. It sounds like the SLDR is a winner, that's a HUGE gain regardless of the Wishon smash factor issue etc.. I think the SLDR will be able to be dialed in even further and easier as well. My 460 is still in the bag for these reasons.. much more accurate and still have the "fastball" when I really need to step on it.

Congrats again, and thanks for the review! I can't wait to get my hands on that SLDR Mini!

[Doc420]

Saturday golf with Austin is a little different. 372 par 4 slight dogleg around the lake, he takes the laser and says it is only 335 carry. He pulls out driver and carries it over the lake and puts it pin high on the left fringe. He really plays a different game then the rest of us.

[Piper26]

[quote name='Doc420' timestamp='1396892286' post='9039177']
Saturday golf with Austin is a little different. 372 par 4 slight dogleg around the lake, he takes the laser and says it is only 335 carry. He pulls out driver and carries it over the lake and puts it pin high on the left fringe. He really plays a different game then the rest of us.
[/quote]
"Only" 335 carry. That's not even golf. I'll have some of whatever he's having.

[hankmoody]

Great write ups guys! Very psyched for the distance gains, and the experience you had.

Curious, of the 20, was there a golfer with a lower swing speed (90-95) going in?

[DavePelz4]

[quote name='hankmoody' timestamp='1396892829' post='9039237']
Great write ups guys! Very psyched for the distance gains, and the experience you had.

Curious, of the 20, was there a golfer with a lower swing speed (90-95) going in?
[/quote]

Great question Hank. My best golf bud is in the market for a new driver. He's a bit older and has been losing yards for a few years now. I gave him a gift certificate for a fitting for Christmas and would like to give him some options to consider.

[CosmosMpower]

[quote name='Doc420' timestamp='1396892286' post='9039177']
Saturday golf with Austin is a little different. 372 par 4 slight dogleg around the lake, he takes the laser and says it is only 335 carry. He pulls out driver and carries it over the lake and puts it pin high on the left fringe. He really plays a different game then the rest of us.
[/quote]

Funny, did each group have a guy named Austin that hits it 300+ carry?

[geauxWRX]

will there be a big recap with actual trackman data? Its great to read I pickup 20+ yards, but it would be much more helpful to see the numbers.