RECAPS: The TaylorMade #TwistFaceExperience. 7 GolfWRX members visit The Kingdom for an exclusive M3

[gambit]

Can anyone comment on forgiveness between the M3 fairway and M4 Tour?

from a pure forgiveness perspective M4 Tour/M4 fairway is the winner for me due to the profile of the head. M4 Tour/M4 fairway has a visibly larger footprint and shallower head compare to M3, off the fairway M4 Tour/M4 was much easier to hit. M3 has a smaller footprint and deeper head, probably be better to hit off the tee.

 

I tested the M3 and M4 Tour fairway, didn't hit the regular M4 as Jason knew it wouldn't be a good fit for me. I preferred the look of the M3 and I thought the face height was perfect if it is going to be used off the tee and from the fairway. While I was being fit, I didn't notice much of a difference in the footprint between the M4 tour and the M3 to be honest. Forgiveness between the two was comparable. The biggest factor in my fitting was going a little shorter in shaft length. I know that has been a bit of a trend in drivers lately, but I highly recommend trying it in fairway woods as well.

 

Interesting about your comment on length. I play my M2 Tour at 42.5". So the M3 worked better for you at a shorter length?

 

Yes, and I think that would hold true for any of the fairways. Because the M4s are glued, they weren't going to start cutting down shafts there on the spot so I didn't try that. I can't imagine the M3 3HL being beat for me.

 

That's awesome to hear. I like smaller FWs for some reason. The look easier to elevate I guess and I play a 3HL also in a tour issue 2016 M1. Is the M3 noticeably better? I'm hoping you don't make me drain my account.

[Schnee]

The TaylorMade #TwistFaceExperience

Pre-trip/Day 1 So I got my pm from Rob last [size=3

 

course looks absolutely amazing

Aviara Golf Club is beautiful, some of the people from TM who we played with thinks that it's better than Torrey......

 

I have to give golfers from west coast major prop, coming from TX I've never/rarely played a course with all the elevation change, uneven lies...... even from the fairway the ball is either above or below you never a flat lie, that was def. something I had to adjust. And don't even get me start on green reading, there were some putts that completely fooled me due to mountain on the right or left....

 

Aviara is absolutely gorgeous, but it’s no Torrey Pines ;). Especially at sunset.

 

I bet They’re not as good as you at playing in the wind though!

[SM1098]

The TaylorMade #TwistFaceExperience

Pre-trip/Day 1 So I got my pm from Rob last [size=3

 

course looks absolutely amazing

Aviara Golf Club is beautiful, some of the people from TM who we played with thinks that it's better than Torrey......

 

I have to give golfers from west coast major prop, coming from TX I've never/rarely played a course with all the elevation change, uneven lies...... even from the fairway the ball is either above or below you never a flat lie, that was def. something I had to adjust. And don't even get me start on green reading, there were some putts that completely fooled me due to mountain on the right or left....

 

 

Mid-atlantic/East Coast golf is not like this... some day I will make it out that way with the bag to have some different challenges come into play...

[SwooshLT]

M3 460 and M4 overlay, stock picture from TaylorMade website.

 

 

Thanks! So this has M4 slightly larger than M3 460,right ?

[jll62]

M3 460 and M4 overlay, stock picture from TaylorMade website.

 

 

I don't know how much stock I'd put into those images. There have been many inconsistencies on their product shots in the past. And they're often renders, not actual photographs of the products.

[drewcatc]

Any chance TM will offer a high loft version of the M3 or M4 Driver?

 

there is a 12 degree loft in both

 

Drew

[drbonesvt]

Spin delta 2017 M2 vs 2018 m4 ?????

 

Moi diff

[edryer3]

Anyone have an the M2 Tour 3W and was able to compare it to the M3//M4 fairways while you were there? New fairways worth the upgrade, in your opinions on what you saw? Thanks

[dpb5031]

Anyone have an the M2 Tour 3W and was able to compare it to the M3//M4 fairways while you were there? New fairways worth the upgrade, in your opinions on what you saw? Thanks

 

I have an M2 Tour 3W and love it. I saw the M4 Tour along with all the new FWs, but by that time was too exhausted to hit them and have it mean anything. M3 & M4 including the Tour all look great. The M4 Tour doesn't look too different.

 

I know some of the other guys hit them so maybe they'll chime in

[scottaz]

Anyone have an the M2 Tour 3W and was able to compare it to the M3//M4 fairways while you were there? New fairways worth the upgrade, in your opinions on what you saw? Thanks

 

I have an M2 Tour 3W and love it. I saw the M4 Tour along with all the new FWs, but by that time was too exhausted to hit them and have it mean anything. M3 & M4 including the Tour all look great. The M4 Tour doesn't look too different.

 

I know some of the other guys hit them so maybe they'll chime in

 

The M3 fw was legit. I had the 16' M2 HL with me. The 16's are hard to beat sound and feel wise IMO. M3 felt/sounded more like I remember the 17'. Not too big, not too small. Really easy off the deck.

 

I won't be surprised seeing guys who played M2's doing well with the M3.

[swizbeatz]

Tons of M4’s from the with tour pics starting to come out

[WHC888]

Tiger talks about Twist Face, you can click on the image to watch the video.

[RonSwanson]

Tons of M4's from the with tour pics starting to come out

 

M4 seemed to be the head of choice from the TaylorMade staff we played with as well. Although I heard more than a few wanting in play around with a M3 440 or carrying one in their bag as a second driver to mess with.

 

I played with a TM product development engineer named Chris on Friday who was clearly a very good player. He was gaming an M4, but had an M3 440 in the bag as well. On the back 9 he had pulled out the M3 440 once or twice. When we got to 16 I didn't hit a great drive, a slightly off center strike that faded to the right side of the fairway, and asked to hit a second ball with his M3 440. Of course I wasn't fit for the driver, but we had commented a couple times during the round about our swings being similar, and I hit a tight draw about as good as I can hit one. When we got down in the fairway both balls were in great shape with the M3 440 about 8 or so yards longer and in the left middle of the fairway. Chris says to me, "You didn't hit that first one solid, did you?" I replied, "Nope". He just kind of looked at both balls and said "What are you chasing?" I should get that printed on my headcover or something for any time I get the itch to tinker.

[bcflyguy1]

Tons of M4's from the with tour pics starting to come out

 

M4 seemed to be the head of choice from the TaylorMade staff we played with as well. Although I heard more than a few wanting in play around with a M3 440 or carrying one in their bag as a second driver to mess with.

 

I played with a TM product development engineer named Chris on Friday who was clearly a very good player. He was gaming an M4, but had an M3 440 in the bag as well. On the back 9 he had pulled out the M3 440 once or twice. When we got to 16 I didn't hit a great drive, a slightly off center strike that faded to the right side of the fairway, and asked to hit a second ball with his M3 440. Of course I wasn't fit for the driver, but we had commented a couple times during the round about our swings being similar, and I hit a tight draw about as good as I can hit one. When we got down in the fairway both balls were in great shape with the M3 440 about 8 or so yards longer and in the left middle of the fairway. Chris says to me, "Your didn't his that first one solid, did you?" I replied, "Nope". He just kind of looked at both balls and said "What are you chasing?" I should get that printed on my headcover or something for any time I get the itch to tinker.

 

That's a refreshing bit of candor from Chris, very cool.

[4rheel]

Tons of M4's from the with tour pics starting to come out

 

M4 seemed to be the head of choice from the TaylorMade staff we played with as well. Although I heard more than a few wanting in play around with a M3 440 or carrying one in their bag as a second driver to mess with.

 

I played with a TM product development engineer named Chris on Friday who was clearly a very good player. He was gaming an M4, but had an M3 440 in the bag as well. On the back 9 he had pulled out the M3 440 once or twice. When we got to 16 I didn't hit a great drive, a slightly off center strike that faded to the right side of the fairway, and asked to hit a second ball with his M3 440. Of course I wasn't fit for the driver, but we had commented a couple times during the round about our swings being similar, and I hit a tight draw about as good as I can hit one. When we got down in the fairway both balls were in great shape with the M3 440 about 8 or so yards longer and in the left middle of the fairway. Chris says to me, "You didn't hit that first one solid, did you?" I replied, "Nope". He just kind of looked at both balls and said "What are you chasing?" I should get that printed on my headcover or something for any time I get the itch to tinker.

 

Dang it, then are you saying the M3 440 is on the radar for you?

[RonSwanson]

Tons of M4's from the with tour pics starting to come out

 

M4 seemed to be the head of choice from the TaylorMade staff we played with as well. Although I heard more than a few wanting in play around with a M3 440 or carrying one in their bag as a second driver to mess with.

 

I played with a TM product development engineer named Chris on Friday who was clearly a very good player. He was gaming an M4, but had an M3 440 in the bag as well. On the back 9 he had pulled out the M3 440 once or twice. When we got to 16 I didn't hit a great drive, a slightly off center strike that faded to the right side of the fairway, and asked to hit a second ball with his M3 440. Of course I wasn't fit for the driver, but we had commented a couple times during the round about our swings being similar, and I hit a tight draw about as good as I can hit one. When we got down in the fairway both balls were in great shape with the M3 440 about 8 or so yards longer and in the left middle of the fairway. Chris says to me, "You didn't hit that first one solid, did you?" I replied, "Nope". He just kind of looked at both balls and said "What are you chasing?" I should get that printed on my headcover or something for any time I get the itch to tinker.

 

Dang it, then are you saying the M3 440 is on the radar for you?

 

Quite the opposite. I'm saying, for me, there is no reason to chase a couple yards with the M3 440 if hit perfect. The M4 is so forgiving that I'm probably not giving up much, if anything, on good strikes and gaining a lot of accuracy on less than good strikes.

[tgreenwood11]

Wow! I just went through the posts of some of my GolfWRX comrades from the trip. Not only are they all great guys, but we've also got some solid sticks, excellent writers, and serious photographers (well, Calvin anyway)! There's absolutely no way I can compete with Calvin behind the lens, that would be like me trying to out-drive Kenton or Scott :swoon: , so I won't be redundant by posting my pics of the same scenes but of much lesser quality…lol!

 

Where to start? I'd have to say that for you guys to get an idea of what this trip was like, just imagine the experience of your dreams, then take it up several notches! TaylorMade went well above and beyond for us! Brian, Jory, Ryan and the rest are all just super people and made each of us feel welcomed and special. I sensed a very cool vibe at TM headquarters and everyone seemed enthused and happy to be working there. That's a credit to leadership, a healthy organizational culture, and the type of talent they acquire.

 

MY GAME:

 

I know when I read these things I like to know as much as possible about the reviewers to see how closely their profile might match my own, so I'll provide some details. I'll be 50 in a couple of months and did not play golf as a kid (wish I did). I played all the other sports but didn't pick up golf until after college, getting more serious when I was around 30. I retired in 2016, so I get to play a lot of golf!

 

Although I don't hit it quite as long as I did when younger, I have continued to improve over the years finishing this season as a 2.3 index which was actually at the higher end of where I was throughout the season. I won my club championship for the first time this year as well as our President's Cup (net match play) and I've been a member for 23 years. I live in NJ, play out of Old York CC in Chesterfield which is part of the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP).

 

You all can check out my WITB in my signature and see that I've got some really old and eclectic gear in there as well as some of the new stuff. I don't change equipment as often as most GolfWRXers and have played the same putter pretty much since I started playing the game save for some failed experiments. I am however, always looking for the latest and greatest in drivers!

 

I do not have an aesthetically pretty swing by any standard…lol! (If you pull up WHC888's post on p.24 and view his Youtube video you'll see my swing. I'm the guy closest to the camera in the red shirt/black vest looking for my tee after I hit...lol)

 

It's fairly utilitarian and more of a body swing with a bit of a restricted release. I have a strong(ish) left hand grip and try to rotate hard through the ball swinging the handle left, striving for an inside-square-inside path, using rotation to keep the ball from over-drawing. Still, my standard ball flight is a high draw, though I will intentionally fade my driver on occasion if the hole calls for it. My overall ball striking is generally pedestrian but reasonably effective when I'm on; putting is by far my strength.

 

I had a helluva a time adjusting to the time change from east to west coast. It was probably a combo of anticipation/excitement, adrenaline, and alcohol, but I slept like crap the day before and through the entire trip. I'm talking about going to bed at midnight and waking at 3:30 a.m. unable to go back to sleep. Dinner Wednesday night was phenomenal, awesome food (I had a bison strip steak), lots of laughs, great wine, and great company, though I probably could have done without the nightcaps back at the hotel!

 

Thursday morning, the day of our fitting, I downed several cups of coffee and a Monster energy in an effort to recharge the batteries. Perhaps not a good idea in hindsight…lol... as the combo made me jittery and completely out of whack!

 

We arrived bright and early at TM headquarters (well, most of us anyway, CHRIS!) and got the royal treatment at TM headquarters from top to bottom. Brian Bazzell (VP of Product Creation) gave a phenomenal presentation and discussed the technological innovations in the new M3/M4 products.

 

THE TECHNOLOGY:

 

I know TaylorMade takes some heat on this site for some of their aggressive marketing claims, but let me tell you, they are extraordinarily passionate and serious about their products and the R&D that goes into them. We were all impressed with the process as described by Brian. His engineers have been working on the Twist Face tech for nearly four years. They tweaked, tested, and re-designed multiple iterations and analyzed a complex data set of over 500,000 shots hit by real golfers. In the end, Twist Face will result in a significant improvement in dispersion for the vast majority of players on shots missed toward the toe and/or heel. We're talking an aggregate improvement in dispersion (bringing it down from 14 to 3 yards) on strikes across the face! That is the type of tangible and measurable results they are constantly seeking through their product innovations.

 

Beyond Twist Face, they have also expanded the effective hitting area (sweet spot) with their new Hammerhead technology in the M3 & M4 heads. This was described as an evolution of the RBZ Speed Pocket, with a face that is 20% thinner and 17% lighter than their M1 & M2 drivers. The result is ball speeds that are measurably higher across the face and with a 67% larger max COR area!

 

The new Y-Track adjustable weighting on the M3 looks simple enough, but was very challenging to design. Impressively, Y-Track provides DOUBLE the amount of adjustability in center of gravity (COG) than the previous M1 designs! Again, tangible and measurable performance improvements, not just hype!

 

NOTE: In case you're wondering, the M3 comes stock with two 11g weights, but different weights will be available soon. The stock MRC Tensei shafts offered in the new M3 line are identical in materials and profile but without Boron in the tip, plus they will be offering some very nice no-charge and reasonably priced upgrade options.

 

KINGDOM FITTING:

 

We arrived at the Kingdom and were again aptly given royal treatment. Just though the front doors they have a small locker room and each of us had a locker with personal name placards…a very nice touch!

 

We saddled up, met our assigned fitters, and started warming up. Kurt Donahoo was my guy, cool dude, been around the game and in the fitting business for many years, and very clearly knew his stuff.

 

 

I started warming up with irons just to get loose, but knew pretty much right away that it was going to be a tough day from a golf swing standpoint for me. As described earlier, I was struggling a bit physically from a combo of exhaustion, hangover, plus the caffeine intervention. Anyway, I felt like crap and as expected, really struggled to make decent swings.

 

When I moved up to my EPIC SZ driver, I was not producing my normal ball flights. Instead of my usual draw, I was hitting mostly block cuts…not a good thing when you're already aiming right to accommodate the draw. Worse, I was not making great contact! Most attempts to turn one over resulted in nose-diving toe-pulls. Anyway, it was frustrating, but I thought perhaps it would be a good chance to see if Twist Face could help.

 

I know many of you are very analytical about Trackman data and love to look at all of the minutia when going through a fitting. I tried a different approach; I didn't look at all until the end. I let Kurt analyze my Trackman data and had him just hand me stuff to hit that he felt might work based on his experience. We ran the gamut in terms of weight, flex, bend points, etc. with shafts, and I hit all of the new heads including the M3 440. We left everything in neutral settings because it would not have been wise to make adjustments to a ball flight that was not anywhere close to typical for me. Instead we focused on feel, overall dispersion, spin, and ball speed. Any adjustable drivers I've previously played have always ended up in their neutral settings anyway.

 

I liked all three heads equally as well and could play any of them. TaylorMade really got aesthetics and the shapes right with this line. Until the M series, I was not a fan of the previous TM head shapes. I would say they're subtle changes versus the M1/M2s, silver from white on the crown being the most obvious. Sound and feel were very pleasing, offering just enough feedback to get a sense of the quality of strike.

 

So after hitting a bunch of shots with many different combos Kurt was able to zero in on the type of shaft that best suited me. I seem to do best with "boardier" profiles with stiff tips and no pronounced kick coming from any one particular area of the shaft…more of a one-piece type of feel. I did not do as well with softer tip designs or conversely those that were softer in the handle like the Tensei White. In the end we settled on the Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 63 in stiff flex tipped one inch, not a glitzy, glamorous, or overly expensive shaft, just a work-horse…lol! I don't know what it would frequency out to, but one of the other fitters told me it's stiffer than many other manufacturer's X flex offerings in the same weight. Even though I was not swinging my best, this shaft produced the most reliable results and gave me comfort and confidence in terms of balance and feel throughout my swing. When I went back to the Epic for comparison it at once felt foreign.

 

Choosing the driver head was fairly easy. The M4 produced very slightly higher ball speeds (for me about 1.5 MPH) and knowing that I would not be tweaking the weighting anyway, it seemed to make the most sense. I could easily play any of the three including the 440, which is only about 10% less forgiving in terms of MOI than the regular M3. If you prefer a slightly more compact profile, don't hesitate or be intimidated about giving the 440 a try; it's very easy to hit! In the end it was the M4 head in 8.5 degrees of loft in all neutral settings.

 

 

Toward the end of my fitting Kurt shared the data with me that he collected from all shots with the new club without removing all but the worst clunkers. Here are the averages:

 

Club Head Speed 110, Ball Speed 158, Smash 1.44 (awful, but 100% on me), Launch 13.5, Spin 2400, Peak Height 109 ft.

 

My average club head speed seemed high for me as I figured I'd only average around 106/107. I even had a few just over 113 MPH which was surprising. I was swinging so poorly my overall smash factor average was really bad, and the best I could do with ball speed was 163.4. I really made a lot of bad swings with horrible sequencing that had me all over the face... and not a square face at that!. As I got tired (and let me tell you, hitting that many drivers will make you tired!) I started sliding ahead of it instead of rotating and things just got worse.

 

The numbers relative to my Epic Sub Zero were very close in most metrics, with the M4 spinning about 200 RPMs less with better dispersion. Everything else was very close (on average) for the above metrics with what was a reasonably large sample size on a poor swing day.

 

One really good takeaway from my fitting was that because I was missing both ways, I got to see the full benefits of Twist Face technology. Frustrated by hitting block cuts and not producing my normal draw, attempts to turn the ball over produced plenty of toed pull-draws and even a few hooks, which to me feel just about as bad as a shank, just in the opposite kind of way…lol!

 

Most halfway decent players can feel where on the face they've struck the ball, and I gave both the high toe and low heel a workout…lol! I can tell you that toe shots definitely stayed in the air longer and did not nose-dive nearly as dramatically with the M3/M4 drivers as with my Epic or any other driver I've played for that matter. It's actually a bit surprising as the ball just "hangs in there" and does not dive left as you might expect based on the strike! Heeled shots were also improved and produced more of a knuckling, hot type shot. Improving the club's performance on the most common mishits will most certainly help golfers improve their fairways hit percentages. Twist Face is real, and it's spectacular...lol!!! ;)

 

Jodi Ewart-Shadoff took a few minutes to help me with my game in between dialing in some new equipment for herself...lol:

 

 

ON THE COURSE:

 

We had a very early start on Friday morning since some of the guys had 2 p.m. flights. Even though I didn't get much more sleep than the previous night, I definitely drank less and was thankful for that when we got to the course. I was set up to play with Rob (GolfWRX HipCheck) in a match against Ryan and Matt. I don't like to play without a little action, so we set up a GolfWRX v. TM match. Ryan and Matt both play off of around 6, Rob's a 9 and I'm a 3, so we just decided to play straight up, no shots… Nassau bet with two down autos and an auto bump at the turn. I also set-up some indies with anyone else who was willing to match cards afterwards. Jory and I played for a bottle of expensive wine, but halved. Damn!

 

Still friendly at this point!

 

 

Aviara is a beautiful course. It's built in a valley with rolling terrain that can have you unsure which way is up versus down at times. It's a little bit visually intimidating for a first timer, though it proved to have plenty of room to hit it with the exception of a few quirky holes like the 10^th. The greens are large and undulating and really require you to be in the right position after your approach or you will definitely have some three putts (I had four). We all got off to a decent start and I hit 3 wood from the tee and a wedge approach to the back of the green for an easy par and a halved hole.

 

My daughters tell me I suck at selfies, but at least the background is pretty! :)

 

 

The match was even after nine, so like any self-respecting degenerate, I suggested we carry the action from the front to the back. Rob played pretty well considering he had not played in quite a while. Ryan and Matt are obviously both good players with nice swings. Neither was particularly happy with his individual play, but they were the epitome of ham & eggs against us and ended up beating us 2 up. I tried to force a 20-foot birdie on 18 to try to pick up a press (we had doubled the presses on the back), but to no avail. Rob and I paid quickly to get the pain of it all over with…lol...!

 

All fun and games til it was time to pay! OUCH!

 

 

I only hit two drivers on the front nine and four on the back, so I didn't exactly give my new M4 a thorough workout. I was swinging much better than at my fitting and had my normal draw back. Most of my draws were as expected, though I did pull-snipe one on the back nine that ended up way better than expected and just off of the fairway. I attempted two fades off the tee to fit the hole shape, but missed both to the right. This likely had more to do with my alignment than anything else. I do feel that my new M4 set-up will resist going left better than my Epic, and that's a good thing. I ended up with 78 and finished out every hole! ( I hate Xs on the card)

 

After lunch Rob and I went back out for an "emergency nine" that turned into an "emergency twelve!" I hit a few more drivers than the first time through, making 3 birdies and 3 bogies. The M4 performed really well highlighted by a 338 yard draw that caught a down-hill speed slot (only way I could ever hit one that long...lol ��), and a power fade on 18 that left me a gap wedge approach resulting in a final birdie... certainly a gratifying way to end the trip.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

Since this thing is turning into a novel (trans-continental flight boredom ;)) I'll wrap it up. This was an absolutely first-class trip from top to bottom and I cannot thank TaylorMade and GolfWRX enough! Beyond the new and exciting equipment, sumptuous meals, luxurious accommodations, and all the swag, getting to share it all with such an awesome bunch of golf nuts was definitely the best! I hope to remain in touch with everyone from this trip and will definitely be playing some golf this coming season with Scott (scottaz), Chris (Gamble Gamble), Kenton (Rob Swanson), and Rob (HipCheck) as we're all reasonably close to each other out here on the east coast. (Did I mention that Scott and Kenton are BEASTS? I'm talkin' Tour-level speeds!!!)

 

Many thanks to Brian, Jory, Ryan, Rob and everyone at TaylorMade for an unforgettable experience. If any of you have questions, please feel free to fire away and I'll do my best. Twist Face technology definitely works, and if it saves just one nose-diving tee shot from going OB, into a hazard, or into the gunch, then it's worth its weight in gold, as we all know those shots can be round wreckers!

 

I'm heading to FL later this week and then the Dominican Republic during Super Bowl week, so I'll be putting my new M4 through its paces and will be sure to provide feedback and updates!

 

Hit 'em long and straight guys and gals! :)

 

awesome stuff! thanks for sharing. what an adventure

[scottaz]

Tons of M4's from the with tour pics starting to come out

 

M4 seemed to be the head of choice from the TaylorMade staff we played with as well. Although I heard more than a few wanting in play around with a M3 440 or carrying one in their bag as a second driver to mess with.

 

I played with a TM product development engineer named Chris on Friday who was clearly a very good player. He was gaming an M4, but had an M3 440 in the bag as well. On the back 9 he had pulled out the M3 440 once or twice. When we got to 16 I didn't hit a great drive, a slightly off center strike that faded to the right side of the fairway, and asked to hit a second ball with his M3 440. Of course I wasn't fit for the driver, but we had commented a couple times during the round about our swings being similar, and I hit a tight draw about as good as I can hit one. When we got down in the fairway both balls were in great shape with the M3 440 about 8 or so yards longer and in the left middle of the fairway. Chris says to me, "You didn't hit that first one solid, did you?" I replied, "Nope". He just kind of looked at both balls and said "What are you chasing?" I should get that printed on my headcover or something for any time I get the itch to tinker.

 

Dang it, then are you saying the M3 440 is on the radar for you?

 

Quite the opposite. I'm saying, for me, there is no reason to chase a couple yards with the M3 440 if hit perfect. The M4 is so forgiving that I'm probably not giving up much, if anything, on good strikes and gaining a lot of accuracy on less than good strikes.

 

 

Heading out there, I was 99% certain I'd end up in the M4. I can certainly use the forgiveness and did much better with the M2 vs. M1.

 

I can see it going either way for guys like Kenton. He hit the M3 very well. It's just going to be a comfort thing. If it's even close, why not take the added forgiveness?

 

If I was ordering blind, it would have been the M4 for sure. I still wonder if it may be a better choice. But I did learn I have bigger issues to deal with and it was more important to be able to adjust.

[HidekiWoods]

Tons of M4's from the with tour pics starting to come out

 

M4 seemed to be the head of choice from the TaylorMade staff we played with as well. Although I heard more than a few wanting in play around with a M3 440 or carrying one in their bag as a second driver to mess with.

 

I played with a TM product development engineer named Chris on Friday who was clearly a very good player. He was gaming an M4, but had an M3 440 in the bag as well. On the back 9 he had pulled out the M3 440 once or twice. When we got to 16 I didn't hit a great drive, a slightly off center strike that faded to the right side of the fairway, and asked to hit a second ball with his M3 440. Of course I wasn't fit for the driver, but we had commented a couple times during the round about our swings being similar, and I hit a tight draw about as good as I can hit one. When we got down in the fairway both balls were in great shape with the M3 440 about 8 or so yards longer and in the left middle of the fairway. Chris says to me, "You didn't hit that first one solid, did you?" I replied, "Nope". He just kind of looked at both balls and said "What are you chasing?" I should get that printed on my headcover or something for any time I get the itch to tinker.

 

Dang it, then are you saying the M3 440 is on the radar for you?

 

Quite the opposite. I'm saying, for me, there is no reason to chase a couple yards with the M3 440 if hit perfect. The M4 is so forgiving that I'm probably not giving up much, if anything, on good strikes and gaining a lot of accuracy on less than good strikes.

 

I definitely see your point from the forgiveness standpoint. My only concern with the M4 is that I've hit the 2017 M2 and it just looked HUUUUGE and I was a little uncomfortable- not bad results just a different feeling/ look. I'm sure I could get use to it and hitting more fairways and cure any uneasiness.

 

I guess thats why TM has the M3- middle of the road option.

[RonSwanson]

 

I definitely see your point from the forgiveness standpoint. My only concern with the M4 is that I've hit the 2017 M2 and it just looked HUUUUGE and I was a little uncomfortable- not bad results just a different feeling/ look. I'm sure I could get use to it and hitting more fairways and cure any uneasiness.

 

I guess thats why TM has the M3- middle of the road option.

 

I never liked the 2017 M2 shape either, the 2018 line has a better shape for sure. To my eye, it looks more pear shaped and shorter front the back. It's not an M3 mind you, but much improved over the 2017 M2. Brian Bazzel went into the details of the design. It is obviously more technical than this, but the step in the carbon on the crown allows for the aerodynamic benefits they were looking for without having to sacrifice the overall shape. Refining the geocoustic tech had an influence as well.

 

I went by the Golf Galaxy near my office yesterday to get a couple comparison photos for you guys, but when I got there they were closed. Like, shut down the store. I guess I wasn't the only one who hadn't been by there in a while.

[swanry30]

if a player can meet the appropriate launch/dispersion/spin conditions with the m4 there is no reason to tinker with the m3 460/440 - technically you "shouldn't" gain any yards. players that struggle with controlling launch/spin conditions will fit into the m3 440 IF the dispersion isn't compromised. huge gain are possible. the m3 460 would be more of a middle ground driver - and geared more for someone that is looking to shape flight and is fine with launch and spin. more than likely the distance will be comparable to the m4 your gain will be in dispersion/curvature.

 

some players that struggle with "ballooning" don't get along with a lower lofted driver - in this case you could go up to the m3 440 10 and flatten flight and accomplish a tighter dispersion pattern. so many ways to skin the cat...having a fitter that properly knows how to conduct a fitting is paramount. i prefer the approach of highest MOI to lowest (m4 - m3 460 - m3 440) it will be very apparent what is needed.

[Paranorml]

M3 460 and M4 overlay, stock picture from TaylorMade website.

 

 

Thanks! So this has M4 slightly larger than M3 460,right ?

 

Looks like the M4 would appear to be ever so slightly more compact from address--if you follow the colors of each in the overlay. Seems feasible since the M4 has a deeper face that would counteract being able to stretch the club head out.

[TaylorMade Golf]

Some great discussion on here guys and thanks for the WRXers who made the trip last week and have posted their thoughts. Really appreciate it.

 

In case you were wondering, here's Rory's set up this week at Abu Dhabi Championship:

 

He's gone with the 8.5 M3 with the loft setting slightly lower and weights in the forward position. On his M3 3/15 fairway, he's gone lower on the loft and then has a mixed bag of irons including P790, P750 and P730s, along with some MG wedges and new aluminum red insert on his Mullen 2 TP putter.

 

Rory McIlroy WITB (Abu Dhabi Championship 2018)

• M3 driver 8.5°
  
• M3 fairway 3 /15°
  
• P790 UDI 2 iron
  
• P750 3-4 irons
  
• P730 RORS Proto 5-9 irons
  
• MG 47° & 54°wedges
  
• MG Hi-Toe 60° wedge
  
• Mullen 2 TP putter
  
• TP5X #22 ball
  

 

[4rheel]

^ Very interesting. Anything in particular he's trying to achieve other than a lower trajectory with that driver set-up?

[DNice26]

Interesting that Rory is gaming the Hi-Toe wedge.

[Brizam]

Great job with all the write ups. Another truly first class WRX trip.

I’m looking forward to trying out the M4 I can get pretty toe slappy with the driver which with the Epic SZ can lead to some less than ideal results.

[TaylorMade Golf]

^ Very interesting. Anything in particular he's trying to achieve other than a lower trajectory with that driver set-up?

 

Just trying to get as close to the 17/1700 magic numbers as he can (launch angle/spin rate)...he has a high trajectory based on hitting up on it, so needs lower loft.

[J13]

^ Very interesting. Anything in particular he's trying to achieve other than a lower trajectory with that driver set-up?

 

Just trying to get as close to the 17/1700 magic numbers as he can (launch angle/spin rate)...he has a high trajectory based on hitting up on it, so needs lower loft.

 

What are the weights in his track? Where does he add hotmelt to the head?

[SwooshLT]

Wow.....is the launch of the M3 that high in which 2 guys have gone down to 8.5* heads AND have weight as far forward as possible? Justin has 3 wgts in his track per Instagram picture

[swanry30]

^ Very interesting. Anything in particular he's trying to achieve other than a lower trajectory with that driver set-up?

 

lower in comparison to what?

 

rory has a very postitive AoA - and looking to hit a flight window that fits his eye. each iteration of driver will flight different. the weight forward could flight the same as his m2 (which was fixed weight back).

 

with his old OEM his hotmelt placement was in the toe.