TaylorMade SLDR Feature Review
By: Golf Shake | Wed 20 Nov 2013
Post and review from sports journalist and golf fanatic Derek Clements.
When TaylorMade introduce a new driver, the world of golf sits up to take notice - and quite rightly, too. Pioneers of the adjustable driver, they were also first on the market with white drivers and fairway woods (I am sorry, but I refuse to call them fairway metals). And when some of their leading Tour players announced that they didn't care too much for the white clubs, TaylorMade listened.
They could have simply starting producing the R1 in black and told the world it was a new model. Indeed they did go back to basics and return to market with a black driver, but the SLDR is no R1 copycat.
It is a beautiful looking club, and according to Dustin Johnson, it is also a master blaster. The biggest hitter on the PGA Tour reckons he is hitting the ball fully 20 yards further, and here is something you should know - his R1 had eight degrees of loft, while his SLDR has 10.5. David Lynn won the recent Portugal Open/Masters with an SLDR driver set at 11.5 degrees.
TaylorMade say that the extra distance comes from a lower and more forward centre of gravity that promotes a hotter launch, lower spin and faster ball speed.
The driver's loft is adjustable, direction (fade, straight or draw) through a reinvention of TaylorMade’s movable weight technology (MWT), making it more effective and easier to use. The SLDR features a blue, 20-gram weight that slides on a track located on the front of the sole - Mizuno used a similar system some years ago, but it never caught on..
The movable weight shifts the clubhead's centre of gravity horizontally towards the heel, to promote a draw, or toe, to promote a fade. A lightweight Fujikura shaft comes as standard.
So what's the verdict?
I have always loved TaylorMade drivers, and this one looks and feels great, and sits behind the ball quite beautifully. I may not have gained 20 yards (I wish!), but the ball is travelling 10 yards further, and I am not convinced that I have found my optimum setting yet. It is a fabulous club. Some players have said that they don't like the feel it gives at impact, but I haven't the foggiest idea what they are talking about. All those Tour players can't be wrong.
Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]
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