What’s new at TaylorMade
24 APR 2019
By Peter Mumford
I may be a throwback to another generation, but I like to test drive some things before I buy them.
Lots of people I know are content to buy everything online and forego what they consider the inconvenience of shopping. They order new golf clubs over the winter based on press releases, what they see on TV and internet research. Hopefully, it works out well for them.
I on the other hand look forward to pro shops opening in the Spring. If I’m in the market for a new piece of equipment, nothing is better than taking a demo (or three) to the range and understanding what I can do with it, how it feels and performs in real playing conditions. Today’s demo carts offer shaft and grip options in addition to lie and loft adjustments. It doesn’t take long to dial in the specs that work best for you.
Even if you don’t have a lot of time to spend on the range, you can often tell a lot about a club just by picking it up and making a few tentative swings in the pro shop. In the end, a club must look and feel good to you before you can have any confidence in it.
With that in mind, I have my eye on a few new pieces of equipment that I’ve been reading about, while not so patiently waiting for the good weather to arrive. The good folks at TaylorMade have been busier than most this past off-season and the proof is certainly apparent each week on the PGA Tour as their staff players – Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Jon Rahm - repeatedly rack up victories and top finishes. Following are some of the exciting new options they’ve developed that will be available to test drive in ClubLink pro shops this Spring:
M5 / M6 Drivers
In 2018, TaylorMade engineers developed a new path to performance with Twist Face technology. This year, TaylorMade has taken Twist Face to the next level of performance with the introduction of Injected Twist Face technology, exposing the false narrative that speed limits have been reached in a metalwood, to create the most innovative drivers in company history. That’s really saying something, given that TaylorMade has been the makers of the #1 Driver in Golf™ for seventeen consecutive years. This next generation of high performance M5 & M6 drivers also includes fairways and hybrids.
Original One Mini
From a performance perspective, the Original One Mini Driver with its 275cc head (9% larger than AeroBurner Mini) will fit directly between a driver and a fairway wood. Some golfers will opt to play the club in addition to their current fairway woods, while others may choose to replace a longer fairway wood that was mainly being used off the tee. Most golfers will still keep the regular driver in the bag as the club that ultimately delivers the most distance. Like its predecessors, the Original One Mini Driver is targeted at golfers of all skill levels. It has been engineered to provide an option off the tee that delivers the accuracy and control of a fairway wood but with more distance and forgiveness. Faster swing speed players may additionally benefit from ease of use off the turf with Original One Mini Drivers’ combination of a medium face depth with ultra-low centre of gravity location for extreme distance and excellent playability from fairway lies.
P.7TW Irons
Designed and crafted in full collaboration with Tiger Woods, the TaylorMade P•7TW is a premium players iron. P•7TW irons combine the inherent minimalism of precision forged muscle back blade-style irons with technology and exactness of TaylorMade’s Milled Grind sole and tungsten weighting for flight control and unique feel specific to Tiger.
TP5 Pix
Optically designed using advanced visual technology to offer more visibility the TP5 Pix is the ‘Most Complete Tour Ball’ in TaylorMade’s product lineup. TP5 Pix was designed following extensive research with partners at Indiana University, the same team the company has used for a variety of projects including TaylorMade’s most recent putter line, Spider X.
Spider X putters
A decade after introducing the putter that shifted the paradigm of putter creation toward high-MOI design mallets and has since become the most popular putter in company history, TaylorMade Golf Company has announced the 10th generation of its globally transcendent Spider putters with the introduction of Spider X. Continuing the longstanding heritage of Spider performance in a completely re-designed frame, Spider X putters utilize a new dedicated weighting system and optically engineered sightline (OES) featuring TaylorMade’s new True Path alignment system. The X Philosophy = True Path Alignment System. The genesis of the Spider X philosophy lies in research derived from more than ten thousand putts from a distance of twelve feet, with results illustrating that golfers strike the ball toward the toe of the putter 66% of the time – this is the result of a parallax effect. As a result, engineers strove to re-engineer the mass properties of the putter head while simultaneously introducing a new alignment system – True Path – for easier alignment enhanced focus, leading to more putts struck on the centre of the face and thus eliminating the parallax effect.
M5 / M6 Irons
TaylorMade Golf has introduced the fourth and most innovative generation of its high-performance line of M series irons, complementing the company’s recently announced M5 & M6 metalwoods series. Featuring the company’s new revolutionary SPEED BRIDGE™ technology, the all-new M5 & M6 irons have been engineered to both further increase distance and enhance sound and feel with an aesthetically appealing design.
TP5 / TP5x Golf Balls
The new TP5 and TP5x golf ball models add more to the performance story of the hottest Tour balls in golf. Highlighted by a new High-Flex Material (HFM) used for the first time in company history along with its unique 5-layer construction, TaylorMade has taken the ’19 TP5 & TP5x to a new level of performance. According to Eric Loper, Director of Golf Ball R&D, “We knew there was an opportunity to make them even faster. Our research into the driver and ball interaction at the moment of impact along with the development of a new material (HFM) has given us the ability to more efficiently convert compression into speed, at any swing speed. The new Speed-Layer System (SLS) controls spin rates that is critical for driver, iron and wedge performance.”
Peter Mumford is the Editor of Fairways Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @FairwaysMag