2nd Swing's top five TaylorMade drivers
2nd Swing's top five TaylorMade drivers
May 14, 2020
By Drew Mahowald -- 2nd Swing staff writer
TaylorMade is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the golf equipment industry. This has been the case since the early 1980s when TaylorMade developed a metal-headed driver called the Burner.
Quickly, the idea of metalwoods replacing the typical persimmon woods gained popularity. Players began winning on professional tours with TaylorMade drivers in 1981. By 1985, TaylorMade drivers were the most popular in golf.
TaylorMade has maintained its position as one of the leaders in the golf industry for metalwoods since that time, developing excellent new models annually led by forward-thinking innovation and construction.
The rich history of TaylorMade provides a plethora of drivers to discuss. But of them all, what are the top five TaylorMade drivers? Let’s get to the list.
The TaylorMade SLDR 460 driver offered a revolutionary innovation to adjustable weight technology. The SLDR includes a 20-gram sliding weight on the sole that can be positioned in the center of the weight track for neutral trajectory bias, in the heel for a draw trajectory bias, or in the toe for a fade trajectory bias. Plus, the SLDR’s center of gravity is moved forward compared to most drivers, delivering a low launch and low spin that many high swing speed players yearn for.
When it was released in 2016, the M2 was designed to be the M1’s little brother. It didn’t have the customization options and was catered more toward forgiveness and high launch. However, the M2 exceeded all expectations. The M2 emerged as the most dominant driver in golf in 2016 with all golfers, including Tour players. They switched from M1 to M2 throughout the year at an astounding rate, taking advantage of its low spin, high launch, fast ball speeds, and extreme forgiveness. And it’s that combination that makes the 2016 M2 still very relevant today.
The SIM family of drivers is the most recent release from TaylorMade. The SIM driver, in particular, includes several innovations that have been introduced in recent TaylorMade driver models and combines them in one model with a new shape. Speed Injected and Twist Face technologies are implemented in the SIM driver, which work together to generate high ball speeds on contact made all over the clubface. The new clubhead shape, featuring the Inertia Generator on the sole, is designed to improve swing speed with new aerodynamics. The movable weight on the sole also allows golfers to adjust the center of gravity smoothly and easily. Is it too early to rank the SIM this high? Perhaps. But everything included in the SIM package provides high potential.
The 2007 TaylorMade Burner left a huge dent in the driver market, and with good reason. It includes Inverted Cone Technology inside the high-MOI clubhead, a design that delivered forgiveness and exceptional performance on mis-hits. The Burner was also built with slight draw bias to help the thousands of golfers that struggle with a slice or block miss. This driver was incredibly popular because it fits such a wide range of players. Golfers looking for an easy-to-hit, high-launch, high-MOI driver get exactly what they’re looking for with the Burner.
The R7 SuperQuad driver advanced driver technology to a new level with its Movable Weight Technology on the sole. The driver features four weight ports that provided up to 28 yards of lateral trajectory change, depending on how the weights are configured. This adjustable weighting concept is still a staple in many driver models on the market today. The R7 SuperQuad doesn’t just have adjustable weighting, though. It also includes the Inverted Cone Technology that can be found in the 2007 Burner, delivering forgiveness and superb performance on mis-hits.