Anybody got any feedback on one of these? In particular if you have hit the regular SLDR!

Thanks,

Pete

bump. interested in this too. thinking to maybe get one closer to when season opens around here. interestingly rumor has it tm being tm wrt their release cycle planning to release 250cc "mini" driver. so that should be interesting too tho dunno if there is gonna be jdm model or not.

After reading mygolfspy's thorough testing of 30 different drivers and the SLDR owning them all, I went to Golfsmith and spent two hours hitting it against the Bertha Alpha and several others. I'll be honest, Taylormade is annoying. Typically I hate them. US drivers have no prestige to them, I think we all know this. With that being said, the Taylormade SLDR 430 is f**king phenomenal. It and the Maxima are the best two drivers I've ever hit. Feel - excellent. Distance - insane, forgiveness - very good. Workability - excellent. Looks are the only thing any rational person can dispute. It may no have sex appeal or prestige but if you want a driver that just straight up delivers you're a fool if you don't take a long hard look at it.

I have hit the SLDR 430, 460, BB and BBa.

Several items:

Callaway has obscene upcharges for custom shaft options.

BBa at address is actually intimidating.

Fubuki ZT X-Stiff + BBa head does not produce the feel I like.

So SLDR 430. Looks like the R9, feels better than the BB lineup and has significantly cheaper custom options.

So what you think?

Probably the best US driver of all time and easily among the best Japanese drivers of all time.

Probably the best US driver of all time and easily among the best Japanese drivers of all time.

That's a pretty big statement to make. I will have to try it out sometime. When will SLDR 2 come out? :p

Try it, you'll see.

Probably the best US driver of all time and easily among the best Japanese drivers of all time.

Your only saying it works for you. The Sldr doesnt work for a lot of folks. Titleist 983k would probably win a poll of best US driver of all time. Tried, true, and tested. Glad the Sldr works for you though.

I have a SLDR 460cc and I agree it has phenomenal distance....when hit in the middle! Unlike most other 460cc drivers, it goes nowhere when hit high on the face. I tee the ball lower and use 2* more loft. The head is pretty heavy necessitating a light weight shaft (57grams). It is for that reason that I. Am keen to try the 430cc head as I may be able to use a decent aftermarket shaft at a heavier weight.

Will let you know if I get one!

IMO the sldr is made for the better ball striker with high SS's

It is not forgiving.

It does not produce the "wow factor" with slower SS's as the ball does not spin enough to stay airborne.

For the middle to high capper the sldr is not even close to the best option out there.

Correct statement iDrive.

Pete, if the egg don't work out let me know :)

i dont think 430 head is any lighter. tour van heads seen on ebay both 460 and 430 seem to be around 195-197g (not hotmelted) and i wouldnt call that heavy at all. no idea how heavy/light jdm version is. how heavy is your 460 head anyway ? i read you can get different weight plates for them. i actually want a heavier 430 head 200+ or something, saw one jdm 430 tour head with toe screw on ebay too. edit: one of the 430 jdm heads on ebay says 202g weight.

I have a SLDR 460cc and I agree it has phenomenal distance....when hit in the middle! Unlike most other 460cc drivers, it goes nowhere when hit high on the face. I tee the ball lower and use 2* more loft. The head is pretty heavy necessitating a light weight shaft (57grams). It is for that reason that I. Am keen to try the 430cc head as I may be able to use a decent aftermarket shaft at a heavier weight.

Will let you know if I get one!

Edited March 3, 201410 yr by ant

I think i will stay with my 2014 Gloire. If they make a head that is longer and more forgiving then I would be amazed. I still can't believe that I hit 12 of 12 fairways with a borrowed ADDI that I really did not like in terms of feel.

Will do Eca re. Egg head :)

Edited March 3, 201410 yr by Petethepilot

BEST. DRIVER. EVER.

I have heard that the sldr is not forgiving! What do you all think?

Thats been the consensus. A well known fitter in my area who sells them told me the same thing. It fits certain people but not the majority.

The only reason I am even looking at this head is that I fight spin. It is a swing flaw but I cannot seem to fix it. Now to be fair I have a lot of testing to do with the Gloire in terms of shafts before I label it a high spin head. I don't think it is. I am a solid 7 handi but I can tell you that on off days I need all the forgiveness that I can get. The Gloire is forgiveness for days so now I hope to get the spin down and keep it. I had a tour issue razr hawk that was super long on center hits but that was it. On good days it was a bomber on bad days it was bad!

Have you tried many low spin shafts in the Gloire. I know that Bassara your about to play is not low spin.

I have heard that the sldr is not forgiving! What do you all think?

Punishing on mis hits

Thats been the consensus. A well known fitter in my area who sells them told me the same thing. It fits certain people but not the majority.

As I posted before:

IMO the sldr is made for the better ball striker with high SS's

"It is not forgiving.

It does not produce the "wow factor" with slower SS's as the ball does not spin enough to stay airborne.

For the middle to high capper the sldr is not even close to the best option out there."

I have four playing partners that ran out and bought the sldr. They are 15-20 hndcps. Not one of

them have the driver in play anymore. Good swings, great results. Avg. to bad swings, bad results. There

is just simply no forgiveness in this head. The really good ball strikers = great driver. Beyond that too many

other better options.

Have you tried many low spin shafts in the Gloire. I know that Bassara your about to play is not low spin.

Not yet. Today was a good day with the Bassara. At 9.5 it was still mid launch. I hit a few bombs. I found a lot of fairways. 8 out of 11. One drive nicked a branch and flew away from the fairway into the hazard. This club is hard to get into big trouble. I still may try a quadra or GD mt6.

IMO the sldr is made for the better ball striker with high SS's

It is not forgiving.

It does not produce the "wow factor" with slower SS's as the ball does not spin enough to stay airborne.

For the middle to high capper the sldr is not even close to the best option out there.

Forgiving as heck for me and a big wow factor with a swing speed of about 100-105MPH. I think the whole trick to getting the SLDR right is a few tweaks with lofts and the slider on the bottom. I hated mine when I first got it and was hitting low hooks like nobody's business and I almost never hit hooks. Was ready to put it up for sale and then decided to devote the time to tweaking and it was the first true bomber I have ever owned.

Also if you have issues with spin, this thing is the best driver for cutting spin in dramatic fashion.

There's a reason this thing has been voted longest driver 2 years in a row.

Edited March 9, 201410 yr by Bobby jones

I agree. I think the SLDR 430 may be a little on the less forgiving side but that's why they make the 460 SLDR.

It's a phenomenal driver, guys. Hate to say it but it really is.

i have a 12 degee 430 SLDR but due to the harsh winter I havent used it yet except at the winter heated range with frozen rocks. Not the best test environment. I also have a 12 degree 460 SLDR that I have set to 14 degrees with a tour sleeve and a Miyazaki Kusula white shaft.

THE 460 SLDR is dialed in big time, and one of my top 5 goto drivers. I get a perfect controlled draw trajectory. I had off the chart results yesterday with the MT 5 in the GLOIRE head. Today I will try the MT in both the 430 and 460 SLDR along with the MESSENGER.

Edited March 16, 201410 yr by driverhead